Powering Audio Recorders with USB Batteries: Coocheer and LifeCHARGE

Tascam and Zoom recorders are really impressive for their price, but given that they are made for cost conscious film makers like myself, the engineers had to sacrifice some things. On the Tascams in particular (DR-60D, 70D), battery life seems to be one of the things that isn’t perfect for longer shoots. The 4 AA batteries power the DR-60D for about 2.5 to 3 hours when phantom powering two mics.

So what can you do for those days when you have a 6 hour shoot?

You could carry around a lot of AA batteries and change them out several times, hopefully without sacrificing any of the takes. And if you’re recording a live event, you cannot afford to stop the recording while you change batteries.

The USB batteries on the market can be a good solution. In this episode we look at two on the market: Coocheer (cost conscious option that offers nearly 8 hours of power for the DR-60D with two phantom powered mics) and LifeCHARGE (pricier option that offers over 20 hours for the same recorder/mic combo).

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Gear covered in this episode:

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Coocheer CH-242 USB Battery (8 hours for Tascam DR-60D and 2 mics):

Amazon: https://geni.us/7R3mI3w

Until July 31st 2015, you can get 15% off by using the discount code 3GDH292S at checkout.

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LifeCHARGE LCD USB Battery (20 hours for Tascam DR-60D and 2 mics)

Amazon: https://geni.us/XNm9AO

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Adhesive Velcro (to attach the battery to your recorder and still be able to remove it when you need to access the internal batteries)

Amazon: https://geni.us/VDscx7

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Tascam DR-60DmkII Audio Field Recorder

Amazon: https://geni.us/xau7
B&H Photo: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1084690-REG/tascam_dr_60mkii_portable_recorder_for_dslr.html/BI/19904/KBID/12941/kw/TADR60DMKII/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xTADR60DMKII

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Tascam DR-70D Audio Field Recorder

Amazon: https://geni.us/S0khduK
B&H Photo: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086798-REG/tascam_dr_70d_4_channel_audio_recording.html/BI/19904/KBID/12941/kw/TADR70D/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xTADR70D

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Audio Technica AT4053b Hypercardioid Microphone (Boomed from above)

Amazon: https://geni.us/j2qHR
B&H Photo: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/642499-REG/Audio_Technica_AT4053B_AT4053b_Hypercardioid_Condenser_Microphone.html/BI/19904/KBID/12941/kw/AUAT4053B/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xAUAT4053B

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Music copyright Curtis Judd 2012

Ethics statement: Some of the links above are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, or other affiliate links.