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Hi Folks, I would like to express my thanks to all of you for the hard work you have done over the last few months helping with the PA system. You have all been doing a tremendous job!! As ever there are a few practical points I need to communicate which is the purpose of this page. Please take time to read this email through Please do ask either myself or Phil Day if anything does not make sense. Loudspeakers The key points to remember when setting up/taking down the new loudspeakers are: 1. When setting up the Base Bins remember to lay them with the short edge on the ground so the logo is on the bottom edge. This is particularly helpful on the "children's" side of the stage as it allows the 2 C690 speakers to be placed closer together. 2. There are two different types of "Top" loudspeaker (speakers that go on the speaker stands). The difference between the two types is the sound dispersion angle. 3. We have C690 speakers that have a 90deg dispersion which should be used for the "children's" side of the stage as we need a wide sound coverage here. 4. We have C6s which have a 60deg dispersion which should be used for the coffee side of the stage as we need a narrower sound dispersion here to help stop sound reflecting off walls causing unwanted reverburation and echo. 5. You can identify which speaker type is which as the number is written on the front (at the bottom) of each speaker. When storing the speakers please put the C6s together in one box and the C690s together in the other box. We may label the boxes to make setup easier. 6. The speaker stands should be set to be the same hieght by ensuring that the distance from the floor to the bottom of the central column is the same for all 4 stands. In addition, the speakers should be wound up to the highest height they can go. Please do not over tighten the small bolt which stops the horiszontal angle the speakers point in from being adjusted... this particular bolt hardly needs to be tightened as it id not bearing a load. The main bolts should be tightened well (not so that they bend the metal though!!) as they bear loads. 7. I have noticed that occasionally the loudspeaker nearest to the welcome desk (coffee end) is being angled to point almost at the opposite wall instead of down the concourse. It is tempting to do this if numbers are low in order to point this speaker at the seats at the back of this section. However, please do not angle this speaker towards the other wall, as the system has been designed to give maximum quality sound coverage using 'fixed' speaker positions/angles. The far speaker should be angled the same as the C6 nearest to the stage - and possibly even more down the concourse than the C6 nearest the stage. By turning the loudspeaker in too far, the result will be to increase the echo and reverburation, which we are trying to avoid with narrow dispersion loudspeakers, and to create same areas where the sound quality is poor. Instead please always set the speakers up facing more down the concourse than in towards the congregation. If you are unsure of the angle then let me know and I will be more than happy to show you. Occassionally, this will mean that the far coffee speaker will not be pointing at anyone (when numbers are low - or in the evening). This is absolutely fine and should not lead to turning the speaker in towards the congregation. There are ususally people worshiping with banners down at the far end of the concourse so this loudspeaker will provide them with sound. 8. At the Children's side the C690s should be placed as close together as possible and next to the OHP screen. They should not be separated with one speaker beside the OHP screen and the other beside the pillar. It is too loud for those on the front row with a speaker next to the pillar. 9. Please leave the speaker brackets attached to the loudspeakers which will save the fiddly job of tightening/undoing four bolts on each loudspeaker. Unfortunately, the cases could not be made big enough to fit loudspeakers with a complete bracket attached to each speaker into the cases. However, it is possible to remove part of the bracket such that the loudspeakers with the remaining part of the bracket will 'just' fit into the cases. Remove part of each bracket by undoing the bolts on the side which stop the loudspeakers rotating when they are on the stands. IMPORTANT: Please put the bolts and the washers in the corner of the cases after the loudspeakers have been placed in the cases when storing the speakers. If we loose any of these bolts we will not be able to set up the speakers the following week. When storing the speakers in cases, you will need to press the lid down slightly to shut it properly. This is OK as there it is just thick foam being compressed when pressure is applied to the lid. 10. When re-attaching the brackets during setup please be sure to tighten the bolts properly before attempting to lift the speakers onto the stands. If you don't you may find that your hand gets injured when the speaker starts to rotate as you lift the speaker. 11.When wiring the loudspeakers please be aware that each loudspeaker has a specific amp that it must be attached to. In other words you cannot just connect any loudspeaker to any amp as we did with the previous system. I think most of you are aware of this and know how to wire things up... if you are unsure please ask someone who knows what to do before attempting to wire the speakers up. 12. The inputs should be wired such that the "bass" signal is on channel 23 and the "tops" signal is on channel 24. There is labelling at the main mixing desk end to indicate this. At the Amp Rack end, connect channel 23 to MIX L and channel 24 to MIX R. 13. In order to switch the E-PAC amps on and off you should use the power mutes which are the buttons which are lit with a green light on the front of the amps. DO NOT switch the amps off using the switch on the back of the amps - we will leave these switches at ON all the time. When the mute lights are flashing this means the power has been muted. When the lights are constantly on this means the power is on and the amp is live. Simply press the button to toggle from one state to another ( e.g. power muted to power on and vice-versa). The usual rules for switching amps on and off apply to muting/unmuting the power on the E-PAC amps. Only unmute the power on an amp (i.e. switch the power on) once everything else in the system has been switched on. Always mute the power on the amps (i.e. switch the power off) before switching anything else off or disconnecting a loudspeaker. Cables When coiling cables (especially multicore cables) please do not drag the connectors across the floor as over time this may loosen the internal solder connections causing horrible intermittent faults. Lights Please remember that it is the Morning PA teams responsibility to set the lights up. If there are any problems with the lights please can the team leaders let someone (Lesley or me I guess) know in the morning so there is not a last minute panic in the evening. Safety Always have two people to lift heavy items (mixing desk, loudspeakers, base amp etc). Bill Thompson has noticed folks occasionally cutting corners and asked me to remind everyone of this. In addition, I have a handout from Bill to pass to each of you covering things such as lifting etc. If I don't manage to get one to you please come and ask me for one. Other Items 1. Please always switch all the phantom power off when taking the system down so that those setting up the system the following week will need to explicitly switch the power on. ONLY SWITCH PHANTOM POWER ON once the items using phantom power are connected. Before switching the mixing desks on please ensure that all Phantom power is OFF. We need phantom power for the following items: a. DI Boxes b. The Kick drum Mic c. The new O/H condensor mics used for the drums or the violin. There are two of these mics. 2. When micing the drum kit use the kick drum mic, an SM57 for the snare and one Over Head mic (you do not need to use 2 Over Head mics - but you can if you want to experiment). Thanks Again Kenny |
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