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Author Topic: Powering Field Recorders-Updated Guide to External Power Options  (Read 14054 times)

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Offline voltronic

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Re: Powering Field Recorders-Updated Guide to External Power Options
« Reply #15 on: March 02, 2017, 06:07:05 AM »
^ ^^ Thanks for the feedback; I'll look into that RavPower.
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Offline lsd2525

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Offline nolamule

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Re: Powering Field Recorders-Updated Guide to External Power Options
« Reply #17 on: March 05, 2017, 08:44:45 AM »
This looks interesting.....

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/juiced-external-battery-charger?referer=AJULLA

That looks like a great battery for the price. I would be all over one of these if they would have also include a DC out port.

Offline lmgbtapes

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Re: Powering Field Recorders-Updated Guide to External Power Options
« Reply #18 on: February 12, 2019, 09:15:08 PM »
First, let me thank everyone who posts on Taperssection and other gear-related sites.  Your contributions have been really valuable and are appreciated.

Second, after reading as much as I could, I decided on the TalentCell Rechargeable 72W 132WH 12V/11000mAh from Amazon for $65.  The Amazon page actually has two options – the other is for the 8300 mAhr version for $49.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01337QXMA/
Just got it a few days ago and I'm really happy with it so far...  I plan to take it to the Okeechobee Music Festival next week to give it a real test.
Here are my thoughts so far:

PHYSICAL
Length: 138 mm, ~5.5 inches (including switch), Width: 80 mm, ~3.125 inches, Height 30 mm, ~1.5 inches.  It will actually fit in the pocket of the CS-DR680 case.  (I wouldn’t leave it in there for long periods due to the risk of flipping the switch on accidently and not realizing it.)
Manual says it weighs 500 grams.

CONNECTIONS
To connect it to the DR-680 MKII, a couple of adapter cords are needed.  The power jack on the DR-680 MKII takes a 4.75 x 1.7 mm male plug.  (The original DR-680 has a 5.5 x 2.1 jack).  The 12 volt output port on the TalentCell battery is a 5.5 x 2.1.  So, to get from the battery to the DR-680, I bought the following:
1) Male to male 5.5 x 2.1 to come out of the 12V port, about 2 feet. (If you have the original DR-680, this is all you need.)
www.amazon.com/Valley-2-1mm-5-5mm-Power-Adapter/dp/B00DX6ZUBM
2) 5.5 x 2.1 Female to 4.75 x 1.7 male, about 6 inches long. (The one in the link is described as “4.8 mm” but it works.)
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Power-Supply%C2%AE-5-5x2-1mm-4-8x1-7mm/dp/B00EA4Q60K
There’s also a 9V port on the front panel, but this one is 5.5 x 2.5 and won’t fit the cables you’ll be using. (I’ve read that some people run their DR-680 at 9 volts, but let’s not go there…)
There’s also a 5 V USB port for charging your phone, etc.  All the ports can be used simultaneously.

CHARGING
The TalentCell comes with a 1.5 amp charger – so to charge a completely dead battery will take about 7 hours (according to math and the instructions).
There are 5 LEDs on the battery – red shows that it’s turned on, and a set of 4 to show relative charge.  There’s also an LED on the charger that shows red while charging, and turning to green when the battery is 100% charged.  The switch on the TalentCell must be turned on in order to charge it (according to the instructions).
There’s a “Y” cable included so that you could charge the battery and run the DR-680 simultaneously.
In the festival wilderness, I plan to charge the TalentCell from the 120 VAC output on my old Duracell/Xantrex Powerpack 600HD.  The inverter delivers a “simulated” sine wave output that doesn’t work well with some chargers.  But, the Powerpack topped off the TalentCell battery without any apparent problems.

OPERATION
There’s a rocker switch to turn the battery on and off.  A little too easy to accidently turn it off, but the DR-680 seems OK with that, as long as there are a set of AA batteries in the recorder.  If the lights on the battery go off, it’s been accidently turned off…
The 12 V jack can apparently deliver 6 amps of power – plenty for the DR-680, which draws under an amp.   I’ve read that the DR-680 draws either 8 or 9 watts with all channels and the phantom power on, so this works out to a maximum of 0.75 amps.
Total running time of the DR-680 with the TalentCell  11 Ahr battery calculates to 14.7 hours (your experience may differ…)  Add another 3 hours if you want to burn through the AA batteries too.
There’s also a momentary contact button on the face that briefly lights up the LEDs to indicate the charge level.

PERFORMANCE with the DR-680
I charged the battery for a couple of hours until it was green-lighted on the charger, and then plugged it into the DR-680.  Seemed to work fine!
I plugged in a pair of microphones and turned the gain up fairly high to see if the battery caused any hum or noise when close to the recorder (above, below, etc.)  I didn’t hear anything unusual on the recording.  Killing and restarting the TalentCell battery while recording showed the expected changeover to the DR-680 AA batteries.  There was a faint “thump” for both events in the audio recording, but I doubt that anyone would notice it in a real recording.

