Duracell 9 volt failure
Chris Coughlin
I was working on a "reality show", (actually a documentary) this
past week and in the heat of battle I loaded a Lectro 411 transmitter
with a brand new fresh Duracell Alkaline 9 volt battery. The
transmitter would not power up at all. Of course I checked to make sure
that I had not inserted the battery in backwards. I grabbed another
battery (same type) and this one powered up fine. This was the second
battery in the batch that had failed in the same way. I later tested
the voltage of the battery and it was 9.5 plus volts.
Anyone else have any problems with these batts? They have been
fine in the past. But strange to get no power at all (and dangerous). I
have been happy with the Every-Ready alkaline 9 volts.
Best, Chris
John Blankenship
gform...@yahoo.com
the Lectro's and thats all we use. Occasionally I've had to take apart
a transmitter or receiver and "retension" the terminals. I would say
maybe once every 5 years.
Good Luck,
Gerry Formicola
Chicago, Illinois
Dave Liquorice
> It might possibly be due to the fact that Duracells are a bit
> shorter than other 9v. batteries.
Didn't think the spec allowed that much variation but I guess if the
contacts were also a bit tired.
Another possibilty is some form of insulating protecting stuff on the
terminals. I'd had this with AA batteries in and SQN. Quick change,
dead mixer, checked all the normal things, no joy, bunged in another
new set alls fine. Investiagtion later showed that a rub of each one
of each battery on your trousers cleaned what ever was there off and
the "non working" set was perfect...
--
Cheers new...@howhill.com
Dave. pam is missing e-mail
David Waelder
nyyfbegfubjuvyypb...@news.howhill.com, "Dave Liquorice"
<new...@howhill.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 16:41:41 -0500, John Blankenship wrote:
[snip]
>
> Another possibilty is some form of insulating protecting stuff on the
> terminals. I'd had this with AA batteries in and SQN. Quick change,
> dead mixer, checked all the normal things, no joy, bunged in another
> new set alls fine. Investiagtion later showed that a rub of each one
> of each battery on your trousers cleaned what ever was there off and
> the "non working" set was perfect...
I used to have a very similar experience with D cell batteries in Nagras -
in the distant past, of course. I would load a Nagra with new cells and find
that it wouldn't power up at all. I took to spinning the cells in the
battery tray to rub the terminals against each other after I loaded them in.
This invariably cleared up the problem. I assumed that there was some
residual oil from manufacturing that interfered with a good contact.
However, there is considerable difference between a Nagra that relies upon
good contact through twelve individual cells and a wireless transmitter
making direct contact with a single battery. I would be more suspicious of
weak contact springs.
David Waelder
(working e-mail is my name + wae. My server is earthlink dot net)
Jeff C
I believe that removing the batteries for shipping and travel will
greatly increase the reliability of lectros battery contact strip.
In a pinch, fold over a piece of matchbook to shim the battery against
the contact.
the only complaint I have ever had about a lectro product was the
battery contact becoming intermittent.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Jeff C
phild...@xtra.co.nz
I have been using Energizer 9 v batteries for past several years with
Lectros with no problems. Can currently only source Duracell procells
at teh moment and in my um400, these are dying without warning after
only a couple of hours. These test ok on meter so I also suspect some
type of contact deviance. Unfortunately work has died off considerably
in NZ, so I haven't had an opportunity to field test the dicky
batteries since the problem arose a couple of weeks ago. Will try
increasing the pressure on contacts to see if this helps.
Have tried re-inserting batteries back out of the heat of battle, and
the receiver indicates 3/4 cahrge remaining. I suspect gremlins!
Strange that it's just with Duracell!
Oleg Kaizerman
6.6 v on the un 400
--
Oleg Kaizerman(gebe) Hollyland
<phild...@xtra.co.nz> wrote in message
news:1132476385.9...@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Jeff C
sizes and the Duracell Lithiums made for some interesting extraction as
they were a little large for Lectro's battery compartment. I wonder if
changing the brand might be the culprit...Irony is after the hurricane
my electronic supply house was under water. They have been selling me
energizer industrials for a little under a buck a piece for 15 years...
