Karaoke Forums

Doing a wedding on Saturday outside at the BEACH ( under roof ). Weather is forecasted to be 97 degrees and HUMID. What is the best way to keep a LAPTOP cool.

I've used those COOLING PADS in the past where the laptop just sits on a fan.
or is it better just to get a small FAN and have it blow at the laptop ?

I guess I'll have to cool the amp with a fan also ? --

Just make sure you have good air flow. 97 degrees is still much cooler than the internal CPU temp. Once thing you should do is take some compressed air and blow out ALL the airways. The fan, fins, etc. Just removing the years of dust from the cooling fins will improve heat transfer efficiency much more than any outboard device....yet people never do it.

As for the amp, does it have internal fans? If so the same applies. If not, a fan to keep the air moving will definitely help.

The most important thing for me at hot outdoor gigs is keeping ME cool! A little EZup tent helps tremendously when the client want's you in the backyard in full sun.

The average ambient temperature range for most laptops is 50 - 95°F. Making sure your heatsink fins, fan blades and airways are clear is a great idea, but even then, you're still too hot. Better to be safe than sorry, so I'd use highest CFM cooling pad you can find and a desk fan blowing across it too. Also, get in the shade, as Bazza suggests.

The humidity is a problem you can't really do much about and which could cause problems for the laptop. Maybe take a spare if you have one.

Avoid any active cooling, such as anything with a peltier cooler, as the humidity will condense on it.

Um this part might be obvious, but keep it out of the sun as well. The idea of an easy-up or a tent is a good one. If that's not possible, at least find a way to cover the laptop to keep it out of direct sunlight. This not only help keep it cooler but also make it easier to see the display. I used to host pig wrestling around this time of year and I had the same issues you're referring to. The first few years I had no cover so I used my rack case covers as a shade over the laptop, worked out really nicely. The other thing I did was used a blower fan like this one to help keep extra air flow going: http://www.acehardware.com/product/inde ... Id=1747223

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Thanks for the suggestions -- The room is covered but OPEN on all sides

I'll defintaley blow out the fans on the laptops ( yes I'll have 2 just in case)

They tell me the venue has overhead fans but they don't do much for the equipment. I'll have to buy a small desk top fan I guess and a cooling pad as I plan to keep BOTH LAPTOPS running just in case. I don't want any down time at the wedding if something freezes up .... good idea or bad to keep both laptops running ????

The reception starts at 5:30 so I'm guessing about 2 hours of real SUN before it starts to go down

nice place to host .... http://www.seagullsnestweddings.com/Nes ... hotos.html

I have a cooling pad that runs from the usb, and when I used it, my computer didn't run too well with the extra draw......so, I use a fan from an ac outlet....

If you have a hot standby, it will get hot too - how about keeping it in standby mode instead? That will give you very little downtime.

At 97 degrees and east coast humidity I wouldnt worry about the laptop overheating as I would myself. Take a fan(for you) and drink plenty of water. My biggest problem at my last outdoor gig(other than heat) was being able to see my computer monitor. Even under a tent with tarps on two sides it was really bright outside and the glare gave me fits. I ended up taking the side of a cardboard box and placing it next to the screen just so I sheild the sunlight. Good luck Jam.

Mojo

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"It looks just like a Telefunken U47 !"

I DJed a wedding reception about 1 month ago. The temp was 92degrees with abut 85% humidity. I had no problems keeping tings cool. My laptop setup is mounted in a briefcase with 2 old pwrsupply fans blowing up keeping extra air moving.

If I where you just get a small desk fan and keep the air moving if you dan already have any auxiliary fans.

And like others said drink GALLONS of water. The caterer tried charging $1 per bottle of water, so I hand the wife run to the local grocery and bought 2 cases for ourselves. There were 10 bottles left at the end of the nite.

It got much butter after the sun when down too!