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Michael Messing Inner circle Knoxville, TN 1817 Posts |
Hello,
I have been looking at ways to run my wireless microphone receiver off of batteries. I have a battery-powered PA system and could tap into the battery power from it but I would rather not invalidate the warranty on the PA by modifying it. My wireless receiver can be powered by 12 - 18 volt supplies (according to the back panel of the receiver.) It uses a 12 volt power transformer to work with AC. The thought occurred to me that I could wire up a "AA" battery holder to run the receiver. It would have to be an 8 battery holder and then would have to be wired to the same connector that the receiver uses. (Fortunately, I have a dead power transformer for the wireless and can use the cord from it.) Anyone ever try something like this? Anyone know any downside to this? I would have preferred to run rechargeable batteries, but "AA" batteries are only 1.2 volts and it would require 10 of them and the highest voltage ni-cad pack I could find was 9.6 volts. Thanks for any help on this. Michael |
Bobcape Elite user Rapid City, SD 470 Posts |
Hi Michael,
You may have already considered this, but I'll mention it anyway. Sam's Club (and many other places) sells a small wheeled AC inverter. It is basically a car battery on wheels that converts DC to AC. The last time I priced it out it was about $80. The nice thing about using this method is you don't have to modify any of you items, you just plug them in. Bob
Be Amazed! + Enjoy The Magic!
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David Garrity Special user 525 Posts |
Michael,
There are wireless mic units built specifically for what you want. It may be easier to buy one than try to modify a current AC unit yourself. The wireless mics you are looking for are for camcorders. They consist of a standard style battery operated transmitter and mic which send the signal to a battery operated receiver that can be mounted on the camera itself. A search of any website that caters to Videographers will carry this style mic. Good luck!
David Garrity
www.MagicalArtist.com Follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DavidGarrityMagic |
Michael Messing Inner circle Knoxville, TN 1817 Posts |
I appreciate your comments Bob and David but I'm not looking to go those routes. I had looked at the inverter idea in the past but it's too expensive and large for my purposes.
David, I'm using a high quality Audio-Technica UHF wireless microphone. I've looked at the camcorder type wireless mics and they don't seem to be up to the quality I want. At this point, this is more of an experiment to see if I can make it work. After checking with some people who are more knowledgeable than me, they're pretty comfortable in saying that I'll probably be able to get at least 10 hours of use out of 8 "AA" batteries connected to the receiver. (Based on the milli amp rating on the receiver, it may very well be 15 hours.) A "AA" battery holder for 8 batteries is pretty small so it will be a pretty convenient set-up. I've purchased everything I need and I'm going to try it out today. I'll let you know the results. Michael Well, I checked it out and it works. For about $7, I was able to make a battery pack to use with my Audio-Technica wireless receiver. (It also works with my Sennheiser wireless receiver. Both use 12 volt AC adapters.) It doesn't look like there are any bugs with this method but time will tell. |
Allen Gittelson Regular user San Francisco 145 Posts |
I have a battery unit that I built with the kind assistance of Sam Haine's advice to drive my Sennheiser UHF duality wireless microphone receivers. It is powered by 8 AA batteries, and I don't know how long it will run until the batteries run out, because it runs so very long. I've run it for at least 4 hours at one of my gigs. I use rechargeable batteries. It works great, and I'm extremely happy with the results.
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Michael Messing Inner circle Knoxville, TN 1817 Posts |
Allen,
Thanks for filling me in on your experience. I used the battery pack I made up for a show yesterday with great results. I thought about using rechargeable batteries for the receiver but my my Audio-Technica specifies 12 volt. Rechargeable batteries are only 1.2 volts a piece. Eight rechargeables only come out to 9.6 volts. I was a little afraid to run that short on the voltage. On the other hand, my Sennheiser receiver only requires a minimum of 10 volts so I would have no problem using rechargeables with it. I assume your Sennheiser has the same requirement. I'm amazed that I was able to do this so easily (and that it never occurred to me before!) Michael |
Magicduck Elite user Washington State 484 Posts |
I suggest you stick with the better quality, one time only, Duracell, Energizer or some better quality battery. Rechargeables do have a function, when I was a radio engineer we used them for news reporters recorders. However, the rechargeables discharge much quicker than the better alkaline batteries when they are under load. If you have a boom box, you can experiment. They take quite a bit of power. Rechargeables are likely to last for about one CD..even fully charged at the start, where regular batteries will last for several discs.
However, another thought, since your receiver lists it will accept a voltage up to 18V, you could purchase a battery pack that holds another 4 to 6 batteries and hook it in series with the other pack. With rechargeables that would take you up to 14.4 or 16.8 V which should be safe based on what you said earlier. quack |
Dr. TORA Inner circle TURKEY 1439 Posts |
I use one lapel microphone for the same purpose and I am happy with it. The receiver uses 2 x AA batteries and the microphone 9V battery. I use either Duracell or Energizer and I have no problem. This system is not so expensive. Instead of working on that system, I may recommend you to buy one. If you can not find it around, I may help you to supply one arpound 100 Dollars. The system is very small and I am happy with it.
Magically Yours,
OZLEN TUNCER /Dr.TORA Have you visited my new Website in English, yet? www.magictora.com or www.torasmagic.com |
Michael Messing Inner circle Knoxville, TN 1817 Posts |
Ozlen,
Thanks for the offer but I think my set-up will work out. It's not a necessity that I have a battery powered receiver for outdoor shows. I already owned a corded headset mic for that purpose. This was just something I realized might work and tried it out. It looks like it will work fine so I'll probably make good use of it. Thanks, again. Michael |
Dr. TORA Inner circle TURKEY 1439 Posts |
You are most welcome.
Magically Yours,
OZLEN TUNCER /Dr.TORA Have you visited my new Website in English, yet? www.magictora.com or www.torasmagic.com |
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