Universal DVD/Laptop Battery

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Currently, i'm only running my HD-P2 in my bag; But in the future a mixer, wireless e.t.c...

I use 8x Uniross 2500mAh Ni-Mh batteries in the recorder, but they can be sketchy at best. I don't know if my charger is goosed or I have faulty batteries, or whether it's just the temperature but I get a range of 30 minutes to 3, 4 hours on them. (With +48v) I thought it could be a fault with the Tascam, but i've tried the batteries in a couple of digital cameras too after a full charge and sometimes they work for an hour, sometimes they die straight away. Obviously, I can't take a gamble like this on a set. I've only used it for sound gathering so far, so battery changes weren't an issue.

I've been looking at the possibility of an NP-1 Li-On battery pack (IDX NP-L7s) and possibly a BDS for when I need to power more equipment.

I'm looking at:
£170 ($336) for the NP-L7s
£170 for a 4-channel 12v regulated, switched BDS (Hawk-Woods)
£417 ($824) for a 2-channel Li-On charger

Seems like unless I live in the US this is a pretty extortionate way to go..

After reading endless posts about batteries and BDS, I came across some points Oleg made about using universal external laptop or dvd player batteries.

I could get one like this or this and have 60Wh / 74Wh respectively for $120 odd; With a charger. Either of these would allow me to power the HD-P2 @ 12V without the need for any extra equipment until such a time when I need to get a BDS; When a quick snip + solder job would easily transform these for use in the Remote Audio BDS.

So, I was wondering if there's any drawbacks using these as an alternative to the entire NP-1 system (I.e. battery quality not as good, short battery life, quick rundown?) Is there anyone out there using such a system in their audio rig?


Apologies for my long winded post, and thank you

Steven

 

[Oleg 2]

drow back ?
to throw money it is a drow back
will work perfectly
by the way , if you want sony mount 65 w batteries with anton bouer socket + bp -90 socket
it would be about 300 pounds for 2 and dual charger + shipping from here
2 160 w ( yeo you read it right) and charger , would be 450 + shipping
i use these , all the israeli industry use these - exellent
the plus i never bring the charger as every camera have one
160 w would be good to power at least 6 recievers + mixer + recorder for 6 hours straight
your recorder , i gues 24 hours at least

 

[Noiz2]

Your problems with the NiMH batteries maybe because your not charging just before you use them. This battery is really good on life etc but they drain sitting on the shelf (about 1% per day) so it is very important to recharge all your batteries the day before you use them, or keep them in a trickle charger. Also most of these recorders use a little juice even when they are off (keeping the internal clock going etc. So if you leave the batt in the recorder they will drain faster even if you haven't used them.