Topic: JB3 overheating???

[chrisdavis]

so my jb3 shut down during the encore in cola.  i had an empty HD, and a three bars of battery.  it was very hot and the jb3 was sealed in the bag, sitting on top of the dvd battery for the ua5.  so, thoughts?  anybody else encountered issues with heat and the jb3?  im doing rothbury this summer, and im wonderin if this will be an issue...

[flipp]

Several years ago there were numerous reports here on TS of JB3s overheating. You can use search for more details but iirc generally folks recommended not having it sit on a battery or other device that produces heat, don't keep it in an enclosed space and don't leave it in direct sunlight. If in daylight cover the JB3 with a towel, t-shirt or some other white/light colored cloth. I never had a problem with any of mine overheating but I also took the faceplate and battery compartment cover off so there would be just a little more ventilation for the JB3 and I never ran it in a bag, always set it on top of the bag or some other surface (tabletop, chair, etc.).

[spreadheadtom]

yep...I remember one of the Bonnarro's everyone was having problems with them overheating. They need to vent.

[kskreider]

Very, very common.  At Rockygrass a couple of years ago we made a shade tent and kept the JB3 on the cool grass to keep it from overheating.  I have had them overheat in everything from a Tamrac camera bag to a zipped fleece jacket pocket.

[rowjimmytour]

Last year at HSMF 106 degrees my NJB3 overheated and I missed some good music. I removed the face plate after it had happen before and used umbrellas for shade. I bought a little computer fan and added a power cord to prevent over heat but did not bring it last year to HSMF. I agree w/ all above specially keeping it out in the open to breath but under shade but some times this is not enough because it happen at the Vaudeville tent also.
Peace

[Brian Skalinder]

Outside, I <a> ran my JB3 in the shade (small umbrella to cover my gear bag), <b> used external power (the batteries themselves get warm), and <c> kept the battery door off to provide some ventilation.

[Humbug]

Just realised that I haven't taped with either of my JB3s for around a year..mostly because I was using them for taping off FM, and I moved house, losing the signal...

Great little (!) recorders though.

The original one used to overheat while stored in it's pleather case in a leather jacket. Once I figured this out it's been fine, sometimes I used to hand hold it at gigs to give it ventilation.

The second machine has never overheated..mind you we don't have the temperatures some of you guys do here in the UK.

[NOLAfishwater]

yep...I remember one of the Bonnarro's everyone was having problems with them overheating. They need to vent.

I second that. Have heard of some cooling their gear bag during the summer using those soft ice packs with a light cloth wrapped around them to absorb moisture.

[crackmc]

i used to have a JB3 rig...it overheated the first time i ran it outdoors (back in 2003). after that i covered it with a terrycloth towel and  it never happened again. 

[bhtoque]

I hooked an old cpu fan to a 9v rc car battery to keep my jb3 cool and it worked like a champ during festi duty.

JAson

[newscane]

My JB3 shut down just before the encore at DMB in Tampa in 2006.  I went on TS the next day and found a good solution: take off the battery cover & faceplate (as others have mentioned).  I also had it wedged in between the UA5 and the side of the bag... that kept in the heat.  At WPB two days later, I took off the covers, and put it on top of the other equipment.  I also bought a cheap battery-powered fan (with the propeller-like blades), which I would run over it every so often to cool things down.