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[Keith Broughton]

Had an 8 rack of Sennheiser EW300 with 5 beltpack TX and 3 hand held TX.
The beltpacks were in standard RF power and the handhelds were in low power and all TXs were on all day and sending audio (packs had headset mics connected )
The batts in the handheld mics did not last as long as the beltpacks by quite a margin.

Thoughts?

[Bob Faulkner]

What type of batteries are you using (Lithium, Alkaline,??)

I'm sure it's a combination of the type of battery, the remaining power in the battery and what the battery is "driving".

I can only answer for the EW300 handhelds, as that is what we use.  A standard Alkaline battery may only last about 3 hours... though, the Lithium batteries have lasted close to 10 hours (tx for most of that time).  All we use is Lithium for anything we have that requires a battery.  The handhelds seem to require more power to run.

[Keith Broughton]

What type of batteries are you using (Lithium, Alkaline,??)

I'm sure it's a combination of the type of battery, the remaining power in the battery and what the battery is "driving".

I can only answer for the EW300 handhelds, as that is what we use.  A standard Alkaline battery may only last about 3 hours... though, the Lithium batteries have lasted close to 10 hours (tx for most of that time).  All we use is Lithium for anything we have that requires a battery.  The handhelds seem to require more power to run.

Using good quality alkaline batts, new at top of day. If they are the same in all the transmitters, it's a relative comparison.
It's not like I am using different types of batteries for each TX
I'm getting almost 7 hours out of the handhelds (down to 1 bar) but more from the beltpacks which are still showing 2 bars.
Didn't do a voltage check.

[Dave Garoutte]

Save the planet, go rechargeable.

[Keith Broughton]

Save the planet, go rechargeable.

And this answers my question...how exactly?

[Russell Ault]

I'm getting almost 7 hours out of the handhelds (down to 1 bar) but more from the beltpacks which are still showing 2 bars.

I'm going to toss out a somewhat wild guess in an effort to keep the conversation moving:

As I understand it, TX power for wireless microphones is limited based on radiated power (as opposed to power at the final amplifier stage), so it's perfectly acceptable to design a mic with an inefficient antenna and then throw oodles of power at it, since the effective radiated power will be the same as a design with a sane antenna fed at reasonable power levels. I've never disassembled a Sennheiser handheld, but I'm guessing that the stubby antenna built into the base of the mic isn't particularly efficient (requiring extra power to achieve the desired output), whereas the whip antenna on the beltpacks could theoretically be much better (since it's at least roughly the right length).

-Russ

[Keith Broughton]

(requiring extra power to achieve the desired output)

An interesting idea Russ!

[BradPinder]

i can make a similar observation comparing handheld EW500 mics with EW300 IEM receivers. i presume in this case the receivers use less power as they are not having to generate any radio wave???

[BradPinder]

Save the planet, go rechargeable.

any thoughts on the sennheiser rechargeable packs vs "standard" NiMH rechargeable (e.g. Eneloop Pros)? we have a set of the genuine sennheiser ones that are a few years old now and starting to not hold as long as they used to. worth replacing (we already have the cradles), or just spend less on loose AAs?

thanks

[Keith Broughton]

i can make a similar observation comparing handheld EW500 mics with EW300 IEM receivers. i presume in this case the receivers use less power as they are not having to generate any radio wave???

As you have gathered, the IEM receivers do not use as much power as they are not transmitting RF.

[guest130779]

I have had the same problem when it comes to my wireless microphone. I'm using the EW-100, but I have short battery life. I believe this is just where technology is so far. Hopefully, it gets better in time because I love everything else about it.

[Luke Geis]

I think that is normal. The handhelds do chew through batteries quicker in just about every model or brand. I use lithium in all my RF and I can easily get 10 hours of use from them regardless of model or type. YMMV, I find it to be much easier to spend the extra on the batteries and have them last all day than to chew through 3 sets of alkalines in a day.

[Justin Goodman]

As you have gathered, the IEM receivers do not use as much power as they are not transmitting RF.

UR5’s chew thru batteries faster than any mic I’ve ever seen. Admittedly not an IEM receiver, but similar...

