Performing outside - iPad overheating and screen viewing solutions

[skipper01]

I am playing outside again next week and it’s gonna be about 30degrees.
It’s a 3 hour gig.
I use an iPad for some lyrics/chords reference plus triggering some backing tracks and sending midi program change within an app for what I do.
I know from experience the iPad will shut itself down when it gets too hot.
My only solution idea in regard the heat issue is to get another freestanding fan to point and place right besides the iPad which I hope is enough to keep cool enough to be useable?
The other issue is being able to see the screen due to the glare. I don’t know if there any solutions on that front.
I was also gonna gonna get and bring a large beach style umbrellas but suspect this won’t help the glare that much….

Just wondered if anybody could advise?

[The Elf]

When you're up against problems as you describe it's a good idea to re-think from the ground up, rather than trying to nail solutions onto what you already have.

For chords and lyrics I'd use a piece of paper. For the rest I'd allocate some keys on the bottom/top of the keyboard for sample triggers, and I'd have a button or two on my master keyboard allocated to the patch changes.

You may have good reasons why one or all of the above may not work in your particular situation, but at least it may start you thinking of other solutions.

[skipper01]

Hi, thanks for this. It’s kinda tricky as I use the ipad for more than just reading the music and is a central point for the technical and artistic aspect of what I do.
Moreover, I don’t know what music I’m going to be playing given the audience age and tastes will vary and may get requests.
Not having the ipad will just move the problems around and create other issues that affect the ability to do the gig.
I’d rather look at all options in use with the ipad to retain the ipad first and then look at other options if I absolutely have too in this scenario/context of gig.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Put the iPad in a box shaped to provide a hood to remove glare, and strap a couple of freezer blocks on the back of it!

[Ian Evans]

I had similar problems recently using an iPad to mix a band in bright sunlight on a hot day (30+ C).

Overheating wasn't helped by the white iPad being in a black rubberised cover. Once this was taken off I had no more trouble.

The app I was using to mix (Mixing Station) has a display setting called Solar Bright which has very high contrast. With this applied and the screen brightness turned right up I could read it OK. Can you do anything with display settings on your lyric/chords software?

[resistorman]

The fan might help, plus maybe some kind of shade on the music stand putting the iPad in a shallow "box"? My wife had the same issue recently, but she usually isn't seated in the direct sun in the middle of summer!

[skipper01]

Thanks again for these further thoughts/suggestions.
Yes, it is kept in a black rubber protection cover which I’ll take off next time. It is on the music rest of a stage piano obviously facing me vertically in terms of position which makes things a little challenging re glare potential box solutions and even cooling solutions built in.
I’ll try the fan as close as I can get it and re the glare have a think about a box with the position it occupies.

[resistorman]

Since my wife is often in remote sites on battery, I was looking for small low voltage squirrel cage fans:

https://www.amazon.com/Wathai-Brushless ... JC9NT&th=1

[skipper01]

Also, surely it can’t be great for the other kit itself to be used in these conditions and circumstances….?
I appreciate the active Pa speakers I use have got built in fans which may help a bit but the black stage piano and mixer the other day felt very hot obviously too.
I don’t know at what point these could be damaged as well?

[resistorman]

Also, surely it can’t be great for the other kit itself to be used in these conditions and circumstances….?

Exactly, my wife plays Celtic harp, but it was a short wedding ceremony on top of a mountain, so she thought it would be OK. She's now writing shade (so to speak) into her contracts, the string trios she plays with already have it in. You might consider this, or buy a pop-up.

Back in the day in the tropics, I'd sometimes put reflective foil on exposed amps and consoles.

[shufflebeat]

I have a white gazebo in the shed which sometimes (not often) gets dropped into the car when good/bad weather threatens.

Otherwise - laptop cooling fans designed to sit under the laptop and run off USB could be run from a power bank. Some of them are very small.

[Stratman57]

I've used both SKUBB and DRÖNA storage boxes from IKEA as sunshades for tablets and laptops. There is a zip down the back which holds them in shape and which is very convenient for running cables in and out.

Regards, Simon.

[skipper01]

Thanks for all the replies.
Out of interest and slightly off topic - what happens at ie large or medium outdoor festivals that may be subject to extreme weather in terms of heat?
Do they always bring/use cooling for ie stage conditioning and amp racks, mixing areas etc?
Surely any electronic equipment operating for some time at around ie 30degrees isn’t sustainable if just left…?

[MarkOne]

Keep direct sunlight off it with a shade of some kind and then something like this?

[Drew Stephenson]

Actually I'd be surprised if any electrical equipment misbehaved below about 50. Instruments, yes, but electricals? Wouldn't have thought so.

[Mike Stranks]

Obviously I'm not a performer, but I quickly learnt that for summer gigs - even in the UK - a gazebo was essential.

Way back, I sometimes placed radio-mic receivers onstage in full sunlight. (These were Audio-Technica) I had all sorts of problems, which research showed were directly temperature related. I subsequently devised ways to keep them shaded, and sometimes ventilated.

Black, active, speakers on sticks in full sunlight often caused the fans to run flat-out throughout the gig. They never shut down, but sometimes by the end the backplates/heatsinks were incredibly hot.

But as it was the UK, rain was always a far bigger problem than sun!

[shufflebeat]

I've used both SKUBB and DRÖNA storage boxes from IKEA as sunshades for tablets and laptops. There is a zip down the back which holds them in shape and which is very convenient for running cables in and out.

Regards, Simon.

Genius.

[Wonks]

Actually I'd be surprised if any electrical equipment misbehaved below about 50. Instruments, yes, but electricals? Wouldn't have thought so.

But in direct strong sunlight, anything plastic or metal will easily get over 50°C, so shade is important. Even after 10 minutes or so, it’s easy for the outside at least to get that hot, and with powered electronics inside putting out heat, it’s going to be even warmer inside.

Batteries in phones and tablets will also drain quicker when hot. They don’t like cold but they also don’t like it hot.

[The Elf]

On our record hottest day a couple of weeks ago, my iPhone was sitting on the (open top) car seat next to me (plugged into CarPlay - I don't use the phone itself while driving!), and it gave me an exclamatory error message saying that the phone was too hot and would not respond again until it had cooled.

I'm guessing that the iPad has similar protection, so you really don't want to end up in that situation!

[skipper01]

The iPad overheated at the weekend at a wedding outside just as the bride was walking in and I was playing a piece! Luckily I knew the piece anyway.
I reckon it was about 25 degrees and the iPad had been on and left for about an hour.
It did have a black cover on it.
I tested today in similar weather without the cover and a large fan close to the iPad and it was ok for hours.
I really don’t feel good at all though about the piano and other kit for long periods in this heat and potentially worse heat…!