Terminal Heat
Years ago, I was the top contact for Point-of-Sale support for a high-end hotel chain in the US.
One day, I got a call from our San Diego location. They were setting up six bar terminals for a Comic-Con event that evening, and all of them kept randomly shutting down and restarting.
I was a bit mystified because it was happening randomly to each terminal (as opposed to all at once). At one point, their on-site tech mentioned that it was kind of hard to read the screen, but I didn’t think much of it.
Everything looked fine from a network perspective until the machines would indeed randomly restart after ten to fifteen minutes. Very unusual behavior, and it wasn’t affecting any of the twenty-ish other identical terminals at the hotel.
After speaking with the on-site tech for about forty-five minutes, he reveals some key information while making chit-chat.
On Site Tech: “Man, it’s so hot out here.”
Me: “…Wait, are you outside?”
On Site Tech: “Yeah, I think they said it was the hottest it’s ever been this time of year.”
Me: “Okay. And these terminals are all outside?”
On Site Tech: “Yep.”
Me: “Are they in direct sunlight?”
On Site Tech: “Uh huh.”
Me: “On the hottest day on record… Um, I think I’ve figured out what is going on. Set up some umbrellas over the terminals, and let’s hope there’s no permanent damage.”
