Power's out here due to nor' easter. Went out at eleven. BUT no escape from Chartreuse Karaoke. Bought in my 12v supply, a Vocopro duet ( a big 90 watts of power- thank God it's a small venue, built in mixer with EQ) and a small monitor Did 1.5 hours of candlelight karaoke, got a standing ovation AND a bar bonus. Life is good.
Candlelight Karaoke
- Thread starter JoeChartreuse
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Did you ran battery, then, or off a generator? I've been thinking about buying a higher-end UPS that could run 3+ hours (I run off a small one to absorb surges), but I've never found one powerful enough for my P.A. What exactly did you run for your power supply, Joe?
I used 2, kayleigh, and 2 low end car batteries. They were both fully charged Sears power sources ( the largest models, I think the model# is 1100, but not sure) that were wired to 2 fully charged batteries ( No, I don't always carry this stuff, but I knew the storm was gonna be big, and I've run into this before). One for the duet, and the other for the monitors.
Keep in mind that I wasn't running a PA, per se. The VocoPro Duet is actually a self-contained machine, and only 90 watts. By self contained, I mean the speakers, mixer ( 5 band EQ, adj. reverb, keychange separate mic volume, music/vocal balance), plus all the other bells and whistles. The only drawback, besides power, is that it's a pop-top, as it's made for home use. Believe it or not, with the unit placed up and behind the the singers as they watched the monitor, it did the job. Not the best, but it was enough to keep the customers happy, considering the circumstances....
Power usage is only 30w@ 120v, or 2 amps direct to 12v. I could have gone on a LOT longer. I was just lucky to be working in a restaurant with a VERY small bar area. This machine could not stand up to professional usage, but has been coming in handy for one-nighters like this for some time.
I went to wired SM-58s. The monitors were switched from the bar to my 2 13" Celeron color TVs with RCA inputs.
Kayleigh, the bad news is, to power a decent sized system you'll have to use a generator in the parking lot- Which I WOULD have done, if my beloved son hadn't "borrowed" it for a bike run the previous day.... and forgot to return........
With a few of these power sources I COULD have run everything, but for how long? I know that the only real big power draw is the amp, but even the smallest run hundreds of watts, a very fast drain.
Still, without a generator... VERY impressive. I lost a show to power outage. The bar stayed open & had lots of customers (they were the only ones in town still serving), and it would've been nice to have something to host with.
I'm saving your post for future reference. In fifteen-dollar terms, your hosting acumen is admirable.
I'm saving your post for future reference. In fifteen-dollar terms, your hosting acumen is admirable.
Thanks for the kind words, Kayleigh. However, it wasn't acumen, it was lucky experience. It so happens my player crapped out before a night and I grabbed the duet to use in connection with my full system. The night in question was the preview for Hurricane Floyd, which was coming later but sending messenger weather. That venue lost power, but I had just bought a fully charged Die-Hard for my vehicle, and it was still in it waithing to be installed. The Duet has a 12V input, which I hardwired to the battery, along with an inverter for the monitor which I had in my kit bag. ( BTW- not the same Duet I have now). It worked for about an hour, until the inverter blew- no monitor. I learned enough from it though.....and the inverters built into the Sears sources are of heartier stuff.
You know, if I knew how to do what you did with the equipment you thought to buy and bring with you for this sort of emergency, I might have been able to serve my customers as well as you did.
To you, it may be lucky (or unlucky, or modest), but to me, it's learning. You did something I couldn't do. I came here to learn, and you're teaching me. Thank You!
To you, it may be lucky (or unlucky, or modest
), but to me, it's learning. You did something I couldn't do. I came here to learn, and you're teaching me. Thank You!
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I never thought about using something like that, Carolyn. I'll have to look into some kind of thing like that. Thanks!
Carolyn, what equipment did you run off of it? A full system? Also, is there an amp/hour rating printed on it anywhere?
I'm trying to figure out if this the same rating as the Sears (model 1150- I checked) or higher. Also, does it come withbuilt in AC outlets or did you use an inverter? I'm always looking for bigger portable power, and would prefer a static source to my generator....
I'm trying to figure out if this the same rating as the Sears (model 1150- I checked) or higher. Also, does it come withbuilt in AC outlets or did you use an inverter? I'm always looking for bigger portable power, and would prefer a static source to my generator....
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I have used it with my full system for an hour, I haven't tried it for longer then that though. I do have a friend that uses it regularly with a full system, she has told me that it lasted over two hours, but that is as long as she has tried it for.
I normally use this with my beach system that has self contained batteries in the speakers, so on that system it only runs the player, mics and mixer.
No inverter is needed, the outlets are directly on the unit.
Here are the specs, the name of the unit is endurance, 400 W Power Inverter, Output: 115 VAC, 60HZ, 400W, 3.5A(Max) Fuse:40A/32V.
The self contained air compressor is also nice when the tires deflate on the hand trucks.
I normally use this with my beach system that has self contained batteries in the speakers, so on that system it only runs the player, mics and mixer.
No inverter is needed, the outlets are directly on the unit.
Here are the specs, the name of the unit is endurance, 400 W Power Inverter, Output: 115 VAC, 60HZ, 400W, 3.5A(Max) Fuse:40A/32V.
The self contained air compressor is also nice when the tires deflate on the hand trucks.
Carolyn,
The Endurance specs are almost identical to the Sears 1150. 400W max out as well. The key to determining how long it will last is knowing what your total power draw is in amps ( 100w at 120v is approx .85 amps) versus the amp/hour rating of the battery in the supply. For example, the Sears 1150 contains a 22 aH rated battery, meaning it can sustain a 22 amp draw for 1 hour ( although the outlets for the inverted AC would not actually allow this- or 1 amp for 22 hours), 11 amps for 2 hrs, 5.5 amps ( or around 500 watts ) for 4 hours (IN THEORY) In actuality, the drain is exponential and the draw time is less. Also, though the inverters are rated at 400w, that's peak. I'm not sure how long they'd operate at that level. In my case, my amp draws around 550-600watts alone, so I probably wouldn't last all that long, even with a 1000w inverter plugged into the 12v receptical to handle the load...
The Endurance specs are almost identical to the Sears 1150. 400W max out as well. The key to determining how long it will last is knowing what your total power draw is in amps ( 100w at 120v is approx .85 amps) versus the amp/hour rating of the battery in the supply. For example, the Sears 1150 contains a 22 aH rated battery, meaning it can sustain a 22 amp draw for 1 hour ( although the outlets for the inverted AC would not actually allow this- or 1 amp for 22 hours), 11 amps for 2 hrs, 5.5 amps ( or around 500 watts ) for 4 hours (IN THEORY) In actuality, the drain is exponential and the draw time is less. Also, though the inverters are rated at 400w, that's peak. I'm not sure how long they'd operate at that level. In my case, my amp draws around 550-600watts alone, so I probably wouldn't last all that long, even with a 1000w inverter plugged into the 12v receptical to handle the load...