Tradeshows, electronics, and dirty power - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Pack34
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2018, 03:00:27 pm
content: There always seem to be some "squirrelly" issues when sending a volume of product to a tradeshow. Everything could be tested and working well for months but when everything is setup, some of the product tends to not work properly. The issues are typically instruments dropping out of device manager. Software restarts, etc.Setup has 15 laptops with the equivalent number of instruments always running. Typically a desktop or two.Because I can't even power 15 laptops in my cube without the computers malfunctioning, I have a suspicion that this is power related. The mains source can't supply enough and being at a tradeshow I'm guessing that the power is inconsistent.Is it probable that the power budget and mains quality at tradeshows could cause odd issues like these?

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2018, 03:13:59 pm
content: You aren't giving enough technical info at all. I've exhibited and attended at CES in Vegas, and believe me, there is no problem with the available 120v and 240v banks we purchase for each booth. (We purchase by amperage and voltage outlets) The the lighting and huge led displays, racks of media servers and PC to drive said displays, even just 1x professional 5kw video projector at these booths make powering 15 x 50 watt laptops look like a drop in the bucket. And all of it works.Laptops shouldn't fail with dirty power anyways. You would have to really send spikes the likes of which you get during a non-stop lightning storm with continuous strikes on the outdoor power-lines non-stop.Is all your hardware and wiring, devices, and power supplies properly fully certified?Are you staying away from cheap Chinese USB cables, com ports IC and unshielded cables?I've had USB problems in the past, but, it wasn't dirty power, it was cheap cables + WiFi. The WiFi would make it through the cheap USB extension cables and disrupt 2 of my motherboard USB2.0 ports, even damaging 1. Turning off my neighbours WiFirouter, or, getting a better cable fixed the problem.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2018, 05:14:52 pm
content: Basically what BrianHG said--I seriously doubt that the mains power is the source of the issue. That said, the actual quality of the distribution work can depend on the tradeshow. I've exhibited at shows where many booths get hundreds of amps, and while waiting for our empty freight after the show watched the hall electricians load out crate after crate after crate of feeder cables and distribution equipment--the distribution work is serious business and not taken lightly. At a smaller show in a lower profile venue, the work may be a bit more ad-hoc and prone to problems, especially if the staff there are more accustomed to only powering a laptop or two at each booth. Even so, I wouldn't expect that to be the cause of the issues you're seeing.The point about the RF environment is a good one, at big shows there can be so many devices on so many different networks that the environment gets really challenging. In the past we've brought a hotspot for use during setup, but by the time the show starts it's usually become completely useless due to the amount of competing RF in the room. (I'll grant that the radio in the hotspot is also a bit crap, but it does work fine in the first day or two of setup.)