Help choose a PA system

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Walldiver7

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Hello! We're a relatively new club that has grown to the point that we need a PA system. I would rather it be a 12v system, but... if the quality isn't there, we're prepared to go 120v. Keeping it small and simple is our goal at this point. I'm thinking horn type speakers with a small amplifier, but I confess, I know very little when it comes to PA systems. Help please! Thanks.
 
Hello! We're a relatively new club that has grown to the point that we need a PA system. I would rather it be a 12v system, but... if the quality isn't there, we're prepared to go 120v. Keeping it small and simple is our goal at this point. I'm thinking horn type speakers with a small amplifier, but I confess, I know very little when it comes to PA systems. Help please! Thanks.

Big question is; how much do you have to spend? This is the main criteria. This is a 110 volt system and would last a club for years. I'm not sure but I don't believe it is pole ready but pole stands and mounting hardware is easily added. These would sit on either end of a table pointing in opposite directions and give good coverage. Should run easily on a good converter.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/phonic-powerpod-410-s710-pa-package#productDetail
 
Big question is; how much do you have to spend? This is the main criteria. This is a 110 volt system and would last a club for years. I'm not sure but I don't believe it is pole ready but pole stands and mounting hardware is easily added. These would sit on either end of a table pointing in opposite directions and give good coverage. Should run easily on a good converter.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/phonic-powerpod-410-s710-pa-package#productDetail


Something under $300 would be good. What you've suggested looks very good, providing these speakers can be pole mounted. Have any idea how big of an inverter I'd need to run this system?
 
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Something under $300 would be good. What you've suggested looks very good, providing these speakers can be pole mounted. Have any idea how big of an inverter I'd need to run this system?


Well, you say you're prepared to go 120 volts, whatcha got? ;) The supplied specs say 80 watts but that's horsehockey. It can draw more than that.... I'd say at least 3x what they say so a 300 watt continuous inverter would be able to handle the power draw. I wouldn't try to mike up an entire Heavy Metal band with it but as a PA "engineer" I'd say it would do the job. An all horn setup would sound "honky" and have a tendency to feedback. The 10" speaker with a piezo horn will give the announcer a more natural sound and if you want to play music between racks then that would sound much better.


https://www.musiciansfriend.com/acc...b9760b-exterior-mounting-bracket?rNtt=speaker mounting sockets&index=7 You would need 2 of these. There is a link in the ad to other mounts. They require a hole to mount the socket in but in my opinion it wouldn't be needed as the weight of the speaker is very low. The socket-type would hold up to a cabinet with 15" speakers.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/proline-lst2bk-speaker-stand-pair

What I am showing you here is all new stuff with guarantees unlike used eBay stuff and comes in under $300 with free shipping. I have dealt with these guys for years without a problem. They ship fast, nearly as fast as the legendary SEMROC shipping times ;)
 
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I would suggest going to a local music store and see what they have in a small PA. You can probably even find something used.
 
eRockets is developing a system that uses handheld radios and a speaker system that runs off 12 volt batteries. We use the prototype at our club launch and it works very well. And since everything runs off batteries there are no wires for people to trip over. The wireless thing is a big deal when running an event where you have a lot of little kids and/or people new to rocketry at your launch. Being wireless allows you to place the speakers where you want and have the radio(s) where you want. The system supports more than one radio so you could have multiple people at different locations on your field using the speakers to notify the crowd of issues or events. The system is not up on the eRockets site yet, but Randy said that they are working on a few enhancements to the prototype so look for it soon.
 
eRockets is developing a system that uses handheld radios and a speaker system that runs off 12 volt batteries. We use the prototype at our club launch and it works very well. And since everything runs off batteries there are no wires for people to trip over. The wireless thing is a big deal when running an event where you have a lot of little kids and/or people new to rocketry at your launch. Being wireless allows you to place the speakers where you want and have the radio(s) where you want. The system supports more than one radio so you could have multiple people at different locations on your field using the speakers to notify the crowd of issues or events. The system is not up on the eRockets site yet, but Randy said that they are working on a few enhancements to the prototype so look for it soon.


