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Double Bass Fdeck preamp power

F

Fletcher Lanning

May 31, 2007
436
7
Roseburg, Oregon, US
#1
I have a couple questions for those of you using Fdeck's preamp in your signal chain (the newer version with the volume control and the battery indicator light).

1. Is there any way to tell when the battery has gone dead aside from a change in sound? When I plug into the output, the indicator light just flashes once and then goes dead again so I'm never sure when to replace the battery.

2. Has anyone noticed a change in the sound you get as the battery gets lower? It could easily be in my head as I'm probably playing a bit differently by the end of a big band rehearsal than I am at the beginning (small room, big band, I start to dig in a lot harder just so I can hear myself). I just noticed that my volume seems to be going down a bit and the tone gets a little more harsh.. As I said, this could easily be my finger's doing and not the fault of my gear as I'm still trying to figure out how to make myself sound good on an amp (struggling trying to find that sound while keeping up with the horn section lol).
 
#2
My understanding is that the light will flash continuously or stay illuminated continuously (I can't recall which) when the battery is low. The fact that it blinks and goes right out means that the battery has sufficient voltage. I'm not sure where fdeck pegged the "low voltage" indication but, knowing him, he placed it well above where there would be any substantial decrease in level or increase in distortion. As the voltage of the battery sinks, you are likely to notice clipping at the highest input levels (e.g., when you dig in harder). I think you'd hear that well before you noticed any decrease in level. I haven't noticed any deterioration in sound-quality over the course of a gig either with the new or the old version. Hope this helps.
 
#4
QUOTE=Fletcher Lanning;9844132]
1. Is there any way to tell when the battery has gone dead aside from a change in sound? When I plug into the output, the indicator light just flashes once and then goes dead again so I'm never sure when to replace the battery..[/QUOTE]
QUOTE=Fletcher Lanning;9844132]

I haven't used version II long enough to actually wear out a battery. It's normal for the light to flash once when you plug it in.



2. Has anyone noticed a change in the sound you get as the battery gets lower? It could easily be in my head as I'm probably playing a bit differently by the end of a big band rehearsal than I am at the beginning (small room, big band, I start to dig in a lot harder just so I can hear myself). I just noticed that my volume seems to be going down a bit and the tone gets a little more harsh.........[/QUOTE]

With the older HPF what you are discribing is exactly what happens when the battery goes down. The volume decreases and the tone quality has more of an edge. I thought something was wrong with my pickup until I realized I hadn't changed the battery for over a year!

Ric
 
#5
I've been extremely remiss in not documenting the battery indicator feature.

It's designed to give a brief "flash" when you plug into the output jack, if the battery is OK. The threshold is around 8.2 - 8.5 V, where most 9-V batteries start out around 9.5 V. My intention was that the flash would tell you if you've got at least a gig's worth of power, but without drawing any current during normal operation.

As with all of my other goodies, I will post the schematic for the upgraded version when I'm done procrastinating. :atoz:
 

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