FAA RESTRICTIONS
According to 49CFR175.10(a)(18), the TalentCell 11 Ahr (132 Wh) battery will need airline approval to fly.  The smaller 8.3 Ahr (100 Wh) battery is good to go in your carry-on luggage.  Lithium batteries must NEVER go in checked baggage.
“(ii) For a lithium ion battery, the Watt-hour rating must not exceed 100 Wh. With the approval of the operator, portable electronic devices may contain lithium ion batteries exceeding 100 Wh, but not exceeding 160 Wh and no more than two individually protected lithium ion batteries each exceeding 100 Wh, but not exceeding 160 Wh, may be carried per person as spare batteries in carry-on baggage.”

HUGE THANKS for this post. Was exactly what I needed wrt the adapter cables for this external bat + dr680mkii. I've been running Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries thusfar- get 6+ hours on the dr680mkii running 4 mics, but it gets expensive fast. I figure I'll be set as long as I can squeeze 2-3 hours out of the external battery. Has anyone here dealt with the "airline approval" for the larger one? I actually got both just to be safe- I travel quite a bit and plan to take my taping gear often, so I wanted to be sure I always have my bases covered with regards to external power. I'm googling around and I can't figure out exactly what "airline approval" even looks like- I'll probably be calling Southwest soon to figure it out, but I'm curious if anyone here has firsthand experience.

Offline twatts (pants are so over-rated...)

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Re: Powering Field Recorders-Updated Guide to External Power Options
« Reply #19 on: February 12, 2019, 11:10:33 PM »
Has anyone here dealt with the "airline approval" for the larger one? I actually got both just to be safe- I travel quite a bit and plan to take my taping gear often, so I wanted to be sure I always have my bases covered with regards to external power. I'm googling around and I can't figure out exactly what "airline approval" even looks like- I'll probably be calling Southwest soon to figure it out, but I'm curious if anyone here has firsthand experience.

https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/more_info/?hazmat=7

Power-Sonic used to have a Pamphlet that you could print out to keep with your SLA batteries that basically explained to TSA that batteries were safe and legal for travel, etc.  I can't seem to find it anymore...

Basically, unless its a car battery, or some kind of home-made rig, it is safe for travel...

Terry


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Offline lmgbtapes

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Re: Powering Field Recorders-Updated Guide to External Power Options
« Reply #20 on: February 12, 2019, 11:24:18 PM »
The issue lies here:

Quote
Size limits: Lithium metal (non-rechargeable) batteries are limited to 2 grams of lithium per battery. Lithium ion (rechargeable) batteries are limited to a rating of 100 watt hours (Wh) per battery. These limits allow for nearly all types of lithium batteries used by the average person in their electronic devices. With airline approval, passengers may also carry up to two spare larger lithium ion batteries (101-160 watt hours). This size covers the larger after-market extended-life laptop computer batteries and some larger batteries used in professional audio/visual equipment.

The batteries I bought are 132Wh & 100Wh respectively. So 100Wh is technically within constraints, but 132 requires "airline approval". I imagine I'd probably be able to get through most security areas just saying "I bought it from amazon as a spare power supply, not sure?" if they ask about it, because it doesn't list the Wh on the battery and they'd have to do a little math to figure it out- but like I said, was curious if anyone here had gone through the "proper" channels. I'll post what I hear from Southwest (my primary flight provider)

Offline rumbleseat

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Re: Powering Field Recorders-Updated Guide to External Power Options
« Reply #21 on: February 13, 2019, 10:46:54 PM »
I've flown with the 132 WH Talentcell several times last year.
For some airlines (Delta, American), I was able to find a statement on their website something to the effect that "up to 160 WH is fine as a carry-on."
For Aer Lingus, I called and they said that was fine and they'd let the cabin crew for my flight know about it.
I flew on Southwest in August to Pickathon and had emailed them for permission since I didn't see anything on their website.  I got a response from Eugenie.Balounova@wnco.com with a screenshot from their internal customer service website indicating that it was OK. (attached)
Probably a good idea to confirm that their policies haven't changed.

Remember - Carry-on luggage only.  And if it catches on fire, pour plain water on it.  (Yes, that's the recommendation.)
Hope this helps!


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Offline splumer

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Re: Powering Field Recorders-Updated Guide to External Power Options
« Reply #22 on: February 21, 2019, 10:22:20 AM »
I also have a RAVPower, and love it. The longest I've recorded has been three hours, and that's with no loss of battery power (all the LED's still glowing). That's powering a Marantz PMD660. I bought the cable at Best Buy. I took my recorder into the store with me, told the sales dude what I needed and they got me the cable. I think it was $6. I still put AA's in the 660 just in case the cable comes out or whatever, but so far haven't needed them. It's also great for charging phones and tablets.
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