Got a cost projection for that? Cheap handheld wireless mikes break very easily. Mid prices wireless mikes break easily. Expensive handheld mikes and receivers would drive the price out of range. I like to see what would be used. It's the sound tech in me asking ;)
 
Well, you say you're prepared to go 120 volts, whatcha got? ;) The supplied specs say 80 watts but that's horsehockey. It can draw more than that.... I'd say at least 3x what they say so a 300 watt continuous inverter would be able to handle the power draw. I wouldn't try to mike up an entire Heavy Metal band with it but as a PA "engineer" I'd say it would do the job. An all horn setup would sound "honky" and have a tendency to feedback. The 10" speaker with a piezo horn will give the announcer a more natural sound and if you want to play music between racks then that would sound much better.


https://www.musiciansfriend.com/acc...b9760b-exterior-mounting-bracket?rNtt=speaker mounting sockets&index=7 You would need 2 of these. There is a link in the ad to other mounts. They require a hole to mount the socket in but in my opinion it wouldn't be needed as the weight of the speaker is very low. The socket-type would hold up to a cabinet with 15" speakers.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/proline-lst2bk-speaker-stand-pair

What I am showing you here is all new stuff with guarantees unlike used eBay stuff and comes in under $300 with free shipping. I have dealt with these guys for years without a problem. They ship fast, nearly as fast as the legendary SEMROC shipping times ;)

Good! I already own a 700w (continuous) inverter.. so that would work for the mixer/amp you suggested. Next question, would I need a line level converter (not sure if I'm calling it by it's correct name?) if I wanted to feed the audio of a handheld (FRS radio) radio into one of the mic inputs on this mixer? I'm planning on having our launch crew on one frequency, with the PA system accessible on another freq.... so that anyone of us can change over to the PA freq. to make an immediate announcement to spectators if the need arises.
Thanks for the recommendations!!
 
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Good! I already own a 700w (continuous) inverter.. so that would work for the mixer/amp you suggested. Next question, would I need a line level converter (not sure if I'm calling it by it's correct name?) if I wanted to feed the audio of a handheld (FRS radio) radio into one of the mic inputs on this mixer? I'm planning on having our launch crew on one frequency, with the PA system accessible on another freq.... so that anyone of us can change over to the PA freq. to make an immediate announcement to spectators if the need arises.
Thanks for the recommendations!!

I would say no. That's the advantage of having several line inputs with their own volume controls. Just feed whatever into it's own channel at it's own volume. 4 inputs plus a line level input plus powered outs and a line level out makes for plenty of options. The line level out could be used to power a low level FM transmitter that cars could pick up on their radios if they are so far away the mains just don't carry. I will say when walking down a line of cars tuned into such a system the natural delays make thing sound...interesting ;)

A Nady Wireless Mike could work out for you. Despite my warning Nady has been making wireless product for a long time now and the low-cost versions can stand up to a good degree of abuse...I wouldn't drop one off a cliff or nothing but if you take normal care of it it should last a long time.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/han...s-systems/nady-dkw-3-handheld-wireless-system
 
I would say no. That's the advantage of having several line inputs with their own volume controls. Just feed whatever into it's own channel at it's own volume. 4 inputs plus a line level input plus powered outs and a line level out makes for plenty of options. The line level out could be used to power a low level FM transmitter that cars could pick up on their radios if they are so far away the mains just don't carry. I will say when walking down a line of cars tuned into such a system the natural delays make thing sound...interesting ;)

A Nady Wireless Mike could work out for you. Despite my warning Nady has been making wireless product for a long time now and the low-cost versions can stand up to a good degree of abuse...I wouldn't drop one off a cliff or nothing but if you take normal care of it it should last a long time.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/han...s-systems/nady-dkw-3-handheld-wireless-system

Ha!... hadn't thought of using a "QRP" (ham radio nomenclature for very low power) FM transmitter for car reception! Good idea. If you have a source for such an FM transmitter, please respond about that. For now, if the FRS radios will work with the mix/amp, I'll forego the wireless mic. Dave, Thanks a bunch for all your input!

Nevermind, Dave,... Amazon.com has Many options regarding FM transmitters!
 
