$6K of procurement and two platform migrations, without an IT department

Procurement

Audio-visual hardware lasts roughly eight years before reliability problems start showing up mid-event, which in live work means failing in front of everyone. That window, not the budget cycle, drove the replacement timing.

• Wireless microphone replacement (~$3–4K). The existing units were past their reliable life. I standardized on the manufacturer already used at the other two sites, which made spares interchangeable and support simpler across the organization.
• In-ear monitor upgrade (~$1.5K). Replaced aging systems that were causing rehearsal and event problems.
• Mobile sound booth (~$1.5K). Designed and built a rolling cart to replace a deteriorating built-in booth, driven by a smaller console and a real constraint: closet storage space at a setup-and-teardown site. Woodworking and electrical work included.

Approval was straightforward because the budget already existed and the spending decisions inside it were mine. To be clear about the limits: these were list-price purchases, not negotiated contracts. What transfers is the evaluation, the decision to standardize, and the timing — not large-scale vendor negotiation.

Migrations

I moved two sites from hardware consoles to software control. That kind of change fails on adoption rather than on technology, so most of the work was the adoption half: programming the new setup, writing documentation, and training volunteers who hadn't signed up to learn new software.