The RCS system delivers amazingly clean radio. It creates the daily log by combining the traffic department's commercial line-up with the programming department's music schedule. Based on that log the RCS system continually plays each element to air automatically stopping for live announcements, newscasts, traffic and weather reports. When a live segment is completed, the announcer hits a key and the RCS system continues delivering material until it's programmed to stop for another live segment. The RCS systems ability to time-shift announcers has dramatically changed the way the station operates.
Time shifting means that all of an announcer's shift can be pre-recorded.
And because the RCS system is hard drive based, it means the shift need not be recorded in real time. For the announcers, recording their show is a simple process. On a computer screen they scroll through the log that makes up their shift, pausing on a segment where they will be voicing on air. By pressing the enter key once, the RCS system starts playing the last 10 seconds of the commercial or song leading up to the announcers segment. By pressing the enter key a second time the microphone becomes live and the announcer can begin voicing the segment.