People that have done outdoor parties with no power, what have you used?
I’m organizing some parties that will be going from place to place on a trip and some location will have power and some won’t. I’m trying to get a list of things together to have pretty damn good sound for about 100-200 people like on a beach, or camping, or whatever.
So far:
Dj equipment (CDJs, DJM) etc.
PA system
Sub
Amp
Generator of sorts?
Lights/Lighting rig
Is there anything I’m missing? Could you give some suggestions on the system itself? I’ve never really organized anything like this before so I’m not sure what size PA’s, sub, or amp to get. Everything I’ve ever done has already been set up or in my home/house parties with monitors. Also will a generator be able to power all that? I’m going to try to research prices to rent and buy some of the stuff. I figured before I go blindly looking on the web, I ask you fine folks.
Well, there are all sizes of generators, so you should be able to find one that will fit your needs. Of course the really big ones aren’t all that portable anymore. Definitely calculate the power consumption of everything you’re gonna connect and leave some headroom.
Hmmm thanks for the info. I assumed I wouldn’t be having some huge generator just cause I’m not powering a festival or anything. But a fairly decent sized generator will probably be needed.
Thanks for the amp recommendation. I’ll look into it.
Its tough not really knowing what to do for something like this.
I would get a 10K watt generator at minimum. You will have to get a ground rod, copper wire (#6), and an “acorn” to properly ground it. Also will most likely need to make up a distribution box.
see if you can find any people that have played and/or setup sound recently at Burning Man Festival. With a nice simple LED light show and some high efficiency CLASS D amps you’d be surprised the stuff you can get pumping with a smaller generator.
haha yeah we are sorting all those things out. I got a team of other people working on all that stuff. They just want me to figure out the djing part. We would likely have a small tent to protect the gear.
I will talk to some burning man people here in SF who set up the things.
Any recommendations on amps, PAs, subs? Size wise and brand?
I’m a noob at this outdoor stuff so its kinda overwhelming to figure it all out.
wicked overkill. I’m thinking thats like 3x the size he would ever need, I mean I dont know what his final load calculation will be, but thats like over 80 amps of power at 120v. Just as a reference for you, there are houses that have main services only rated at 60a. To the OP; most portable generators already have outlets set up for you, and are made so no supplemental grounding is needed, plug and go.
Outdoor events I’ve played at have used one of those Honda inverter generators. really portable and quiet for a small gathering of like minded individuals.
I have been an electrician for 15 years, and done power for numerous outdoor venues. Better a little over kill than not have enough. No house built in the last 60 years has less than a 150 AMP main service. You need to be able to separate the monitors, forward sound, and lighting on separate circuits. You also need to be able to fault to the earth in case of problems, which when doing an outdoor gig, are too numerous to prepare for. Also need to provide GFCI circuits.
Not to get too off topic, but A) There are houses still being built w/ 100A services to this day, and in the last 60 years there were houses still being built w/ 60A services (maybe your area has different state ammendments or something). B) In this situation the generator does not need to be bonded to the ground. If the instructions in the manual say to do so, then you will have to, but I have yet to run into one that has said so. As long as the gas tank is bonded to the frame (yet to see one that isnt) and everything is cord and plug you do not need to. C) To me, 80 amps wouldnt be just a “little” over kill, but maybe having an extra 50-60 amps then neccesary is only a little over kill to you, I guess it just a matter of perception. In the end, its better to have extra, like you said.
To the OP; while GFCI protection is required by code, some portables will have have it built in, or you could just get cords or plug strips with built in GFCI protection. I personally wouldnt want GFCI in a live sound and lighting set up just because of the threat of nuisance tripping, but thats just me.
So I’d say it would be fairly loud. Not like earth shattering, but pretty dang loud.
Thanks for the info about the generators. I’ll have to look into some that can produce that type of power.
I mean I’m looking at probably renting like CDJ 10002/2000s djm 800
PA speaker (no idea what size yet)
Amp, sub.
Lighting truss, and lights to go on it.
I can’t let the cat out of the bag on the event I am throwing yet cause its confidential and I don’t think my co-founder friend would want me to spill the beans. But we are looking at some locations that will either end up at outdoor locations, some will be power provided, some won’t possibly. It depends on how we plan it. I need to create a budget for either buying or renting the equipment. I’m sure if I contacted these rental places they probably have a package deal that I could rent that would probably be fail safe, I’m assuming at least.
Regarding the generator, that was the only snag cause I’m not sure the places I could rent the DJ, sound and lighting equipment would also have generators available. I thought I may have to rent something like that from a hardware place or something.
Manchild, you are confusing watts with amps. I suggested a 10K generator referring to 10,000 watts, as that’s how generators are sized. You could get all you need off of the 30 amp circuit provided, but would want to use a distribution box. From the list of what the OP had to work with and provide power for, I could never in a million years recommend a roll-behind generator.
As for the GFCI circuit, I was recommending them for everything but the circuits I listed. Circuits for general consumption such as portable lights, chargers, and other such, non-essential gear.
As far as grounding goes, I guess it’s too important, unless it’s your gear being used. then you want to protect it.
