How to store your audio guides

A tidy reception area radiates calm and organisation. It is also pleasant for your staff and it extends the life of your equipment. In this article we give tips for storing and charging your audio guides when they are not in use.

Use them by day, charge them at night

Orpheo audio guides do not need to sit in the charger all day. In fact, Orpheo recommends using them during the day and charging them at night. That does have consequences for the programming: take a good look at the settings for automatic switch-off and for what the guide does when it is taken out of the charger. You can easily set this up in GuideXpresse Manager.

If you would still rather leave the guides in the chargers during the day, put the chargers on a single switch. That way you can turn them all on or off in one go.

Think of your back

Do not place the chargers too low. Even when it is quiet, it is annoying to keep having to bend down to take an audio guide out of the charger or put it back. You also keep less of an overview of the status of the devices. Below you can see a beautiful but rather low storage system at Mont Saint-Michel.

Store audio guides upright

Storing them upright has big advantages. The audio guides are easy to grab and the rack gathers less dust. They also dissipate their heat better. Audio guides often have a lanyard. When stored horizontally, that cord usually lies on top of the device, causing it to get too warm while charging. That is bad for the battery.

In the photo above, the yellow lanyards bearing the venue's logo hang neatly in front of the audio guides. Much tidier than when they lie on top of the devices like spaghetti. The rack is also at a comfortable working height. With this many audio guides, the distribution wall is an essential part of the design of the entrance hall: not something you simply put on a table in a corner.

Colourful storage

It does not have much to do with charging, but did you know the audio guides are available in any RAL colour? They come in dark blue as standard, but for a small surcharge you can have them in your own house colour. In the rack, that makes for a striking sight.

Automatic distribution

Do you welcome a lot of visitors? Then you can also automate handing out and taking back the guides. Read how that works in Handing out audio guides automatically with the Orpheo M-Box. And don't forget the headphones: they deserve a place of their own too, as described in Which headphones suit your attraction?

Conclusion

• Better for your staff: no back problems and more job satisfaction.
• More order, calm and a professional appearance.
• Better for the audio guides: they do not get too warm.
• And it simply looks better!