I apologize if there is a specific thread, but I do not recall seeing this information. Can someone explain the intricacies of the M10 battery meter? I normally change out alkalines once two "segments" have disappeared; is there a time correlation to the segments? And what is this "warning blink" (never seen it) and what does it mean?
As one who has come to be comfortable running to try to pretty well use them up:
This thread reminds me I need to get some new rechargables...
I've been using Ikea batteries. They're quite good and a lot less expensive than brand name ones, but mainly because we have a lot of them. I believe they're alkaline. They run a lot of hours (at least 20, maybe 30)... I use a tinybox (whether powering Schoeps or SPs into it), so no PIP.
Getting to the questions it may depend on what you record. Most of what I see occurs in shorter sets (they'll do two 60 to 80 minute sets if it is a full show or early/late club date).
There doesn't seem to be a time correlation to the segments but I would say that as the batteries become more well used the segments disappear faster. If you turn on a set that has seen some use you may see two or three segments initially but they disappear faster. That last segment will run a long time though... I usually replace when I only see one segment when turned on (unless I'm recording something that will run longer than usual). Live dangerously I guess...
There is a low battery flashing warning that comes on but I was not aware lithiums don;t trigger that, so thanks!). I'm not quite sure how much run time you have at that point (it probably depends on the mics and how they're powered and perhaps how long it has been running before the warning came on). I've only seen that once (when I forgot to change batteries and they got too low). It ran for a while after I noticed that but I did a switch batteries at the encore break.