Off the Rails Episode 146: One watt per pound

Sep 30

Written By AVSF

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Recorded September 25, 2026

This week, the future of AV service apparently involves things falling from the sky. AVI-SPL is partnering with Matternet to deliver critical equipment and replacement parts to technicians by drone, which naturally has us wondering exactly how big a DSP, projector lens, or ancient 45-pound amplifier you can sling underneath one of these things. What could possibly go wrong?

Then we dig into what’s actually in our toolboxes, job boxes, go bags, and assorted piles of AV junk. From basic hand tools to HDMI testers, test generators, Dante headphone amps, and other troubleshooting gadgets, what should technicians carry themselves, what should the shop provide, and what do you really need when something isn’t working and you need to figure out why?

Finally, USB-C… the universal connector that somehow made everything less universal. The same little oval might give you video, audio, data, Ethernet, power, some combination of those, or basically just HDMI wearing a USB-C costume. If manufacturers aren’t going to support everything, fine. Just tell us what the port actually does. Maybe we need stickers. Maybe a feature matrix. Maybe a little USB-C pain scale. At this point, anything would help.

News: https://www.avinteractive.com/news/business/avi-spl-and-matternet-partner-on-autonomous-drone-delivery-for-mission-critical-service-logistics-16-09-2026/

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