PA Guide

Trivia Mafia Public Address System (PA) Guide

Thanks for becoming a custodian or other user of a PA! They are incredibly handy for our business, and we hope that it is simple for you to take advantage of having it for trivia. We use the Fender Passport Event PAs. Trivia Mafia owns the equipment, and our customer pays a small extra fee to have us bring it to run trivia. Thank you for taking care of the equipment.

Here’s how the whole contraption looks when it’s all buckled together – the middle part is the sound board and the outside parts are the speakers. The mic and all of the cords are in a compartment in the back of the sound board. There’s also a black bag with the speaker stands, which are pretty standard.

Steps to set it up: (YouTube video here)

1. Set up speaker stands 

1. They should be about, um, armpit height or so.

2. There is a screw for the feet - loosen and push down to open them up. You don’t want a tripping hazard, but you do want the feet at least a foot away from each other (i.e. about a 1.5’ diameter). 

3. There is a screw mid-pole to raise it up - loosen and bring up to where the last hole is, then put the pin (a 3” metal peg, usually affixed to the stand by a cord) through the bottom hole. The pin should be just above the juncture where the top pole slides into the base of the stand. Then tighten that screw.  

2. Put speakers up - the holes on the bottom just go on top of the stand pole.

3. Plug cords in

1. One end of the mic cord (XLR cable) goes into the mic; the other end plugs in where the orange arrow is pointing (line 1)

2. The “normal” end of the aux cord goes into your computer/phone/dongle; the other end(s) go where the yellow arrow is pointing (the last line in, 6/7 typically). Alternately, you can press the Bluetooth button (cyan arrow) and, while it is blinking, connect to it on your device (usually identified as Fender Passport XXXX).

3. The power cord plugs into the back of the sound board

4. One end of each speaker cord plugs into the front of a speaker (red arrows); the other end plugs into the back of the sound board 

4. Adjust sound settings

1. The dials in the pink boxes are the only ones you’ll need – you can fiddle with them until you find the way you like it. Note that there is a volume knob in each line in AND a big master volume up top. 

2. Good usual mic settings: Reverb all the way to zero or it sounds echo-y. Treble a little under half way, Bass a little over half way to prevent sounding shrill (depends on the acoustics of the place)

3. Good usual music settings: Reverb all the way to zero; Treble and Bass pretty much in the middle (but again, your call!)

5. Take down

1. Coil cords up neatly; put all four cords and the mic back into the back of the sound board

2. Take down speakers and hook them back onto the sound board

3. Take down speaker stands and place them back into the bag

Pay attention to the thermostat:

This Public Address system is an astoundingly reliable and hardworking sound equipment set, but it also has a tender side. Don't let the hard plastic shell fool you - these are sensitive electronic machines. Extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) can cause issues, so keep this in mind as we head into the solstice months. Brett has read the manual and spoken with Fender customer service about how extreme temperatures impact the devices because RESEARCH. 

If temperatures get too extreme, the voltage going through a cold or hot unit will cause it to go into PROTECT MODE. The PA does this because too much voltage is going through and a circuit is not complete; rather than overload it and potentially short the whole unit, it shuts down the overloaded area. There is not a lot you can do about this immediately, which could delay your ability to start trivia on time. The PA needs to warm up (or cool down) and be able to pass the electricity through its designed path. 

Shut the unit off, and unplug everything: power cord, speaker wires, microphone, aux cord. Leave it unplugged and wait about five minutes. Even if it is off and unplugged, it still holds the voltage in it for a little while. Then, start over plugging things in one at a time, beginning with the power cord to check if it will power on.  

Please treat your Passport PA like the high tech/expensive piece of machinery it is! Bring it in out of your car (if you can) when you're not using it, and give it time to warm up if it's cold, or to cool down if it’s hot. Then you can carry on hosting a super dope trivia show like usual.