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what should be turned on/off first


Lozza

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On some amps - the d&b E-PAC and D12, PS1200 you have a mute control, which mutes the amp output. Thus by muting before turning off, you ensure that no sound will reach the speaker cabinet during powering down or up of the amp.

 

Except that that is not a physical mute switch, as the amps are all digital (ie. that switch just tells the processor to mute the input, doesnt actually silence the input) and when you power up all those amps you mentioned, part of their turn on sequence is to keep the input muted until the self-tests are completed so what you have just suggested makes absolutely no difference...

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It's WAY too tempting to get involved in these discussions of Boogie Man's (entirely normal in my view) habits, so instead I'll slip my moderator hat on and request that we move this thread back on topic, if there's any more to say!

 

Excuse me a moment...I'm just off to switch on the socket that lets Trevor, the 13A plug, get power for my laptop.

 

Bob

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I can't believe so many people do it wrong. ... The kettle gets switched on first. ;)

 

You must have been educated at the same school as the fellas who did this work, picture from the travels with a digital camera thread !!!

 

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL239/6229921/12124870/212724570.jpg

 

Sorry, :D

 

Once the kettle and mobile phone and battery chargers and intercoms are up, then start from anywhere but the amps.

 

Or, do what I'm going to do next year, and build power sequencers to go in the amp racks, to delay power to the amps for a few seconds after the rack gets power. Then I can just throw the Big Switch and she'll all be right. Everything but the amps will come on, then the amps. Perfect.

 

Even better, if the unthinkable happens (which it does from time to time) and the production juice vanishes, all I do is pull down the master and wait for juice to be restored. A few seconds after the desk lights come on, bring up the masters, and we're back online. Except for rebooting the computer, or the sampler, but hey, they're just the next problem to solve, UPS at FOH......

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Just to put my 2penneth in here and explain how important it is to switch off properly, I was doing some freelancing on a conference and was baby sitting the system after the main event while the obligatory Disco was finishing off the night (yes a whole 2 channels to maintain). The DJ happened to be an employee of the conference company and was told by his boss to make sure he unplugged the 63- 3 phase cable from the wall after the event had finished.

 

So he played his usual “New York, New York” track and the house lights came up – my cue to nip to the gents whilst the punters left, and we could then commence the strike. By the time I had finished my No. 1 and was busy re-buttoning – I heard this big – thud,thud – (I almost commenced a No.2 – and was happy no zips on my black Levi 501’s) – hurriedly making my way to the stage there he was with a juicy big cable – and about to attempt to start wrapping 30m of 16mm 5C HO7RNF around his arm in a washing line fashion.

 

As you can imagine I politely asked what he was thinking – “Oh I guess I should lay this cable on the floor – I’ll never get this rolled up like this” was his answer.

 

I can go on but needless to say he blew up 3 x 18” drivers in the subs, took an amp out P1&&ed off the lampie as all his Mac’s where still on, and I even got a blue screen of death on my PC (I hadn’t finished my game of solitaire). I guess the 4 LCD projectors were OK as they weren’t moved for at least an hour or so.

 

So yes Amps first etc,etc – then the gents etc. Also it’s worth investing in some Link when working with dipsticks.

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Something that stuck in my head from the mantra thread a while back was "SMASH", representing "Sources, Mixer, Amps..." but I never did find out what the second S and H were meant to represent.

 

Speakers and Horns I'd guess....

 

Before amps were fitted with soft start circuits and muting relays, it was common to plug the horn loudspeakers in after switching on. Horns were particularly prone to dying, so letting the amp settle down before connecting was a good thing to do....

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On some amps - the d&b E-PAC and D12, PS1200 you have a mute control, which mutes the amp output. Thus by muting before turning off, you ensure that no sound will reach the speaker cabinet during powering down or up of the amp.

 

Except that that is not a physical mute switch, as the amps are all digital (ie. that switch just tells the processor to mute the input, doesnt actually silence the input) and when you power up all those amps you mentioned, part of their turn on sequence is to keep the input muted until the self-tests are completed so what you have just suggested makes absolutely no difference...

 

As others have said, you learn something every day. It does make sense the way you explain it though.. I will add it to my mental library.

 

Cheers.

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Something that stuck in my head from the mantra thread a while back was "SMASH", representing "Sources, Mixer, Amps..." but I never did find out what the second S and H were meant to represent.

 

Sources, Mixer, Amp, S*x, Home. though depending on marital status spin the last 2 round

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Going to be contentious this, but I always turn stuff on as soon as I get power to it, regardless of function.. though always with amps wound down/mute switches in, reason being, best to know if somthing has died in the truck overnight. Amps tend to be a little sulky at times if they're covered in condensation, damp, cold, too hot etc, so the sooner they get turned on, the sooner they settle, imo. You have to go to the desk end to put the pink on, and wander back to the amps anyway, so may as well turn them on while your there, and let them settle.
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When I have full control I always go from start to finish so Input devices->Desk->Eq->Amps.

However at my local amdram 1/2 the amps are always on and the other 1/2 cannot be powered up or down independently of the desk, so so much for startup procedeures!

 

I'd be interested if anyone at a large venue actually has a written startup procedure for their mountain of kit!

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As you can imagine I politely asked what he was thinking – “Oh I guess I should lay this cable on the floor – I’ll never get this rolled up like this” was his answer.

 

 

Ergo one should turn the DJ on last, and off first!

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