The Daktronics Experience

Shannon Mutschelknaus, engineering manager of Daktronics Laboratory Services Group, is back on the podcast with Justin and Matt to talk more about product and component testing. This time the focus is on the qualification testing of completed products and modules before the final installation for customers. While we do that in house, we also send it off for third-party qualification to ensure the accuracy of those tests. Sometimes, those tests involve things that are beyond realistic for everyday applications.  

• Reliability Lab webpage: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/learning-and-resources/product-reliability-lab
• Reliability Lab Video: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/video-gallery/Product-Reliability-Lab
• Tour info – front desk phone number: 1-800-324-8766

Football season doesn’t start for Daktronics when the ball is kicked off. Dustin Culhane, Daktronics Account Service Manager, joins Justin and Matt to explain how our season starts much earlier. Similar to the teams, we’re preparing for the games ahead of time doing preseason checks of our equipment on site. We also do pre-event checks as well as providing event support throughout the game. Dustin also shares some of the sites he’ll be visiting this year and talks about a friendly rivalry between him and Matt dating back to their college days.

• Daktronics Services webpage for football system support: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/support/sports/football
• Daktronics professional football webpage: daktronics.com/nfl
• Daktronics college sports webpage: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/markets/colleges
• Minnesota Vikings TCO Performance Center story: https://www.vikings.com/news/daktronics-video-board-vikings-training-camp

We try to make it well-known that Daktronics has a reliability lab where we test our products and components past the point of failure. So, in this podcast, we talk with Shannon Mutschelknaus, engineering manager of Daktronics Laboratory Services Group, to give some clarification into what we actually test behind the scenes. This episode focuses Development Testing where we focus on components and parts before we use them in our products.

• Reliability Lab webpage: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/learning-and-resources/product-reliability-lab
• Tour info – front desk phone number: 1-800-324-8766
• Picture of the “fly trap” test:
   

Justin and Matt sit down with Joni Schmeichel and Chaz Fuhrman, strategic marketer and sales for Daktronics OOH, respectively. They cover the topic of Digital Out of Home (DOOH) including the advertising trends associated with DOOH, some things to consider from both the display owner and advertiser perspective, and other fun things they’ve seen from the DOOH industry. They also mention how DOOH affects the routine drive to work and a child riding in the back seat of a car.

• Daktronics OOH webpage: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/markets/out-of-home-advertising
  
• Daktronics OOH Blog: https://blog.daktronics.com/category/out-of-home-advertising/
  
• Request a FREE Ad Sales Strategy Presentation: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/markets/out-of-home-advertising/services/ad-sales-strategy
  
• Chaz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaz-fuhrman-b774985a/
  
• Joni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joni-schmeichel-b6b02417/

A lot goes into the installation of LED video displays from structural support to electrical engineering. When building a new display system, working with the Daktronics design build process helps create a partnership to ensure all of these areas are covered while saving time and money. Todd Rose, Daktronics Project Engineer and Business Development, joins Justin and Matt to talk about the design build process and share some of his experiences over the years.

• Design build webpage: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/services/design-build-services
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium project webpage: www.daktronics.com/mbstadium

Putting on a show for college football can be chaotic and require a lot of preparation. Katie Windham, Daktronics on-site event producer at James Madison University, joins Justin and Matt to share how she’s embraced the chaos of game-day productions. She also shares how she prepares, how she got to where she is today and other information about producing a live event.

• JMU winning kick vs Weber State: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-i5hJ3lAc0
• JMU food race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQczGFST90I
• Daktronics event production: https://www.daktronics.com/eventproduction

Leah Brink, a corporate recruiter for Daktronics, joins Justin and Matt to talk about the different aspect of her role within the company. She share’s information on what tools are used to recruit, how internships and student positions fit into the business and other personal stories from her experience with the company.

One thing to note, there are many different opportunities for employment with Daktronics across a wide range of specialties. If you’re out there looking for something, visit our careers webpage for more details.

• For Tours, contact us at recruiter@daktronics.com or call 800-325-8766
• Daktronics Careers Webpage https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/employment/careers
• Glassdoor https://www.glassdoor.com/Jobs/Daktronics-Jobs-E2515.htm
• Indeed https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Daktronics
• LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/daktronics

Today, AV integration is bringing improved ways to communicate into every application imaginable. As such, Justin and Matt talk with David Lopez, President of MediaCentric, about how his company has done AV integration, the changes in technology he’s seen over time and what the future might hold. They even find some time to talk about David’s first ever trip to Brookings, South Dakota.

• MediaCentric's website: https://www.mediacentric.net/
• Daktronics AV Integrator webpage: www.daktronics.com/avintegrator 

Ted Puthoff joins Matt and Justin to talk about the world of field service for Daktronics. There are a lot of interesting stories that happen out in the field while helping customers with their equipment and Ted shares some of the more obscure things he’s come across, including a run-in with the law. He also shares a few tips for scheduling service.

Blog – Top 5 LED Displays Surviving the Obscure: https://blog.daktronics.com/2017/03/03/top-5-led-displays-surviving-the-obscure/

Cincinnati Reds: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/photos/details?pn=WP-19742&cid=136636

Cincinnati Bengals: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/photos/details?pn=WP-19505&cid=128959

Red Tailed Hawk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawk

Audio systems are a very important piece to any sporting venue. As such, Justin and Matt sat down with self-proclaimed “Audio Black Belt Ninja” and Daktronics Audio Representative Bo Saunders to hear all about it. Bo covers everything from the types of systems available to engineering to playing surface and fan considerations to microphone types to other events hosted at these venues. There are also a few great stories including his epic DJ performance on new year’s eve at a Dave & Buster’s back in the day.

• Bo’s Email: Bo.Saunders@Daktronics.com
• Daktronics Audio Webpage: www.daktronics.com/audio
• San Diego Padres Audio Project: https://www.daktronics.com/news/Pages/San-Diego-Padres-Open-Season-with-New-Video-Feature-and-Sound-System.aspx