Zoom H6studio near complete battery-drain in 6mins due to data transfer - anybody else experience this?

[secretfamilyrecipe]

Hi All, I'll keep this post as concise as I can:

• I had 4 fully-charged AA batteries with an estimated 13hrs of recording life left on them (battery-icon bars on the Zoom display were full, and I'd only undertaken 1.5hrs of recording on full charge with those batteries).
• To transfer data, I connected the Zoom via USB-C to my laptop. So, the laptop was powering the Zoom (confirmed when battery-icon disappeared, indicating the Zoom was running on USB power).
• I began the transfer of a single folder (4GB) containing 3 files (stems from a 1hr, 10m session).
• Right before transfer initiated, the Zoom menu asked if I were using USB or Battery power, so I chose USB (thinking that the USB-C would handle power + data transfer).
• After transfer, which took about 6mins, I unplugged the Zoom from the Laptop. The battery-icon reappeared, but it was now displaying only 1 bar.
• I put the (rechargeable) batteries in their dock, and indeed they were under 25% capacity.
• All of my equipment is new (Zoom, rechargeable Ansmann rechargeable batteries, USB-C cable).

This seems quite strange to me, and I was quite surprised. This is the first "large" data transfer I've done with this new device -- all other transfers have been "tests" of small files of around 30seconds via USB-C, and the battery-icon hasn't changed at all.

Is "power-hungry data transfer" something that is well known? Like, for decent-sized files, should I instead be putting the SD card into my laptop to avoid power hungry data transfers? Or, is it some strange bug / glitch? If that's the case, then all I can think of is that I selected USB-C as the power source while transferring data when I also had batteries in my Zoom... (i.e. I should've selected Battery power...?)

The power-drainage I experienced seemed so rapid (6mins) and disproportionate with regards to data size (4GB)... But perhaps I'm naive and data transfers do take that much power.

Any insights are greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[TalismanRich]

Data transfer itself shouldn't take much power. The only things that I can think of that could possibly cause a large power drain would be a short on a connector, or if your laptop was pulling power rather than supplying. Does the laptop charge via USB?

Are you using Li-Ion or NiMH batteries? What is the power rating in mAhs? During your recording, how many mics were you using and did they require phantom power? Using external mics with phantom power will increase your power draw drastically, like 1/4 the time.

When I transfer files from my Zooms, I simply pull the SD card and put it in the computer, as it was much faster than using the recorder.

 

[secretfamilyrecipe]

Thanks for your thoughts & input - my MacBook charges via 140W wall-wart, but it can also charge via USB-C if it's plugged into something like an Apollo Twin x. (When that's the case, it 'trickle charges' at 15w, which is just enough to drastically slow the battery draining.)

I think you might be onto something w/ a short on a connector, or your idea that perhaps the laptop was pulling power because it was just so sudden - prior to transfer I had 3-bars, and then 6mins later I had 1-bar... That just seemed strange.

Today, I did a 9GB transfer (two folders), but I selected "Battery" as the power-source instead of USB, and I was able to complete the transfer without such a dramatic power drain. (The entire transfer was done on 1-bar: I was just testing to see if I'd have to plug it in due to another power-drain circumstance.)

For batteries I'm using NiMH Ansmann rechargeables, and they're selected as such in the Zoom's system settings. While recording on the 15th, I just had a Shure SM7b plugged in, so no phantom power was needed. Plus, I used the XY built-in mics, and after a nearly 2hr session I still had 3-bars in the battery meter.

Yesterday, however, I did a session with the XY mics and also Line-in Channels 1 & 2 (i.e. 1/4in). This session began with a full charge, too, but after the 2hr 35min session I had only 1-bar. I was kind of surprised. (I've since adjusted the Display Brightness from Medium to Dark, and I also set Power Saving to 3mins in hopes that these adjustments will help...)

I guess I'll have to wait and see if my display settings help, or if this was just some crazy power-drain "mishap". And if the power-drain was the culprit, then hopefully it didn't muck up the Ansmann batteries... Even so, I do have a power bank, and that ought to come in handy should I ever need it. (Probably always a good idea to bring it along just in case...)

Thanks again for your questions / insights!

 

[TalismanRich]

I have always used my H4n with the power supply when I have done anything longer than about 30 minutes.

You might also consider getting a couple of sets of 3500mAh Lithium rechargeables if you need extended recording time. I've read of people using some of the larger USB-C power banks rather than 2 AA batteries. A good 10 or 15K power bank would work great. Just make sure you get a reliable brand. There are lots of fakes in the Ebay/Amazon/AliExpress world that claim to be more than they really are.