What types of AA batteries are compatible with the Song Meter Mini and Song Meter Micro families?

The following Song Meter recorders accept AA batteries:

• Current products:
  • Song Meter Mini 2 (AA)
  • Song Meter Mini Bat 2 (AA)
  • Song Meter Micro 2
• Legacy products:
  • Song Meter Mini
  • Song Meter Mini Bat
  • Song Meter Micro

Several different types of AA batteries are commonly available:

• Alkaline
• Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH)
• Lithium iron disulfide (sometimes labeled “Lithium” or “Ultimate Lithium”)

We strongly recommend using alkaline batteries for the most consistent performance.

Alkaline

Alkaline batteries are the most common type of single-use AA batteries. When using AA batteries, the Song Meter Configurator app assumes you are using high-quality, alkaline batteries at room-temperature conditions when estimating run time or providing a battery life percentage.

We have found Energizer alkaline AA batteries to perform very well.

Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH)

NiMH batteries are the most common type of rechargeable AA batteries. If you only need to deploy recorders for short lengths of time and want to throw away fewer batteries overall, NiMH batteries can be a good option. However, if you use NiMH batteries with a Song Meter, be aware of the following:

• NiMH batteries will typically last 50-70% as long as alkaline batteries before needing to be recharged. This battery life will decline as the batteries are used and recharged repeatedly.
• Different brands and models of NiMH batteries have different capacities. This is often advertised as a charge capacity, measured in milliamp-hours (mAh).
• The battery percentage readout in the recorder's Status screen will read lower than the batteries' actual state of charge. This is because NiMH batteries run at a lower voltage than alkaline batteries. For example, when the batteries are fully charged, the Status screen may only read 90%.
• NiMH batteries will die much more quickly than the Song Meter Configurator's battery life estimations. Even though the battery percentage is underestimated, the total lifespan of NiMH batteries is significantly shorter than that of alkaline batteries.

Lithium/Iron Disulfide

Lithium iron disulfide batteries are sold under multiple brand names, including the following:

• Energizer Ultimate Lithium
• Ansmann Extreme Lithium
• Ansmann Industrial Lithium

Lithium iron disulfide batteries should not be confused with lithium-ion batteries, which are generally not available in AA size.

Lithium iron disulfide batteries primarily benefit devices that draw much more power than Song Meters, but they can outperform alkaline batteries in freezing temperatures. However, if you use lithium iron disulfide batteries with a Song Meter, be aware of the following:

• The battery percentage readout in the recorder's Status screen will read higher than the batteries' actual state of charge. This is because lithium iron disulfide batteries run at a higher voltage than alkaline batteries. For example, if the Status screen says the batteries are at 60% life, they may actually be at 10% life.
• Because the battery percentage is overestimated, the Estimate battery and card life window in the app will also overestimate how long partially-used batteries will last before depleting.
• At the very end of the batteries' life, the Song Meter may lose and regain power several times before fully shutting down. This can result in several unusual behaviors:
  • The Song Meter may produce truncated, unreadable, or “0 KB” recordings at the end of its deployment.
  • The Song Meter may produce multiple diagnostics (.minidiags) files at the end of its deployment.
  • The SD card may be marked “dirty”, meaning you must connect it to a computer before using it to record again.
  • In rare cases, the SD card may become corrupted, meaning you must run a repair or recovery tool in order to recover your recordings.

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