Allen Cobb's points and approach are well taken. Another approach is to se=
e
what voltage the device will tolerate, and provide it with a higher voltage=
by
using more batteries in series.=20
On the Sony D7 and D8 DAT portables, for instance, using the standard spec'=
ed
6-volt battery pack (4 AAs or Cs or Ds) on the external power input causes=
the machine to shut down long before the batteries are drained, since the d=
eck
is looking for about 6.3 volts minimum.=20
But if you fabricate a battery pack that puts five batteries in series to
start at a nominal voltage of 7.5, that 25% increase in battery weight yiel=
ds
more than twice the run time on a D7 or D8! It takes the combined five batt=
eries
much longer to get down to the 6.3 voltage minimum.
And the DAT's external power input tolerates the slightly higher starting
voltage without a problem.=20
Those will be the two questions we'll want answered about the MicroTrack (a=
nd
any other field recorder): what's the max voltage it can tolerate at its
external DC input, and what's the minimum voltage it will run on from the e=
xternal
supply?
--Flawn
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