Topic: R-44 powering info from Edirol

[sanaka]

Hey. No biggie, just some incidental notes.

I called Edirol (and was talking to a knowledgeable live human being in ~30 seconds, pretty cool) to clear up a couple things that were making my obsessive brain itch.

In his R-44 Wally World Battery Times thread, mblindsey's test results suggest the R-44 drew only ~.6 amps, not the 1.2A printed on the machine (which is great, but intriguing). Edirol man says 1.2A is max max draw, i.e.: 4 channels/all 20mA phantom, highest bit/sample, screen at brightest, headphones blaring, etc. So under more moderate, probably normal, conditions, half the max is not suprising.

I had been looking at 12v or higher battery solutions because I was thinking in terms that usually devices run more efficiently at the highest voltage they can take. But that's not the case with the R-44. The 9-16 volt input range was engineered in, so that various battery types can be used. Their own AC adaptor supplies 9.6v, and that's what Edirol guy says the machine probably actually runs at, i.e.: lower than that is dc converted up (for instance the internal AA's) and higher than that is regulated down. He couldn't say for absolute sure, but it makes sense that the supplied adaptor supplies what the most efficient voltage would be.

Bottom line(s), more than 9-10v is indeed probably actually wasting some battery power as heat, the 9v LiOn DVD battery is very copasetic, and mblindsey's test result are probably very typical. wOOt!

Peace,
Sanaka