Fairground Weather Alert System

The Erie County Fair—held in Hamburg, NY—is the fourth largest county fair in North America, attracting over a million visitors annually. Garry Steiger, the event’s program coordinator, approached Visiplex for a wireless weather alert and public address system that could:

• Deliver clear voice communication to both indoor and outdoor areas

• Provide complete fairground coverage

• Be easily expandable to accommodate additional speakers

• Allow remote operation via dial-in phone access

• Be simple enough for on-site staff to install and maintain

To meet these needs, Visiplex designed a scalable, wireless communication solution:

• VS4810 Wireless Paging Base Station
  Central control unit installed in the fairground’s main control room

• VS101-40 High-Power Transmitter
  Ensures full RF coverage across all fairground zones

• Indoor Voice Coverage

  • 18 × VNS2210 indoor speaker controllers

  • Each controller powers 1–2 VNS2083 high-power wall speakers

• Outdoor Voice Coverage

  • 15 × VNS2200 outdoor speaker controllers

  • Each powers a VNS2088 high-power horn speaker for wide-area messaging

• Automated Weather Alerts
  The VS4810 integrates with a VS3042 NOAA weather radio receiver, broadcasting automatic severe weather warnings.

• Remote Paging & Announcements
  The system includes the VS3003 dial-in option, allowing remote access to:

  • Broadcast daily event schedules

  • Announce public service messages (e.g., lost children)

  • Perform real-time overhead paging

• Wireless, Cost-Efficient Design
  No need for trenching or long cable runs—only AC power is required at each speaker controller location.

• Total system cost: approx. $20,000