DR-44WL is draining batteries in less than 3 minutes! Help plz

[Web Dever]

Hello,

My brand new DR-44WL, which I bought in August 2016 worked great with the original batteries, and since I didn't use it that much, they lasted until Jan 2017, and there comes the shock.

The batteries did pretty well and they served me right and they need to depart, so I bought myself a pack of Alkaline batteries, and to my surprise, every set of 4 batteries couldn't last more than 3 minutes, and I don't even see the battery-charge-bar in full, the moment I place them and power it on, they drop to 2 bars, I start recording, before 3 minutes and they're dead!

If I leave it a little while and turn it on again, it'll show one bar, it can last 1 extra minute and it shuts itself down again.

I tried Sony, Agfa, Kodak, Energizer batteries and other generic ones and all gave the same result!

The only option I have right now is to use it inside the house of the studio while it's plugged to the charger, while the main reason I bought was to be used outside for my videos.

I upgraded it, when I first purchased it, and I last upgraded it last week and everything is the same. There is no shortage in functionality or quality, just the batteries are not holding.

I bought it from the US, but now roaming some countries and making videos and it's such a bummer not to be able to use it outside :/

Any suggestions that can help? Is it a common problem? Any body got that issue as well?

I'm so desperate, as I've contacted Tascam the beginning of the month and to now I got no response.

 

[Web Dever]

Any guidance on this guys?

 

[Michel Simplement]

Since you have tried several batteries and established that they would not be the primary cause of the problem, there must be something wrong then with the device itself. Probably a shorted circuit or something. If the device is still under warranty, I would return it.

 

[Web Dever]

It is still under warranty, however, I'm in Lithuania, and sending it all the way back and forth to/from the US will cost me the same price I bought it for, and that includes paying the tax on it here, which will break my back, since it's coming from abroad and they won't let it slide just because you tell them it is a returned item.

I'm either finding how or where to repair it here, or just buy a new one and will stick this time to the Zoom, who served me right for years, until I sold it and went for the Wifi option.

Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Michel Simplement]

I think you should deal directly with Tascam and they should refer you to the nearest service point. I don't know how thing goes in Lithuania but in Canada, when you call a company's customer service for a defective product under warranty, they usually pay the shipping back and forth to the service center. This is what happened to me anyway on the two occasions I had to return a defective item for repair, one to Asus for a tablet and another one to Samsung for a cellphone. Don't give up contacting Tascam. They are the one who should provide you with an answer.

 

[Web Dever]

Unfortunately, they say it's a US warranty only and has to be repaired in the US and will only handle mailing fees from where it was bought, so fair enough logically, but means I'm in a messed up situation, going down to get me a Zoom for now.

Thanks for passing by though, really appreciated.

 

[Michel Simplement]

I am really sorry to heard that. The DR-44WL is a really nice device and I am very happy with mine. What I would do as a last resort would be:

1. Retry a firmware install.

2. Remove the battery, press down the start up button for at least a minute and let it sit this way for a week or two. I remember having salvaved a device in this fashion once.

3. At last, if it is a hardware problem, I would open the device and look for possible shorted solder joints...

Good luck !

 

[Web Dever]

Apparently it is fixed!

A friend of mine opened it, used a mobile phone spray and scrape something inside and it is back to normal! Such a life savior, and it doesn't hurt that I have now two recorders in my hands.

Tascam guys never gave a suggestion or even answer my inquiries about what could be wrong, yet my friend as soon as he heard he wanted to see it, and since I thought I lost it already I didn't mind, and he did a good job on it.

I hope this might help someone else someday, if they get stuck like what happened to me.

 

[Michel Simplement]

Glad to heard that!!! Would you be more specific about what your friend performed on your device ? What would be a "mobile phone spray" for a start ? I am very curious about everything that would help recuperate any non working electronic devices.

Thanks in advance !

 

[Web Dever]

You're welcome too.

If the translation serves me right, it's an anti-corrosion spray used on mobile phones if they got water-damaged; however, I'm %100 sure my device was never touched by a single drop of water.

What really matters for me is that it works again

 

[Michel Simplement]

Makes sense to me anyway. The device may have been exposed to an excess of moisture and the dampness caused by condensation may have caused some circuits to be shorted in some way.

Thanks for the info

 

[spigmu]

FWIW my DR-44WL drains fresh batteries in minutes and has never been exposed to excess moisture or used in less than pristine indoor conditions. I gently blew some aerosols, starting with the least invasive and moving up to an anti-corrosive, and it *seemed* to possibly help for one use but it either went back to the draining behavior or it didn't actually help. Would love some more wisdom on this. It's a drag.

 

[GTBecker]

This is a late comment. Surely if the batteries were being drained in a matter of minutes they would be hot, I suspect very hot - unmistakably hot - so hot that the thread's subject line would be about a misshapen battery compartment, not about apparent premature discharge.

Is it possible that the batteries are actually fine but the recorder is misjudging the state of charge?