Battery issues

peacefulone61

Active Member
so I am at the end of tech week and I have noticed that we are going through batteries much faster than I am use to. In am use to at least getting through one show without battiereis dieing mid show. I am using pro cells and am lucky if i get three hours before they die

I am not sure what I am doing wrong
 
I'm assuming you're talking about wireless mics.

Your best bet is to take a multimeter to do some investigating. 1.5v is a nominal value, a new battery will always have a higher voltage across its terminals than what it's marked with. A battery is usually considered dead by the time it reaches its marked voltage.
Just go ahead and write down your findings. Test new batteries. Test old batteries. Test different makes and models of batteries. Take note of where the battery was made, what its shelf life year is, where you bought it, and how much you paid for the battery (or the pack).

You'll be amazed by the numbers. The issue you may be experiencing is that the batteries have been sitting around long enough that they've lost some of their "shine". The batteries may have also been sitting in a warehouse or store shelf for longer than you thought.

But before you get knee deep in Microsoft Office Excel and batteries, check your mics. They may have a higher transmission power mode enabled, and you don't even know that its been turned on.
 
so I am at the end of tech week and I have noticed that we are going through batteries much faster than I am use to. In am use to at least getting through one show without battiereis dieing mid show. I am using pro cells and am lucky if i get three hours before they die

I am not sure what I am doing wrong
I would check the used batteries with a loading battery tester - the issue may be that they're actually dead, or it may be that your mics' battery meters have lost calibration. I have some Line6 mics that do this - they only last 2-3 hours before the meter shows 0:00 remaining, but the batteries are only about 1/2 discharged.
 
Yes always test batteries with a loading battery tester if you can. You will get far more accurate and reliable results. Digital Multi meters don't really do the trick truthfully.
I also have to agree with TJ, your mics could be reading wrong as well.

I'd also check the expiry date on the batteries, Ive gotten some expired ones in the past. They don't last half as long when they are past due.

Id imagine (depending on brand and number of transmitters) that its more likely to get a bad batch of batteries than have something wrong with your transmitters to cause them to deplete batteries twice as fast as normal.

Good Luck.
 
Yes always test batteries with a loading battery tester if you can. You will get far more accurate and reliable results. Digital Multi meters don't really do the trick truthfully.
I also have to agree with TJ, your mics could be reading wrong as well.

I'd also check the expiry date on the batteries, Ive gotten some expired ones in the past. They don't last half as long when they are past due.

Id imagine (depending on brand and number of transmitters) that its more likely to get a bad batch of batteries than have something wrong with your transmitters to cause them to deplete batteries twice as fast as normal.

Good Luck.


So I load tested them and they were fine, I also re calibrated the Battery indicator per the manufacture. There is one bad pack which they are sending out a replacement.
 
I have had bad luck in the past using rechargeable AA in the past.
You'll see from those posts that once you understand how to use rechargables, they are even more reliable than alkalines.
I've had DOA brand new alkalines and ones that didn't last. Has never happened with rechargables that I've tested and maintained. They also generally last longer per use than alkalines due to the way wireless draw power.
 

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