Funky SD 722 - battery?

boojum · 18th February 2008

I just did a little remote in our local jewel box theater from the 1910 era. A little live but good acoustics. I recorded the first portion (Bach) and saw ~40 min when I hit the stop button. I recorded a middle portion that was ~29 minutes. And I recorded the last portion which was, again, ~30 minutes. The first portion defaulted to 5 min; the second to about 5 min and the final was in full. Wha??? I did notice that while I had "pre-roll" set to 10 sec I got 6. First red flag. I switched batteries at home from the off-brand 790 to a SONY four hour (3900ma?) and I got a 10 sec pre-roll and a question if I wanted to run the repair files function because of an improper shutdown, which there was not.

Could a battery cause the firmware to get funky? And how so? I am going to run the "repair" on the other two files and see if I can get them back. Has anyone else ever had funky battery problems???

Signed, Curious in Oregon.

bove · 18th February 2008

Call Sound Devices directly, their tech support is excellent, and if your question is complex enough you may even end up speaking to the guy who designed the thing.

boojum · 18th February 2008

I know SD support is good. I had an issue with mine when it was new. They dropped the ball first time around. Second time they overnighted em a new oner and said to send back mine when I got theirs. I did.

I am just flummoxed that the differences between two batteries. The battery is the only thing I changed.

I am a little disappointed that this is the second failure I have had with this hardware. Maybe this time it is firmware. I do not know. I will call them in the AM, for sure.

Thx

loujudson · 21st February 2008

Let us know what you find out. I have been extremely happy with their support for my 744T. Never had any sort of problem like yours. I've had two power supplies break down, and they replaced them each time (I mean the external one).

Lou

boojum · 21st February 2008

SD was as good as billed. We went through the "pre-roll" problem. The buffer dumps when you stop recording and refills. If there is six seconds between stop and start six seconds is in the buffer. It is not a "rolling ten seconds."

The other problem does not seem to be the battery. I can only think it was me. Somehow I must have screwed up. A first for this particular type screw-up and, I hope, a last.

Mea culpa.

loujudson · 21st February 2008

Thanks for the follow up. They are the BEST company for support I have ever dealt with. Glad the got it cleared.

The only battery problem I have had is a cheap (Power 2000) battery had one of the contacts pull out and break off when changing batteries...

Are you on the support forum at sounddevices.com? It reallly helps to be in touch with other owners. I use mine exclusively for music and spoken word, so the film guys are an interestng lot!

Lou

loujudson · 21st February 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by boojum

SD was as good as billed. We went through the "pre-roll" problem. The buffer dumps when you stop recording and refills. If there is six seconds between stop and start six seconds is in the buffer. It is not a "rolling ten seconds."

Wow, this is really good to know! O often press record for a new file while rolling and have wondered if stopping and immediatey restarting would give some overlp - now I knwo not to try it in mission critical situations!

L

tapermark2006 · 21st February 2008

Why use batteries? To be honest I haven't ran on batteries since June.

boojum · 22nd February 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by tapermark2006

Why use batteries? To be honest I haven't ran on batteries since June.

I use batteries for two reasons. The first is it frees me from shlepping around extension cords and hunting for outlets. It streamlines things. Second it makes absolutely sure there will be no 60 Hz leakage into the recording. DC all the way.

As usual, YMMV

loujudson · 23rd February 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by boojum

I use batteries for two reasons. The first is it frees me from shlepping around extension cords and hunting for outlets. It streamlines things. Second it makes absolutely sure there will be no 60 Hz leakage into the recording. DC all the way.

As usual, YMMV

PLUS: the SD can run for many hours on larger batteries. 4 to 8 hours depending on 4000 or 7000 watthour batts. Very handy. It;s good to keep the batteries excericied anyway rather than sitting on the shelf waiting for a big field recording.

L

MichaelPatrick · 23rd February 2008

Once or twice a week I record music, on location, to a 744T.

One of the firmware versions prior to the current release --can't remember which-- had some problems. Preroll was one issue. Once when recording four channels at 88.2/24 I pressed record to start another file and it said "Busy", and I lost some data. Thank God for backups - I was burning a stereo mix to CD and it saved my butt.

The current firmware seems rock solid.

I also smoked the firewire chips one day by doing something stupid. Sent it in and they replaced the parts for free, and I'd had the thing for over two years!

These are the only problems I've ever had with it. Sound Devices has good people and their products are marvelous. I use their AA battery powered preamps for backup and problem solving. They're not designed for music, but I pack em anyway just in case something happens like RF or power noises, or I just need another channel. They've saved the day more than once.

18th February 2008	#1
boojum Lives for gear Joined: May 2007 Location: Astoria, OR, US&A Posts: 2,308 Thread Starter 1 Review written	Funky SD 722 - battery? I just did a little remote in our local jewel box theater from the 1910 era. A little live but good acoustics. I recorded the first portion (Bach) and saw ~40 min when I hit the stop button. I recorded a middle portion that was ~29 minutes. And I recorded the last portion which was, again, ~30 minutes. The first portion defaulted to 5 min; the second to about 5 min and the final was in full. Wha??? I did notice that while I had "pre-roll" set to 10 sec I got 6. First red flag. I switched batteries at home from the off-brand 790 to a SONY four hour (3900ma?) and I got a 10 sec pre-roll and a question if I wanted to run the repair files function because of an improper shutdown, which there was not. Could a battery cause the firmware to get funky? And how so? I am going to run the "repair" on the other two files and see if I can get them back. Has anyone else ever had funky battery problems??? Signed, Curious in Oregon. __________________ Nov schmoz ka pop. Last edited by boojum; 18th February 2008 at 05:30 AM.. Reason: spelling

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18th February 2008	#2
bove Gear maniac Joined: Dec 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 290	Call Sound Devices directly, their tech support is excellent, and if your question is complex enough you may even end up speaking to the guy who designed the thing.

21st February 2008	#4
loujudson Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 2,684 2 Reviews written	Let us know what you find out. I have been extremely happy with their support for my 744T. Never had any sort of problem like yours. I've had two power supplies break down, and they replaced them each time (I mean the external one). Lou

21st February 2008	#8
tapermark2006 Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 524	Why use batteries? To be honest I haven't ran on batteries since June.

23rd February 2008	#11
MichaelPatrick Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,254	Once or twice a week I record music, on location, to a 744T. One of the firmware versions prior to the current release --can't remember which-- had some problems. Preroll was one issue. Once when recording four channels at 88.2/24 I pressed record to start another file and it said "Busy", and I lost some data. Thank God for backups - I was burning a stereo mix to CD and it saved my butt. The current firmware seems rock solid. I also smoked the firewire chips one day by doing something stupid. Sent it in and they replaced the parts for free, and I'd had the thing for over two years! These are the only problems I've ever had with it. Sound Devices has good people and their products are marvelous. I use their AA battery powered preamps for backup and problem solving. They're not designed for music, but I pack em anyway just in case something happens like RF or power noises, or I just need another channel. They've saved the day more than once.