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How can I save batteries? Or my sanity

#101
Jazz Ad said:
No power drain to fear. A simple status led will consume less than 1 mA. Its impact on battery life is neglictible, a 9V battery could keep it lit for more than 10,000 hours.
On piezo preamps like Fishman, a LED is often used to indicate you must change the battery. It turns on after the battery is considered drained.
Remember these Pulse Pink Floyd CDs ? They blinked for years and were powered by a single AAA battery.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't know why some people think an LED will drain the battery. If installing an LED, control the amount of current that it draws with a resistor. 2k2 is pretty standard for this usage in effects pedals, but you could go higher too. You don't need a switch, just wire it up in parallel to your onboard electronics and use the plug as a switch the same way those do.
 
#102
two fingers said:
Tennis ball on a string. Tie it to a thumb tack over the door frame of the room you practice in. Put it about 18" down and right in the middle of the doorway. Write "UNPLUG" on both sides with a Sharpie.

When you get ready to walk out of the room you will.....
Best case - notice the tennis ball and UNPLUG your bass
Worst case - bonk your nose on the tennis ball and UNPLUG your bass.
The learning curve is much faster if you use a finer block instead of a tennis ball

The simplest solution is usually the best one. Hacking up your bass for memory training is just silly.

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
 
#105
Get one of those safety switches they use on treadmills with the little thing that goes around your wrist that kills power if you fall off. Install it in the bass between the battery and circuit, that way you can't walk away without killing power. Now you just have to remember to put it on your wrist
 
#109
Jazz Ad said:
I get them at the same shop you bought your math. :bored:
Click to expand...
Well, we'll see if you are the only one here that can's multiply 1 mA (.001 Amperes) by 10,000 hours. I get 10 Ampere hours, dunno what you get? The alkaline 9V batteries generally have about a 1/2 Ampere hour capacity so a 1 mA draw would be good for 500 hours not 10000.
 
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#110
I think prior to picking up your bass, you need to set an alarm in your watch/phone to remind you to unplug it in five minutes, make it repeat every five minutes. Then, handcuff your ankle to the chair. Also put a giant sign that says "unplug your bass" on your amplifier switch, the doorknob, the light switch. Hide your phone underneath a piece of paper that says "unplug your bass".

Or, just unplug your bass. Seriously, it should be something along the lines of remembering to zip your fly after using the bathroom. :)

Tom
 
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#112
[QUOTE="sawzalot, post: 20403458, member: 101434"

Or, just unplug your bass. Seriously, it should be something along the lines of remembering to zip your fly after using the bathroom. :)

Tom[/QUOTE]

Some folks forget to zip their fly. So it should be something along the lines of wiping one's ass after dumping the load.
 
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#114
TrevorR said:
To be honest, though, "just learn to unplug" isn't actually an unhelpful response - it's a purely practical and pragmatic one.
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My point was ...don't you think I would have thought of that? It's like telling someone to just learn scales when there are methods to aid memory. I was looking for technological aides that, if they existed, ought to be used. Why not? That's what they're there for! I have a zillion things to remember at a gig, so if I can use a gizmo to remember one for me, I'll use it.
 
#115
Jazz Ad said:
No power drain to fear. A simple status led will consume less than 1 mA. Its impact on battery life is neglictible, a 9V battery could keep it lit for more than 10,000 hours.
On piezo preamps like Fishman, a LED is often used to indicate you must change the battery. It turns on after the battery is considered drained.
Remember these Pulse Pink Floyd CDs ? They blinked for years and were powered by a single AAA battery.
Click to expand...

1mA is more current than the OP's bass is drawing from the battery. Or at least, at the worst it is close to the same current. Assume that the OP's bass draws 1mA, then the extra 1mA of LED power means that the demand for current is now twice what it was before! This is quite significant.

Those flasher circuits draw very little current, because the LED is only turned on for short periods of time. That might be a worthwhile option, although the flashing would be an annoyance and distraction to most players.
 
#116
TrevorR said:
Determination and repetition... that's the key. And, to be honest, of all the good habits you might want to develop in life, this is hardly the hardest!
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Those post-it notes are what encourage the repetition and develop a good habit. That's what mnemonics are for. Except you contradicted yourself when you said they enforce a habit but then get ignored. By then the habit is learned!

Of course this isn't the hardest. Does it have to be? I wasn't making this a life issue or a basis of a psychological assessment! My original post was light hearted. I just wanted to... oh forget it.

I should have said at the very beginning "could only those who have faults and have forgotten something reply, please".
 
#117
tjh said:
... with borderline dementia, I have learned the importance of constant visual reminders ;)
.
Click to expand...

THANK YOU! And that is my point. I have visual reminders to tell me to lock the back door, to do lists to remind me what to do, and why not?

Anyway, I've had a good laugh, got some good ideas and as I said before have stickered various places to remind me. And I stand by my comment that "oh just do it" is not helpful as just doing it hasn't been working. Not for the 2 years I've had the bass, anyhow.
And my conclusion is that there isn't a gadget to help me, so labels are what I will use.
Got it.
 
#118
I've got enough faults to fill a building, but I still learned to lift the toilet seat before peeing in the toilet. I think many more bassists unplug than guys whom don't lift the seat, lol!
 

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