Gigs in Hotter Temps with the FM3 post 4.0 update?

S

scott.frank.b

Inspired
I know I won't be alone in using my FM3 for gigs this summer, but one thing I'm curious about is that I haven't played a gig since I updated my FM3 to Cygnus. I did the beta 5 update which seems to have gotten most of the bugs out that I was most concerned about but the fan issue that crept up in one of the earlier iterations has me a little concerned for some of my upcoming shows. I don't want my FM3 to overheat during my gigs, because my band plays 4 hour sets and we're playing a few during the middle of the day and lately, it's been more than 90 degrees F (32 C) where I live. Some of the places I'm playing I might not get much for shade, so I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar situation arise yet since the update or has tried to gig yet in similar circumstances?
 
I played last Thursday with 4.something or other. Hotter than h#ll. FM worked great.
 
Had it running in my attic at 32C for 4 hours last sunday and no sweat.
The only KO I ever had with FAS axe fx2 was in 2017 42C at the start of a gig early evening on 21st of june music fest here. Had to restart it 2 times put a fan close to the rack and luckily temp got down a bit after.

Maybe try to protect your FM3 from direct sunlight and all will go well. Or buy one of these small vent fans and have the air flow directed on the fm3 ?
 
I'm in Las Vegas...have an outdoor gig on July 4th. The temp will be over 110 degrees Fahrenheit outside. We will be under a canopy...but man it's gonna be hot.
Not sure if I should use my FM3 or drag out my real tube amp (since it's used to being hot anyway).
 
I just played a gig outside yesterday and it was pretty hot (about 85 degrees) and I was not able to be shaded for the entire gig. I tried to cover up my FM3 as best as I could for our 4 hour set. It ended up freezing on me during my 3rd set so I had to reboot it but that corrected it. I wasn't thinking and I left it on. Next gig, I'm definitely turning it off between sets.
 
I have done four outdoor gigs now with the FM3 and 4.0.

1st gig, Bremerton WA private party: 85 degree direct sun. During afternoon soundcheck FM3 froze with the main screen off except for a vertical white band, mini LCDs totally wonky. All fine after a reboot and we got people to set up some umbrellas over the stage for shade. When I rebooted I checked the CPU temp and I believe it was at 66 C. Powered off after soundcheck and back on for the gig, no problems.

2nd, in Salt Lake City: 95 degrees with a road case to shade FM3 and a fan blowing on it: no issues. There was also a decent breeze. Powered off after soundcheck and on for the gig just to be sure, all good.

3rd, Kent WA: Shaded stage, temps in the 70s - no problems.

4th, private party Grapeview WA yesterday: 78-ish degrees under a small umbrella for shade, all was good. No breeze at all despite being close to the water (Puget sound.) When I checked CPU temps it was 59-60C but dropped to 54-55 after I was given a fan. But during the gig, I experienced a footswitch freeze. Sound was on and control panel worked, just lost footswitch functionality so couldn't change scenes with feet. Quick reboot at the end of a song and was back up without even my bandmates noticing. Fine the rest of the gig.

Note to self: BRING A DANG FAN to every outdoor gig. Note to event organizers: provide some dang shade for the band on stage. I actually bought an umbrella to put over my MacBook which runs my keys rig, and with a fan controller app that keeps its internal fan running on high RPM, had no issues with that.

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Played on top of a 2 story building in downtown Houston yesterday. Has a retractable glass roof so it’s basically like playing in a greenhouse. Had the FM3 on from 12:30pm to 8pm. Forgot to turn it off after soundcheck. No issues.
 
You’d be surprised how much covering it with a large white terry dish towel when not playing helps. That black finish just sucks in sunlight. The towel helped a lot with my AX8. We used to carry larger ones to shade amp racks that couldn’t be out of the sunlight. Any electronic device is going to have a temperature limit, so it’s best to keep it as cool/shaded as you can manage.
 
I like Rick's idea of white dish towels. I have played about six-seven outdoor gigs this summer already in MN, with temps in the 90's, mostly sunny and high humidity. My unit has run flawlessly and I expect things to be fine the rest of the summer. I have had issues with the sun and LCD displays. I've used the top of my board case to shield the sun from the screen. I'm still searching for hood type system to use????
 
Ive been using it for 2 gigs a week (outdoors), for all of May and July. Been playing under tents so direct sunlight hasn’t been an issue however it has seen some crazy hot temps 85F to 95F and super high humidity / rain. Got it disgustingly dirty and haven’t had a single issue.
 
Watch U2 playing on a rooftop in L.A.. The amplifiers are covered by what looks like Mylar Space Blankets, which would nicely reflect the sun’s heat. They’re cheap and, if cut to size and holes poked through for the switches and cut out for the displays, would seem like they’d work well.

 
Admin M@ said:
That will depend on environmental factors. In my cool basement office, it's sitting at around 127°F 54°C sitting on industrial carpeting.
Click to expand...
Ok, Yesterday I had temps of over 200*F in my air conditioned house and it was at idle! I turned it off and waited 5 minutes turned it back on and it sat at 154*F for the next hour. I have a ticket to support and am communicating with Mark at the time of this post working on a communication issue with FM3 Edit and my computer. I did mention in the email that the fan runs right after boot up.
 
Be sure that your fan ports are clear and not blocked. (The underside of the FM3 has a small fan port.) Either lateral side of the FM3 has ventilation ports.

If your FM3 resides on the floor, make sure it is up off thick carpet that could block the port underneath. Be sure there is adequate space either side of the FM3.

Think of it in this manner: Your car has a grill and radiator. The air flows through the grill and the radiator fan forces air through the radiator that cools the engine. Blocking air flow compromises the car's ability to cool the engine. Never was there a song like Boston's heard before?

I think you understand the illustration.
 
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