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Got a cost projection for that? Cheap handheld wireless mikes break very easily. Mid prices wireless mikes break easily. Expensive handheld mikes and receivers would drive the price out of range. I like to see what would be used. It's the sound tech in me asking ;)

I'll ask Randy if he has a price point yet. I'll see him shortly as he is hosting a Boy Scout rocket launch today and I will be helping out. I swear the man eats, sleeps and breathes rockets.

The system uses handheld radios, us old guys used to call them walkie talkies. He told people to bring their own when we first tested the system and as long as you could tune it to the right frequency it worked.
 
I'll ask Randy if he has a price point yet. I'll see him shortly as he is hosting a Boy Scout rocket launch today and I will be helping out. I swear the man eats, sleeps and breathes rockets.

The system uses handheld radios, us old guys used to call them walkie talkies. He told people to bring their own when we first tested the system and as long as you could tune it to the right frequency it worked.

This is a cool idea and exactly what I'm trying to create using traditional audio amp equipment. If the audio of the FRS radio is compatible with this mixer/amp I just bought, I'm in good shape!
Thanks for commenting.
 
This is a cool idea and exactly what I'm trying to create using traditional audio amp equipment. If the audio of the FRS radio is compatible with this mixer/amp I just bought, I'm in good shape!
Thanks for commenting.


First thing you have to have is the walkie talkies ;)
 
The scout launch kept us pretty busy, so I only got a little info on the system. Randy plans on a price of about $250. That will include the speakers, a mounting plate to attach the speakers to the tripod, the tripod, the radio that plugs into the speakers and a tote for system storage and transport.

In other news Randy finalized the lease on the new building last week. Earlier this year eRockets was asked to vacate their current location as the landlord has plans for that space. The guy was fairly decent about it as he did not set a firm deadline and allowed Randy sufficient time to find a new location. So the big move takes place this week. The new location is only 5 minutes from the old location. For anyone who has visited eRockets in the last 6 months you saw how crowded the building was with all of the Semroc equipment and inventory that was moved in. The new location is over 2.5 times larger and I think will be a much better location for the business. The one downside is we can't walk out the door, cross the street and launch rockets as we have done numerous times at the old location.
 
I'm run a RC Boating club and while hosting races we burned out plenty of the the cheapo Radio Shack PA amps at $60-80 a piece. When they did work, wiring speakers were a PITA and we always suffered constant feedback problems. I talked to a friend who DJ's on the side and decided to invest in a Peavy PVi6500 for about $270. It does everything we need. It's 400 watts with six channels and has a built in MP3 player that accepts USB memory or SDHC Cards. It also has in input for Bluetooth and is not too big or heavy. We only use three channel's, one for music, one for a wired mic and one for a wireless mic. It has way more features than we need but it's reliable, powerful and gets the job done. I picked up speakers, stands and a wireless mic on ebay for half the cost of new. Peavy also make a PV 5300 which is a bit cheaper. It's 300 watts and lacks many of the extra features of the 6500 but might fit the bill for a club's needs.
 
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A couple of years ago, I made the wireless PA system in the pics. It's based on an inexpensive car radio and four inexpensive speakers (the speakers work much better than the horns by the way). This is based on a wireless FM transmitter, which is attenuated and might even be legal! The box is just particle board, and we now have these mounted on speaker stands so that they are off the ground. These are quite loud and two of them mean that everyone on our flight line can hear our annoucements clearly.

Roughly speaking, the FM thing was around $100 (although we had this donated to the club), and the modules were around $150 each (excluding the battery). You can make as many of these modules as you want, and there aren't any wires to trip over. This works out well for us because we don't have AC power (without running a generator) and our flight line is asymectric (all to one side of the LCO station). Running wires far enough was always a pain, and this approach has worked much better. The battery shown keeps the system running all day.

