Bottlehead Forum
Bottlehead Kits => Legacy Kit Products => Quickie => Topic started by: Sonido on December 04, 2013, 08:34:57 PM
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I'm loving the Quickie so far! Using it with Emotiva MiniX a-100 to HE-500 headphones.
Check out my impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/t/551345/hifiman-he-500-he-as-in-high-end-impressions-and-feedback/9645#post_10035084
Anyways, I was hasty to buy batteries to power the baby up, I ended up spending $22 at the local pharmacy for a single set of batteries.
But I just saw this great battery sale that I wanted to share: Sony STAMINA PLUS Alkaline Batteries - http://www.woot.com/offers/sony-stamina-plus-batteries-5-sizes-1
$12.99 for a pack of 12 D cell or 9V.
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Speaking of batteries, does anyone know if the D cells and the 9V drain equally? Do I end up replacing all at once?
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I think the D cells go faster.
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I don't even own a Quickie but bought AA, AAA and 9V.
I get the daily Woot! and had been considering it anyway. These are good prices.
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My four 6xAA batery packs cost me $8 and I got 48 AA for $10.... not sure how long its going to last... last I checked it was just about 34v after quite a few months IIRC. I have already had to swap out my D cells about a month or so ago. Ill never buy $$$ 9V batteries again. The cheap AA are too plentiful.
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Speaking of batteries, does anyone know if the D cells and the 9V drain equally? Do I end up replacing all at once?
Based on the data sheets for the batteries, they should last about the same time, roughly 200 hours.
In the real world, it seems that batteries in perfect condition that might meet data sheet specs are pretty uncommon. I suspect @mortron has a good idea, in that AA's are so widely used, they are both cheaper per watt-hour, and probably fresher, than any other size. You can parallel a similar number, half for each tube, to get a similar-lasting filament battery. You may have to pay more for the battery holders than the Quickie though!
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I've also found that the green and black batteries from R@dio Sh@ck will die rather immediately right after you start using them. I used a fresh set of four in my Quickie for about 10 minutes, then pulled them out and set them on the counter to go do some tweaking to the circuit. When I got around to putting them back in 3 weeks later, all four were completely dead.
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Woot sale is back till 12/16!
https://tech.woot.com/plus/batteries-etc
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I got my shipping notice this morning.
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Any reason why nobody is using rechargeables?
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I use them for the 36vdc. Been wanting to get rechargeable D cells but they and the appropriate charger are expensive.
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I have rechargeable 9v(s) too.
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I've heard rechargeables don't charge up to the max 1.5v or 9v. Might be okay if you have the PJCCS upgrade.
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The tubes and the amp are designed around 1.25v and 30v, expecting a range of 1.0v-1.5v and 24v-36v over the battery life. So NiCd and NiMH at 1.20 volts/cell and not losing voltage as they drain are about perfect.
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I ordered up (3) eight AA holders and am going to do the 24 piece AA conversion too. They were not expensive.
http://www.tmart.com/8Pcs-AA-Cells-Battery-12V-Clip-Holder-Box-Case-Black_p127663.html?fixed_price=us_us&utm_source=base&utm_medium=organic&utm_term=88006383&utm_campaign=product&gclid=CLDB5-OwtrsCFTJo7AodOkMApQ
Good idea on the AA's, thanks!
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I found my rechargeable's at All-Battery.com. The brand is Tenergy for both D cell and 9v. I have the Premium in both D(8.49ea) and 9v 200mAh (4pack $14.99) which are white body blue lettering.
I also have the light/dark blue set D cell (8.49 ea), and the 9v 250mAh (4Pack 16.75). They shipped them fast and they have worked great in my Quickie. Still in awe over the sound from a bone stock Quickie.
Hope this helps? ;)
Kevin
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After some research I have found that 24 AA batteries cost about the same as 4 nine volts and have about 4X the capacity.
Sweet.
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I can't recall how long ago I installed my 24xAA packs but I know I'm on my second set of D cels and my packs read a total of 34.2v... cheap as chips to power and I still have another 24 cells.
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Picked these up at the hardware store today. 10 bucks each. 48 AA & 9 D.
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.staticflickr.com%2F2867%2F11575765105_5bc159f259_o.jpg&hash=573181a527688d95865044b2ce4e161025114ede)
In sexy little wood crates too!
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I can't recall how long ago I installed my 24xAA packs but I know I'm on my second set of D cels and my packs read a total of 34.2v... cheap as chips to power and I still have another 24 cells.
How do you hook that up to the Quickie?
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(24) AA 1.5 volt batteries in series is 36 volts just like (4) 9 volt batteries in series.
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Right, I understand the voltage, do you use a bunch of battery holders?? (is it a separate chassis?)
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I bought (3) eight cell holders. They get wired in series just like the 9 volts. Since they ought to last a year I'm going to put them inside the box and leave the D cells outside for easy access.
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I feed the Q with three of this
http://www.battery-direct.it/Batteria-EP7-12.html
12 volt acid lead battery linked together to form 36 volts
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Thats cool, looks like there's a lot of options for the 9 volts, how about the d-batteries? (since they last the shortest). Maybe 2 d cells in series for each filament?
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That's a good idea. Power both ends and not the middle. 2 batteries with half the current draw. Should last 4 times as long.
Gonna get me 2 more D cell holders - :)
Brain fart. Half the current but through both batteries. Just twice the life. Zero sum gain.
Not nearly as good as the 24 AA thing, same cash for 4X the life.
Ooupps.
