Jump to content

High Capacity Bag Power


sdog

Recommended Posts

O.K. A few more questions for you guys:

MSpector, Can you tell me where you got your info about the DR-680 being able to handle up to 16.8V? Personal experience? Tascam? somewhere else? This would be truly great news, but I read somewhere else that the input voltage range is 8-13V. I can't seem to get a response from Tascam.

Or Michael McQueen, which B4B batteries? The 14.4V Li-Ion?

Or wanderinggear, using those b4bs on DR-680? If so, 14.4 Li-Ion?

Or Shane Kao, under their NP-1 header I couldn't find an X02 model at B4B. Could you tell me what technology/voltage those are (Li-ion/14.4V?)

studiomprd, Mike, the only Juicer I saw at Remote Audio was 15V out. Dang!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 56
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

NP-1 type batteries are great IMHO. They last long and there are shoe adapters that can power 4 hirose-outputs and DC out. So you can easily have them power, say, 4 receivers and one mixer.

I looked at a bunch of alternatives, and finally gave up and just went with the IDX LiOn NP1's. Expensive, but they last damn near forever, plus they're really light. That set-up in a BDS plus the Remote Audio RM meter has given me peace of mind on how long a bag system will run before I'm on the verge of running out of power. And I routinely do 7 or 8 DC outputs with no problem.

--Marc W.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This response from Tascam on input voltage to the DR-680:

Doug,

I apologize for the late response, I was researching the question.

And a 14.4V DC LiON battery has a fully charged voltage of 16.8 volts, which could possibly damage the unit.

You do not want to feed the unit voltages over 16V.

Thank you for your interest in Teac/Tascam products.

I may rig up one of these puppies to drop the voltage so I can use the ubiquitous 14.4 Li-Ion cells (whether NP-1 or V-Mount or Gold-mount or...):

http://www.dimensionengineering.com/DE-SWADJ.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This response from Tascam on input voltage to the DR-680:

I may rig up one of these puppies to drop the voltage so I can use the ubiquitous 14.4 Li-Ion cells (whether NP-1 or V-Mount or Gold-mount or...):

http://www.dimension...om/DE-SWADJ.htm

No need , they just cover their ass for legal advise .

Works for the last 2 years

But If you are to scared - :-)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-DC-Rechargeable-Li-ion-Battery-CCTV-Cam-9800mAh-/200533958148?pt=AU_Electronics_Batteries_Chargers&hash=item2eb0c15e04#h

Should hold your reorder for about 10 hours .

much better then IDX OR Hawk Woods- Cost less , works longer :-)

the only down side is the charger WHICH is very low rate, about 12 hours for complete charge , so buy 3 .... :-)

MS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm looking at going for a battery distribution system and after reading through this and other forums my ideal setup balancing price and quality seems to be Batteries4Broadcast Li-Ion NP-1 batteries a Remote Audio NP-1 cup adapter and Remote Audio BDS v4. But I have also been looking at the Cable Techniques Battery Bud II BDS. Any recommendations which BDS is better? The RA has 6 outs compared to the CT which has 5. But the CT has Hirose outputs compared to the RA 2.5mm mating connector. Pro's and con's of each?

At the moment I'm only powering a SD 552 and two Lectro 411as but I'll add more 411as and a 744t eventually (unless I can be convinced a Zaxcom Nomad is the way to go, but that's a different discussion).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, just been looking for the last couple of hours and there seems to be a lot of reasons to go for the Remote Audio BDS. 6 output, battery life indicator LED in the switch, the locking connectors seems very sturdy, switchable 6th output, $20 cheaper at B&H. Can't think of a reason to go Battery Bud II over that!

Ed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have also been looking at the Cable Techniques Battery Bud II BDS. Any recommendations which BDS is better? The RA has 6 outs compared to the CT which has 5. But the CT has Hirose outputs compared to the RA 2.5mm mating connector. Pro's and con's of each?

They both are good units - I personally like the cable techniques. The main reason is because depending how you set up your bag the Hirose will enter and exit the unit at the bottom thus taking up less room and less of a chance of bumping the connectors. Not a problem for only having the 5 outs vs the 6 because the Hirose's can be doubled up - meaning you can use one Hirose to power two 411's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, SDOG, who ya' gonna believe??

I believe that Michael McQueen and MSpector are successfully using their DR-680s at higher voltage.

I believe that engineers do tend to put their specs way toward the "safe" side.

I believe you could probably hit 98% of DR-680s with 16.8V and never suffer a bad effect.

I believe I'm the kind of guy that could easily have one of the 2% that can only handle voltages within spec.

