What do you leave on 24/7

[Footer]

So, what do you leave on 24/7 in your venue? Why do you leave it on 24/7?

[Lotos]

Moving Lights, Scroller, Lx Console, Audio Desk, Amps, House Lx are all powered off nightly...
The only thing that doesn't get a nightly shut down are the dimmers, and a few CFL Blue 'Safety Running Lx' backstage.

The Dimmers are left on, due to a lack of a convenient disconnect... And a fear that one day they just won't come back... I really can't afford a CD80 retrofit for the AMX packs we're still using...

The Safety Runners backstage are for the other employees of the property (housekeeping, etc) as well as any hotel guests that may accidentally find themselves backstage in unfamiliar territory after hours.

[MisterTim]

Is this a trick question? Why would you ever leave things like amp racks and stuff on 24/7?

[cpf]

I am always trying to turn stuff off when it's not needed, but some things like the Crestron automation, dimmers, and a few wireless mics receivers have to be left on all the time so people can just roll in and press "Start." I managed to get people to start turning off the amplifiers though, they were raising the temperature in the booth about 10ºc when left on D: It still mystifies me how the screen and projector are tied into the crestron system, but not the sequenced power controller for the amps...

[chausman]

Is this a trick question? Why would you ever leave things like amp racks and stuff on 24/7?

Some people leave things like amps on 24/7 because the start-up surge can do damage to certain components. Some say it will lengthen the life of the equipment. One place I know of, doesn't have a convenient way to turn their amps off, so they just stay on. (Annoying since the speakers buzz without the console on)

I don't leave any of my equipment on, but thats just because I can't transport it very well while it's plugged into the wall.

[drummerboi316]

we leave the installed ETC sensor rack, flown powered mackie 450's, and our i-cue powered up all the time because there is no convenient way to shut them down at the end of the night. everything else has switch in a convenient location.

EDIT: also we leave on a custom built PC in our booth that runs our SFX program, and its associated echo soundcard. I don't really know why we leave it on, but that's what the note over the power button says...

[techieman33]

grid lights and a ghost light near the SM panel for safety, the dimmers, and house/work light controllers. Everything else gets turned off.

[Ric]

Apart from dimmer racks which I leave on always;

PC and system processor ( sound web) processing so that I can turn on amps & audio desk with out having to log on a computer & start programs to show the metering on the system processor.

Backstage show relay system (camera, mic, phantom power & processing) so that anyone can turn on a screen anywhere and get a stage view. Also backstage paging from the SM desk.

Comms units; so that a headset can be plugged in at anytime, i.e. for maintenance, and it works.

[shiben]

Dimming racks, and thats about it. A lot of sound rigs i know stay on all the time because it takes more than several minutes to turn them on and warm them up.

[Arez]

What no ghost light option? Or are we counting that as a work light in this case?

At one space, everything gets shut down when we aren't in production or upgrading (dimmer rack and ghost light too, but not works or offices), because they are only in full production for about 16-20 weeks out of the year on average. At another, it's all off except the dimmer rack, ghost light, and cameras. At another, the place never shuts down, so it only gets turned off when dark or moving. Lastly, when I was still there, I believe most everything was left on if we were in production except for consoles and lights (minus the ghost).

[Dionysus]

Depends a bit on the current setup but in general the only things I leave on in my primary venue (or anywhere) are installed dimmer racks, occasionally the portable variety if it is not convenient to shut them down. They're fine on 24/7.

Of course the "Ghost Light" I try to keep on 24/7, however I've had people turn it off on me. Then I come in the backstage door, in the dark, expect to be able to not turn the main worklights on and... complete blackness.

I've seen places leave pretty much everything powered up 24/7, but I find that's not only a waste of money but inviting potential disaster in some small cases. Especially like to fully shut down audio-land completely when its not going to be in use for a while. Especially when thinking of potential power outages, etc. Better safe than sorry I always say. Plus most things would love the 'break' anyways.

as for amps (I saw someone said they think leaving them on would extend life), I don't believe it in general. Most modern amps have protect circuits and all, and if they're on 24/7 they'll sure suck in plenty of dust. Not to mention never have a chance to cool down. Pretty much anything electrical likes to have a break now and then. Plus when you think of the shutdown sequence (always turn amps off first), it kinda makes you think "perhaps I should shut the amps off"?

