SOP: Running a mobile sound setup

This SOP is not thin. There is no technical counterpart in erudeon/passtheyear/docs/ because none of this is software. It is physical equipment, and this page is the only correct version.

Purpose

Put amplified music into a space we do not control, reliably, with one person carrying the gear. The process exists so that a Flow event does not depend on the venue having a PA, and so that somebody who has never touched DJ equipment can set the rig up correctly, alone, in the dark.

Scope

Covers the portable rig: controller, laptop, battery speaker, power, and the cameras that record the night.

Covers parks, private spaces, squats, and venues with no house sound.

Does not cover a venue that provides its own PA and engineer. In that case only the output stage of this document applies, and the sound engineer owns everything past the cable.

Does not cover the music itself, the licence position, or the permit. Outdoor amplified sound in Rotterdam can require a permit, and that is a separate question answered before the event is announced, not on the day.

The kit

Three tiers, cumulative. Tier 0 is the only one that must never be forgotten.

Tier 0, minimum viable. Controller in its own box, laptop with the library stored offline, the dedicated USB-C cable, two identical RCA to 3.5 mm cables, closed-back headphones, the battery speaker, a folding table of at least 80 cm usable width, a tablecloth, and gaffer tape.

Two RCA to 3.5 mm cables and not one. A cable is the most likely thing in this rig to fail, and the spare is what turns a dead event into a thirty second pause.

Tier 1, a normal event. Adds the portable power station and its 100 W USB-C cable, a microphone, one phone on a tripod as a locked-off camera, a power bank for that phone, a headlamp, earplugs, and a dry bag.

The power station is what removes the time limit. Without it the ceiling is roughly three hours, because the laptop is carrying both its own load and the controller's.

Tier 2, a long or dark night. Adds lights, a second camera angle, an action camera on a tether, a spare speaker battery, a second speaker, and a mains extension for venues that turn out to have a socket.

RACI

Step	Responsible	Accountable	Consulted	Informed
Pack and charge	Operator	Dima	—	—
Set up	Operator	Dima	Helper	—
Run the set	Operator	Dima	—	—
Tear down and count	Helper	Dima	—	—

Operator is whoever is playing. Helper is optional and is given exactly three jobs, listed under step 6.

Process flow

event confirmed -> charge the night before -> set up in order -> soundcheck
  -> run the set -> stop recordings -> tear down in reverse -> count everything in

Steps

1. Charge everything, the night before

Who: Operator
When: the evening before, never the morning of
How: every battery in the kit to full, and every camera phone cleared of storage. Confirm the music library is analysed and stored offline rather than streamed.
Output: a kit that will survive the night without a wall socket

A phone that stops recording because it filled up is the most common way we lose the footage, and it is entirely preventable the night before.

2. Place the furniture and the speaker

Who: Operator
When: on arrival
How: table first, levelled, cloth on. Speaker pointed at the crowd rather than at the operator, and not aimed straight into a wall. Leave the speaker switched off with its volume at zero.
Output: a stable surface and a speaker that cannot make a noise yet

3. Connect the controller and prove it works before the speaker is involved

Who: Operator
When: before any audio cable is plugged into the speaker
How: controller onto the table and strapped so it cannot slide. Laptop beside it. USB-C from the controller to the laptop, which both carries the audio and powers the controller. Power station into the laptop. Open the DJ software, confirm its audio output device is the controller and not the laptop's own speakers, then cue a track and confirm you can hear it in the headphones.
Output: proof that the laptop and controller are working, established before the speaker can embarrass anybody

This step is the one that saves the most time. Almost every "there is no sound" panic is diagnosed here in ten seconds, because the headphones tell you which half of the chain is at fault.

4. Connect the speaker, and only then power it up

Who: Operator
When: after step 3 has passed
How: audio out of the controller's master output into the speaker's line input, every plug pushed fully home. Controller master level to roughly 80 %, channel fader up, crossfader centred. Now switch the speaker on, with its volume still at zero, and raise the speaker volume slowly until the level suits the space.
Output: sound in the room, at a level set by the speaker rather than by overdriving the controller

The speaker is the last thing switched on and the first thing switched off. Connecting or disconnecting audio while a speaker is live sends a thump through it, and that is how speakers die.

5. Tape down, then start the cameras

Who: Operator, or Helper
When: before the first guest arrives
How: tape every cable anybody could walk over. Then frame the locked-off camera, put it on external power, and start it. Anything filming unattended must be on power before the take starts, not part-way through.
Output: a set nobody can trip over, and footage that will still be running in an hour

6. Run the set

Who: Operator
When: throughout
How: watch the controller's level meters, check the power station's remaining percentage every half hour, and confirm the locked-off camera is still recording. Nothing wet goes on the table, ever.
Output: the event

If a helper is present, give them three jobs and nothing vaguer: cables and tape, power and cameras, and the count at the end. Three named jobs beat a willing person with no brief.

7. Tear down in reverse, and count everything in

Who: Helper, checked by Operator
When: at the end
How: speaker volume to zero, speaker off, stop every recording, then unplug in the reverse of the order you built it. Coil cables loosely rather than around an elbow. Count every item against the kit list with a torch on before leaving.
Output: a complete kit back in the bag

Cables, dongles and phone mounts are what get left behind, and they are also the items that stop the next event happening.

Exceptions and edge cases

Situation	What to do
The venue has its own PA and an engineer	Hand them a balanced output from the controller and stop there. Their desk, their levels, their responsibility
The venue turns out to have a mains socket	Use it, and keep the power station charged as the backup rather than the primary
Rain	Kill power first, then cover the controller. Never cover a powered deck
The set runs longer than planned	The speaker's own battery is usually the real ceiling, not the power station. Ask about a spare before agreeing to the extension
Two speakers are needed	The controller has a second independent output with its own level control, so no splitter is required. Remember that turning the master down does not turn that second speaker down
Somebody asks for it louder and it already sounds harsh	That is distortion, not quietness. Turn the controller down and the speaker up
A cable starts crackling mid-set	Swap it for the identical spare. Do not spend the set diagnosing it
Sound stops entirely	Stop following this document and open the runbook. It is written for exactly that moment
The event is outdoors and amplified	Confirm the permit position before announcing, not on the day

Metrics

Metric	Target	How measured
Setup time	15 minutes in daylight, 30 in the dark	Timed at the event
Silence during a set	Under 60 seconds, any cause	Noticed and recorded afterwards
Items lost per event	Zero	The count at teardown
Events limited by power	Zero	Did anything run out before the end

../runbooks/no-sound-at-an-event.md — what to do when the room goes quiet
templates/sop.md — the shape this document follows