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Sounds right to me, that would increase the capacity by double and would mean less trips to the store :) I thought about AAs- the info i found said 8000 mAh for D batteries and AAs have a capacity of 900 mAh.. Which would mean you need 9 of them to have the same capacity as the D battery, and 18 to double the capacity... per side! (So 36 batteries total for the D's LOL). I'm picturing one of those James Bond suitcases where the guy opens it up and there's a whole bunch of wires hanging out 8) If the price was right, it might be worth it!
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The AA's are a good sub for the 9 volts, no match for the D's.
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D battery shall change under which volt value?
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D battery shall change under which volt value?
Around 1 volt the d cells stop working.
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D battery shall change under which volt value?
Around 1 volt the d cells stop working.
thanks
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I do not recommend using the 3-volt filament option because the plate voltage is so low, the portion of filament is practically cut off. This will increase the output impedance and the distortion.
You can however parallel multiple cells for longer life. Sometimes AAs are cheaper than Ds per amp-hour, so a pack of paralleled AAs could be more economical.
Long ago there was a large single carbon-zinc cell called No.6. They were about 2.5" diameter and 6.75" long. I don't think anyone ever made an alkaline in that format. They may still exist, but carbon-zinc cells have a short shelf life and less than half the capacity of alkaline even when fresh, so it's not that great a deal.
There also used to be an F cell (IIRC) which was a longer D cell, 1.5 times as long. It went into 6-v lantern batteries, and was made in alkaline chemistry. But it seems to have disappeared, the lantern batteries these days are 1/3 air and 2/3 D cells. 12v lantern batteries also still exist, but in carbon-zinc only.
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes says the PP-9 size is used in marine applications and is still available, it's a 9-v battery with 5000mA-h capacity(!) - but again, only in carbon-zinc as far as I can tell.
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I do not recommend using the 3-volt filament option because the plate voltage is so low, the portion of filament is practically cut off.
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If you connected the negative leads of each battery to each other, then connected that to pin 5, then connected each red lead to 1/7, couldn't one get away with this without running into cutoff? (Switching power setup like this would be kind of a PITA)
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I do not recommend using the 3-volt filament option because the plate voltage is so low, the portion of filament is practically cut off. This will increase the output impedance and the distortion.
You can however parallel multiple cells for longer life. Sometimes AAs are cheaper than Ds per amp-hour, so a pack of paralleled AAs could be more economical.
Right, that should say parallel.
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I do not recommend using the 3-volt filament option because the plate voltage is so low, the portion of filament is practically cut off.
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If you connected the negative leads of each battery to each other, then connected that to pin 5, then connected each red lead to 1/7, couldn't one get away with this without running into cutoff? (Switching power setup like this would be kind of a PITA)
Hah! Didn't think of that - one cell for each half filament. Should work fine.
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is'nt that aside the great sound the Q produces , one , soon or later becomes tired to feed it with batteries and go searching another good sounding cheap tube preamp ?
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is'nt that aside the great sound the Q produces , one , soon or later becomes tired to feed it with batteries and go searching another good sounding cheap tube preamp ?
I think the next least expensive directly heated tube preamp might be the BeePre...
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I figure the AA's ought to last a year, the D's 3 months. I just bought 2 years worth of AA and 1 year of D for twenty bucks. That should be about 30 bucks for 2 years. About a buck and a quarter a month.
Change the D's with the change of season and the AA's every new year. Cost 4 cents a day.
I base this on my listening habit of about 2 hours a day, nine to eleven PM, every night before I go off to sleep.
I don't see a problem.
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is'nt that aside the great sound the Q produces , one , soon or later becomes tired to feed it with batteries and go searching another good sounding cheap tube preamp ?
I think the next least expensive directly heated tube preamp might be the BeePre...
Out of curiosity, how does the BeePre differ in sound from the Quickie?
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... soon or later becomes tired to feed it with batteries and go searching another good sounding cheap tube preamp ?
Feeding with batteries is not an issue, but actually a design plus. I moved from 4 9v batteries to 3 12v SLA batteries. I keep the 12v batteries at full charge, when not playing), with an inexpensive float charger. The only hassle is just charging 1 battery at a time. I will likely change the D cells to rechargeable's in the near future.
Another good sounding cheap tube preamp is an oxymoron. To get "cheap", it is usually the critical power supply where cost and quality are cut.
Cheers,
Geary
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... soon or later becomes tired to feed it with batteries and go searching another good sounding cheap tube preamp ?
Feeding with batteries is not an issue, but actually a design plus. I moved from 4 9v batteries to 3 12v SLA batteries. I keep the 12v batteries at full charge, when not playing), with an inexpensive float charger. The only hassle is just charging 1 battery at a time. I will likely change the D cells to rechargeable's in the near future.
Another good sounding cheap tube preamp is an oxymoron. To get "cheap", it is usually the critical power supply where cost and quality are cut.
Cheers,
Geary
Same here. I only have to charge my 12V batteries once a year. I've been wanting rechargeable D cells for a while but the good ones (11,000mAH!) are $30 a pair! It's hard to cough up that much coin but I'll probably do it sometime soon. A decent D cell charger is kinda pricey too. Although I just saw at Costco a pack of 14 D cells for $20.
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If you don't mind changing batteries more often (10 hours instead of 100 hours) then you can use AA for the filaments. Might be cheaper when using rechargeables.
I'd worry a little about possible RF interference, but it might be fun to experiment with a solar charger permanently wired to the filament cell. I think solar AA chargers are readily available.
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Solar would be an excellent idea... Bottlehead goes GREEN!!!.....
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that's a good idea!!!
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I'd worry a little about possible RF interference
and solar flares...
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in Italy there is plenty of Sun