How do you secure your equipment?

[LeAnn B]

We do not have a sound/video room per se, meaning that we're just located at the back of the sanctuary, out in the open. I'm slowly aquiring more equipment and I have no way to secure it. I take my laptop home with me every week but I just can't haul all the equipment home every time. The sound board is in locked cabinets but my things are vulnerable to whoever walks past. I own the equipment, not the church, so I'm assuming if something did get stolen it wouldn't be covered by their insurance. What would you suggest that I do to keep my equipment secure?

[kbob]

What are you trying to secure? If any of it is rackable, then get a rackmount case, put it on wheels, and make them lock it up in a secure place.

[techie2k4]

Hmmm.... I'm in a similar scenario as you are. What I do is simply disconnect the equipment, bag-em and lock em in a cabinet. (Sometimes depending on freqency of use for the week I'd just pull the h/ware and leave the cabling) Would reallllllly love to have a room but it ain't gonna happen anytime soon, so!

[Carl Godsoe]

I have everything (including computers) mounted in one of these: http://www.middleatlantic.com/specs/96_154PTRK.pdf .It's lockable if need be, and it can be mounted on wheels and rolled into a secure place like K-BOB suggests.

If you're talking about equipment like power amps and other rack effects than yeah, you're best bet is to put it all in rack units with locking doors on casters or wheels and either lock 'em up every day or lock 'em up and move them to a locked room. That's kind of a pain to move all the time especially if theres a lot. Maybe just lock them up and don't put them on wheels so it'll be harder for someone else to move the unit.

[WilliamR]

Originally Posted by leenie

I own the equipment, not the church, so I'm assuming if something did get stolen it wouldn't be covered by their insurance. What would you suggest that I do to keep my equipment secure?

Under normal insurance, your items would NOT be covered. However, get the person in charge of the insurance at your church to have an endorsement added for "Personal Property of Others" (sometimes called a PPO endorsement). We carrry a $15,000 personal property of others endorsement on our policy for the very reason I often have a lot of electronics in the building, the pastor has some expensive study books in his office, etc.

The personal property endorsement will be really cheap. I think it adds something like $100 a year to a $7,000 a year policy premium, with a $500 deductible.

Originally Posted by leenie

We do not have a sound/video room per se, meaning that we're just located at the back of the sanctuary, out in the open. I'm slowly aquiring more equipment and I have no way to secure it. I take my laptop home with me every week but I just can't haul all the equipment home every time. The sound board is in locked cabinets but my things are vulnerable to whoever walks past. I own the equipment, not the church, so I'm assuming if something did get stolen it wouldn't be covered by their insurance. What would you suggest that I do to keep my equipment secure?

go to wal-mart or your favorite super center, find a standing safe about 5 foot tall, for 75 bucks or so, lag bolt it to the wall and floor in your office/central area, repeat as required

we dropped our deductable to 150 bucks on a 50k policy by doing this, and it is a seperate rider for insurance in most states, and a premium to boot

also make sure you have 3 copies if your serial/description list just in case, i also use a lellow UV pen to mark all the items we have

[NGRRFan]

My attitude towards this subject is.... I don't leave my personal equipment at church!

I have "loaned" my equipment to the church for special events, but after using it I take it home. If it's needed again then they (the church) need to purchase it.

[WilliamR]

Originally Posted by NGRRFan

My attitude towards this subject is.... I don't leave my personal equipment at church!

I have "loaned" my equipment to the church for special events, but after using it I take it home. If it's needed again then they (the church) need to purchase it.

Many of us are at smaller churches were there is not a budget to purchase everything that is needed.

Because I own a small advertising agency, many of the items I take to church are far superior in quality (and cost!) compared to what the church could afford. Media is my ministry, and I give the Lord the best I can. If that means using my equipment from time to time, that's the way I feel it should be done so I can do my best.

[NGRRFan]

William I do understand what you are saying, and I know all about small budgets and making ends meet.

My point is that the church needs to either provide a secure location for personal equipment, or purchse the equipment even if they have to work it into next years budget somehow.

Some of my equipment is superior to what our church is willing to spend to purchase it, but if it was stolen then neither I or they would have the use of it and I just can't take that chance. It's part of my income so I remove it from the church after using it. Besides, it removes the temptation for someone else, less qualified, to try to use it and damage it.

If we're talking about a hammer.... then I can afford to lose a hammer. If we're talking about computer or A/V equipment then that's a different subject and I still say "If you can't afford to lose it or don't want it damaged then take it home." The alternative is to purchase a locking cabinet and lock it all up and hope that it stays there.

[Charlie Brown]

For a lot of the cabling in our church it was becoming a problem (mic cables) of people needing a mic cable, disconnecting one from off of the stage, and then it never making it back there and we only find out about it during preservice rehearsal that something is not right. What our sound guy did was just get a bunch of pad locks, and locked the cables in bunches so that you would have to take the end off of a cable in order to free it. It was a cheap and easy way of securing the stuff, and now we know it should work come Sunday. I know it is a different situation than the gear, but just making it "difficult" for someone to take a piece of gear might be all that is needed. They need to make a "CLUB" for a computer monitor.

[Carl Godsoe]

Originally Posted by Charlie Brown

...They need to make a "CLUB" for a computer monitor.

That only happened to me once. The "club" I used was to get that someone's attention when my monitor went missing. It hasn't happened again.