Topic: How do you power ( yours )down ? | Allen & Heath Digital Community

How do you power ( yours )down ?

This topic contains 12 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by Mr-B 14 years, 6 months ago.

Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

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2009/10/01 at 3:58 am #22153

andylouder
Participant

Had my t112/48 a couple of weeks now , jammed in my small FOH booth.
Very pleased with the location of the power button on the surface , just select power down from the screen and slip your hand up the left hand side of the desk.
My mixrack is on a shelf in the booth about 6 inches off the floor
( not having any dodgy bands pour beer over it onstage )
Its very awkward to grovel on the floor on stick your hand behind the rack , what about guys who have mounted their mixrack in a rack case.
Possible redesign idea for next version of hardware , a power button on the front panel instaed of the back ?
Anybody just power off the mixrack from the 13amp wall socket ?
My colleague is an older chap with a gammy leg and finds it a bit of a bother crawling around the floor.

Also , is it possible to mute the output of the mixrack , prior to powerdown ( perhaps an option on the surface before powerdown )
My colleague has the bad habit ( yes I know ) of powering down the booth , mixrack included , before powering down our amps , always get a nice thump through the amps.

T-112 / IDR 48 / v 1.51

2009/10/01 at 4:16 am #24732

Studio42
Participant

I don’t have an iLive T112 with an IDR48 yet. Thanks to a client changing contract payment terms, I will now have to put off my purchase over 18 months, while taking a massive loss. Isn’t small business great?
(I have to pay up front, but the client pays me back monthly… I’m out the money up front, client has now crippled business for the year since all my capital was tied into that purchase for them)

Anyhow, powering off? I’d power off my amps first. Last on, first off. Why change that? Then I’d say the surface, then the rack. Smack your colleague around until he gets it through his thick skull the proper order of things.

Powering off the IDR rack? All my racks have a Furman power unit of some sort in there, which has power on the front, plus I almost always go for the units with the lights on the front. Flip the lit-up red switch to power on/off.

—
Chris Pickett, Studio42 916-601-7089
https://www.studio42.com
Allen & Heath ML5000 48B and future iLive T112/IRD48 owner.

2009/10/01 at 4:38 am #24734

andylouder
Participant

Yeah thanks for your input studio 42 , sorry to hear your client stiffed you and you have to wait for your new gear.
Yes I am well aware of correct power up / down with regard to FOH control and ampracks , this question was more aimed at owners and manufacturers of the ILIVE with regard to the specific design and location of the power buttons on the Ilive surface and mixrack , as the power down procedure of the surface also has implications with regard to show memories.

T-112 / IDR 48 / v 1.51

2009/10/01 at 7:09 am #24735

Studio42
Participant

Well, my thoughts are that the surface is merely a really fancy interface with some audio IO, and that ultimately, the shows are stored on the IDR-48, which could be flawed logic since shows can be loaded from the editor software as well as the surface. I intend to use my iLive both with and without the surface, but mainly with the surface. I have one cramped venue where not having the surface will be handy, just route extra cabling back to the IDR-48 so I can record right off a matrix set of outputs.

Since it seems to me that the IDR rack has to be powered up first, then the surface to sync, it would make sense to power down in reverse order of power on. At least that’s how my line of thought is working.

I do like how the power switch on the surface is not very accessible. Even so, I’d have appreciated a set of rails around it just to ensure no accidental pressings, perhaps even with a safety cover. No excuse for it bouncing around in a dog house and getting hit by accident. I also like how the IDR has no front-panel accessible power switch, which is just one less thing for people on the stage to try to mess with. But, when I get mine, it will arrive and be placed in a shock mounted rack with 4″ casters, and will have room for a Furman PL-Plus. Fortunately, bands know to not touch the stage gear. Since my application is pretty much touring, I gotta protect the gear best I can.

I’m anxious to see what A&H says. I think I’ll go read a few pages of the manual this evening. Since I’ll be waiting much longer than expected to dive in, might as well get caught up on printed material.

And to think, I could have bought mine in full in cash before the end of October….

I can’t totally complaint. I have an ML5000 48B and I absolutely love that console. I’ll just have to “suffer” another year with that fantastic console!

—
Chris Pickett, Studio42 916-601-7089
https://www.studio42.com
Allen & Heath ML5000 48B and future iLive T112/IRD48 owner.

2009/10/01 at 7:13 am #24736

Studio42
Participant

Suffer is the wrong word. I’m perfectly content with the ML5000, but my clients want digital since it’s the “thing to have these days”.

I’d gladly use the ML5000 until my fingers and ears wear out. But, when I upgrade, the ML5000 will be an ideal monitor desk. Just order my splitter cables and a few other parts and I’m there. Honestly, I’m sure I’ll find myself missing being behind that desk even once I get up to speed with the iLive. I just feel “at home” behind that ML5000.

—
Chris Pickett, Studio42 916-601-7089
https://www.studio42.com
Allen & Heath ML5000 48B and future iLive T112/IRD48 owner.

