Topic: ad1k current draw

[mhibbs]

Last night I ran my new jb3 along w/ my D8 using the optical and coax outs on the ad1000.  At about 2hrs 30min maybe the power light on the apogee started flashing the the death flash...it's never done that so quickly before...although it did run to the end of the show.  Any possibility that using both outputs draws more current?  Considering the optical is on w/ the spdif and just capped off even if you aren't using it, and it's pulses of light, it doesn' t seem like using it should affect the current draw at all?  Just found it a little strange, and want to get it ironed out before Radio City just to be safe.


mitch

[leegeddy]

Last night I ran my new jb3 along w/ my D8 using the optical and coax outs on the ad1000.  At about 2hrs 30min maybe the power light on the apogee started flashing the the death flash...it's never done that so quickly before...although it did run to the end of the show.  Any possibility that using both outputs draws more current?  Considering the optical w/ the spdif and just capped off even if you aren't using it, and it's pulses of light, it doesn' t seem like it should using it should affect the current draw at all?  Just found it a little strange, and want to get it ironed out before Radio City just to be safe.


mitch

mitch;
perhaps your batteries aren't holding as much charge as they used to in the past.

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=2461.0

Apogee ad1k: 1200mA.

marc

[mhibbs]

Yeah, I thought of that, although I've used it recently for about the same durations and haven't seen the light that I remember.  I do have a second battery I built that's barely been used.  I'm definitely going to run it next time and see if it repeats w/ another battery.

[Tim]

here's a link to the ad1k owners manual
http://www.taperssection.com/reference/pdf/Manual_ApogeeAD1000.pdf

tell your brother I said hey

[mhibbs]

Actually it almost has to be the battery.  From the manual...

NOMINAL DC POWER INPUT 12vdc @ 1150-1300mA dependent upon function
INPUT VOLTAGE RANGE +11.5 to +15 Volts DC (well regulated)
INPUT DROPOUT VOLTAGE 10.4 Volts DC
LOW VOLTAGE INDICATOR Power LED Flashes at <11.5vdc Power Input

No way that light should be coming on at anywhere near 3hrs even at 1300mA.  Theoretical limit should be just over 5hrs at the max draw.

[leegeddy]

Actually it almost has to be the battery.  From the manual...

NOMINAL DC POWER INPUT 12vdc @ 1150-1300mA dependent upon function
INPUT VOLTAGE RANGE +11.5 to +15 Volts DC (well regulated)
INPUT DROPOUT VOLTAGE 10.4 Volts DC
LOW VOLTAGE INDICATOR Power LED Flashes at <11.5vdc Power Input

No way that light should be coming on at anywhere near 3hrs even at 1300mA.  Theoretical limit should be just over 5hrs at the max draw.

a couple of things to consider.

1. was your battery fully charged? even the larger AH batteries drop their voltage when a large current draw is applied.
2. was the charge of the battery fresh? using a fully charged battery from a week ago can affect voltage.
3. was there a grilled cheese sandwich on top of the ad1k?   i kid of course.

what's the AH capacity of your batt?

marc

[heath]

3. was there a grilled cheese sandwich on top of the ad1k?   i kid of course.

+t

I can't wait to make some grilled cheese at WSP in Cleveland!  My stove/ad1k has been idle for WAY too long 

[marc0789]

Last night I ran my new jb3 along w/ my D8 using the optical and coax outs on the ad1000.  At about 2hrs 30min maybe the power light on the apogee started flashing the the death flash...it's never done that so quickly before...although it did run to the end of the show.  Any possibility that using both outputs draws more current?  Considering the optical is on w/ the spdif and just capped off even if you aren't using it, and it's pulses of light, it doesn' t seem like using it should affect the current draw at all?  Just found it a little strange, and want to get it ironed out before Radio City just to be safe.

mitch

not that unusual, particularly running two outs...on the few occasions I gave out my opti to md'ers, that happened to me. and when I wasn't, I'd get a flashing purple at about 3 hours many times.

[mhibbs]

Battery was fully charged...the night before.  It's either a 7 or 7.2 amp/hr...whatever Eco used, I forget.  It is rather old though.  I'm going to run my 7.2 I built next time that has only been used a few times and see what happens.  It would be interesting to know just how far it had dropped by the end of the night and how far it was from the 10.4V cutoff.  I did run for a good 20-30min flashing and never died.

[Todd R]

Yep, I'd agree it is the battery going.  The optical out circuit is always on, so it makes no difference from a current draw perspective whether you've got equipment hooked up to the optical or just have the cap on.

I've had a couple of my old SLA batteries go bad in the space of a couple months last fall.  Both were fully charged and didn't run the V3 nearly as long as they should have.  Seems like when SLAs get too old, they stop holding as great a depth of charge so their amp-hour capacity goes way down.  This seems to happen fairly abruptly, not slowly over several uses.  One day they're fine, the next day they're not holding their usual capacity.  I've since replaced my SLAs with Li-Ion batteries.