Topic: when to change battery in batbox

[DisturbedPyro]

so i taped a few shows last week. stupid me, i didnt check the first show after i taped it like i usually do. it was 3 shows in one week and i was busy with school so i just figured id wait til the end of the week and transfer them all off at once. im kicking myself for doing so because they all sounded horrible. i tested my 9volt and it was at a dwindling 4.something volts. last time i used the battery, the show came out fine. granted it hadnt been for a month or so. so my question is, at what point does the quality start to suffer when the battery starts to die? if its at 8 volts, id assume itd still be fine, maybe even 7. but what about 6? obviously, im going to test it more often so this ridiculous mistake doesnt happen again, but now im wondering when i see the battery is down to what voltage should i swap it out for a new one?

my rig: Church-Audio STC-11 Cardioid Mics -> BAT-2B -> iRiver H320

[travelinbeat]

If you're doubting it's charge, change it.

I probably replace batteries WAY mor often than necissary, but only because whenever I don't, I get caught with dead / dying gear.

[DisturbedPyro]

well thats what i mean. when should i start to doubt its charge? i have a tester that tells me what the voltage is. so i can see exactly how much juice it has so i wont have to guess "yeah i guess i should change it since i havent in a while." im just wondering at what voltage should i swap it out. but yeah, im def going to check it more often now so this doesnt happen again

[fmaderjr]

It's a much bigger issue deciding when to change the battery in a preamp because they use up batteries so much faster. Changing batteries way too early could cost significant $. Battery boxes generally will go for 500-750 hours (as long as the mic is disconnected when not recording).

I used to just change the battery once a year (some people like 6 months for safety) as Sound Pro's recommended and never had a problem.

Now that I have a multimeter, I test the battery and change if it is below 8.5 volts or so. It will work fine below that but I want to be safe and I'm still using at most 2 batteries a year. I do the same when I use my ST-9100 pre and have never had a problem.

[Church-Audio]

so i taped a few shows last week. stupid me, i didnt check the first show after i taped it like i usually do. it was 3 shows in one week and i was busy with school so i just figured id wait til the end of the week and transfer them all off at once. im kicking myself for doing so because they all sounded horrible. i tested my 9volt and it was at a dwindling 4.something volts. last time i used the battery, the show came out fine. granted it hadnt been for a month or so. so my question is, at what point does the quality start to suffer when the battery starts to die? if its at 8 volts, id assume itd still be fine, maybe even 7. but what about 6? obviously, im going to test it more often so this ridiculous mistake doesnt happen again, but now im wondering when i see the battery is down to what voltage should i swap it out for a new one?

my rig: Church-Audio STC-11 Cardioid Mics -> BAT-2B -> iRiver H320

You want to make sure you unplug your  mics when they are not in use the battery  should last atleast 200 hours or more.

Chris

[DisturbedPyro]

You can check a battery datasheet for the discharge curve; it is variable depending on load.  Generally speaking, 7V is dying and 6V is dead.  If you have a very light load (battery box), 6V will run for a bit but I would not recommend it.  7V will hold out for quite some time in a battery box, but in a preamp it's time to change.  Once you hit 7V, the voltage drop accelerates rapidly (pg 2):

ok thanks. yeah, i just use a batbox, no preamp. but that gives me a general idea. so by the time i get to 7.5 or so i think ill swap it out. thanks

You want to make sure you unplug your  mics when they are not in use the battery  should last atleast 200 hours or more.

Chris

right. i always unplug everything when it is not in use. the battery comes out of the box, the mics come out of the box. everything always gets disassembled once i get back to my car

[Brian E.]

so i taped a few shows last week. stupid me, i didnt check the first show after i taped it like i usually do. it was 3 shows in one week and i was busy with school so i just figured id wait til the end of the week and transfer them all off at once. im kicking myself for doing so because they all sounded horrible. i tested my 9volt and it was at a dwindling 4.something volts. last time i used the battery, the show came out fine. granted it hadnt been for a month or so. so my question is, at what point does the quality start to suffer when the battery starts to die? if its at 8 volts, id assume itd still be fine, maybe even 7. but what about 6? obviously, im going to test it more often so this ridiculous mistake doesnt happen again, but now im wondering when i see the battery is down to what voltage should i swap it out for a new one?

my rig: Church-Audio STC-11 Cardioid Mics -> BAT-2B -> iRiver H320

You want to make sure you unplug your  mics when they are not in use the battery  should last atleast 200 hours or more.

