# School Sponsorship



## NikolasR (Sep 25, 2016)

Hello,

I do lighting and sound at my high school (student). Our school can not really afford to fund new mixers, etc. Everything we have is at least 10 years old, we have some new mics, but they were purchased before I came to this school and are very bad quality. We are trying to apply for some grants from local foundations, but if that does not work out, how would we go around asking companies for sponsorships? 

Sorry if this is the wrong section.


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## ruinexplorer (Sep 25, 2016)

There are times that companies offer gear to a school through a special program, but you will be facing some stiff competition. There are tons of schools that are vying for new toys. Check out your local power company to see if there are grants for "power saving" lights, which might get you some newer instruments. If you are in a city, you might look to rental/staging companies that you might be able to get some of their older equipment at a substantial discount or donation. They may have older gear that no longer suits their needs, but surpasses your own.

Honestly, local sponsorships will be the best way to get new equipment, if it is truly needed. With it being 10+ years old, you actually might not be in that bad of shape. There are plenty of schools working with much older gear. You may be able to convince the powers that be to fund new equipment once it reaches 20 years, but these types of capital purchases will be difficult to get passed.


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## Footer (Sep 26, 2016)

NikolasR said:


> Hello,
> 
> I do lighting and sound at my high school (student). Our school can not really afford to fund new mixers, etc. Everything we have is at least 10 years old, we have some new mics, but they were purchased before I came to this school and are very bad quality.



10 years! Thats new for most people around here. I run a road house with dimmers that are going on 40 years! Any conventional lighting gear made in the last 10-15 years is still relevant. With the exception LED's and the smattering of moving lights not much changed in theatre lighting world after about 1995. We are in a period of very fast change that started a few years ago and this time period could be one of the worst to do a massive investment. 

What gear do you have now? At your level it is going to be very hard to hit the point where the equipment will be standing in your way. Tell us what you have and we'll help you use it to its fullest.


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## NikolasR (Sep 27, 2016)

Footer said:


> 10 years! Thats new for most people around here. I run a road house with dimmers that are going on 40 years! Any conventional lighting gear made in the last 10-15 years is still relevant. With the exception LED's and the smattering of moving lights not much changed in theatre lighting world after about 1995. We are in a period of very fast change that started a few years ago and this time period could be one of the worst to do a massive investment.
> 
> What gear do you have now? At your level it is going to be very hard to hit the point where the equipment will be standing in your way. Tell us what you have and we'll help you use it to its fullest.



Talking more on the sound side. We have lots of lighting equipment older than 10 years that runs amazing. Our mixer occasionally shuts off, and mics are of poor quality, for example randomly running out of power even with fresh batteries. That's the only thing we are looking to replace everything else we have is running fine.


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## Footer (Sep 27, 2016)

NikolasR said:


> Talking more on the sound side. We have lots of lighting equipment older than 10 years that runs amazing. Our mixer occasionally shuts off, and mics are of poor quality, for example randomly running out of power even with fresh batteries. That's the only thing we are looking to replace everything else we have is running fine.



What brand/models?


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## NikolasR (Sep 30, 2016)

Footer said:


> What brand/models?



Sorry for late response. I don't know what model the mixer is, but I'm pretty sure it's a Sony mixer, I'll check in a few hours. The microphone receiver is a Shure UC, it also gets lots of interference, possibly from phones?


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## Footer (Sep 30, 2016)

NikolasR said:


> The microphone receiver is a Shure UC, it also gets lots of interference, possibly from phones?



Send us the exact model of your UC unit. I believe all of the UC stuff operated in the 700mhz spectrum which is now off limits for use. So, yes, you are getting a ton of interference. You are actually causing interference on cell networks with that gear and could get massively fined. You might be able to use the channels above 806mhz, but someone else who tracked this closer can chime in on that. Either way, don't turn that gear on again until you know what frequencies if any you can actually use.


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