Jim

PA1.jpg

PA2.jpg

PA3.jpg
 
I'm run a RC Boating club and while hosting races we burned out plenty of the the cheapo Radio Shack PA amps at $60-80 a piece. When they did work, wiring speakers were a PITA and we always suffered constant feedback problems. I talked to a friend who DJ's on the side and decided to invest in a Peavy PVi6500 for about $270. It does everything we need. It's 400 watts with six channels and has a built in MP3 player that accepts USB memory or SDHC Cards. It also has in input for Bluetooth and is not too big or heavy. We only use three channel's, one for music, one for a wired mic and one for a wireless mic. It has way more features than we need but it's reliable, powerful and gets the job done. I picked up speakers, stands and a wireless mic on ebay for half the cost of new. Peavy also make a PV 5300 which is a bit cheaper. It's 300 watts and lacks many of the extra features of the 6500 but might fit the bill for a club's needs.

Mike, Thanks for your reporting your experiences. I will keep the Peavy amps in mind if we destroy this Phonic mixer/amp.
 
A couple of years ago, I made the wireless PA system in the pics. It's based on an inexpensive car radio and four inexpensive speakers (the speakers work much better than the horns by the way). This is based on a wireless FM transmitter, which is attenuated and might even be legal! The box is just particle board, and we now have these mounted on speaker stands so that they are off the ground. These are quite loud and two of them mean that everyone on our flight line can hear our annoucements clearly.

Roughly speaking, the FM thing was around $100 (although we had this donated to the club), and the modules were around $150 each (excluding the battery). You can make as many of these modules as you want, and there aren't any wires to trip over. This works out well for us because we don't have AC power (without running a generator) and our flight line is asymectric (all to one side of the LCO station). Running wires far enough was always a pain, and this approach has worked much better. The battery shown keeps the system running all day.

Jim

Jim....... So, you put a car radio, battery, and speakers into a box. Then you wire up an FM transmitter with a mic, power it up, and you've got a wireless PA system! Great idea! Thanks, also, for reporting that the speakers work better than the horns; I'll stay clear of them per your experiences.
 
Lots to consider :) Ask a question here and get tons of answers :) Not a bad thing when you consider not really having an idea for what to do, just that you need a system. All the options are good. Integrating multi ideas works, too. Like adding a low power FM setup. Something like that has many times been donated by a HAM nerd :D so you can always hope one comes along ;)
 
Lots to consider :) Ask a question here and get tons of answers :) Not a bad thing when you consider not really having an idea for what to do, just that you need a system. All the options are good. Integrating multi ideas works, too. Like adding a low power FM setup. Something like that has many times been donated by a HAM nerd :D so you can always hope one comes along ;)

I'm that ham nerd! ha! Our system will definitely have a broadcast band FM transmitter in it.... Our launch crew are, soon, going to be all hams; It's likely that we will use vhf/uhf handhelds radios as our "wireless" mic system.
 
I'm that ham nerd! ha! Our system will definitely have a broadcast band FM transmitter in it.... Our launch crew are, soon, going to be all hams; It's likely that we will use vhf/uhf handhelds radios as our "wireless" mic system.


...and the PA for the uninitiated...you can sell off the old stuff or loan out things that would work with the system. When all have hand held devices write up a story, we love that kind of stuff here :)
 
Big question is; how much do you have to spend? This is the main criteria. This is a 110 volt system and would last a club for years. I'm not sure but I don't believe it is pole ready but pole stands and mounting hardware is easily added. These would sit on either end of a table pointing in opposite directions and give good coverage. Should run easily on a good converter.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/phonic-powerpod-410-s710-pa-package#productDetail

Well, you say you're prepared to go 120 volts, whatcha got? ;) The supplied specs say 80 watts but that's horsehockey. It can draw more than that.... I'd say at least 3x what they say so a 300 watt continuous inverter would be able to handle the power draw. I wouldn't try to mike up an entire Heavy Metal band with it but as a PA "engineer" I'd say it would do the job. An all horn setup would sound "honky" and have a tendency to feedback. The 10" speaker with a piezo horn will give the announcer a more natural sound and if you want to play music between racks then that would sound much better.


https://www.musiciansfriend.com/acc...b9760b-exterior-mounting-bracket?rNtt=speaker mounting sockets&index=7 You would need 2 of these. There is a link in the ad to other mounts. They require a hole to mount the socket in but in my opinion it wouldn't be needed as the weight of the speaker is very low. The socket-type would hold up to a cabinet with 15" speakers.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/proline-lst2bk-speaker-stand-pair