I believe I'm a scaredy-cat who's not going to take the risk.

I believe that there are two types of people in the world: the type of people who believe things and the type of people who question things. I never thought I was one of the type who believe things, but now that I've read my own post I'm starting to question what type I am. Wait. What type does that make me?

I believe I'll have another cup of coffee before I go any further.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a report back for anyone following this thread:

By the time I got my shhhhtuff together and finally decided to pick up a battery (had decided on the B4B NP1 or something similar), nobody, nowhere had anything like it in stock. Needed it fairly soon so I completely switched gears and ordered a Battery Geeks (Novuscell) BG 9-12-130 (130Wh, Li-Ion, regulated 9V and 12V out, 4.5A). Charged it up, plugged in the DR-680 and went away. 16 hours later the DR-680 was still running with a fair amount of charge left on the battery. Was not phantom powering microphones, so we'll see what happens when I hook up a few mics. I'm sure that will chew through the charge quite a bit faster.

Nice slim design, fits in the front pouch of my Petrol PS-601. Because the power cable uses a little connection adapter, it sticks out a little from the DR-680 - worried a little about shear stress, but I can do some custom cabling at some point in time to get rid of that problem.

I'm packing it up now, along with several fists full of rechargeable AAs (just in case). I'll let you know in about 8 weeks how it performed in the field.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Back from Sicily. Here are the results. The BG 9-12-130 performed pretty well. Started up the DR-680 at the beginning of the day, Left it running with mics plugged in (typically a boom with phantom power and several wireless receivers). At the end of each day it usually showed 4 out of 5 bars power remaining on the battery. Recharged quickly at the end of each day. Overall I am very pleased. Now that I'm not in a rush, however, I do want to replace the straight cable connectors with right angle connectors. The end on the battery is fairly well protected in the back pouch of the Petrol bag, but the connector on the DR-680 side really sticks out. Something WILL break eventually. May also pick up a BDS or split cables to also run the mixer from the same supply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a report back for anyone following this thread:

By the time I got my shhhhtuff together and finally decided to pick up a battery (had decided on the B4B NP1 or something similar), nobody, nowhere had anything like it in stock. Needed it fairly soon so I completely switched gears and ordered a Battery Geeks (Novuscell) BG 9-12-130 (130Wh, Li-Ion, regulated 9V and 12V out, 4.5A). Charged it up, plugged in the DR-680 and went away. 16 hours later the DR-680 was still running with a fair amount of charge left on the battery. Was not phantom powering microphones, so we'll see what happens when I hook up a few mics. I'm sure that will chew through the charge quite a bit faster.

Nice slim design, fits in the front pouch of my Petrol PS-601. Because the power cable uses a little connection adapter, it sticks out a little from the DR-680 - worried a little about shear stress, but I can do some custom cabling at some point in time to get rid of that problem.

I'm packing it up now, along with several fists full of rechargeable AAs (just in case). I'll let you know in about 8 weeks how it performed in the field.

Has anyone found a small lightweight adapter to send line level anolog signals into tracks 7&8 of the DR680. I figure I really don't need mic level on all the inputs, but the small A to D converters that I've tried (with RCA inputs & spdif out) will not lock up with the DR680. Any suggestions?

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I have a DR-680, a 442 and a Lectro receiver in my bag. I have been using a Tekkeon to power the 680 and the Lectro but it only lasts about 5-6 hours of continuous use. I bought a charger and 2 NP-1 from Batteries 4 Broadcast with an NP-1 cup and have been powering my 442 with that. The NP-1 lasts for 2 days even sending phantom power to my Schoeps. I want to power everything from the NP-1 so I ordered a BDS. I am not going to risk sending 16.4 volts to the DR-680 because I don't want to take the risk of frying it. I am building a little box with a voltage regulator in it so I can send the DR-680 constant voltage. Voltage regulators have a drop out voltage of about 1.5 volts so once my NP-1 hits 13.5 volts, it will quit sending power to the DR-680 if I use a 12 volt voltage regulator.

Here's my question: Has anyone had any experience running a DR-680 at 9 volts? I think it can be done, just wondering if anyone is doing it and what their experience has been. If 9 volts is sufficient, I can use a 9 volt voltage regulator that will last until the NP-1 hits 10.5 volts.

Thanks,

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ran my 680, 552 and multiple lectrosonics through my bds with b4b np1's when I had that kit. Probably did 30 or so days with it and the guy I sold it to is also running his 680 off of a bds. My lectrosonics usually show 16.2v when fully charged but nomad says 16.1. That's kinda lame they didn't put a 10-18v circuit like most dc circuits usually have...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...