Sound Equpiment

[alexcaste]

Hi - I am wondering if there any advice you can give me on helping equipment make it through the playa.

I am not as much concerned as the equipment surviving post-playa but just for the duration of the burn.

We are currently thinking of using a midi controller like a kontrol s2 or s4 which we are basically sacrificing to the elements. Mainly thought about this because of the lack of need for multiple items (mixer and cdjs all in one). However, if someone knows a better way to do cdj's then i'm game.

What can I do to protect the speakers?

What can I do to protect the laptop?

What can I do to protect the controller?

Any and all suggestions and rants and people telling me to stay off their grass are welcome.

[Rice]

Well, it is probably going to be very dusty... playa dust, which will get into everything. So, if possible seal it up so no dust can get near it (the dust is more like a powder, very very fine!!).

It will also get very hot during the day (over 30 C (86F+)) so, if you can - keep everything out of the sun! (Allow some air space between you shade and your equipment)

Bring some cans of compressed air to clear out the playa in anything that gets coated (blast out the cmpt cooling fans at least once a day)

If the equipment is not being used all the time, put it away in a sealed container to reduce dust exposure.

[BBadger]

Rice's tips are good.

For your laptop, while you can't help the ambient dust, but you should take efforts to prevent dust clouds, etc. from really pounding your gear. Also, after the burn, you need to go in and really blow out the dust from the heatsinks of your laptop. In fact, it might be a good idea to do that with the heatsinks anyway, even in normal use. For post-burn cleanup, I like using canned air and a vacuum cleaner to actively remove the dust that is blown off.

[Token]

And you should search the forum because this gets asked every year and the are dozens of discussions on the topic.

Everybody here loves people who know how to help themselves.

[some seeing eye]

Search is your friend.

For speakers, you may not need as large or expensive speakers as you think. A Chinese version of the self powered Mackie 3/450 or JBL Eon is essentially disposable. Since almost all speakers are ported the dust is going to get inside. You will never get it out of the dampening insulation. You do not want sun shining on them, since they are black.

Most laptops have fans. See if you can find a sealed convection cooled small machine. Then the keyboard, monitor and controller are the only sacrificial elements. Remember too, they are e-waste, dispose of properly.

Invest in a sound level meter and understand what it means. It will allow you to test speakers and not over pay for amplification.

[trilobyte]

If you don't have the patience to browse topics in Power & Illumination (for AC & lighting) or the Q&A board (where a lot of sound gear discussions live), then try the search phrase PROTECT MIXER. A few good discussions with great info pop right up.

[Habenero]

So, I wanna cover my 11.5 ft radius dome and turn it in to a small bar. What kind of sound system would you guys suggest I would need to service a floor area of 368 sq.ft?

[TomServo]

So, I wanna cover my 11.5 ft radius dome and turn it in to a small bar. What kind of sound system would you guys suggest I would need to service a floor area of 368 sq.ft?

We got a $50 Logitech system for our larger sized camp (yes..WalMart). It works GREAT in the house...But, not playa tested...and at $50 it's disposable, if the dust is too much.

[ridingnitro]

So, I wanna cover my 11.5 ft radius dome and turn it in to a small bar. What kind of sound system would you guys suggest I would need to service a floor area of 368 sq.ft?

http://www.funktion-one.com/

[Habenero]

How many watts is your $50 Logitech system?

[trilobyte]

Depends on how many people you're expecting to be serving at any one time (and how enclosed you mean by covered), how loud you want it to be, and where in the city you're thinking of camping. Closer to Esplanade or the 2/10 spoke streets it gets loud. The further you get from those spaces, the less work you have to do.

So long as your idea of covering the dome means all around with a single entrance and you're not in a high traffic/wattage area, that's about the size of a small bedroom. Most bookshelf systems and even computer speaker setups would do a decent job there, and if you/your campmates don't have something to spare that you can bring out I imagine you could find something suitable for cheap. You also have plenty of time, so you can keep an eye out for sales (especially around June, electronics retailers get silly with dads/grads sales). Good luck!