Wireless advice needed !!!!

[jonnythenotes]

This probably seems like a crazy question, but I have Stage Clix radio system with on board rechargeable batteries built into the sender unit, and my question is, does the battery run down at the same rate if its left on, but not sending a signal from the bass as it does when it is in use at a rehearsal or gig when it is actually sending info to the reciever unit recieved from the bass. In a nutshell, does the battery use more energy to send a bass note than it does when there is nothing being played. Also, does continual use shorten their life... ( home noodling, rehearsals, gigs etc,) or do they just gradually degenerate regardless of the amount of use, and therefore recharges. .... Sorry for being such a melon, but its been bugging me for a while, so I thought I would ask a few experts.... Thanks..

[lowhand_mike]

cant say much about the wireless but batteries do tend to suffer from "memory". You should try not to recherge before the battery reaches flat as over time if you, for example, kept recharging when the battery reached 30% eventually the device would switch off when the battery reached 30%, also having batteries connected to a charger for too long (smart phones suffer from this as alot of people leave them plugged in all day at work). Basically batteries should be cycled, full charge then full discharge, this isnt always possible but try and do it regularly.
But batteries will eventually need to be replaced, as they will have a maximum charge/ discharge amount so if you use them alot they wont last as long as if you use them once a week.

Edited March 22, 2016 by lowhand_mike

[jonnythenotes]

That's great Mike. Very much appreciated. The suppliers seem to tell you how to use them, but its not in their interest to tell you how to make 'em last... Thanks again Mike, that really is a help....

[colgraff]

My wireless has a Lithium ion rechargeable and the charging rules are the exact opposite as they are for NiCa batteries. Li ones cannot be overcharged but lose power if they are run from full to flat before being recharged repeatedly.

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='lowhand_mike' timestamp='1458656080' post='3009475']
cant say much about the wireless but batteries do tend to suffer from "memory". You should try not to recherge before the battery reaches flat as over time if you, for example, kept recharging when the battery reached 30% eventually the device would switch off when the battery reached 30%, also having batteries connected to a charger for too long (smart phones suffer from this as alot of people leave them plugged in all day at work). Basically batteries should be cycled, full charge then full discharge, this isnt always possible but try and do it regularly.
[/quote]

This advice is correct for NiCd and NiMH batteries, but not for LiON. For LiON batteries, it's bad for the battery to be fully discharged. Leaving a smartphone on trickle charge all day is actually better for it than running it down to 0% before plugging it in.

I should also add that there is a solution to the "memory" effect - if you have an old battery that is suffering from reduced capacity, and you repeatedly full-discharge/full-charge it, then its capacity will increase until it gets back to its original level. My battery charger (a Technoline i-Charger) has a mode that can do this - basically discharge and charge until its capacity stabilises.

S.P.

[lowhand_mike]

ok cool, i only have experiance with nicd and nimh, should have mentioned that and the op didnt mention battery type so i assumed rechargable duracell or similar.

yeah i am aware of correcting the memory effect but ive never got back to full capacity and thats even with matched battery packs and thats using a discharge board

[lowhand_mike]

[s]ah a quick search says the Stage Clix has a built in NiMh battery, should have done a search to start with i guess[/s]

hmm another search says its a LiPo, so ignore what i said

Edited March 22, 2016 by lowhand_mike

[colgraff]

It is worth bearing all this advice in mind with respect to laptops. They pretty much all have Lithium Ion batteries now so are quite happy to be left plugged in forever.

[mr zed]

Back to your original question to which I don't know the answer to - why not turn it off when it's not being used? Sorry, not trying to be a smart arse just curious why you would leave it left on when it's not being used?

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='mr zed' timestamp='1458667867' post='3009693']
Back to your original question to which I don't know the answer to - why not turn it off when it's not being used? Sorry, not trying to be a smart arse just curious why you would leave it left on when it's not being used?
[/quote]

Just for information and the benefit of others using other wireless systems (as opposed to anything really), if you are are running in an environment with a lot of RF, for analogue systems, it's preferable to leave the transmitter on if the receiver is left on, otherwise, with the transmitter off and the receiver on, rogue RF can be picked up and send some pretty nasty spikes to the PA.

This can be somewhat helped with a squelch circuit - this turns off the receiver when the signal being received isn't high enough to sustain a clean signal... however, this can be sometimes fooled with rogue RF to unmute and cause those nasties. You may have heard of a pilot tone - this uses a high frequency transmission which is inaudible but serves to connect the transmitter to the receiver. So if the pilot tone is not picked up and rogue RF that would otherwise fool the squelch circuit is experienced, you would not get the audio nasties.

As for digital, this is different - the system basically receives data in a digital (think 1s and 0s) format and even with RF interference, is able to decipher the transmission payload, except in exceptional circumstances where the RF is getting completely mangled, or the transmitter is out of range. With additional error correction data being sent with the data stream, the receiver knows if the signal is valid or not... and if the latter, will drop the connection but not put out any audible artefacts.

So as to echo mr zeds comment, with digital, you could just turn the transmitter off, with analogue, you'd be prudent to leave both transmitter and receiver on, or transmitter and receiver off when not in use. In the interests of keeping RF environments clean however, transmitters should be turned off when not in use. Digital systems can have a negative impact on wireless routers for example.

Also, it's prudent to use as little transmission power as possible as it helps prevent interference with other radio devices... but it also means your batteries last longer. For you Line 6 guys that only stand a metre or so away from your amp, drop the power on your transmitters and experience much longer battery life! (Sorry, don't think the stage clix offers variable transmission powers!)

[sunburstjazz1967]

The Audio Nasties=new band name!

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1458670978' post='3009726']
The Audio Nasties=new band name!
[/quote]
I'll put it on my "worth considering" list...

[aldude]

As an electronic and computer engineer, I would say that the system uses as much energy to transmit a "silent note" as it does for an actual played note. After all, it's sending to the receiver "silence!!!" Instead of "noise!!!" But it's still got to tell it... As its a digital system.