Karaoke Forums

I worry about my stuff....It is winter here in Montana and I do bring in my player but leave most the rest of the stuff in the cold....the garage isnt much warmer...so Does it harm the stuff to leave it int he cold as long as you let it acclimate to room temp before firing it up?

NEVER!!!! Not just the cold but possible theft, damage from other drivers, trees falling, anything!

I like my gear in the same place as me! If one goes, so does the other!

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Imagine!

From a security point, I don't recommend leaving any equipment in a vehicle overnight, unless parked inside a locked garage. It can get pretty cold here as well. I haven't had any problems, but you must be sure to allow for the gear and music to thaw out prior to use. The first thing I do is open up my rack and cd cases when I start to set up. Any other equipment you have in cases/tubs (players, TV, lights..) should also be brought out asap. I will also crank the heat in the back of the van on the way to a gig to begin that process.

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Sounds Great! Entertainment
Bartlett, Illinois

As long as you acclimatize the gear you should have no problem make sure it is dry after the condensation. As for leaving it on a vehicle, unless you have an alarm, GPS etc, no. A secure place in a building which is alarmed should be ok. Is it guaranteed, no, nothing is guaranteed.

the problem We have had is... all the gear does go through fatigue from cold to warm. and hot to cold.. especially CD DVD media.. Players too.. LAZERS & Lazer eyes especially!!! I definately Recommend Not Leaving Media out in the EXTREME heat or Cold. I just had a CDG crack on me today due to the cold.. and get this it wasn't that cold.. (35 degrees...F)
we have lost 2 machines in the last year...due to not keeping the lazer eyes out of the heat in the machines while in the racks. (in the truck) in temps above 100 degrees F. and during the summer in arizona.. Yes the trucks inside reach more than 145+ F. and we keep them in a climate controlled shop in between shows. but outdoors in between locations the heat builds quickly. Especially if you have to travel 30 miles on the interstate or more. Now we don't load the trucks til the last minute and set up real early.. or as early as possible. so the machines go through as few tempurature changes as possible.


hope this helps..

Just between you and me and the wall, I leave my equipment locked in my van in the garage.

On show dates, I usually set up early in the day so that the equipment has plenty of time to acclimate itself. I have also got into the habit of running a lens cleaner before every show just to be safe. Especially because of the smoke present in some bars.

I've never had a system fail because of the weather (knock wood) and I live on Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, where it gets as cold as anywhere else. Heck, on some days we don't even have a high temperature!

I figure that with regard to theft, (not really an issue where I live anyway) if some scumbag WERE to steal my gear, either the vehicle insurance or the home insurance should cover it. Hmmm...maybe I'd better talk to my agent just to be sure...

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Spreading the karaoke gospel

NEVER leave your equipment in a vehicle!!!!!! I did that one time because of ease & lost it all by theft! I figured I lived in a pretty safe area, but was wrong!!!! Cold don't have a good effect on it either!!!

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Ron will back this up...

Some local KJ.. I will NOT mention his name.. to protect the guy's stupidity.. after his show.. had all his (don't exactly know how many songs he had but that's trivial right now) originals but the estimates between local KJ's was around $20,000.00 to $22.000.00 (MSRP + Shipping & taxes) in media stolen from his car at a singles club after one of his shows that very night. Needless to say he showed up with duplicates of the media the next week. To our best belief he has replaced the whole loss and totally recovered in less than a year. I find that incredible.. but his insurance failed to cover it.

I lost my entire Pioneer DVD series in one fellow's binder. I've STILL not been able to replace them all. Many are impossible to find!

I can back Brian up on that one. I know the guy.

My wife gets miffed at me sometimes, when on the way home from a show with all the gear in the back of my El Camino (with a camper shell), I refuse to stop at one of the all night restaurants for a bite to eat. I tell her if we're gonna do that, I'll take the gear home first, then go out to eat, but I'm not stopping with the gear in the truck. She usually says forget it, but I stand firm on that one - It's just not worth the chance.

Going back to original topic - I sometimes leave my gear in the locked garage, usually spring and fall. But in the heat of summer and cold of winter, I bring it into the house where there's much more climate control. I just have to think the extreme heat and cold can't do any good for speakers, lens', discs, etc.

GOod news to hear.....I think tho that I will begin removing things and not stopping at Denny's with Equipment on board...better safe than sorry