Become a Site Supporter and Never see Ads again!

Author Topic: Best Festival Juice Options  (Read 4309 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

stevetoney

  • Guest
  • Trade Count: (0)
Best Festival Juice Options
« on: February 25, 2007, 06:01:46 AM »
I'm sure this question has been asked many times, but forgive more for a noob.

Since I like to spread my investments out throughout the year so my budget doesn't get hammered when it's time to go to the fests, it's not too soon to start buying the gear I need to power everything for a three day festival.

So, the basic question is what do most of you do for a Bonnaroo or All Good type festival?

Is the 12 volt jump start battery kit the way to go? 

Is it enough to last the whole weekend or do you need to recharge it every night (I guess then you use the car battery to recharge, eh?)

What features do I want to make sure it comes with...or is just having an output adapter the only special need?  I guess since it's DC, the output adapter is a cig lighter type plug?

Thanks for any help answer these basic questions.

Offline taper420

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection All-Star
  • ****
  • Posts: 1039
  • Gender: Male
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #1 on: February 25, 2007, 10:41:00 AM »
depends what your running...I use a laptop and for me one of those booster packs will only get me an extra two hours or so. For most applications though I think it would work fine. Though size is one thing to consider...those booster packs are pretty big with some extra's you don't need for taping. The battery that's in it would probably be better out on it's own with a simple 12 volt plug and fuse. To figure out the size you need you'll need to do some math. First figure out you're power requirements in amps.... lets say it's 1 amp. That means a 7ahr (amp hour) battery will give you 7 hours of use. I use 3.5 amps so a 7ahr battery gets me  close to 2 hours. You won't always get the full amount because the voltage starts dipping off toward the end and it may not be enough to power you devices....so be careful... if I leave my lappy plugged in and the voltage gets too low, it will put the lappy in low-power mode, and stop recording. Though if I use a DC to AC inverter, it will merely switch the lappy to internal power. So try some stuff out before you go into the field, figure out how your specific equipment works.....because it's a real pain to have to scrap a recording due to power issues (as I've had to do in the past).

And yes, it's probably a good idea to recharge it every night... SLA's (sealed lead acid batteries) do best when they are kept at full charge....but be careful you don't drain your car battery...then you might actually need one of those car jumper packs.

BobW

  • Guest
  • Trade Count: (0)
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #2 on: February 25, 2007, 11:06:18 AM »
I've been toying with a solar panel charger idea


Offline taper420

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection All-Star
  • ****
  • Posts: 1039
  • Gender: Male
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2007, 08:27:06 PM »
I've though about solar panels, but it's not realistic because it just trickle charges the battery. Maybe if you had two batteries and left one charging all day it would work.

I was thinking more along the lines of kenetic energy...



The weza freeplay... that lever in the back is actually a foot pump the recharges the battery....



and it has a solar port too, if you wanna plug one of those in for added support. Think about it, you could just stand there pumping to the beat if you just need that little bit more juice to end the show.

"A Must Have Essential energy power source for:

Cabins, Travel Trailers, Year-Round Campsites, Wilderness Guide Services and Expeditions and living Off-The-Grid.

The Weza FreeCharge is a portable power supply putting out 12V DC through a standard "cigarette lighter" style plug. It puts out enough power to jump-start a car or boat, but can also recharge most portable devices.

But what's so cool about it is the way that you charge it, You step on it. More precisely, you use the "step treadle," meaning that you step up and down on it for a short while to bring the battery back up to full. If that doesn't sound fun, the Weza step-powered generator is designed to be charged with solar panels and small wind turbines (Freeplay recommends a 30 watt rating). You can even recharge it from a wall outlet, but that's cheating.

The Preparedness Center is proud to work with Freeplay, a company where quality and long-life durability are built-in values. Freeplay's new Weza has a feel to it like a warm, dependable wood stove. This solid, foot-powered energy source really pumps out the juice at up to a 30-watt rate to charge its own internal battery for direct 12-volt power. To charge it, you simply step down on the pedal and the generator spins.

