Good info Greg. I think your 15-16 hour estimate is probably right on the m=
oney for 6 mics and phantom power with the BP160. And yes: weight, price, a=
nd battery life - pick 2.
Another plus with the Bixnet batteries is they have solar panel charging op=
tions.
--- In Gregory O'Drobinak <=
.> wrote:
>
> Trond & all:
>
> There is another issue with using external batteries with the DR-680 that=
you
> need to be aware of.
>
> If a lead-acid (AGM or gel cell) battery is left on well past its 'safe'=
> discharge voltage, the DR-680 does NOT deal with the low input voltage pr=
operly;
> it doesn't switch over to the internal batteries as one might expect, unt=
il
> things are too late. As the external battery voltage drops, the recorded =
sound
> is filled with increasingly large amounts of terrible glitches, then the =
audio
> mutes altogether. Not a pleasant thing to listen to.
>
> There are two solutions to this problem with lead-acid batteries. One is =
to
> build an in-line circuit for the battery supply that cuts off the supply =
to the
> DR-680 when the voltage drops to about 11.6 volts. Then the internal batt=
eries
> will take over properly from the external battery. The other way is to us=
e a
> battery that has excess capacity to handle extended recording times befor=
e it
> reaches its safe discharge voltage. My rule-of-thumb is to allow for abou=
t 1 AH
> of battery capacity for each hour of recording time, based on using 4 mic=
s with
> phantom power. You should be safe with that amount. As an example, I did =
a 14
> hour drop at Seney with 4 mics under phantom power using a 22 AH AGM batt=
ery
> with no issues. So use the biggest battery you can handle. BTW, the power=
> consumption of the DR-680 does not scale exactly linearly with the amount=
of
> mics used since the recorder uses a fair amount of power even when not us=
ing
> phantom power.
>
> My lab measurements put the power consumption of the DR-680 at 0.96 watts=
(800
> mA * 12 volts) when using all 6 mic inputs with phantom power. So my
> rule-of-thumb for battery capacity is pretty darn close. I always like to=
have a
> safety factor when dealing with one-of-a-kind recording opportunities. =
:>}
>
> I don't have any experience with using the BP160 lithium battery pack tha=
t David
> has mentioned, but based on the data sheet one could expect about 15 - 16=
hours
> of run time for the DR-680 using 6 mics with phantom power. The BP160 has=
> built-in circuitry that should mitigate any problems with the cutover to =
the
> internal batteries of the DR-680.
>
> All of this boils down to price versus size and weight. One can buy almos=
t five
> 22 AH AGM batteries that each have equivalent capacity to the BP160 batte=
ry
> pack, but they are heavy and bulky compared to their lithium counterpart.=
>
> As for toxicity, all batteries have some toxic chemicals within them. All=
> batteries should be disposed of at a proper disposal facility after they =
are no
> longer usable. BTW, I have never had any health issues using and handling=
AGM
> (lead acid) batteries. One can recycle them at many battery shops for fre=
e; the
> internal contents are then used to make new batteries.
>
> Finally, here are some links for the curious:
> http://www.batteryweb.com/manuals/techman.pdf
>
> http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/health_concerns
>
>
> I hope that this helps to elucidate the subject of batteries and the DR-6=
Message: 80.
Subject: >
> Best regards,
> Greg O'Drobinak
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: corticalsongs <>
> To:
> Sent: Sat, April 27, 2013 10:45:27 AM
> Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: Tascam DR-680 in the field
>
>
> Now after a couple of years of use, I just wanted to update this.
>
> I have tested this and indeed, it is only the *last* file that is lost wh=
en the
> external battery dies. All other files that have been written (in 2GB chu=
nks)
> are saved.
>
> David
>
> --- In "hartogj" <hartogj_1999@> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > > you pull the AC plug while it is recording, and do not have internal
> > > batteries installed, everything you have recorded is lost. Gone. Ther=
e
> > > is no incremental file closing like the Fostex FR2-LE. It even says s=
o
> > > in the manual.
> >
> > Hi David,
> > The manual says a new file is started every 2GB, which to me implies th=
at at
> >that point the previous file is closed, and therefore the most you would=
lose
> >from a power failure is the last 2GB of your session. Are you saying th=
at in
> >actuality you could lose more than that?
> >
> > John Hartog
> >
>
>
>
>
>
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
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