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Gear / Technical Help => Remote Power => Topic started by: rockymtnryan on May 19, 2011, 01:50:11 PM

Title: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: rockymtnryan on May 19, 2011, 01:50:11 PM
Can someone recommend an affordable external battery for the HD-P2 that offers good battery life? Do I need to use a 12v or will the 9v dvd battery I already use for my UA-5 work?

Thanks!
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on May 19, 2011, 02:09:35 PM
I used the 9v DVD Battery for a while, until it died... 

Terry
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: rockymtnryan on May 19, 2011, 02:24:12 PM
So there's no fear of harming the unit by using a 9v battery instead of the 12v?  How much recording time did you get out of a full charge?  Were you providing phantom power to mics?

Thanks
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on May 19, 2011, 02:44:23 PM
So there's no fear of harming the unit by using a 9v battery instead of the 12v?  How much recording time did you get out of a full charge?  Were you providing phantom power to mics?

Thanks

I want to say I got about 5hours with PP...

Terry
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: rockymtnryan on May 24, 2011, 02:42:17 PM
So I went to Radio Shack and picked up a new connector to hook up the 9v dvd batt to the HD-P2 and nothing.  Won't power on.  Right now I'm using Sanyo Enloop rechargable AA's until I can find a good 12v batt pack.  I'm having a lot of trouble finding one, and would greatly appreciate any help.

HD-P2 users - what do you use for portable batt power.  I would like a simple, cost-effective solution that can give me a good 5 hrs + of recording time.

Thanks!
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on May 24, 2011, 03:34:21 PM
I spliced a 4pin XLR into the wall-wart that came with the HDP2 and use the 12v end (the other end from the wall plug).  I then plug in a 4pin XLR power cable into the "dongle" and power with whatever...

In the past I've used:

- 12v SLA (one festival - about 12 hours.  Worked great, but heavy).
- 9v DVD Battery (until it broke - about 8 hours with PP).
- 8 AA batteries (about 4 hours with PP).

I've never gotten around to it, but one day I'll buy one of these (or something similar):  http://www.all-battery.com/12vnimhnicdbatterypackseries.aspx

I once found a DIY where someone rigged a pair of wooden dowels to act like AA batteries and ran his 12v power cable into the battery compartment.  Apparently, this allowed you to use the battery meter on the P2 to gauge power levels...  I can't seem to find the article now, and I have a dusty wooden dowel in my closet from years ago when I first saw the article...  Never built it...

If I ever get out to tape now, I usually just load up on the AA batteries and swap out during set-break.  I can always use AAs for Cody's toys, so half-dead ones aren't an issue...

Terry




Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: KenH on May 24, 2011, 03:36:47 PM
I use the DVD batter from eBay with a connector that fits the P2.  Works fine.

Also have 8x 1.2V AA NiMH batteries in the battery compartment as a backup.  If the external runs out the internals should kick in (seamlessly in theory).    Have never run out of power, but I use an external preamp.

I also made an external 10 battery sled (10 * 1.2V = 12V), but have never uses it.

So you brought the Tascam adaptor to Radio Shack and had them match up the plugs ?  That should work.  Make sure the tip is aligned for the right polarity!

I think what I did was cut mine off the plug in adaptor, and added terminals so I can reconnect it, and added the same terminals on the LiION battery pack, so the tip that came with the unit can be interchanged. Only need 1 at a time.
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: KenH on May 24, 2011, 03:38:35 PM
I spliced a 4pin XLR into the wall-wart that came with the HDP2 and use the 12v end (the other end from the wall plug).  I then plug in a 4pin XLR power cable into the "dongle" and power with whatever...

In the past I've used:

- 12v SLA (one festival - about 12 hours.  Worked great, but heavy).
- 9v DVD Battery (until it broke - about 8 hours with PP).
- 8 AA batteries (about 4 hours with PP).

I've never gotten around to it, but one day I'll buy one of these (or something similar):  http://www.all-battery.com/12vnimhnicdbatterypackseries.aspx

I once found a DIY where someone rigged a pair of wooden dowels to act like AA batteries and ran his 12v power cable into the battery compartment.  Apparently, this allowed you to use the battery meter on the P2 to gauge power levels...  I can't seem to find the article now, and I have a dusty wooden dowel in my closet from years ago when I first saw the article...  Never built it...

If I ever get out to tape now, I usually just load up on the AA batteries and swap out during set-break.  I can always use AAs for Cody's toys, so half-dead ones aren't an issue...

Terry

Well there you go.    I jus use automotive 2 pole connectors.   Also did the dowel trick.  It works, but again, don't have the need for it...  but it's there if needed.
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on May 24, 2011, 04:06:34 PM
Also did the dowel trick.  It works, but again, don't have the need for it...  but it's there if needed.

Can you post instructions (and/or pix) to show how you made it???