Last week I ordered a case of duracell procells as they were the only
brand I could get quickly.... If I run into the same issue I'll be sure
to let you know....
Jeff C
Ty Ford
(in article <1132434208.3...@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>):
I once had a problem with one of a pair of Duracells for my wireless
receiver. One battery was slightly bulged at the top and therefore, when the
door closed, it was keeping the contacts from touching the other battery
terminal correctly. Very weird. Took me a generic battery swap and a little
time later on to see the difference.
BTW, I just bought a box of 10 alkaline AA cells from the local Ikea store
for $2.50 USD. Yellow jackets on them.
Haven't time tested them, but they do work.
Regards,
Ty Ford
-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com
Larry Fisher
enough that I suspected counterfeit batteries. One customer said he
had short life and we were able to duplicate his problem with multiple
Duracells. Basically they would operate for 2.5 hours instead of 4
hours. Then we got batteries from some of the larger dealers that buy
batteries in 10k quantities and all their batteries were fine. Then we
went back and bought more batteries locally, just like the ones that
had "failed". Now all the batteries were just fine. So we bought
batteries from different parts of the country and again no problems.
That's why I suspected the batteries were counterfeit. If I'd been
smarter, I'd have sent batteries to Duracell to see if they had an
opinion.
If batteries are stored in a plastic bag, gunk will deposit on the
contacts and cause bad contact until the terminals are cleaned (rubbed
on pants).
The Duracells are fractionally shorter than Evereadys but most of the
size difference is in the body of the battery. Duracell terminals are
a little longer than the Evereadys so the actual base to battery
contact is actually very close to the same.
Battery contacts are now controlled much better than a few years ago
in the Lectro receivers. In some older units particularly, if the
battery was forced deep into the compartment with fingers, it would
overstress the contacts and they would lose some pressure. The
contacts are now "harder" and don't do that anymore
As far as the failed battery measuring 9.5 Volts. a battery test strip
that puts the battery under load would reveal if the battery was
capable of delivering any current under load. The battery strips are
hard on batteries but they are a definitive test. A battery that has
been dead shorted can measure high voltage but have very little
capacity.
Best Regards,
Larry Fisher
Lectrosonics
On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 08:52:01 -0500, Ty Ford <tyre...@comcast.net>
wrote:
Chris Coughlin
Thanks for all the great feedback. I knew that I would learn more about
the problem I experienced.
I was able to check the "offending" battery out once again and even out
of the heat of battle it did not power up the UM400 transmitter. BUT it
would power it if I pushed it in by hand with the door open. And it
would also power up the unit after I did the "rub on pants leg"
technique, even with the door closed.
I worked today with the same transmitter and Duracells and I had no
problems. So it might have been a combination of slightly tired
contacts, slightly shorter terminals, and slightly dirty/oxidized
terminals. I think that I will store my Lectro transmitters without the
battery in them from now on.
Thanks All, Chris Coughlin
Larry Fisher
The battery contacts shouldn't take a set from leaving the batteries in
the unit. The metal fails only when the contacts are overbent. Or
another way of saying it, is the metal fails quickly when it is over
bent, not slowly over a period of time.
Best Regards,
Larry Fisher
Lectrosonics
phild...@xtra.co.nz
a few weeks ago when they just died without warning after a couple of
hours in Xmitter. Tested ok on volt meter. Also registered ok back in
transmitter when back home.
Used them in the field today and got another couple of hours out of
each. Seems to me that the terminals in the transmitter must have
relaxed over the last few weeks (while I've been unemployed) to restore
a clean contact . Anyhow it seems as if crisis is over (touch wood). If
it happens again I'll have more ammo to trouble shoot. Thanks guys.
Jay Farrington San Francisco
I get total failure from brand new 9volts like this every so often,
maybe only a couple times a year - but certainly every year for the
last 15 years! I'm in the autopilot habit of letting the battery drop
back out, flipping it over and tapping the contacts once on a hard
surface, back in it goes and all is well. I don't have a scientific
explanation, but this works every time (for me).
Something to try before you reach for another cell.
-Jay
Video/Sound Engineer
San Francisco Bay Area