StevieG Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 I read that the EL display on these units really drain the battery.. anyone confirm?Thanks.VB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skradgee Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Yeah, I'd say that there is some truth to that. The display can be configured to be "always on" in the options for the unit, but usually (by default) the screen goes almost completely dark after selecting a song to be played (no buttons are pressed for several seconds). I'm not sure how much faster the battery drains if the display is always on, but I'm sure it is noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raintheory Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Be sure Quick-Mode is off as well if you want optimum battery life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Actually the quick mode consumes less power than you might think. It might be even below the self-discharge of NiCD or NiMH rechargeables. The quick mode avoids re-reading the whole file system of a disc each time you start the recorder, which can take a while when using 1GB discs but has a somewhat higher power consumption when idle ('off'). My NH700 takes about 1.2 mA with quick mode on vs. virtually nothing without. If you use the device regularly, use the quick mode to avoid re-reading the whole file system of a disc each time, but if you use it like every few weeks/months once, it's better not to use it or even to take the battery out to avoid deep-discharging the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauljones52 Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Any more data on quick mode vs normal for battery life? I noticed sony set it on as standard when you first get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastianbf Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Interesting point Greenmachine. I will try the Quick Mode on my Mznh900. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raintheory Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 (edited) I think you are onto something here ... In theory then, would you actually use more battery power by not having quick-mode on if you use the player often? Seems that it would take more power to read the system file each time... It would be interesting to experiement to find out for example, how much the HiMD reading the system file drains on the battery -vs- having quick-mode on and the player off for however many minutes... Edited January 25, 2006 by raintheory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 In theory then, would you actually use more battery power by not having quick-mode on if you use the player often? Seems that it would take more power to read the system file each time... It would be interesting to experiement to find out for example, how much the HiMD reading the system file drains on the battery -vs- having quick-mode on and the player off for however many minutes...I don't know about using -more- power if you have quick mode disabled. This would really depend on how often you use your player, and how often you put it in full-stop mode and take it out again. I suspect that this might be the case for people who use their player very often, and make frequent stops/starts, similar to how turning off and restarting a car very often is more wasteful of petrol [and potentially damages its battery through acid stratification].My personal pet theory is that if you use your player sporadically [sometimes it's days between uses for me] then keeping quick mode on might actually help keep your battery healthy by having a regulated low rate of discharge, similar to using a battery conditioner. That's my pet theory, though, and may be completely out of left field as I'm definitely not a battery expert.Again though, even if that's correct to any degree, what is most healthy for your battery really depends on how often and for how long you use your player, as well as how often you charge it and by what method. RE: display modes/power consumption, my Rh10 gets very decent battery life with just the standard gumstick, though I do usually carry the sidecar with a fresh AA in it as well as a backup [especially if I might spontaneously decide to record something]. The difference between the display being always on or auto off is notiecable but not as much as one might think; I'd expect battery life to be about 3/4 - 4/5 with always on compared to auto off.I tend to always put it in "always on" when recording so that the meters never shut off, and I can always see the display without ever having to press any buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raintheory Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 I tend to always put it in "always on" when recording so that the meters never shut off, and I can always see the display without ever having to press any buttons.I hear that, lol... I've made the mistake of having that option off while I was recording one of our jam sessions, it sounded to me that we might be too loud so I peeked at the recorder only to see those spinning arrow thingys. Then I was left with the dilemma of having to either stop playing, or risk possible clipping because I couldn't see the levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 I hear that, lol... I've made the mistake of having that option off while I was recording one of our jam sessions, it sounded to me that we might be too loud so I peeked at the recorder only to see those spinning arrow thingys. Then I was left with the dilemma of having to either stop playing, or risk possible clipping because I couldn't see the levels.Pressing the menu key wakes up the display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raintheory Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Pressing the menu key wakes up the display.I meant stop playing the instrument I was playing at the time (in order to press anything on the recorder), not stop playing the recorder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 d'oh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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