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9V Power For Denecke TS-C


Alex Altman

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Has anyone tried powering a TS-C with 9V's? Any permanent mods out there? How would battery life of one or two 9V's compare with the normal 6 AA's? Sorry... I don't know very much about mAh's, power draw, etc. Thanks!

Alex Altman

Nashville, TN

I've done that before by cutting a AA battery holder to the appropriate size, but the 9v's wont last as long as a good set of AA's

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I don't second Glen's preload idea, since every time I've  tried it, (rarely), the battery tube starts to stretch and break on the ends, if left for more than a day or two. I am using some "improved" holders from Denecke from a couple of years ago, (a bit better than the originals)... maybe there has been some improvement lately? If so I would love to have a tube waiting and loaded. This is with the battery case for the TS-3 which I assume to be the same as the TS-C tube. Please ignore this post if it's a different animal.

My solution is to watch the startup voltage like a hawk, and load when getting the slightest bit close to  "LoBatt"

Jim Rillie

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Hey everyone, thanks for the replies.

In response to the quick change answer, yes I do have a spare battery sled that I keep loaded.

The reason I posted this question is because I am looking to integrate the guts of a Comtek receiver into my TS-C. It is always getting ripped off the back and the cable gets tugged on since there isn't really a convienent place for it to hide like on the larger slates. The only problem is that extra space inside the TS-C is very limited. So my plan is to power the entire system (slate+Comtek) with two 9V's. Then, I can cut the AA battery compartment almost in half, freeing up the space needed for this operation. I also plan to bypass the off/on switch of the Comtek by wiring it to the sticks open/close circuit. Other plans include "dremel'ing" out a small rectangle on the back of the slate for the Comtek freq adjustment, as well as putting a right angle BNC jack on the input side of the slate for an antenna. Keeping the antenna the same height as the slate itself will keep the overall form factor of the TS-C the same, but also ensure clear reception.

Any thoughts? Am I doing a silly thing? Thanks!

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The receiver would go in the bottom center of the slate. Right about where the last half of the battery compartment was.

Eric- I wish I could afford another slate! But at this point, I have the TS-C, so I'm making it work the best for me. Oh, and the Comtek system I have is the 216 series btw.

Alex Altman

Nashville, TN

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Any thoughts? Am I doing a silly thing? Thanks!

Hey Alex,

I'd recommend simply buying a used TS-1 instead of doing all that work.  The Comtek fits snugly on the back behind the battery compartment, the antenna problem is solved by the cable that extends to the slate input -- and if the slate gets dropped, the battery compartment generally takes the hit.  Remember that slates and Comteks are the things you're going to have to continue to fix all the time, because those you hand them off to will be careless with them.  If your slate is a unique custom job, that is going to make it harder for others to fix (or maybe necessitate that *YOU* do all the work to fix it every time someone else breaks it, and piss you off doubly every time someone carelessly breaks something you put a lot of thought and sweat into). 

.02 nvt

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The engineers at Comtek and Denecke are very friendly and knowledgable.  I would call them both and get some suggestions for the build.

I would expect that 2 x 9v would certainly run a slate and a PR216 all day.  Probably one would do it too, or at least until lunch.  I use the iPower rechargeables.  They last longer than alkalines, and one would probably go all day.

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  • 4 years later...

Did anybody try powering with the I-power 9V's? If they would survive a 12 hour day, I would be happy with that.

Charlie Parra at Denecke would be your best source for information about how much power would be too much or what kind of run time you might expect from Lithium AAs. The TS-3 brochure (available on the Denecke site) says that the slate can accept a range from 5.7 volts to 16 volts. Probably you'd be OK as long as your Lithium batteries didn't exceed 16 volts when hot off the charger. But the brochure does specify alkaline batteries for the slate so a query to Charlie would be the safe action. (I expect it says alkaline just because zinc carbon would be inadequate but that would be good to confirm.

I can be more help regarding powering with a 9-volt battery. I used to do that from time to time with the original TS-1. That slate was fairly heavy when packed with C-cells and I would occasionally accommodate a camera assistant by removing the internal batteries and connecting a 9-volt. The slate accepts external power through the 4-pin XLR on the side and it's a simple matter to rig a cable: XLR to 9-volt battery. I never used the iPowers that way (they hadn't been invented yet) but a regular 9-volt would run the slate for a surprisingly long time. Probably not that long outside with the slate at a (ahem) Senator but at least half a day and probably a full day indoors. By the way, do remove internal batteries when using external power. (another bit of info from the brochure)

David

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Lithiums are fine. They'll run a slate for many days. But why not use rechargeable AA or iPower 9v? My Eneloops last about 3 days on average. When using 9v I swap at lunch when rejamming.

I still can't understand why so many people are still using disposable batteries.

Robert

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Probably you'd be OK as long as your Lithium batteries didn't exceed 16 volts when hot off the charger.

Lithiums are fine. They'll run a slate for many days. But why not use rechargeable AA or iPower 9v?

Of course. How foolish of me. I had been thinking rechargeable Lithiums but there are no rechargeable Lithium AAs. But my comments on using a 9-volt are still pertinent. They work fine.

David

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I think using Lithium AA's on a slate is way overkill and a waste of about $12 (assuming two bucks a battery). The alkalines will last for at least 3 12-hour days unless you have an inept camera assistant who keeps the sticks open much of the time, or you're shooting exteriors and running it in bright mode for long periods of time. I have threatened before to sacrifice a stack of alkaline, rechargeable NiMh, and Lithium batteries just to see how long each would last continuously, but have yet to do this experiment.

Here's the message you don't want to see on any slate:

DeadBatSlate.jpg?t=1344652141

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I trimmed the batt sled from my TS-3 on the advice of another mixer in town and haven't looked back. I've used ipower 9V in it every working day for the past 5 years, changing the battery every morning. Works like a charm.

Curious what you mean "trimmed the batt sled".

Did you just shorten it so that it would maintain pressure on a 9v inserted in the TS-C battery compartment?

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