Sennheiser ew 100 G3 mic pack won't turn on

[T Harris]

I am running a show using sennheiser ew 100 G3 mic packs, powered by rechargeable batteries. 

After a 1 hour show the packs usually have 2 bars of power remaining. Today, at the end of the show, one of the packs was showing only 1 bar of battery remaining. I changed the batteries several times to different sets of fully charged batteries, and the pack either doesn't turn on at all, or the screen turns on, flashes up 'low battery', then turns off. 

I don't have any ideas where to start with this problem, does anyone have suggestions on how to troubleshoot? 

I've checked the batteries in other packs so it's not an issue with the batteries but the oack itself. 

[sunray]

56 minutes ago, T Harris said:

I am running a show using sennheiser ew 100 G3 mic packs, powered by rechargeable batteries. 

After a 1 hour show the packs usually have 2 bars of power remaining. Today, at the end of the show, one of the packs was showing only 1 bar of battery remaining. I changed the batteries several times to different sets of fully charged batteries, and the pack either doesn't turn on at all, or the screen turns on, flashes up 'low battery', then turns off. 

I don't have any ideas where to start with this problem, does anyone have suggestions on how to troubleshoot? 

I've checked the batteries in other packs so it's not an issue with the batteries but the oack itself. 

And the reason I don't use rechargable batteries in radiomics?

[DrV]

They don't have a setting in the menus for the type of battery do they? If it were set to alkaline the battery monitor would expect a higher voltage. Failing that the only thing you can check without pulling it apart would be the battery contacts - are they clean and tight?

Edited July 29 by DrV

[TomHoward]

I’ve got one EW100 G3, although it’s a handheld, that will just not work on Duracell batteries. It either does nothing or starts & shuts down as described. We don’t use rechargeables and we usually use GP so it isn’t usually a regular problem but if I have to buy a pack from the high street and end up with Duracells it often doesn’t work. I know that sounds mad and not technically likely but I’ve tried many Duracells in it not just one set/pack and it just doesn’t like them.

Id suggest trying a set of normal alkaline batteries in your pack, different brands and just see if it’s something to do with the batteries. Mine is just one handheld out of 6 that does it, the others are fine on Duracells and it started halfway though its life, it didn’t always do this. 

Edited July 29 by TomHoward

[sunray]

8 minutes ago, TomHoward said:

I’ve got one EW100 G3, although it’s a handheld, that will just not work on Duracell batteries. It either does nothing or starts & shuts down as described. We don’t use rechargeables and we usually use GP so it isn’t usually a regular problem but if I have to buy a pack from the high street and end up with Duracells it often doesn’t work. I know that sounds mad and not technically likely but I’ve tried many Duracells in it not just one set/pack and it just doesn’t like them.

Id suggest trying a set of normal alkaline batteries in your pack, different brands and just see if it’s something to do with the batteries. Mine is just one handheld out of 6 that does it, the others are fine on Duracells and it started halfway though its life, it didn’t always do this. 

Ah did it start doing it halfway through its life or did the manufacturing process of Duracells change half way through it's life?

I have a Kodak digital camera that only works on Energisers, certainly not Duracell, GP Greencell or ultra, JCB, etc. I dare say there are others that do work but it was easier to stop using it all together.

[skinda0]

I'd recommend the use of PROCELL batteries, we use them in all our radio mics and can easily get 10-12 hours of runtime.

[alistermorton]

Aren't Procell just Duracell with different branding, or has that changed?

[J Pearce]

15 hours ago, sunray said:

And the reason I don't use rechargable batteries in radiomics?

Yet I can name many many big professional shows running very happily on rechargeables, both AA and tx specific batteries.

It really is a thing. And it really does work for regular running shows with a bit of organisation and discipline.

[Malcolm Gordon]

I’m not a chemist, but one may suppose that different manufacturers use different methods of construction, within the same basic chemistry. The result may be differences in the internal resistance of the battery, to which the equipment may be sensitive. 

The lower start voltage of rechargeables, as has been mentioned, may not be tolerated by equipment not designed for it.

Finally, I have noticed slight differences in the physical size of nominal AA batteries from some manufacturers which sometimes prevent proper contact, or even fitting in the battery compartment.

 

[ninjadingle]

1 hour ago, J Pearce said:

Yet I can name many many big professional shows running very happily on rechargeables, both AA and tx specific batteries.

It really is a thing. And it really does work for regular running shows with a bit of organisation and discipline.

Agreed. We use BA2015's with great success across around 100 radio mics across campus. Just ensure there's a spare in the charger and instructions on how to change them are available - we rarely get any reports of flat batteries.

As you say it's a pack I'm guessing that's a beltpack rather than a handheld - the jumper between the 2 batteries can sometimes fail (usually you insert the batteries opposite ways but on Sennheisers they insert the same way - this is because they have a thin jumper strip between the two batteries. From memory it runs from the positive end on the lower battery to the negative end on the upper battery). Has the tab snapped off? Any corrosion on the terminals?

[T Harris]

Thanks everyone, I've tried different batteries and it's not made a difference. I can't change any settings on the pack as it won't turn on. 

I've checked the battery terminals and they're all looking good, as is the jumper strip. 

I think I'll have to get the theatre sound team to take a look. 

[skinda0]

2 hours ago, alistermorton said:

Aren't Procell just Duracell with different branding, or has that changed?

I think you may be right, I did see that at one point. Looks like they are the pro version of duracell.

They do say "For professional use only" on them, whatever that means 😆

They are very good though, never had any life problems with them. 

[Stuart91]

3 hours ago, skinda0 said:

They do say "For professional use only" on them, whatever that means 😆

The story used to be that the "professional" branding made it easier to spot pilfered batteries. Procell weren't usually sold to the public, only in bulk to trade customers. 

That distinction has gotten a lot blurrier with online sales etc. 

[richardash1981]

20 hours ago, sunray said:

Ah did it start doing it halfway through its life or did the manufacturing process of Duracells change half way through it's life?

I have a Kodak digital camera that only works on Energisers, certainly not Duracell, GP Greencell or ultra, JCB, etc. I dare say there are others that do work but it was easier to stop using it all together.

I'd suggest this more likely to be a geometry issue - that the shape of some/many cells means they don't quite fit in far enough to make contact with the battery contacts.

[sunray]

51 minutes ago, richardash1981 said:

I'd suggest this more likely to be a geometry issue - that the shape of some/many cells means they don't quite fit in far enough to make contact with the battery contacts.

I spent a bit of time fiddling about but no it was a 'low battery' issue, the crazy thing is it will run down to about 2.5V (2xAA) but not on fresh other batteries reading 3Vish. I returned the first, it came back with a clean bill of health... except it was a brand new sealed box and some time later the original turned up too. Both behaved exactly the same.