Power in the field
 

Hey everyone,

I was wondering how you guys were powering your rigs in the field?

My kit consists of an FP33 Mixer and 2 Audio Technica Wireless lavs, at the rate they go though 9volts that was never an option.... I have a friend who has a similar rig and uses an NP1 to power the whole thing, as expensive as they are I built a harness and used a 12v 2.3a brick (about the size of an NP1) from a local battery store. That was working great as long as the battery was freshly charged; as soon as the voltage started to drop a little I was getting audio hits on the wireless'. The other day I replaced the 12v battery with an 18v 2.6a battery I built (6 - 6v 1.3a batteries) and so far its run 2 full days without showing any signs of slowing down. I have the battery wired to the front pouch of my portabrace bag and weighs a little less then 2 NP1's.

-Joe

Hi Joe,
I use an IDX 14.8 V. Lithium Battery in my bag and a BDS distribution . It powers mixer, recorder and receivers. It'll last for days. One of the best investments I've made.
Jon

Jon,

Thanks for the reply! I just wanted to see what else was out there, there is a lot of information out there about audio gear itself but not much on how to power it and I know no one is actually using 9volts unless for a backup.

-Joe

Dang, that's a pretty cool invention you got there Joe. Pictures?

Hey Marco,

Here it is, sorry but I didn't take any pictures as I was building it.

-Joe

Here's the last 2...

Nice work. What's the total cost of the components?

Thank you.

The batteries are were $80 for the 6 from batteries plus.
The center pin wires were $5 each from radio shack (you can get them cheaper online).
Charger was $4 from primelec.com

The wire and red/black ends I had had from previous projects and I just gaff taped the the 6 pack together after soldering the batteries in 2 series circuits and combining them.

Joe,
Good DIY project and you may never want the NP-1/Hawkswood solution most people have gone to. I usually have a couple of people who use my rigs besides myself so I tend to go for solutions that are easy to teach even if they are a little more expensive to begin with.

Thanks Daniel. So far so good, I don't have any complaints yet... It's easy to use because the wiring harness never leaves the bag, all I have to do is unplug the battery when I'm not using it.

Re: Multiple users - I see what you mean, myself and a friend of mine are the only ones who use my gear so I don't have much of a problem there. I may build another battery in the future as a spare just in case... I'm thinking about making at 18v 1.3a and see how long it runs - it will be half the size of my current one