Topic: 4xD Cell battery sled for D8, how long will it run?

[imissmybus]

My friend just made me the above battery box.  If I run Lithiums does anybody have any idea how long I can run it for?   He runs the same box using either Duracell or Energizer's and an M1 & gets about 30 hours of recording time.   But, the M1 normally runs on 2 AA's while the D8 uses 4.   My main concern is that when you have the box attached to the D8, the battery bar disappears so I'll have no clue as to when it's ghoing to crap out.  Any help is appreciated, Chris

[imissmybus]

My friend just made me the above battery box.  If I run Lithiums does anybody have any idea how long I can run it for?   He runs the same box using either Duracell or Energizer's and an M1 & gets about 30 hours of recording time.   But, the M1 normally runs on 2 AA's while the D8 uses 4.   My main concern is that when you have the box attached to the D8, the battery bar disappears so I'll have no clue as to when it's ghoing to crap out.  Any help is appreciated, Chris

[Brian Skalinder]

Depends.

[1] Check the Archival Info forum for a list of gear current draw and find the draw of the D8.
[2] Find out the AH capacity of the D-cells you plan on using (the manufacturer's website should have this info).
[3] Check the Archival Info forum for how to calculate the estimated run-time.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

The run time also depends on where you feed the power.  If you use the external power adapter port, you'll get less time than if you are using the modified sled/door connection.  I never did that (too pussy to deface my deck) but those who did reported huge improvement in run time for the same set of cells.

Also, when you feed through the sled bay, the battery monitor appears and works as it should.

JFYI, I think that the sled option is only recommended for D-Cell packs, not SLAs.

[imissmybus]

I'm retarded, what are SLA's?   Sorry but thanks for the feedback.  Chris

[flipp]

Sealed Lead Acid batteries.

Think Panasonic or Eco-Charge. Just like the car batteries you can't add electrolyte or water to.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

sorry,  SLA = Sealed Lead Acid battery.

the deck mod I referenced is to connect the wires from the D-CELL battery sled to the proper terminals on the D8 battery sled.  You need a little notch in the battery bay door to allow the wire to exit.  I've seen two forms 1) wires soldered to the D8 sled and 2) the guy used two AA battery sized dowels with terminals to allow the D-CELL sled to be connected without soldering to the D8 sled.

The fully charged 6V SLA battery can be at 7.2V, so you might not want that going in via the battery bay.

I don't know if that mod is discussed here, but there was alot of discussion on dat-heads.  Check that archive.