Chris

once I get my 9100 back, how long should it go before replacing the 9V?

[Church-Audio]

so i taped a few shows last week. stupid me, i didnt check the first show after i taped it like i usually do. it was 3 shows in one week and i was busy with school so i just figured id wait til the end of the week and transfer them all off at once. im kicking myself for doing so because they all sounded horrible. i tested my 9volt and it was at a dwindling 4.something volts. last time i used the battery, the show came out fine. granted it hadnt been for a month or so. so my question is, at what point does the quality start to suffer when the battery starts to die? if its at 8 volts, id assume itd still be fine, maybe even 7. but what about 6? obviously, im going to test it more often so this ridiculous mistake doesnt happen again, but now im wondering when i see the battery is down to what voltage should i swap it out for a new one?

my rig: Church-Audio STC-11 Cardioid Mics -> BAT-2B -> iRiver H320

You want to make sure you unplug your  mics when they are not in use the battery  should last atleast 200 hours or more.

Chris

once I get my 9100 back, how long should it go before replacing the 9V?

I Would get a rechargable 9 volt like this one.


http://www.thomasdistributing.com/mh-96v230.htm#top

[Brian E.]

so i taped a few shows last week. stupid me, i didnt check the first show after i taped it like i usually do. it was 3 shows in one week and i was busy with school so i just figured id wait til the end of the week and transfer them all off at once. im kicking myself for doing so because they all sounded horrible. i tested my 9volt and it was at a dwindling 4.something volts. last time i used the battery, the show came out fine. granted it hadnt been for a month or so. so my question is, at what point does the quality start to suffer when the battery starts to die? if its at 8 volts, id assume itd still be fine, maybe even 7. but what about 6? obviously, im going to test it more often so this ridiculous mistake doesnt happen again, but now im wondering when i see the battery is down to what voltage should i swap it out for a new one?

my rig: Church-Audio STC-11 Cardioid Mics -> BAT-2B -> iRiver H320

You want to make sure you unplug your  mics when they are not in use the battery  should last atleast 200 hours or more.

Chris

once I get my 9100 back, how long should it go before replacing the 9V?

I Would get a rechargable 9 volt like this one.


http://www.thomasdistributing.com/mh-96v230.htm#top

cool, thanks.  but how long should I wait before recharging the battery in that one, with the 9100?  And don't say every show   haha

[it-goes-to-eleven]

An *alkaline* 9v below 8.5 volts is definitely 'on the way out...'  Where you draw the line depends on the application (current draw) and your desire for safety.  For some applications, maybe 8.2.

An actual battery tester (that applies load) is better than a DVM for testing.  Alkaline batteries can recover over time.  So a battery that looks sort of okay on a DVM may actually be much worse as soon as it gets a slight load.

I would not use a 9v rechargeable.  They have too many issues, too many cells.  YMMV.  If you do, test them well using your rig.

[fmaderjr]

I would not use a 9v rechargeable.  They have too many issues, too many cells.  YMMV.  If you do, test them well using your rig.

That's true, in general, but the particular one Chris Church recommends has been well tested by Chris and other taperssection members in the field.

[Church-Audio]

I would not use a 9v rechargeable.  They have too many issues, too many cells.  YMMV.  If you do, test them well using your rig.

That was always the case before this battery came out. I know lots of people that are now using this battery with no issues what so ever and lets face it its better then filling up a landfill site right? and 8.5 volts is still good in my preamp as a matter of fact you can run it down to 7.3 volts and it still works fine.

[Aladar]

How much would charger cost?

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I would not use a 9v rechargeable.  They have too many issues, too many cells.  YMMV.  If you do, test them well using your rig.

That was always the case before this battery came out. I know lots of people that are now using this battery with no issues what so ever and lets face it its better then filling up a landfill site right?

Great to hear there is a good solution for some applications.

My bbox never used much juice so alkalines were fine.  But some of my other devices are terrible about consuming 9volts...