Topic: Edirol R-09-What happens when you run out of battery while recording?

[edtyre]

Good question!

Well it happened to me on monday night recording The Who opening night
in Philly. I ran out of my house thinking i had fresh rechargables in my unit,
but i forgot to swap out after my last show. Only able to record the 1st half of the
show before it went dead. My first screw up since i have owned the r09.

When i got home and powered up my unit, the file i was recording was there.
No problems at all, nothing was lost. The unit will save the entire file if this happens.
The low battery warning box started about 10 minutes before it was completely
dead, so if i had extra batteries this warning box gave me enough time to change out
before it died.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

That's a bummer...  As you saw, the r09 is very good about warning on low battery but not as good on whether you have 1 hour left or 3..  Part of the problem there is that the time left naturally depends on whether the r09 is idle or whether it is recording, downloading to usb, etc.

The 722/744 tell you the actual battery voltage at all times and you develop a good feel for what is great, good, etc.. I much prefer that but I'm sure a lot of regular consumer folks would be confused by being told 'volts'..

For my non-722 recording gear, I often use a dvm to check the battery voltage before heading out.  I will also check them after a show to get an idea of how much voltage to expect after X hours of recording.. etc.

[Brian Skalinder]

The unit will save the entire file if this happens.

I'm glad the R09 saved your partial recording, but I don't think a single data point is sufficient to declare that it will save the recording if the battery dies.  For example, early indications with either the JB3 or MT (forget which one) indicated it would do the same, but on-going results proved inconsistent.  Only reason I bring it up is I'd hate to see someone not switch batteries because they figured they could ride it out, assuming they'd walk away with at least most of the show even if the battery dies, only to find the recording's completely gone.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

FWIW my r09 saved the file just fine in testing.  Obviously, once it starts flashing 'low battery' on the screen, you'd ought to be making some plans...

And SD claims that the 722/744 can write the file even if power is suddenly yanked.. It detects the power loss and flushes the buffers using the reserve power stored in internal capacitors. Haven't tested it.

[gewwang]

Well it happened to me on monday night recording The Who opening night
in Philly.

So is this show worth the $175 or $75 per ticket? I'm still on the fence about the show 2 hrs away from my client site in two weeks.

[edtyre]

Well it happened to me on monday night recording The Who opening night
in Philly.

So is this show worth the $175 or $75 per ticket? I'm still on the fence about the show 2 hrs away from my client site in two weeks.

Not unless you are a big fan. This first show was more like a rehearsal with a lot of screw-ups and
equipment problems. The playing was just ok. The new material they are playing is what got me to go.
Its the first new stuff in like 25 years.

[edtyre]

The unit will save the entire file if this happens.

I'm glad the R09 saved your partial recording, but I don't think a single data point is sufficient to declare that it will save the recording if the battery dies.  For example, early indications with either the JB3 or MT (forget which one) indicated it would do the same, but on-going results proved inconsistent.  Only reason I bring it up is I'd hate to see someone not switch batteries because they figured they could ride it out, assuming they'd walk away with at least most of the show even if the battery dies, only to find the recording's completely gone.

You are right Brian! I should have said you might wind up with a saved recording, just because it happened once
to me is no guarantee that it will be true every time. Next time (if there is a next time) i'll save the recording and start
a new file while the low batt warning is still flashing.

[simon151]

The unit will save the entire file if this happens.

I'm glad the R09 saved your partial recording, but I don't think a single data point is sufficient to declare that it will save the recording if the battery dies.  For example, early indications with either the JB3 or MT (forget which one) indicated it would do the same, but on-going results proved inconsistent.  Only reason I bring it up is I'd hate to see someone not switch batteries because they figured they could ride it out, assuming they'd walk away with at least most of the show even if the battery dies, only to find the recording's completely gone.

You are right Brian! I should have said you might wind up with a saved recording, just because it happened once
to me is no guarantee that it will be true every time. Next time (if there is a next time) i'll save the recording and start
a new file while the low batt warning is still flashing.

I've been doing a few test runs at home this week with my r-09, in an attempt to determine battery life as well as seeing what happens with 2gb+ files and the such. I'm using r-09 ver 1.03, Transcend 4GB SD, and 2500mAh Energizer NiMH's, using built in mics()

Session 1
File 1, recorded for 2:45
File 2, recorded for 0:35
File 3, recorded for 0:15
then I recorded 5 more files each 0:03 mins long
Total 3:50ish

Playing back on the r-09, start file 1 automatically jumps to file 2, all remaining files play fine.
Transfer to PC, every file works fine.
Format card in PC

Session 2
File 1, recorded for 1:50
file 2, recorded for 0:20
Files both play fine on r-09 and PC
Format card in PC

Session 3
File 1, record for 1:00
file 2, record for unknown, Low Battery came on about 0:05, last noticed it around 0:30

Batterys dead. Put fresh batteries in to attempt to play the files, file 1 plays fine, attempt to play file 2, no go.
Transfer to PC, file 1 fine, file 2 is about 750mb give or take, winamp just plays static.

Simon