[chausman]

...(I saw someone said they think leaving them on would extend life)...

If you are referring to me, I personally don't believe it, I have just read that before.

[DiscoBoxer]

We leave our dimmers on always. Also on occasion, the production PCs, when we intend to remote in and work on them from home. Other than that, nothing.

Dionysus, nailed the amp issues that I would be concerned with. Turning off the console/source before the amps can't be good.....especially repeating it over and over nightly. That plus dirt buildup, would risk shortening the life of an amp more than powering it on and off IMO. Amps were designed to power up and down. I don't know of any amps that advertise specs of 24/7 operation, like a server hard drive. The potential damage to local electric from inrush could be dealt with by powering each amp individually or through a sequential line conditioner/protector. Many "full featured" amps have their own built in power up/down cycle that they are designed to go through. Not following the recommended process and removing power regularly, could possibly void the warranty.....if it could be proved.

For multi-day events in large venues, I have seen large production companies leave lots of equipment on, such as consoles, processors, light fixtures and rack arrays. I get the convenience of it when during the daytime they rehearse and tweak & then follow with the night event... and then hit it again early in the morning. They power it all down when they leave to move back to the shop, or onto another venue. Some differences to note between them and my situation is that they are not responsible for the power bill of the venue in most cases and I am somewhat accountable to mine at a permanent venue. Also, with the larger road companies, their equipment turnover tends to be more regular and sometimes preventive and in my venue, we don't have budgets to support that and are not trying to compete/be attractive to clients through our equipment offering. Not saying everyone is like this, but you have the difference of an owner vs. an employee playing a factor in equipment care. Some guys may take the convenience factor because it isn't their equipment and that is all that effects them.......until an amp crashes during an event.

[FMEng]

Some people leave things like amps on 24/7 because the start-up surge can do damage to certain components. Some say it will lengthen the life of the equipment. One place I know of, doesn't have a convenient way to turn their amps off, so they just stay on. (Annoying since the speakers buzz without the console on)

I don't leave any of my equipment on, but thats just because I can't transport it very well while it's plugged into the wall.

The idea of the turn-on surge damaging the equipment is an old tale, probably dating back to the vacuum tube era. These days, it doesn't make sense.

The biggest factor in how long a piece of electronic equipment lasts is its internal temperature and how much time it spends at that temperature. Cool equipment lasts. Equipment that tends to run hot fails quicker. This is why rack layout and the temperature of the room is so important. Dust is an enemy because it coats heat dissapating surfaces of components and acts as insulation. Leaving a full rack space between each piece of equipment helps equipment cool.

[derekleffew]

...Amps were designed to power up and down. I don't know of any amps that advertise specs of 24/7 operation, like a server hard drive. ... Not following the recommended process and removing power regularly, could possibly void the warranty.....if it could be proved. ...

There are thousands of amplifiers (most by Crown, Crest, QSC, etc.) in use in Las Vegas casinos that haven't been powered down (except for power outages and minimal routine maintenance) for 15-20 years or more.

[sk8rsdad]

There's no option for none of the above.

The only thing left on 24/7 in my venue are exit signs, thermostats, the CEM's in the dimmer racks, network routers, alarm sensors, the automatic flush sensors on the urinals, and whatever stays on in various electronic devices like the clock flashing 12:00 on the coffeemaker. Everything else either turned off, on a astronomical clock or a photo-sensor.

[SteveB]

On:

- The Sensor racks, Unison processor and assorted stations, nodes and network switches, ghost light (on the dimmers and Unison). And one portable ENR 12 dimmer pack for my running/cross-over lighting as the main breaker is not convenient. Winches stay powered but key's removed.

Off:

- All lighting units including ML's, except the 2 Q-1000 ghost lights. Ion console. All audio including amps.

[Anonymous067]

The thought just crossed my head that except for a few power outages, our dimmer racks have been on for a very long time.... (and probably never cleaned...).