What I am showing you here is all new stuff with guarantees unlike used eBay stuff and comes in under $300 with free shipping. I have dealt with these guys for years without a problem. They ship fast, nearly as fast as the legendary SEMROC shipping times ;)

This system and stands looks almost exactly like what we've been using at BattlePark for over 12 years. We use wired mics because the wireless ones just don't seem to last and we never seem to have new batteries when we need them. We used to run the PA with an inverter from the same battery that run the LPR pads, but the last few years we've been using a generator. The generator is mostly to power the coffee pot early in the day but we use it for the PA all day.
 
Dave Carver... Just wanted to report that your recommendation was spot on... this is perfect for our club application! It runs easily off of my 700watt inverter, handles the input of my vhf/uhf radio fine (although the ker-chunk of the squelch tail is way annoying.. so no sure if I will put this into use or not), and is plenty loud. This will serve us long into our future... Thanks! By the way, the speakers were pole-ready, and Music Friends allowed me to return the brackets and they paid the return shipping since they considered it a website error that the description of the speakers didn't state this.
 
Dave Carver... Just wanted to report that your recommendation was spot on... this is perfect for our club application! It runs easily off of my 700watt inverter, handles the input of my vhf/uhf radio fine (although the ker-chunk of the squelch tail is way annoying.. so no sure if I will put this into use or not), and is plenty loud. This will serve us long into our future... Thanks! By the way, the speakers were pole-ready, and Music Friends allowed me to return the brackets and they paid the return shipping since they considered it a website error that the description of the speakers didn't state this.

...heh, all those years running PA pays off....at least for Musician's Friend ;)
 
I just finished writing a very detailed report on our Club's PA system that is titled - "A High Quality, Expandable, Public Address (PA) System for Model Rocketry Clubs". The file is linked. The main objective of our PA system was -
To build a reliable PA system that would be clear and loud enough to be heard by people in the viewing area and also out in the launch field (Sound going out to all four directions.). The system should be easy to setup and store and be expandable to handle a small group to a large Club event. You can read the article to see what we designed and some lessons learned as we went through process.

Randy Regan
https://www.sevra.org
View attachment PA System article-a.pdf
 
Thanks, Randy. Very nicely detailed report; This will be very helpful to clubs going through the process of choosing a PA system.

I just finished writing a very detailed report on our Club's PA system that is titled - "A High Quality, Expandable, Public Address (PA) System for Model Rocketry Clubs". The file is linked. The main objective of our PA system was -
To build a reliable PA system that would be clear and loud enough to be heard by people in the viewing area and also out in the launch field (Sound going out to all four directions.). The system should be easy to setup and store and be expandable to handle a small group to a large Club event. You can read the article to see what we designed and some lessons learned as we went through process.

Randy Regan
https://www.sevra.org
View attachment 268517
 
I'm run a RC Boating club and while hosting races we burned out plenty of the the cheapo Radio Shack PA amps at $60-80 a piece. When they did work, wiring speakers were a PITA and we always suffered constant feedback problems. I talked to a friend who DJ's on the side and decided to invest in a Peavy PVi6500 for about $270. It does everything we need. It's 400 watts with six channels and has a built in MP3 player that accepts USB memory or SDHC Cards. It also has in input for Bluetooth and is not too big or heavy. We only use three channel's, one for music, one for a wired mic and one for a wireless mic. It has way more features than we need but it's reliable, powerful and gets the job done. I picked up speakers, stands and a wireless mic on ebay for half the cost of new. Peavy also make a PV 5300 which is a bit cheaper. It's 300 watts and lacks many of the extra features of the 6500 but might fit the bill for a club's needs.

Mike I have been looking at the i6500 as well. The unit is priced very fairly, but what is holding me back is the cost of a good quality small generator, one that gives clean AC. With the Honda 2000 being priced at almost $1000, that puts it beyond what I am willing to pay. We use that generator at two of the clubs I belong to. It is certainly a great generator, and very quiet, but again a little too pricey for my needs.
Greg
 
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