Recording without power?

[Hornblower64]

I prefer stand alone recorders for remote work; more robust, more portable. What is your budget?

I run a Tascam DR-680 as a backup; 6ch. of recording, 6 preamplifiers with phantom power, up to 4.5 hrs. on 8 AA batteries $600-700.

I use a Nagra VI as my main recorder (6ch., 10 hrs.). $10k.

Sound devices are another good option. 2ch. (1.9k+), 4ch. ($4k+), and 8ch. ($6k+).

[philper]

Originally Posted by RoyD

Hi guys, I have a project in mind that I want to try. I want to record some people busking. Most buskers would just have an acoustic guitar, maybe a little mic set up going on.

The only way I can do it at the minute would be with a vocal mic and one mic for the instrument running through an apogee duet into a MacBook pro, so it all runs off the MacBooks battery.

Any other way you guys can think of? I don't know if there's any other interfaces with more inputs that run just off FireWire

No but there are ones that will run off USB. But they will probably not power a P48 mic.....

phil p

[boojum]

I am with Hornblower64, a dedicated stand-alone is your best bet. A used SD 702 is quite affordable if you plan to do further recording. An SD 722 used is not too much more. Rent one if you are unsure.

[dgpretzel]

Originally Posted by Hornblower64

I run a Tascam DR-680 as a backup; 6ch. of recording, 6 preamplifiers with phantom power, up to 4.5 hrs. on 8 AA batteries $600-700.

Might you please say what batteries you use in your DR-680? Powerex or Sanyo 2700's, perhaps?

Thank you.

DG

[johnsound]

For many years, I used a Metric Halo 2882, powered via the Firewire bus. Spare batteries were essential for long sessions, which of course isn't possible with today's fixed batteries, although there are external battery packs that can be used. I also ran a ULN-8 from a custom built Li-Ion 24v with no problems. I still use the MH kit for many music recordings and a 788T for location sound effects recording, with NP-1 batteries and a Hawk-Woods SQN adaptor.

Regards,

John

[Rolo 46]

SD 702 will last many hours on Li batteries,its amazing.

[richgilb]

Perhaps all the battery powered interface options are significantly more expensive than buying a decent handheld?

[johnsound]

I thought the OP was looking for options with more mic inputs?

He wrote: "I don't know if there's any other interfaces with more inputs that run just off FireWire." Which is why I responded with the Metric Halo option.

John

[richgilb]

Well, more than one input could mean two. He could have these 2 and an inbuilt stereo pair on a Zoom, for example. Seems the best option for street performance, surely?

[johnsound]

Yes, that's true, but not what was asked. Never mind, though.

[Notsosane]

Originally Posted by dgpretzel

Might you please say what batteries you use in your DR-680? Powerex or Sanyo 2700's, perhaps?

Thank you.

DG

I use Powerex and have run tests with all 6 ch p48. Only get about 2.5 hours.
Built an external battery sled of two sets of 8 Powerex in parallel and got 3.5.
Now using a DVD L-ion 9v 5400mAh and got 7 hrs, 6 ch p48.
Another user uses Eneloops successfully, but only as backup internals.

My external power cables are all "hot-swappable" (parrallel) connected so I can increase time if needed. (Also allows for two EQUAL power sources to be connected simultaneously-extending time)

Be VERY careful about external batteries. Significant numbers of users have fried their 680's by going over 12V. (Tekkeon 3450 comes to mind).
Some cheapo import batteries produce low-level noise; haven't had that with the DVD battery mentioned above.

When I use external battery sources, I still load the internals. The 680 switches to them seamlessly.

TMI, but hope it helps,

Dave