On 6/06/2017 10:01 PM, Mike Rivers wrote:
On 6/6/2017 7:29 AM, Trevor wrote:
If you are going to do paid gigs the least you can do is make sure
your batteries are OK.
Who has a paid gig nowadays? 
The trouble with battery-powered practically anything these days is that
so much of our electronics draws very little current, and batteries have
a far longer shelf life, as well as service life, than back in the
carbon-zinc days. It's easy to forget that batteries need replacement.
But a professional knows his instrument does, and replaces the battery
regularly, if not before every paid gig. We are not talking about car
batteries here that ARE expensive!
A rarely-paid musician probably plays more with his instrument unplugged
(practicing or writing at home) and may be faced with the quandary of
possibly replacing a battery with plenty of useful life in it.
And IF he wants to be paid ever again, the cost of replacing a battery
before a paid gig is hardly an issue IMO.
One thing that we all need to remember is that, while yesteryear's
batteries would usually go dead before they started leaking corrosive
electrolyte, modern batteries that seemingly last forever, particularly
in a device that you don't use every day. They can leak before you
remember that you haven't used that device in a long time, frequently
damaging the device beyond practical repair.
Yep, an issue for devices you rarely use, like that emergency torch
perhaps. Wouldn't expect it to apply to a professional musicians
instruments though.
Even "button" cells eventually leak - when was the last time you checked
the one in your computer?
CAN leak, absolutely. Can last for a couple of decades in some cases
too. However I agree they are ones often overlooked because of that.
Trevor.