Gear crapped out 2x at gig,heat?

[6Tones]

Outdoor gig this past weekend,temp was around the high 80s-90.
2nd set my pedalboard craps out..so I go direct into the amp..3rd set starts out fine then happens again ..so back direct to amp.

I have no Fuzzes on my board and my cables are fine.
I just thought though my new overdrive has a Germanium diode in it (vox ice9 overdrive)
Is that the same sorta transistor thats in Germanium fuzzes? Think it was the heat?
It was either that pedal or the Cmatmods Butah ,those were the only 2 pedals in the chain besides a Poltuner.

[Hwoltage]

It was most likely the heat. I imagine even a silicone transistor could shut down if it got hot enough. The germanium diode could have been the culprit, especially if it regulates the power supply. Under a heat stress it will become more and more inefficient or just completely unstable in how it operates until the pedal just doesn't have environment needed to function. The transistors could possibly respond the same way.

[JimmyR]

Was it an outdoor gig? Was the power mains or from a generator?

[StompBoxBlues]

Maybe a little more detail on what you mean by "crapped out"?

No sound, some sound but static, etc.?

[Mancunion]

Heat can affect the way a certain unit sounds. Germanium fuzzes may sound different from day to day due to the temperature (hey... I live in Italy and the heat during summer is unforgiving on people and gear).
There are other factors to consider though, such as the consistency of the power supplied to the stage, ground loops etc. but also random factors like people walking on your power/signal cables...d'oh

[6Tones]

Originally Posted by StompBoxBlues

Maybe a little more detail on what you mean by "crapped out"?

No sound, some sound but static, etc.?

It was intermittent on off for a second..
There was no shade and Ive played there in hotter days with different pedals with not problems..power was from the mains, so Im thinking the heat got to the Ice9 OD(Germ diode) or the Cmat Butah(darkpaint job lol)
Everything worked fine when I got home.

[meterman]

Originally Posted by 6Tones

...Everything worked fine when I got home.

[Ronsonic]

Like meterman sez, standard intermittent BS issues that afflict all constructations of electronical componentry.

More seriously, there are so many things there that can go wrong intermittently I'd start there before worrying about whether a germanium diode went south. There isn't any recent history on that. They appear to be as stable as any other electronic component, typical datasheet on germ diodes give an operational temperature range of -50 to +75 degrees Celsius. I'm pretty sure it didn't get hotter than that.

[JoeB63]

I really doubt it was the heat. Anecdotally, I play outdoors in Texas when the temp is around 100 degree (more often than I'd like to admit) and I've never had any equipment issues due to that.

Most electronic gear heats up in normal use -- they are designed to operate hot. Not sure if that applies to pedal, but I can't see why a pedal would stop working at 90 degrees ambient temp.

Could be a power issue --- did you have a digital pedal in line that perhaps wasn't getting enough power? That could be bad. Could be a cabling issue.

[The_Wretched]

Originally Posted by meterman

I'm going with his answer because it't the most plausible..

[neville5000]

If your Ice9 is true-bypass it should still pass signal when off even if the germ transistor got too hot. I had a fuzz crap out on me after a few minutes in the sun at an outdoor gig; I just didn't use it and my signal was fine. It could be a power related issue as others have suggested.

[Hugo Da Rosa]

Still need some more info.

Your entire rig died on you or did one non-TB pedal die and kill the entire signal?
Did you check the patches? Did any of those short out while the lights on your effects were still on?
Did you check your instrument cables? Did any of those go out?
Power supply? Are you using something like a One-Spot to power too many pedals that need more power than it contains?
Are you using batteries? Did any of those give out?

[6Tones]

Originally Posted by Hugo Da Rosa

Still need some more info.

Your entire rig died on you or did one non-TB pedal die and kill the entire signal?
Did you check the patches? Did any of those short out while the lights on your effects were still on?
Did you check your instrument cables? Did any of those go out?
Power supply? Are you using something like a One-Spot to power too many pedals that need more power than it contains?
Are you using batteries? Did any of those give out?

Im thinking it was the vox ice9 which overheated (germanium and non TB)
The Cables ,VLab powersupply all were ok.

[vbf]

If your power was from a generator I'd suspect that before heat. I've played outdoor gigs in 100+ heat and it didn't effect my pedals. However, the ungrounded generator caused all sorts of problems noise wise....very bad for electronic gear in general. Lesson learned: power conditioners!!!

[Ronsonic]

The bypass circuitry was not germanium even if there is a germanium transistor in there. It wasn't the heat. Not in that way. If the power supply was marginal and finally overheated and engaged some protection circuit, I'll buy that. But modern pedals are not going to die out there.