[Mike Caldwell]

Kind of a related topic....has anyone notice battery life inconsistency. I'm in the midst of school play season running 20 plus AT wireless body packs and you would think that starting  with fresh batteries, turning the packs all on at about the same time the indicated battery life on the meters would all be about the same over time.....there not.
After an hour or so some will be still at four bars other down to two or one.

It's not metering inconsistency, the next time around the pack that was at two bars after a couple hours will still be showing a full four bars after the same time or longer.
Each pack has the same mic on it night after night.

All packs are loaded up with the same battery brand of the same date code lot.

It seems to be about the same using Duracell Procells, Varta and Sony batteries.

[Luke Geis]

I get a few duds every now and then. Sometimes a whole batch will be unreliable. The most problematic ones I have come across interestingly is the Duracell ProCell's. When I see those yellow batteries I cringe. In the last 10 years, I have had more duds from that model line than any other. DO NOT EVER BUY AMAZON BATTERIES though...... Rentex supplied me with a set of them for some BTR's and they all die within a few hours!!!! I can usually get a whole day. Honestly, the best battery available that last FOREVER and is reliable are the Energizer Lithiums. you can get them in teh extreme of not, doesn't matter.

[boburtz]

The most problematic ones I have come across interestingly is the Duracell ProCell's. When I see those yellow batteries I cringe. In the last 10 years, I have had more duds from that model line than any other. DO NOT EVER BUY AMAZON BATTERIES though......

We have been using the procells for years and I never observe any problems that are unique to the brand. We used to get them from an online medical supply place, but found amazon to have better shipping. Haven't noticed a difference in quality going through amazon and it's been a couple of orders of 192 batteries at a time. There are many events where we supply on the order of a dozen rf mics and the consistency has been pretty, well, consistent.
The Sennheiser mics we use (ew300 g3) have a three segment battery meter and on these corporate gigs there is plenty of time to chart the battery life per unit. I have found that a conservative expectancy is two hours per segment, so six hours per mic. I've never run one all the way dry, so I don't know if the last metering segment is also two hours, but that formula has yet to let me down.

[Keith Broughton]

I have not run they "dry" but did have one in "low battery" mode and it lasted 30 minutes and was still working when the presenter was done.
The Home Depot Defiant brand batts seems to work well and is reasonably priced.

[Matthew Knischewsky]

I have not run they "dry" but did have one in "low battery" mode and it lasted 30 minutes and was still working when the presenter was done.
The Home Depot Defiant brand batts seems to work well and is reasonably priced.

Hi Keith,

I have several EW300 HH transmitters that I use in a breakout room type configuration. Set-up on location in the AM and pickup when the meeting is done in PM. 1 new set of Procell AA batteries always gets through a 7-8 hour day with 1 bar remaining on the meter.

I have always had good results using Procells.

Regarding the Defiant brand batteries: I had some erratic results with this brand on the one show I tried them on for budget reasons. Some individual batteries would drain faster than others so they weren't good when used in pairs. But the major concern I had with them was how quickly the left over batteries leaked & corroded just sitting on the shelf. Shortly after the show I noticed 1 or 2 had gone bad, then eventually I had to recycle all of them. I can't say if it was the batch or if they have improved since 3 years ago but experience was enough to steer me away from using them again.

[Luke Geis]

For me, with the Pro-Cells I just seem to get a few batteries here and there that don't have the capacity they should. Keep in mind this is over the course of 10 years and probably 100 bricks or more worth of batteries. Every now and then I just get a few that die relatively early compared to others in the brick.

[Scott Helmke]

At some point a battery supplier told us that Duracells/Procells are widely cloned and that's why they have a bad reputation.  I just know that we've been buying the Energizer industrial batteries from a legit supplier and they've been great.

[Andrew Broughton]

Quality control is one of the other reasons to go to rechargeables. The can be tested and confirmed at any time and after doing so, you have a known run time and battery health that gives you a reliability you cannot get with regular (non-rechargeable) batteries. I will never use regular batteries for anything critical.

[ProSoundWeb Community]