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[Mike Spitzer]

I'm one of the few people I know who loves portable churches.

1. Good cases are not an option. LM Cases, Road Ready, PCI, etc. They all make good cases that hold up well, as far as I've seen. I've been in portable churches where they try the cheap, somewhat flimsy cases to store things and they always crush at some point and something gets broken. That gets expensive and you don't want to find broken equipment at 7 o'clock Sunday morning. If your budget is real tight, I've also used some Stanley cases. They have large wheel and pull-out handles. They hold up pretty well, too, but I wouldn't put a mixer in one. =) If you fight for nothing else come budget time, fight for this.

2. Figure out where everything is going to go and get it labelled. On each box/case, put a digram of the room it goes in and where it should be placed. That way, even somebody who's showing up to help the first time can get it to the right place the first time without needing to stop somebody else.

3. Also, organize the boxes and label them. The same equipment goes into the same box the same way every week. You don't want to be hunting for cables and connectors when you're already limited on time.

4. FOH cases hold FOH equipment. Stage boxes hold stage equipment. When they mix, even if labelled properly, your setup takes longer as people walk back and forth for things.

5. Wheels. Everything should either have wheels built in or available. That could mean dollies and furniture carts. Whichever it is, protect your workers' backs.

6. Label. Label. Label. Cables should be marked in some way to show length. Some people use color coding; some use masking tape and the number. Whatever works for you. Input sheets should be provided each week for stage snakes and mixers. The more people can do without consulting the "tech guy" the more efficient your setup will be and the easier it'll be to plug in new people.

I may think of more, but those are definitely the big ones for me.

[Eric Cole]

The trailer from PCI arrived last week and Saturday was the unpacking and for the most part everything went well.  PCI did a good job providing a package that the other FOH engineer and I had up in running in under 30 min.   

Here are some of the things I did like;

-Everything came labeled and the rack was dressed in velco. 
-Cases were labeled as what was in each case.
-Everything fits in the trailer
-For the most part all the equipment provide was very good.
-PCI took the experience of the churches other portable campus and applied it to the new Lane Ave campus. 

Things I did not like:

-PCI did not provide any spares.   Saturday was the first time setting everything up and someone borrowed an IEC cable that was needed for the mains
-Every Extension cord was 50 ft long, small thing but when you are trying to keep stages neat it bugs me. 
-There were a couple of pieces of equipment were skimped on for budgetary reasons when cuts could have been made elsewhere, like using Shure SLX instead of ULX.  (I was recruited after the final contract was signed)
-The mic cables PCI provided felt cheap, had horizon ends and did not coil well
-I did not expect tour grade cases but the large 6 foot cases PCI provides feel flimsy to me, and they are hard to see around.  With some other cases lids will only fit in one direction. 

Overall I think things will work well for Audio, we have a good set up for the space with a Soundcraft LX7 for FOH, JBL PRX612M and PRX618S for mains and Avioms for monitors.  The biggest challenge is going to be teaching musicians how to properly wire the stage and how to over-under cables.  We are blessed with a push of less than 100ft from the trailer to the sanctuary. 

[Jordan Wolf]

Things I did not like:

-PCI did not provide any spares.   Saturday was the first time setting everything up and someone borrowed an IEC cable that was needed for the mains

Fortunately, those are fairly easy to come by.  It would be prudent to have spares available, though...shame on them.

-Every Extension cord was 50 ft long, small thing but when you are trying to keep stages neat it bugs me.

I can see how that would be a tad irksome, but I'd rather have the length (and appropriate gauge) cable than too short.
 

-There were a couple of pieces of equipment were skimped on for budgetary reasons when cuts could have been made elsewhere, like using Shure SLX instead of ULX.  (I was recruited after the final contract was signed)

That's not necessarily the company's fault.  Next time, hopefully you'll have more of a say in what does/does not get included.

-The mic cables PCI provided felt cheap, had horizon ends and did not coil well

Yeah, cheap cables are often the cause of much frustration and aggravation for me, too.  They annoying to fix, use, and coil.
 

-I did not expect tour grade cases but the large 6 foot cases PCI provides feel flimsy to me, and they are hard to see around.  With some other cases lids will only fit in one direction.

Well, if they hold up to the abuse they're given, then I don't think it will matter.  I'll typically try to look over the cases, rather than through them. 

The biggest challenge is going to be teaching musicians how to properly wire the stage and how to over-under cables.  We are blessed with a push of less than 100ft from the trailer to the sanctuary.

If those are the biggest problems you have, that's great!  After that's all taken care of, you can focus on other things.

[ProSoundWeb Community]