[zmb]

I'm not in charge nor do I have a theater that I normally am in, but one place I've been decided after a couple months turning the scroller PSU on and off with the light board, that it would always stay on along with the fans running automatically. I'm not sure why they would do this if the instrument is going to be off already, but can someone elaborate?

[DiscoBoxer]

There are thousands of amplifiers (most by Crown, Crest, QSC, etc.) in use in Las Vegas casinos that haven't been powered down (except for power outages and minimal routine maintenance) for 15-20 years or more.

15-20yrs. really? That is impressive. I have not seen that, but my exposure is probably much less than yours if you have seen thousands. LOL! The closest thing that I have seen would be a "Bogen" type PA amp maybe for ten years in a school for 24/7 power.

Well, Las Vegas would be the place where paying for power may not be much of a concern. The amps probably use nil compared to all of the units sucking juice on a casino floor.

Do you know of any manufacturers who actually list that their amps are designed for 24/7/365? And if they do, are they common models that are seen in the field of entertainment? Note: That I am genuinely curious and not intending to be condescending.

[porkchop]

Things that are hard wired in or have camlock input (dimmer racks, amp racks, and the like) are usually hard to turn on and off in an easy way so I say just leave them on. Also because I work in a pretty moist environment I'm in favor of leaving anything with a fan on to prevent condensation build up. Despite that, I still always say turn the console off.

[chausman]

The idea of the turn-on surge damaging the equipment is an old tale, probably dating back to the vacuum tube era. These days, it doesn't make sense.

The biggest factor in how long a piece of electronic equipment lasts is its internal temperature and how much time it spends at that temperature. Cool equipment lasts. Equipment that tends to run hot fails quicker. This is why rack layout and the temperature of the room is so important. Dust is an enemy because it coats heat dissapating surfaces of components and acts as insulation. Leaving a full rack space between each piece of equipment helps equipment cool.

I don't think it makes sense, thats just what I heard. I would much rather turn everything off and wait a little longer to turn everything on than limit the life f my equipment.

[bishopthomas]

When I worked in installed venues I left everything on except for power amps. The rooms were climate controlled and gear did not get hazardously hot. Regular maintenance is more important, in my opinion, than worrying about powering up/down gear. Make sure to keep amp fans clean and leave enough room in and around racks to allow some airflow. If you're using blank rack panels consider going with the vented ones rather than the solids.

[sjsufer]

There are thousands of amplifiers (most by Crown, Crest, QSC, etc.) in use in Las Vegas casinos that haven't been powered down (except for power outages and minimal routine maintenance) for 15-20 years or more.

I work at a casino and this is absolutely true. We have racks full of crown amps, Media Matrix Nions, Coolsign Media Players, and a Mediabox Audio player that are on 24/7/365. We have to vaccum and blow them out regularly and cross our fingers. We also had timers installed for our lounge speakers as the only way to turn them off was to get into a electrics room we didn't have access to or take a lift up everynight and turn them off physically(they're active speakers)

Interesting thing though was the direct tv recievers we have would have to be turned off and on once every day because they would freeze or would we loose control via Crestron.

[NickVon]

I work at a casino and this is absolutely true. We have racks full of crown amps, Media Matrix Nions, Coolsign Media Players, and a Mediabox Audio player that are on 24/7/365. We have to vaccum and blow them out regularly and cross our fingers. We also had timers installed for our lounge speakers as the only way to turn them off was to get into a electrics room we didn't have access to or take a lift up everynight and turn them off physically(they're active speakers)

Interesting thing though was the direct tv recievers we have would have to be turned off and on once every day because they would freeze or would we loose control via Crestron.

I'm actually supprised how many of you keep your Dimmer Racks powered up. We have a fairly easily accessed "POWER DISCONNECT LEVER OF DOOM" that we turn of nightly once the fans in the rack of spun down after a show.

that said we leave on 3 Blue CFL's in the off stage stairs Left and right and in the Backstage hall/entry door. In addition our wireless Router stays on. As does my Office computer, just lock it at the end of the day. Our Projector stays "powered" but off, if that makes sense. Aside from that there are only 4 blinky lights on the particulate detectors, the Security Panel, and exit signs left lighting anything up in the House

[NickVon]

15-20yrs. really? That is impressive. I have not seen that, but my exposure is probably much less than yours if you have seen thousands. LOL! The closest thing that I have seen would be a "Bogen" type PA amp maybe for ten years in a school for 24/7 power.