Thanks,

Terry
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on May 24, 2011, 04:13:45 PM
A note on run-time:

The HD-P2 power consumption is approx. 6W.  At 12v, that is 0.5A or 500mA... 

So, a 12v battery pack that has a capacity of 2500mAh will power the device for 5 hours.  At 9v, you'll get 3.75 hours...

W = A x V

Terry
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: KenH on May 25, 2011, 09:23:05 AM
Also did the dowel trick.  It works, but again, don't have the need for it...  but it's there if needed.

Can you post instructions (and/or pix) to show how you made it???

Thanks,

Terry
I think I found instructions on this site.  Basically take a 1/2" dowel that matches width of a AA battery, and insert screws on each end so the length is the same as a AA.   Wrap the + wire around the screw one end, and the - wire around the screw on the other end, and tighten.  Insert into the battery bay.
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: dnsacks on May 25, 2011, 10:51:42 AM

[/quote]
I think I found instructions on this site.  Basically take a 1/2" dowel that matches width of a AA battery, and insert screws on each end so the length is the same as a AA.   Wrap the + wire around the screw one end, and the - wire around the screw on the other end, and tighten.  Insert into the battery bay.
[/quote]

Thanks --

I presume that the hd-p2's battery case is set up to run the aa batteries in series (i.e. establishing a connection between the negative terminal of the first battery to the positive terminal of the second battery, etc.) -- thus, using only one wooden dowel will likely have the same effect as inserting a single battery (no power to the hd-p2).  Instead, you'd likely need to assemble two wooden dowels -- one to mimic the positive terminal of the first battery and the other to mimic the negative terminal of the last battery.  Although I don't have my hd-p2 in front of me, it would likely also make sense to use a third dowel, perpendicular to the above dowels, to act as a spacer between the "battery" dowels and keep the battery dowels in place. 

Can anybody who's run nimh aa batteries in the hd-p2 comment on the accuracy of the battery meter?  This sounds like a great project for my external nimh battery packs if the battery meter's accurate with nimh batteries.
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on May 25, 2011, 11:31:47 AM

Quote
I think I found instructions on this site.  Basically take a 1/2" dowel that matches width of a AA battery, and insert screws on each end so the length is the same as a AA.   Wrap the + wire around the screw one end, and the - wire around the screw on the other end, and tighten.  Insert into the battery bay.

Thanks --

I presume that the hd-p2's battery case is set up to run the aa batteries in series (i.e. establishing a connection between the negative terminal of the first battery to the positive terminal of the second battery, etc.) -- thus, using only one wooden dowel will likely have the same effect as inserting a single battery (no power to the hd-p2).  Instead, you'd likely need to assemble two wooden dowels -- one to mimic the positive terminal of the first battery and the other to mimic the negative terminal of the last battery.  Although I don't have my hd-p2 in front of me, it would likely also make sense to use a third dowel, perpendicular to the above dowels, to act as a spacer between the "battery" dowels and keep the battery dowels in place. 

Can anybody who's run nimh aa batteries in the hd-p2 comment on the accuracy of the battery meter?  This sounds like a great project for my external nimh battery packs if the battery meter's accurate with nimh batteries.

DNSacks' thinking is the way I remember it...

Terry
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: KenH on May 26, 2011, 02:42:07 PM
Yes, it was 2 dowels!    Been a while since I've seen that thing.
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: rockymtnryan on May 28, 2011, 01:08:58 PM
I spliced a 4pin XLR into the wall-wart that came with the HDP2 and use the 12v end (the other end from the wall plug).  I then plug in a 4pin XLR power cable into the "dongle" and power with whatever...

In the past I've used:

- 12v SLA (one festival - about 12 hours.  Worked great, but heavy).
- 9v DVD Battery (until it broke - about 8 hours with PP).
- 8 AA batteries (about 4 hours with PP).

I've never gotten around to it, but one day I'll buy one of these (or something similar):  http://www.all-battery.com/12vnimhnicdbatterypackseries.aspx

I once found a DIY where someone rigged a pair of wooden dowels to act like AA batteries and ran his 12v power cable into the battery compartment.  Apparently, this allowed you to use the battery meter on the P2 to gauge power levels...  I can't seem to find the article now, and I have a dusty wooden dowel in my closet from years ago when I first saw the article...  Never built it...

If I ever get out to tape now, I usually just load up on the AA batteries and swap out during set-break.  I can always use AAs for Cody's toys, so half-dead ones aren't an issue...

Terry

Wow, I feel like an idiot.  I changed the plug adapter the opposite direction and now the HD-P2 turned on.  I'm going to test it today for length, but if I can get 5+ hrs I would be stoked.  Pack my 8 enloop rechargeables as well and I could make a whole festy day.
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: dnsacks on May 31, 2011, 11:03:01 AM
I "did the dowel trick" over the weekend -- needed to make 2 dowels, they occupy the two battery slots closest to the back of the hd-p2 (which was surprising to me and required me to remove the battery holder to understand/confirm).  Also had an opportunity to do some run time testing.

