« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2009, 08:19:46 AM »
As long as it is putting out 8.5+ volts, you should be good for another show. This will save you a ton on batteries in the long run. No longer any need to toss them when they still have a lot of life left just to be safe.
While I don't know much about the specifics of a battery I was thinking of getting a multimeter for the same reason you described. The only issue I have with this is, wouldn't this only tell you that there's enough juice to give you that reading at that moment rather than how much juice is left?
Dimm0k, you're absolutely right. The reading won't tell you how much juice there is left.
The only way to tell is by learning your specific discharge curve for your particular rig (like gutbucket did in the thread below). This will largely depend on which brand/type of battery you're running, but also the mic model and which version of the CA pre you have. Chris Church modified the specs, so recent builds draw less current.
Once you've gotten to know the discharge curve, you can extrapolate how long you can run your rig at any given reading:
http://www.mpoweruk.com/performance.htmhttp://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-16a.htmGutbucket experienced distortion to his mics already by 8.5V:
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,91415.msg1455320.html#msg1455320So unless you've tested and ran your mics with low voltage, Chris advise against running his gear below 8.5V.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2009, 08:31:40 AM by sunjan »
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Mics: A-51s LE, CK 930, Line Audo CM3, AT853Rx (hc,c,sc), ECM 121, ECM 909A
Pres: Tinybox, CA-9100, UA5 wmod
Recorders: M10, H116 (CF mod), H340, NJB3
Gearbag: High Sierra Corkscrew
MD transfers: MZ-RH1. Tape transfers: Nak DR-1
Photo rig: Nikon D70, 18-70mm/3.5-4.5, SB-800