2009/10/01 at 12:24 pm #24740

Doug
Participant

I don’t think a power button on the front of the mixrack is a great idea it would be too vulnerable to getting knocked mid show, then you are faced with the dreadful 2 minute wait whilst the rack re-unites with the surface. My mix rack is in its own rack with the IEC plugged into a smoothing/surge protector then the lead from this is plugged into the wall or whatever. I always turn the unit off by using its own switch. I also have a global dca mute for everything which helps stop the “powerdown” thump. My only gripe is that A&H didn’t use a powercon for the mains input of the rack as when I was evaluating the system on a show the mains lead got kicked out of the rack twice! As for the digital/analogue debate I’ll take the ilive everytime!

http://www.maltingsaudio.co.uk

2009/10/01 at 9:20 pm #24742

Studio42
Participant

I agree that having the power for the mixrack on the front is a bad idea. That’s why my rack will have rails on the front and back, so I I can put the Furman unit and some other bits in the back. But the rack will still be at least 12-spaces, so plenty of room for other gear or routing cables. I can still put a light bar on the front inline with the mixrack’s front for illuminating that for the crew to be able to see what they are doing.

For live apps, I definately am not a fan of the IEC cables unless a lock bracket is included, and even then, I’m not a fan of it. I’d much prefer any sort of locking connector and a powercon would do just as good as anything else.

No point in going over the digital/analog debate. I love analog, love out it sounds. Already an A&H customer, and the iLive seems to be designed with the way I operate in mind. The iLive will be a great desk to have at my command once I get used to it. Once I get it, I’m just gonna lock myself up with it for a month or more and learn absoslutely everything, then work with a band for another month to do real-world testing for their rehearsals, then time to bring it out to the world. I have a learning curve for digital, and I’ll be able to take my time learning it while still having a fully functional system ready at a moment’s notice.

—
Chris Pickett, Studio42 916-601-7089
https://www.studio42.com
Allen & Heath ML5000 48B and future iLive T112/IRD48 owner.

2009/10/06 at 12:58 pm #24744

Mr-B
Participant

Not really looked at T48 my iDR10 has twin PSU’s and each one is fed via it’s own IEC connector and each of these has a P-clip nearby use this and it takes a very determined Muppet to kick out the power cable.

I feed both the mix rack and the surface from separate UPS devices mounted in associated racks, just in case of faults with local power. I use 1400VA types which easily give me 20 minutes of running on battery. It just means that if the power goes off whilst I am saving files there is no problem. All the Diggico/Diggidesign guys I know do a similar thing. Also use the UPS to run my Fibre converter for the desk to rack links and the WiFi interface.The one in my FOH rack also powers the surface redundant PSU.
Usually use the Power off switch on the UPS to turn off the mix rack, thought the power switches on the rack are accessible I am just lazy.

This may seem a bit over the top but it works for me.[]

2009/10/06 at 6:38 pm #24749

Tuejo
Participant

Most of the time we play festivals. The stagecrew will pull my power and get us off stage before I get back from Foh. Not a problem. Sometimes they pull our power before powering down the surface. Then you get the “surface was not shut down right” notice when you turn it on on the next show. Press the “ya ya I know” button and continue.

Its not a problem. It´s live gear build for it.

2009/10/07 at 9:58 am #24754

Stix
Participant

I’m with MrB – I also always use the iLive with a UPS connected! I power both the mix rack, a wireless router and the surface from one UPS mounted with the IDR48. One power cable from the UPS in the mix rack out to FOH surface. Without a UPS it could take less than a second of dropped power to put you in the very uncomfortable 2 min wait for restart – not to mention that an intermittent power supply could cause serious damage to the system – it is after all a processor/computer/network with a few audio connections! If an over eager roadie pulls your power at the end of the gig you can still save your show and shut down correctly. Very cheap insurance in my book!

I use the UPS power switch to turn on/off the Mix Rack. More accessable than the IDR rear power switch and as you have to press and hold the UPS switch it won’t get accidently bumped.

Stix
T112/48

2009/10/07 at 6:25 pm #24758

Mr-B
Participant

Top man Stix you are leaning against an open door here. In my book any one not prepared to spend a couple of hundred pounds, dollars or whatever the local currency is for peace of mind to my mind is a little foolish.
Again Stix you are correct it is pretty hard to turn off a UPS by accident they are just not designed that way. Just need an extra bit of cooling in the rack after that, I find the rack gets a bit toasty with the UPS, Idr10 and a network switch in it so 2U panel with 4 nice quiet fans job done. Very tidy it all looks too if I say so myself.[8D]

2009/10/09 at 3:26 am #24762

Studio42
Participant

I gotta agree. I like what I’m hearing. Rack mounted UPS’s will be standard in my racks for my iLive system. I mean, once I get it, I’ll have over-budgetted anyways.

Then, onto some custom cabling and wiring so I can rack mount a wireless router so I can remote mount the antennas as well so all I have to do is roll up, plug in and get going. Of course, I’m still going to use a Furman power in those racks just to be safe.

For the cost, it’s cheap insurance. Since we’re dealing with “mission critical” devices in a live environment, anything we can do to minimize disaster should be taken. UPS’s aren’t that much and I do so much business with APC, I can definately get a few extra points off for a pair for myself.

Might as well learn from the mistakes of ohters. I sure as hell don’t have the time to make them all myself!

—
Chris Pickett, Studio42 916-601-7089
https://www.studio42.com
Allen & Heath ML5000 48B and future iLive T112/IDR48 owner.

2009/10/09 at 8:54 am #24764

Mr-B
Participant

I managed to find a great re-seller of ex-installed UPS devices on e-bay. They come with a guarantee and new batteries. The kind that are installed in an office server room on day one and not touched again until service time. Very good price, the downside is they often don’t have front trim panel. Oh what a shame so a nice ventilated blank rack panel and all is fine.[]
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