I found that I was able to get close to identical run times (just over 10 hours with phantom on powering a Studio Projects LSD2 and recording at 24/96 with the HDP2's lights all on) using either a) a 12 volt 5000mah NiMh battery pack running through the HDP2's external power adaptor or b) a 9 volt 5,500mah LiIon dvd battery via the "dowel trick" -- using the dvd battery, the hdp2 battery meter showed about 1/3 full from the start (which makes sense given that the hdp2 is expecting 12 volts (8x1.5 volt aa batteries) through its internal battery connector.

Right now I'm running both of the above batteries simultaneously to confirm that it'll fill up the 32gb cf card (15+ hours at 24/96) without any intervention while powering the LSD2.  Once that's done, I'm set for telluride.
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on May 31, 2011, 11:10:06 AM
I "did the dowel trick" over the weekend -- needed to make 2 dowels, they occupy the two battery slots closest to the back of the hd-p2 (which was surprising to me and required me to remove the battery holder to understand/confirm).  Also had an opportunity to do some run time testing.

Awesome!  Can you snap a couple of pics of it for us???  Especially one with the unit in place...

Thanks!

Terry
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: rockymtnryan on June 02, 2011, 02:33:14 PM
Now I feel even more like an idiot.  My 9v dvd batt won't power the unit.  Either its just not the right voltage or I have the wrong connector.  Probably the wrong connector since it has worked for others.

When I plugged the cable in and powered on, the unit came on since there was still batteries in the compartment.  The unit will default to the compartment when I have betteries in there and an external plugged in.  In the manual it says this is because the unit chooses the battery source with the highest voltage, I think.

Still looking for solutions.  I think creating a cable or splicing is a little beyond my skills at this point. 
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: dnsacks on June 02, 2011, 03:33:52 PM
Terry -- will do, just need to find a few minutes.

Ryan -- are you saying that the hd-p2 will not power up from the dvd battery when the internal aa batteries are removed?

I've seen what you're talking about with my hd-p2 when running both an external 12 volt pack through the external power adapter and the 9 volt dvd battery through the "dowel trick" referenced above -- the hd-p2 seems to "pull" from whatever source has a higher voltage.  With a 9 volt dvd battery powering the battery compartment and a 12 volt battery providing power through the external plug, it indicates that it's using external power throughout a 15 hour test recording session, even though the external battery alone will only provide 10 hours of power max (15 hours is the max recording time available on a 32gb card at 24/96)
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: twatts (pants are so over-rated...) on June 02, 2011, 03:34:50 PM
Now I feel even more like an idiot.  My 9v dvd batt won't power the unit.  Either its just not the right voltage or I have the wrong connector.  Probably the wrong connector since it has worked for others.

When I plugged the cable in and powered on, the unit came on since there was still batteries in the compartment.  The unit will default to the compartment when I have betteries in there and an external plugged in.  In the manual it says this is because the unit chooses the battery source with the highest voltage, I think.

Still looking for solutions.  I think creating a cable or splicing is a little beyond my skills at this point.

Take the AAs out. 

I figured this out at a show.  I left some AAs in the HD-P2 and ran a DVD battery pack since I didn't have time to charge the AAs.  I couldn't get it to power on for more than a few seconds before it shut-down...  But once I took out the AAs, it ran just fine - it was trying to take 12v out of dead batteries, rather than 9v out of an external battery...   

Terry
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: rockymtnryan on June 14, 2011, 02:54:34 PM
So I took the AA's out and the unit will not power up using the 9v DVD battery.  I guess I have the wrong connector?  I don't see how this could work for some people and not for me.  I'll have to run back to The Shack and see if they have a different connector.  Maybe I'm just not tight enough on the plug?
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: kirk97132 on June 21, 2011, 05:44:45 PM
It is reverse polarity from an Edirol unit
Title: Re: External battery for HD-P2
Post by: paulr on July 02, 2011, 08:42:58 AM
I had a similar problem with reverse polarity.  I cut the wire and reversed it and everything works great.
I am using a 12v NP1 type battery with an NP1 cup connecter. It has the same 8mm barrel plug as the HDP2. 
I ran my Earthworks Sr77's w/ phantom for nearly 7 hours.  It would have continued to operate but I was on to other things..
Earthworks are notorious "power suckers".
 During the test I frequently did things like turn on the display light for 10 min intervals, scrolled through menu settings, power source readings, etc. I had some low music playing in the back round so I would be able to run the recording volume at around 7 1/2 and check levels etc. in record mode. 
After 7 hours the external battery was still hovering right around 12 volts.
During the test I also installed the AA's during operation.  I removed and repalced the external power cord several times during operation and the HDP2 switched seamlessly back and forth from external to AA batteries.....