Charging to full power takes modest dedication. When combined with one of our power stations you can use it to run and recharge emergency lights, small power tools, or power a computer system or watch a mid-size TV for hours while losing weight. Power outputs include negative and positive posts with an excellent set of beefy jumper cables and a cigarette lighter output. A line of LED's gives you your charge rate while pedaling and battery level with the touch of a button. AC adapter included for couch potato charging.

Freeplay's first non-dedicated charger is a very attractive alternative for well-off-the-grid use, and would be a good companion to a small photovoltaic system such as those found in remote cabins, travel trailers, year-round campsites, wilderness guide services and expeditions.

Weight: 20.5 lbs.
Size: 8.5" W x 11.1" H x 17.25" D.
66" jumper cables.
Two-Year Warranty."

"Features & Benefits
No disposable batteries required
Self-sufficient power - AC/DC, step treadle
Powers products via 12 V DC cigarette lighter adapter
LED display bar for battery level indication
Can jump start automobile motors, boats, ATV's
Recharge from AC or DC power sources
Includes: jumper cables, AC/DC charger, service tool kit & waterproof carrying bag
Weight: 17.75 lbs. with battery
Specifications
Human powered input 25W - 40W with effort indication
7Ah sealed lead acid battery
Heavy duty jumper cables
12V cigarette lighter adapter output socket
110V - 240V DC charge input
12V - 18V DC receive charge capability
Battery level indicator"
« Last Edit: February 25, 2007, 08:57:01 PM by taper420 »

Offline F.O.Bean

  • Team Schoeps Tapir that
  • Trade Count: (126)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 40690
  • Gender: Male
  • Taperus Maximus
    • MediaFire Recordings
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2007, 10:59:29 PM »
I have enough batteries to get me through the festival without recharging 8) I just bring what I need for each day and roll with it :)
Schoeps MK 4V & MK 41V ->
Schoeps 250|0 KCY's (x2) ->
Naiant +60v|Low Noise PFA's (x2) ->
DarkTrain Right Angle Stubby XLR's (x3) ->
Sound Devices MixPre-6 & MixPre-3

http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/diskobean
http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/Bean420
http://bt.etree.org/mytorrents.php
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/j9eu80jpuaubz/Recordings

Offline terrapinj

  • Jonesin' for Tunes
  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 6553
  • Gender: Male
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2007, 02:38:08 PM »
I have enough batteries to get me through the festival without recharging 8) I just bring what I need for each day and roll with it :)

for the most part I do this as well

we had some great hookups at wakarusa last year from both sound crews and other tapers. there were extension cords at pretty much every board area where we could plug in to charge and there were more than enough other tapers there with RVs who were more than willing to allow us to plug in if the need be
JW mod AKG 460b (ck61/ck63 or mk46/ck1x/ck3x)>  EAA PSP-2 > 722

Segue Dogstar XLRs and Interconnects

ISO: (2) ck2x

Offline F.O.Bean

  • Team Schoeps Tapir that
  • Trade Count: (126)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 40690
  • Gender: Male
  • Taperus Maximus
    • MediaFire Recordings
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2007, 08:24:26 PM »
That doesnt always work tho Mikey, I DID have to recharge 722 batts at moedown last labor day, BUT my PHRIEND Kevin hooked me up and got me power at the beer/tent stage :) We left our WHOLE bag of shit recharging overnight and came back the next day and all was good ;D
Schoeps MK 4V & MK 41V ->
Schoeps 250|0 KCY's (x2) ->
Naiant +60v|Low Noise PFA's (x2) ->
DarkTrain Right Angle Stubby XLR's (x3) ->
Sound Devices MixPre-6 & MixPre-3

http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/diskobean
http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/Bean420
http://bt.etree.org/mytorrents.php
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/j9eu80jpuaubz/Recordings

stevetoney

  • Guest
  • Trade Count: (0)
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2007, 09:47:58 PM »
We left our WHOLE bag of shit recharging overnight and came back the next day and all was good ;D

Quite trusting assuming that you're talking about leaving even your 722 sitting around in uncharted territories.  There's no way I'd sleep well on that, short of having a 12 pack in me.  If it was just the external batteries, no problem, but not the internals.