Well, Las Vegas would be the place where paying for power may not be much of a concern. The amps probably use nil compared to all of the units sucking juice on a casino floor.

Do you know of any manufacturers who actually list that their amps are designed for 24/7/365? And if they do, are they common models that are seen in the field of entertainment? Note: That I am genuinely curious and not intending to be condescending.

Thats Said, Vegas casinos are also probably using their AMPS 24/7 so the AMP elves are never getting bored, vs leaving them powered up but not pushing any audio to them :-) What are the hazards of an amp just sitting on not doing anything if anything, aside from the "heat" and electronics run better cool, as pointed out earlier?

[DuckJordan]

I'm actually supprised how many of you keep your Dimmer Racks powered up. We have a fairly easily accessed "POWER DISCONNECT LEVER OF DOOM" that we turn of nightly once the fans in the rack of spun down after a show.

that said we leave on 3 Blue CFL's in the off stage stairs Left and right and in the Backstage hall/entry door. In addition our wireless Router stays on. As does my Office computer, just lock it at the end of the day. Our Projector stays "powered" but off, if that makes sense. Aside from that there are only 4 blinky lights on the particulate detectors, the Security Panel, and exit signs left lighting anything up in the House

Its actually not that surprising as quite a few of the older dimmer racks required the Control unit to be on at all times. Not to mention that the house lights and emergency lighting system in place runs through the rack for architecture lighting. I know in the high schools in the area the racks are on continuously unless repairs are being made through the year. Whether there is going to be a show or not.

[DiscoBoxer]

Thats Said, Vegas casinos are also probably using their AMPS 24/7 so the AMP elves are never getting bored, vs leaving them powered up but not pushing any audio to them :-) What are the hazards of an amp just sitting on not doing anything if anything, aside from the "heat" and electronics run better cool, as pointed out earlier?

If they are being used, than that justifys the need to never power down, outside of maintenance.

For us, we do not use them 24/7 and the harm for us would be the cost of power for all those idle amps and what I would consider a potential decrease of life for a unit by what was mentioned above, larger amounts of dust and dirt getting sucked into an amp 24/7 and coating the components. What I am learning from Derek and your experience is that amps seem to do well under 24/7 operation, with a proper PM process.

[dramatech]

My original background started in television back in 1957. At that time everything was tubes, with transistors sneaking into the mix over the next few years. With tube equipment, they were never turned off, other than repair. Many tube circuits, would drift with changes in temperature, therefore, all of the electronic rooms were kept at 68 to 72 degrees F. As the TV industry grew into solid state circuitry, the same standards of temp control and policy of 24/7 powering remained the same. I ran a TV production facility for 17 years, and the only thing that we ever turned off, were the CRT monitors.

I am not sure where I heard it, but it was widely accepted in the TV industry, that most solid state circuitry that fails, will do it in the first 90 days of continous use. There after failure rates are rare for the next 10 to 14 years, as long as the 68 to 72 degree at 50% humidity or less, standard was maintained.
In Theatres where amp racks and dimmer racks are maintained under those standards, I can see no reason for powering them down. There was a chart, that I no longer have, on how failure rates increase with ambient temperature. It is almost shocking how quickly the rate of failure increases with just small changes above the quoted temperature.

That being said, I turn off all of my electronics at the theatre where I know hang my hat. We are in the lightning center of Florida, and our building is a city owned building where temperatures vary with supervisory attitudes.

Our house light dimmer is powered 24/7, but I built it from some 1970s Electro Control modules using dual SCRs. I also have two oversized fans in the rack. One comes on anytime one of the channels is brought to more than 30% and the other is turned on by an internal thermostat when the rack temperature exceeds 80* F.

Tom Johnson

[shiben]

15-20yrs. really? That is impressive. I have not seen that, but my exposure is probably much less than yours if you have seen thousands. LOL! The closest thing that I have seen would be a "Bogen" type PA amp maybe for ten years in a school for 24/7 power.

