Topic: Had a major meltdown last night!

[MSTaper]

Ok, I'm taping at a bar that has lousy sound and wasn't in a really good spot (was there to keep away from the drunks). Long story short, I check my levels for the last set, a really great local band I've taped before, the "tape" is rolling and I wander around, checking it from time to time. Near the end, I check the R-09 and it's dead. Batteries expired. They showed full when the set started but I know better and should have changed them. Now, I know it was still going around 45 minutes or so into the set, but the file will not open. It still shows a size of 516mb. Is it common for this to happen when power goes out during recording? I know the R-09 will not let you turn off the power when it's recording. I feel really stupid and this was a super hot set by this band. I really hate to tell them I blew it. Of course, I understand these things happen and will happen again.

I don't suppose the file is recoverable?

The two previous sets worked and those files were OK. They don't sound that great, but I've never recorded there with this rig. Not the best sounding place in the world.

Oh well, I suppose I'll attempt to get something from Mule tonight.

rWc3523

[MSTaper]

I just feel bad because it was a good show, but judging from the other two recordings, it might not have sounded too hot. Think I'll set the levels a little lower there next time. I've I'd stayed with the rig, I might have been able to stop and change batteries and salvaged most of the show.    Live and learn, I guess. So is it common for files to get corrupted in this situation? I'm assuming that's why the file won't open. rWc3523 

[saxophoner]

i had the same issue with batts dying when i was lent an r09.  something like when it shuts down the file did something weird and i was never able to open it either...   good luck though brother

[MSTaper]

  I must be living right! I was about the clean off the files in the R-09 after last night's debacle and started checking the locked up file and noticed a "repair" function on the menu and tried it! The filed opened and I got 47 minutes of the show, about half or so, but it's better than nothing. Oh, and I was right, I'll have to tinker with some different settings at that bar next time. Good thing I'm not picky! And I won't depend on these crappy rechargable batteries lasting!   rWc3523

[guysonic]

  R-09 has menu settings for alkaline/Ni-MH rechargeable battery types.  Usually this calibrates the LOW BAT indication to be correct for each type of battery used AND MAYBE let's the deck know when it's time to GRACEFULLY SHUT DOWN saving the file BEFORE the battery power drops too low.

Maybe check if you have the battery type setting correctly set?   

Generally, alkaline batteries start at ~1.6 volts when new, and gradually output lower voltage to end of service voltage of 0.8 volts.  Some equipment can follow the alkaline cell all the way down to 0.8 volts, some cannot. quiting operating at some higher cell voltage.

Ni-MH generally start at 1.35 volts when recently fully charged, or at least at 1.25 volts if fully charged, but sitting around for awhile before use. 

End of service Ni-MH voltage depends on device loading conditions, temperature, and a few other things, but varies from 1.05 volts to ~1.1 volts at nominal end of capacity. 

While alkaline gradually reduce their cell voltage during use, Ni-MH cells tend to keep up their 1.25 volts until nearly exhausted, and then  cell volts drops off very quickly.   

This makes it most important that deck's cell voltage monitoring is accurate to know when to quit, safely saving the file, and  very important you are using rechargeable cells that've been properly maintained to be a closely matched set, and in good general condition.

  Tips on my external external battery page gives tips on how to get the most out of your rechargeable batteries at: www.sonicstudios.com/batsys98.htm

[china_rider]

With my R9 I use NIMH 2700 batteries.  I get 6+ hours on a full charge but even with the battery type set correctly the battery meter on the R9 shows full until about 20-10 min before the battery is about to go dead.  If I know in advance that I'm going to go anywhere close to 5 hours plus I bring an extra set of batteries and swap them out at some point.

Probably makes sense to get a few pairs of good rechargeables and find out how long they last at home with your R9.  Then you can determine when you need to swap batteries before they run out.

[MSTaper]

Thanks guys. That's what made is so bad, I HAD extra batteries, just didn't follow through with my hunch. Last night at Mule, I switched them after the first act... or was it after the first Mule set? One or the other, but I'm going to try not to let it happen again and it didn't happen last night. rWc3523

[carbine000]

The same thing happened to me at Daft Punk back in July. It was my first time taping. My MZ-700 died and the file was 100% lost. Bummer I know. Its definitely a live and learn situation. I know its tough to cut and stop in the middle of the show as you might miss the beginning of the next song. Better safe than sorry I guess.

[stevetoney]

The same thing happened to me at Daft Punk back in July. It was my first time taping. My MZ-700 died and the file was 100% lost. Bummer I know. Its definitely a live and learn situation. I know its tough to cut and stop in the middle of the show as you might miss the beginning of the next song. Better safe than sorry I guess.

Like China_Rider said, the best thing to do is on a night you aren't doing anything, just start the dang recorder with the everything plugged in...say so that you're just recording the TV and other ambient sounds around the house.  See how long it takes to run down. 

I mean, it's no big deal to just turn it on and let it roll.  I'm not sure why more people don't do this just to take the guesswork out of how long the batteries will last.  I like having that comfort level.

BTW, it seems like the battery-full-to-battery-empty-in-15-minutes-or-less thing is a common issue for alot of these types of devices.  That's true of the 660 that I just sold...only instead of it being 15 minutes, it's more like 5 minutes.  It was true of the R-09 in the brief time that I owned that, and it was also true of the Hi-MD player that I ran for many many moons. 

Just take the guesswork out of it and run a test run so you know and can stop worrying.

[MSTaper]

Heh, you'd think I'd learned my lesson, but noooooo! Did it again last night taping The Pine Hill Haints here at home. The rechargables showed full, but after checking levels a few times, right before the show, the crappy rechargable batteries in the R-09 started showing a bit of black (meaning they're going down) I thought they were fully charged and would last the hour I needed. Of course, they did not, but at least I was there when the R-09 went off midway. I quickly (sort of) changed the batteries and got the rest of the show. Lost the end of one song and the beginning of the next.

However, I learned that the repair function, at least as far as I can tell, only appears when there is a corrupted file in the unit. I used it again and retrieved the music I recorded before the unit shut down. I'm glad I did becuase the set was pretty hot. I'm thinking of going back to alkaline.

rWc3523

[MSTaper]

Thanks Moke, I thought these were fresh. Could be there not top of the line rechargables and I might stop using them in the R-09. At least I was around this time to swap them. I was getting a solid four hours or more from regular alkaline, but at least three hours from the rechargables. Could be they're need refreshing. Thanks for the help! 

rWc3523