DJ Equipment and DustyMan 2007

[RyGuy]

All reports coming off the playa is that it's going to be 2001 conditions out there. I lost my Cd-J and mixer that year and wish to avoid another repeat. Having transitioned to Traktor Scratch, Midi controllers and a laptop since then, I am even more fearful of the corrosive properties of my beloved playa dust. What are you using this year to protect your equipment? Chime in all you electro-philes.
Cheers.

[Dato]

I have a separate set of "Burn" equipment. AKA, if it breaks, it won't break my heart equipment.

It's damn near impossible to keep stuff clean out there, as I'm sure you know. Keeping stuff covered when not in use is always good, as well as not using it in the dust storm, but considering how dusty it's looking to be this year, that's well, probably impossible.

Last year, even though it wasn't very dusty, and I had all my stuff in the dome, it still got pretty tore up.

Sheet to cover when not in use, and those air sprayer bottles to dust stuff off will go a long way.

As far as the laptop, I've had one out there for the last three years, and just made sure to put it in the bag when not in use, and it has survived so far...

(Sorry to be Captain Obvious. hehe)

[RyGuy]

Frisket Film? I read on here its a good way to seal up electronics. Do they make those plastic covers for Apple keyboards like I used to see in the 80's?

[Dato]

You know, now that you mention is, you could probably just use Saran wrap to wrap up the laptop keyboard. You'd need an external mouse, but it should work. Just make sure to leave the a breater hole of the fans. Maybe an extra filter?

The decks have too many moving parts, so but the wheels of steel should be fine. The mixer? May I suggest buying one just for the burn? I have a numark that I bought a year or two ago, and it works great. Was only $70 to boot!

[trilobyte]

Get several cans of compressed air. Hit your gear with it regularly during the event. Then when you get home, give everything an extremely thorough cleaning, use white vinegar on a cloth to counter the effects of the dust.

I recommend making sure your gear's in flight cases, and if something kicks up, put the lids on the cases. I also keep cloth covers handy to go over the gear to minimize dust.

Good luck!

~Trilo~

[jagermonster]

How well would a home receiver unit work? Its disposable for sure, but i'm concerned about dust breaking the unit, and I want to plan to have a backup.
Just going to do a minimal in-camp 4 speaker + sub system , no DJ equipment.

Has anyone had stereo equipment that stopped working because of too much dust?

[trilobyte]

Dust of any kind is the enemy of all electronics. It acts as a thermal insulator, and causes the gear covered in it to operate at a higher temperature. Once the temperature exceeds whatever the component/chip/resistor/etc can do, pfft it stops working. Playa dust is especially harmful not only because the particles are so fine, but because the alkali content acts as a mildly corrosive agent.

As long as you provide reasonable care for your gear, it'll probably live. Keep it out of the sun. Get something between the open/outdoor winds and the gear.

~Trilo~

[Dork]

A tip I received from a DJ recently that sounds reasonable - buy some pallet wrap (like saran wrap, but thicker) at U-haul or other place that sells packaging material. Remove knobs, cover the whole thing in this wrap, then replace the knobs. You'd probably need to cut a slit along sliders. This should reduce the amount of dust that gets in.

Otherwise, like everyone else says just keep it covered or boxed up unless you're actually using it.

[Dato]

^^^^ OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!! Spiffy! I'll have to keep that in mind!

[RyGuy]

Nice point dork, as I only use the up/down gains and never the cross in the mix. One less point of entry. For the mac I am thinking of getting a keyboard sleeve that covers most, excepting the ports. I use a trackball mouse, so no worries there. Thanks again for the help, keep them coming.

[phil]

Check here and see if this seems helpful for dj stuff, laptops, and whatever:

http://kitup.military.com/2007/06/and-thats-a-wra.html