Offline F.O.Bean

  • Team Schoeps Tapir that
  • Trade Count: (126)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 40690
  • Gender: Male
  • Taperus Maximus
    • MediaFire Recordings
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2007, 09:55:40 PM »
Just batteries Steve. I have a dual charger for my 722 batts, so I charged two overnight :) We had a power strip down there and were charging like 4-5 batts at once :)
Schoeps MK 4V & MK 41V ->
Schoeps 250|0 KCY's (x2) ->
Naiant +60v|Low Noise PFA's (x2) ->
DarkTrain Right Angle Stubby XLR's (x3) ->
Sound Devices MixPre-6 & MixPre-3

http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/diskobean
http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/Bean420
http://bt.etree.org/mytorrents.php
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/j9eu80jpuaubz/Recordings

stevetoney

  • Guest
  • Trade Count: (0)
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2007, 10:40:21 PM »
Just batteries Steve. I have a dual charger for my 722 batts, so I charged two overnight :) We had a power strip down there and were charging like 4-5 batts at once :)

I figured, but when you said you left your WHOLE bag...

Anyway, so one thing I wanted to ask details on, do you use the 5400ma lithiums?  I'm thinking that a couple per day per device would be plenty so that if I had 4 of them, that would take care of everything for a festival. 

(Yes, I know...you need to calculate power draw against battery maH to calulate the exact needs, but right now I'm not sure what I'm gonna end up with and trying to also research what I will need for power in parallel, not to metnion figure out what to budget for juice.)

Offline F.O.Bean

  • Team Schoeps Tapir that
  • Trade Count: (126)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 40690
  • Gender: Male
  • Taperus Maximus
    • MediaFire Recordings
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #10 on: February 26, 2007, 10:43:27 PM »
I have 12 x 3000mah NIMH RC batteries and 4 or 5 722 batteries. i can also power the 722 with those batts since i rigged something up :) but recharging can be key. i didnt bring everything to allgood this past summer and couldnt recharge :'( didnt bring any chargers either
Schoeps MK 4V & MK 41V ->
Schoeps 250|0 KCY's (x2) ->
Naiant +60v|Low Noise PFA's (x2) ->
DarkTrain Right Angle Stubby XLR's (x3) ->
Sound Devices MixPre-6 & MixPre-3

http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/diskobean
http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/Bean420
http://bt.etree.org/mytorrents.php
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/j9eu80jpuaubz/Recordings

Offline tfs8271

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Needs to get out more...
  • *****
  • Posts: 2593
  • Gender: Male
  • Hand polished by Chris Lindsey
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #11 on: February 26, 2007, 11:43:16 PM »
Power options available at High Sierra (fair grounds). I'm bringing the charger this next year. I used a plug in for my real slow hard drive bit bucket for downloading my CF card.
A six pack a day, that's all we ask.

Neumann skm140>ACM Oade PMD660
or Oade Mod R4

Offline iriewsp

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Taperssection Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 68
  • Gender: Male
  • I have to pay for you to get it sounding good?
Re: Best Festival Juice Options
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2007, 10:37:59 PM »
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/31/learn.asp

Someone turned me on to this to power 120v devices in the field.  Granted its heavy, but for festivals you could bring it in  your car and put in your tent and sleep right next to your gear while it is charging..

It has 4 regular house hold plugs on the front, its got alarm clock, radio, and nice light and it will even start your car in the morning.
Taping Rig
AKG 451e ck1 (mid) AT 4050 (side)>V3>MT 24/96

Multi Track Rig
2 x Focosrite Octopre Platinum with adat expansion>003r>mac g4 power book
with assorted microphones

 

RSS | Mobile
Page created in 0.063 seconds with 41 queries.
© 2002-2024 Taperssection.com
Powered by SMF