Topic: 6v or 12v V3 ?

[silentmark]

I am sure this has been brought before, but what are the pros and cons of a 6v or 12v V3, not the V3 itself, just the v ? I have been toying with the idea of selling off the sax and modsbm1 to go the V3 route. Any help would be greatly appreciated ...

[JasonSobel]

pro for the 6v:
6v SLA weighs less than a 12v SLA

in reality, there is a voltage regulator inside the V3, and there is no performance difference between using a 6v battery or a 12v battery.  My understanding is that the only difference is that the low battery indicator is calibrated differently, i.e., you could use a 12v SLA for a V3 calibrated for 6v, but you'd never see the low battery light come on. 

[creekfreak]

I have been using my big 12 volt more and more with the V3, get about 10 hours using it over 5 hours with the 6volts I use...I also find with the 6 volts the damn battery light will start to blink even though plenty of power is left

[F.O.Bean]

kris~you can only get 5 hrs w/ a 6v

hmmm, i can push 9-10 EASILY w/ a 6v 7.2amp

[JasonSobel]

I think the biggest variable with V3 power draw is the phantom power.  some mics are just more power hungry than others.  I usually use a 6v 12amp-hour battery to power my v3, and a separate 6v 7.2 amp-hour battery for my D8.  While I have never done a test for how long this setup will last, according my my calculations, this is way overkill, and I've easily recorded 2 full shows with no battery light on the V3.  but in my mind, it worth it because it is one less thing to worry about going wrong.

[dnsacks]

Is anybody running their v3 off of one of the 9.6 volt wallmart lion batteries, these puppies are SMALL and light and provide 5.6ah of power.  My understanding is that the V3 can be calibrated for any voltage between 6 and 12 volts.  This could be a nice alternative to carrying around all that lead.

[JasonSobel]

My understanding is that the V3 can be calibrated for any voltage between 6 and 12 volts.

I believe you are correct here.  However, one thing to keep in mind is the discharge pattern of a lithium ion battery is different than that of lead.  The low battery indicator is based on a drop in voltage.  as an SLA battery drains, the voltage slowly drops, the low battery indicator is then calibrated to start flashing at a certain voltage.   With Lithium-ion batteries, the voltage doesn't really drop as it discharges.  I believe that they pretty much stay at the same voltage as they discharge, and thus, don't give much of a warning before they die.  For this reason, it would be hard to calibrate the low battery indicator.  (this is what I remember reading, anyway.  someone please correct me if I'm wrong here)

However, this does not mean that it wouldn't be a good option to power the V3, just that you'd have to watch the power more closely...

[Brian]

My understanding is that the V3 can be calibrated for any voltage between 6 and 12 volts.

I believe you are correct here.  However, one thing to keep in mind is the discharge pattern of a lithium ion battery is different than that of lead.  The low battery indicator is based on a drop in voltage.  as an SLA battery drains, the voltage slowly drops, the low battery indicator is then calibrated to start flashing at a certain voltage.   With Lithium-ion batteries, the voltage doesn't really drop as it discharges.  I believe that they pretty much stay at the same voltage as they discharge, and thus, don't give much of a warning before they die.  For this reason, it would be hard to calibrate the low battery indicator.  (this is what I remember reading, anyway.  someone please correct me if I'm wrong here)

However, this does not mean that it wouldn't be a good option to power the V3, just that you'd have to watch the power more closely...

you pretty much nailed it right on Jason.

[dnsacks]

Gotchya -- another point worth mentioning is that the wallmart lion battery has its own battery meter, which seems to behave pretty conservatively, plus its charger is a simple 12 volt wallwart (it has an internal regulator to properly charge/shut off charging the battery -- making it an apparent no-brainer to car-charge via a cigarette lighter)  -- just throwing things out there.

[F.O.Bean]

so whos gonna be the guinea pig and test it out

[Brian]

you are bean

[timP]

I may be after Fri..
I am real close to buying a V3 and I have 3 walmart batts alreay

[Tim]

using the 12v you are gaining nothing but you will be disspiating all of the extra juice as heat.  it's a waste to run it on 12v's really... extra weight, heat, nothing gained at all.

if you're only getting 5 hours on 6v 7.2ah running just a V3 something is wrong.

if the light is blinking too soon then send it in to Grace and have it calibrated.

[F.O.Bean]

calibration wouldnt be that hard w/ someone like me thats handy w/ a multimeter

[John Kelly]

I'll be testing out the walmart LiON with the v3 as of Thursday.