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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: ljsurfer2002 on October 21, 2018, 09:30:47 AM

Title: Very Low (~1 hour?) recording time on 2xAA Batteries for Tascam DR-2D ?
Post by: ljsurfer2002 on October 21, 2018, 09:30:47 AM: Hello everyone.

been a very long time since posting here at TS.com! I had been using a NJ3 back in the old old 2003 days up till 2008 or so? ...

back in 2013 or so? i finally decided to get with the SDHC compact 'all in one' recorders and got the Tascam DR-2D and loved the ease of use / not needing a full rig. However, the AA battery situation really seems to be lacking. Recording time on AA batteries (x2) seems to be very low. only an hour or so? and then when it dies, you have to restart and everything has been reset to defaults / levels / etc. is this a common issue? I loved how the NJ3 had those two little brick batteries you could recharge within the unit. crazy that little internal HD recorded so many shows!

are there any new $200 ish 2018 era 'mics built in and write to SD card' recorders that have internal power that you can charge / plug in ?

thanks!
Title: Re: Very Low (~1 hour?) recording time on 2xAA Batteries for Tascam DR-2D ?
Post by: ljsurfer2002 on October 21, 2018, 09:34:35 AM: this has the good info as well: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=187521.0
Title: Re: Very Low (~1 hour?) recording time on 2xAA Batteries for Tascam DR-2D ?
Post by: WiFiJeff on October 21, 2018, 09:43:32 AM: I regularly record 4 channels on the DR-2d with external mics (powered by a Church Audio 4-track preamp) using rechargeable NiMH AAs (PowerX), and I get over 5 hours (have never run it down dead, I'd guess from remaining bars that it would run about 6 hours).
Title: Re: Very Low (~1 hour?) recording time on 2xAA Batteries for Tascam DR-2D ?
Post by: tapeheadtoo on October 21, 2018, 10:21:15 AM: Have you done firmware update? I updated all my decks to v1.03 and have run them 4 hours (with juice remaining) on Kirkland (Costco brand) AA's....

https://www.tascam.eu/en/downloads/DR-2d
Title: Re: Very Low (~1 hour?) recording time on 2xAA Batteries for Tascam DR-2D ?
Post by: kuba e on October 21, 2018, 11:55:56 AM: The dr2d has option Battery type in menu Setup. You can set alcaline or NiMh rechargeables batteries. Choose the right one you are using. If this option is incorrectly set, dr2d has a short stamina. I am running dr2d about 4 hours with my old rechargebles batteries. There is also possibility to power dr2d via external 5V battery too.
Title: Re: Very Low (~1 hour?) recording time on 2xAA Batteries for Tascam DR-2D ?
Post by: jagraham on October 21, 2018, 08:43:04 PM: I think tapehead is right here, you need to update the firmware. I remember testing the unit and it draining fast when it was out of the box, but now I can record 4 channels and get 5 hours or so. Also - if you are powering the mics with the DR-2D and not using a preamp or battery box, the batteries will drain faster.
Title: Re: Very Low (~1 hour?) recording time on 2xAA Batteries for Tascam DR-2D ?
Post by: daspyknows on October 25, 2018, 02:12:51 PM: Energizer Lithiums work great. I buy in bulk. Advanced easily 6 hours and Ultimate easily 9 hours.