want to hook up a generator in my truck bed for music

DangerBoy2

Ok. so what is needed to make music available in the back of my truck bed.. not mobile audio, but kind of, sort of.

so I have a parade next year and I want to know what I need to have speakers, amp and what else so that everyone watching the parade can hear the music playing.

the source would probably be a cell phone.. that makes sense.. but how does that hook up to a PA amp, and what kind of PA amp could I borrow? what about PA speakers? and generator to power it all??

thanks, AL

ken brydson

I would think the noise from the generator would distract from the tunes Al. No place to run an extension cord from?

CoolJazz

Generators can work fine to power a rack of gear. However, always check in advance to make sure they sound ok. Some put out enough noise in the AC to not be much good. As in buzz over the audio. Overrate the generator by at least about 30-40% over what the amps you're using say you need. Like the sticker on the back next to the line cord that talks to power draw....not the output wattage rating of the amp.

Music stored on a phone can work ok as long as you check in advance and make sure the audio levels are good into the amp. A CD player can work good as long as you pay attention to vibration causing the deck to skip. You must use some variety of a preamp normally, to get an amp driven correctly. Then you need a PA style of amp as to make enough level outside will use a pretty fair amount of power on a continuous basis.

Also, the point angle of speakers becomes very important outside. Depending on what you are doing, you may want at least two pair, one pointed a little more forward and the other pair pointing back some. Outside, swallows up sound. So power and point angle becomes important.

Most two way style PA speakers will work, but tend to sound bass shy outside. A separate sub to fill in can really help that, but again, means continuous power from an amplifier and from the generator.

CJ

tonyb

If your moving, that means a gas powered generator and those can be very noisy. At the very least, look into some that run more quiet....and have decent juice at lower idles. Most generators need you to keep them at higher throttle to get the juice you may need.

ZLTFUL

Larger power inverter, professional class D amplifier with volume/gain control and a set of high efficiency pro/PA speaker enclosures. And you're done. You can plug your headphone out into the amp via a headphone to RCA cable and you don't have to deal with the noise or smell of a generator.

tonyb

Dang, you got it. Forgot all about those nifty little power inverters.