My Fire-Eye Red-Eye preamp has phantom power via its XLR jack.
It also has an internal nine-volt battery snap connector (but no nine-volt adapter jack). Do I need a battery in it? If yes, why?
Thanks!
My Fire-Eye Red-Eye preamp has phantom power via its XLR jack.
It also has an internal nine-volt battery snap connector (but no nine-volt adapter jack). Do I need a battery in it? If yes, why?
Thanks!
If it works without, No. I like one in mine in case I have to plug into something without phantom, not often, but sometimes. It has been in there at least two years since it doesn't get used as long as there is phantom. It may work to keep the voltage stable, I would call them. Daren is a great guy and will let you know.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
Let us know. I have one scheduled to show up tomorrow.
Being right is overrated. Doing right is what matters.
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Glad I asked! Here's what Daren said:
---------------------
Hi Charlie,
If everything went right, you'd have 48 volt Phantom Power everywhere you
played. The battery is there for "insurance" so you can still play those
few times when you hit an old venue that doesn't have Phantom. Or when the
sound tech forgets to turn Phantom on, or when you encounter a ground-lift
XLR cable. Sooner or later you'll be glad you kept the battery! Battery
life is about 200 hours of playing on the battery. If you have Phantom, the
battery won't be used.
Cautions...
Plugging in your instrument cable turns the Red-Eye on. And if there's no
Phantom Power available, it will be draining the battery. Please remember
to unplug the instrument cable from the Red-Eye's Instrument Input when you
finish playing.
Power Check Light...
The Power Check Light is right next to the Instrument Input jack. When you
initially turn on the Red-Eye, there's a circuit that turns on and measures
the power voltage. Without the XLR connected, watch the light as you plug
in the Instrument cable. If the internal voltage is good, the light will
flash once for about a second. That flash means the battery is in the first
3/4 of its life. If you don't see the flash when you power up on the
battery, that means the battery is in the last 1/4 of its life or maybe it's
dead. After checking the power, the circuit turns itself off so it doesn't
use power.
If you plug in the XLR cable before the Instrument cable, the power check
circuit will measure the Phantom Power and will flash once if Phantom Power
is good. Some sound systems do not supply the full, international standard
of 48 volts.
Policy...
You may know that Red-Eyes are guaranteed. If something breaks, we'll be
happy to swap you a new one.
Please send any other questions or suggestions you may have!
Thanks and best regards,
Daren / www.fire-eye.com
As I said, a nice guy with a good product. Thanks Charlie
Decided to change my battery as it was the original. Still had 8+ volts on it, but got it ready for this year. Forgot about the light at the input. Probably will forget again.
Last edited by pops1; Mar-22-2018 at 10:59am.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
If you use it at home, don't leave it plugged in and then turn off the power source. It will drain the battery if you don't remember to unplug the input. Most useful piece of gear I've bought in a long time.
Silverangel A
Arches F style kit
1913 Gibson A-1
My Red-Eye works great with the K&K pickup(s) in my Breedlove Legacy.
Charlie and Daren, thanks for the info.
David Hopkins
2001 Gibson F-5L mandolin
Breedlove Legacy FF mandolin; Breedlove Quartz FF mandolin
Gibson F-4 mandolin (1916); Blevins f-style Octave mandolin, 2018
McCormick Oval Sound Hole "Reinhardt" Mandolin
McCormick Solid Body F-Style Electric Mandolin; Slingerland Songster Guitar (c. 1939)
The older I get, the less tolerant I am of political correctness, incompetence and stupidity.
I second it that the Red-Eye works great with a K&K pickup. It has quite transparent sound and sounds like my mandolin. This post reminded me to install a battery before use some venue's PA system because I you can never assume they will have phantom power or even remember to turn it on.
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