Topic: PMD 661

[ButchAlmberg]

So... I've been recording for less than a year with decent results by my standards. That said, the issue I had early on was that this recorder sucked up batteries. I use an phantom power (48v) supply and I'd be lucky to get three hours of record time before having to swap out for another set of Duracells. I came to accept this as 'normal'. Well, I had an incident this weekend while taping at AURA where I was watching the recorder to see if it was going to last through a particularly long set. Towards the end of this set (battery having been on one bar for close to an hour) I noticed that the left channel wasn't recording. The set ended shortly after and I went to trouble shooting, beginning with swapping out the mics to see if one had gone bad. Having done that, the left channel was still not picking up. Next, I replaced the batteries. Bingo! Both channels were back to recording again, and continued to do so for the duration of the festival. Then, a V8 moment. What if my recorder was providing phantom power to the mic? I went through my presets to see if I had missed a toggle somewhere but couldn't find anything. I would have to get back to civilization to continue troubleshooting.

Back home I found my users manual and found a switch on the bottom of the unit that says P48 ON OFF. I've had it in the OFF position with the assumption that the 661 would NOT provide power to the mics in this position. I looked a little closer though and saw a third option for this toggle, which is the LINE setting.

Am I correct in assuming that this is supposed to be in the LINE position?

[yug du nord]

If mikes require P48 and are plugged directly into the 661 xlr inputs..  that switch should be set to "MIC ON P48".
If you are running an external P48 supply and that is plugged into the 661 xlr inputs..  that switch should be set to "MIC OFF P48".
If you are using an external preamp that supplies the P48 and that is plugged into the 661 xlr inputs..  that switch sould be set to "LINE".

[dnsacks]

you might want to also try using a good set of rechargeable NIMH (nickel metal halide) aa-sized batteries.  These batteries can actually provide MORE power than aa batteries in high current situations and have been used successfully by others running PMD661s in the past.  Don't have a clear sense of battery runtimes as I don't run this deck, but since they're rechargeable, you could perform some "run-down" tests recording ambient noise to see just how many hours they'll reliably provide.

Key to having these batteries work well is getting both good batteries -- enloops are widely considered to be the "gold standard" -- and a good charger -- I use a Lacrosse BC-700 http://www.amazon.com/La-Crosse-Technology-Battery-Charger/dp/B000RSOV50 MAHA chargers are also well respected -- these chargers will charge each battery separately and allow for discharge/conditioning/etc.   Thomas Distributing www.thomasdistributing.com is a good source for batteries (enloops, etc.)

[404 Not Found]

I always had run and still run my PMD661 with an outboard battery and have never needed to worry about the battery life due to a Phantom 48v requirement for the mics. 

If you have the money?  just saying, look at upgrading and adding a Sound Devices MixPre-D and use the AES3 D. Out to the Marantz's S/PDIF In.  World of difference!

[DigiGal]

If you have the money?  just saying, look at upgrading and adding a Sound Devices MixPre-D and use the AES3 D. Out to the Marantz's S/PDIF In.  World of difference!

THIS, the two units complement each other perfectly and can both be powered by a dual output battery like a Tekkeon MP3450 which allows for redundant power backup if you also keep AA's in each of the units.

BTW, if you do use rechargeable batts in your PMD661 be sure to change the battery setting in the menus as the rechargeable batts run at a lower voltage.  Also I'd recommend using LSD low self discharge AA's for your rechargeable AA's.

[yug du nord]

If you have the money...  just saying..  World of difference..

I'd recommend using LSD...

Profound advice!!..  but of course, YMMV.   

[splumer]

I always had run and still run my PMD661 with an outboard battery and have never needed to worry about the battery life due to a Phantom 48v requirement for the mics. 

What do you use? I have a 660 that has started eating batteries, and I was thinking about an outboard battery. (though maybe I should post this in the battery forum...)

[ButchAlmberg]

Thank you all for the advice and recommendations. I'll be recording on St. Patricks Day and am hoping to see better results. A MixPre-D is definitely on my wish list.

[DF81]

Thank you all for the advice and recommendations. I'll be recording on St. Patricks Day and am hoping to see better results. A MixPre-D is definitely on my wish list.

Mixpre-D is a good choice.  You might want to try Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries... I don't think that has been mentioned yet.  Those are the best on the market by far (even better than the Duracell red batteries by 33%).  Other than that you need A) more batteries B) an external battery C) something like a Mixpre-D that runs on two AA's for several hours.

[pdxdanmusic]

I use the MixPre-D with the PMD661 and I have yet to use my festival battery because I get AC at the one I worry most about. I use Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries in the MixPre-D and in a test with my mics got between 5 and 6 hours with a set. I use a small USB 12000 mAh battery for the PMD661 that in a test gave me almost 12 hours running digital in on it from the Mix-Pre-D. I get the batteries at Amazon for about $13 for 8 so 4 shows means $3.25 a show. I use a fresh set and put the old ones in a box for other uses. The USB battery I got at NewEgg and for a PMD660 make sure it has a 2.1 A output where the PMD661 1.5 A will work (1 A works also).