Well, Las Vegas would be the place where paying for power may not be much of a concern. The amps probably use nil compared to all of the units sucking juice on a casino floor.

Do you know of any manufacturers who actually list that their amps are designed for 24/7/365? And if they do, are they common models that are seen in the field of entertainment? Note: That I am genuinely curious and not intending to be condescending.

I would imagine that most amps can deal with it. The only real thing you would have to do is clean the filters occasionally, I would think. At a friend's large recording studio, they never turn anything off because the many racks of gear take about 10 minutes to start using the sequencer and apparently the sound is "better" when the gear is warm. So the stuff they have there has probably been on for a couple years at least, some of it probably more. They are active pretty much all the time, so even maintince needs to be scheduled months in advance...

[DiscoBoxer]

Interesting info on the audio amps that are left on all the time. I spoke to a friend who works at a studio in Atlanta, who states the same about leaving all of their amps on....as well as the consoles. He also stated that they have very expensive maintenance contracts from a 3rd party in place, where techs come in and provide regular cleaning and service.

It's more common than I originally thought.

[Les]

I don't see a problem with leaving installed dimmer racks powered on. From what I know about Sensor racks at least, is that after a time of inactivity and the rack cools, the system basically goes in to hibernation, leaving only the CEM powered up and listening for a signal. It sounds reasonable -- you never know when someone is going to need to enter the space, and for those without a dedicated and constant-on houselight dimmer rack, your racks need to be powered up and ready for use.

Just as an anecdote, I worked overnights at Lowe's Home Improvement and their satellite-fed Muzak system never shuts down. The music plays continuously, as it is a simultaneous broadcast to all stores, and the stores in Hawaii will be open while the stores in New York will be closed. Apparently it's an 'all or nothing' deal. It's probably also entertaining for the nuts and bolts .

[bosox242]

Dimmer racks (2 SR48, 1 Legacy Unison DR12), a few house lights, a few lobby lights, and 2 8ft fluorescent fixtures stay on to provide some light for public safety and/or cleaning personnel.

[gafftapegreenia]

Lately it seems like my brain has been on 24/7 and my body almost as long.

[facethewolf]

Parts of the audio Rack. We have a Nexia Audio Processor that sends signals to Furman power conditioners when to turn on. Also our digital snake always has power, but the tt24 digital soundboard that it talks to gets turned off.

Also our architectural lighting system talks on the same DMX universe as the theater lights. Wall panels can turn on the theater lights for general day-to-day use. Only turn on the lightboard for events.

[EricE]

As with (it looks like) most everyone else our dimmer pack is the only thing that remains on. Our space is (mostly) unconditioned during the week and can get somewhat toasty during the summer.

that said we leave on 3 Blue CFL's in the off stage stairs Left and right and in the Backstage hall/entry door.

I've noticed in several places people reference using blue for low light situations (another thread talked about using blue gels). This doesn't seem like a very good choice to me since blue is the absolutely worst color for preserving night vision. Red is the best (it's no coincidence you see it used all the time in night scenes, esp. with the military involved).

[DuckJordan]

But red bleeds much more onto the stage than blue, blue also is a little less painful on the eyes.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[EricE]

But red bleeds much more onto the stage than blue

Either color dim should be about the same. Now if your stage is primarily blue or another complementary color (we have blue carpeting, for example) I could see how it would be perceived less, but it shouldn't make a substantial difference one way or the other.

blue also is a little less painful on the eyes.

Actually it's not. Blue more negatively affects the photoreceptors in your eyes that are responsible for night vision. It's why you see Red illumination used in the military and as an offering on vendors who offer lights - for example Littlite offers white and red on their switchable lights. Getting ready to order a couple of those myself to illuminate the areas where our computers are better.

[techno89]

At my school the SR48 rack is on however there are no fixtures on, the unison processor stays on aswell (obviously)

At my theatre we leave nothing on, sometimes ill leave a fan on in the booth all the time to keep it cooler.

[Tex]

Either color dim should be about the same.

That would depend on the light transmission of the color. In my experience, at a similar level of color saturation, red tends to transmit more light than blue, red washes are "brighter" than blue washes, and blue gels burn more quickly than red. I don't have any numbers to back this up, it's just my observation.