Battery power LED would be nice

[stingray96191]

Personally, I think lights on the front of guitars are incredibly gaudy. Not that that is a problem all the time.

 

[mfallmann]

I just read that the battery-o-meter also runs on 9V blocks.
So you'd need a tester to test that

Backt to topic: I always have a spare battery with me; and with EBMM basses it's fast and easy to swap batteries.
To me, an LED would only make sense if it lit up only when the battery falls below a certain (minimum) level.
You don't really want an LED being lit up all the time you play, do you?

Well, if that' ok for you, then why not. I'd think of it more like a low-gasoline indicator in a car ...

 

[Vinnie6]

I put Energizer 9v's in my Bongo and have had absolutely no issues. I measured the height and compared to Duracell and as far as I can tell they are exactly the same height.

Also, I am in the midst of an experiment. I intend to run down old 9v's until the bass fails. At that point I will measure the voltage and report it in this thread. Currently they are at 8.5v. I had a church gig this weekend so I put in new batteries to avoid potential disaster at the gig, but will put the old ones back in to continue with my experiment.

 

[Moose308]

Oddly, Duracells do not fit my 09 3-band Stingray. I use Energizers, changing them only when the clocks change and have had no problems. Just wondering if anyone else has had problems with Duracells fitting.

I have had a few problems with 9V batteries (usually Duracells) not fitting. Once or twice they were simple too fat. However, usually the problem was with that fat square terminal on the battery (not sure if it is + or -). I found that sometimes that fat terminal isn't square with the battery, but rotated 45 degrees. This would not allow the battery to slide all the way into the battery box and make contact. Rotating the terminal head so it is square with the battery seemed to solve this.

 

[AnthonyD]

Yes - what Moose said. I always check and sometimes need to rotate the Duracell contacts.

 

[Jim C]

A while back I measured a number of 9 Volts with a vernier caliper and listed the dimensions
The Duracells are definitely bigger than the rest; you have to pry them in and out of my 83' Ray
I bought a Duracell for my NTM 2008 SR; it was an extremely tight fit to close the plastic snap cover
They may be better batteries but I fear braking plastic; I will try Energizers in the future; can't believe that they would be too small plus I like the stupid pink bunny

 

[Vinnie6]

I put Energizer 9v's in my Bongo and have had absolutely no issues. I measured the height and compared to Duracell and as far as I can tell they are exactly the same height.

Also, I am in the midst of an experiment. I intend to run down old 9v's until the bass fails. At that point I will measure the voltage and report it in this thread. Currently they are at 8.5v. I had a church gig this weekend so I put in new batteries to avoid potential disaster at the gig, but will put the old ones back in to continue with my experiment.

UPDATE: My old 9vs are hanging on. I just measured their voltage and it is 8.26. The bongo still sounds fine. I play about five hours a week, more if I have am preparing for a weekend playing at church. I still intend to post the failure voltage for everyone's benefit.

 

[Vinnie6]

UPDATE: My old 9vs are hanging on. I just measured their voltage and it is 8.26. The bongo still sounds fine. I play about five hours a week, more if I have am preparing for a weekend playing at church. I still intend to post the failure voltage for everyone's benefit.

As promised, I am reporting the failure voltage. I played at church this weekend. I forgot to put in "good" batteries. We started to rehearse and the soundman complained he couldn't hear the bass. So, for all practical purposes, my batteries were no good anymore and the experiment is over. The voltage? 8.11v.

 

[kylierider]

`

If you need an LED, put one in.
Snot rockit sci y'know. Acoarst
you gotta drill a hole in sacred
wood, and most owners go into
apoplektika at the very thought
of such brutish behaviour .....

Ha to funny..I love drilling holes in stuff, haven't met a Fender I haven't modified.

 

[Soulkeeper]

You'd also need an on/off switch for the voltage sensor/LED, if else the circuit is going to drain the battery, making itself redundant: You have no use for a LED that tells you the battery is flat if you already know that the LED has ensured a flat battery.

(Kinda like on my crappy F-brand acoustic guitar with a Fish-dude-brand preamp. It always had a flat battery, because the tuner on/off swich was protruding, and I accidentally switched it on every time I put the guitar away. I sold it in the end.)

Apart from that, it's a pretty simple circuit. Here's an example that can probably be tweaked to work with a 9V battery.

 

[Golem]

`

Some LED voltage monitors do not remain lit.
They just do a silly dance when you plug in a
cord, and then go off. Audere comes to mind.