Please see the message below sent by Wildife Acoustics regarding proper battery use in the Song Meter Mini Recorders:
Prevent Damage to Your Recorders from Improper Battery Use
Incorrect battery use can cause the batteries to leak corrosive chemicals that may irritate your skin and damage your recorder. With the Song Meter Mini 2 AA and Song Meter Mini Bat 2 AA recorders, it may not be immediately obvious if a battery is installed incorrectly.
Examples of incorrect battery use include the following:
Battery best practices
Make sure all batteries are pointed the right way
The correct orientation for each battery is to position the flat, negative end of each battery against the battery tray spring.
If you install a battery with the incorrect orientation, it may leak corrosive chemicals in a matter of hours. If some AA batteries in a set of eight are installed backwards, the recorder may still power on before the battery begins leaking.
Replace all batteries at the same time
A set of batteries can only perform as well as the weakest battery among them. Mixing brand-new or freshly charged batteries with dead or partially drained batteries prevents the full set from working properly and may cause the batteries to leak corrosive chemicals that can damage your recorder.
When it’s time to replace batteries in your recorder, always install a matching set of brand-new single-use batteries or freshly charged rechargeable batteries. Never mix fresh batteries with ones that have been partially used, and never mix single-use batteries with rechargeable batteries.
What to do if a battery leaks
If you find that any batteries in your Song Meter Mini 2 AA or Song Meter Mini Bat 2 AA have leaked, Wildlife Acoustics will repair or replace your recorder under warranty. Here’s what you should do:
Why are we sending this email?
We recently learned that users of five individual Song Meter Mini 2 AA and Song Meter Mini Bat 2 AA recorders experienced battery leakage. Our engineers examined each recorder for manufacturing faults and found none, leaving incorrect battery installation as the most likely explanation.
Incorrect battery use can damage any battery-powered device, but it is particularly important to be mindful when using eight AA batteries in a single recorder.
Previous Song Meter models that could be powered using AA or D batteries could use only four batteries at a time. If one of only four batteries in a recorder is installed backwards, the recorder will not power on for more than a few seconds. If this has ever happened to you, you probably noticed that the recorder would not stay on, and you likely corrected the reversed battery before it caused any damage.
The Song Meter Mini 2 AA and Song Meter Mini Bat 2 AA can use up to eight batteries at once. If some batteries in a set of eight are installed incorrectly, the recorder may still power on, and you may not notice any problem with the recorder’s behavior before the batteries begin to leak.
Does this affect lithium-ion batteries?
18650 Lithium-ion batteries are sold as either protected or unprotected batteries. Unprotected batteries are too short to fit in any of our recorders that accept lithium-ion batteries, and you should not use them with our recorders. Protected 18650 batteries have built-in protection circuits that prevent current from flowing backwards through the battery.
The protection circuit in a well-built 18650 lithium-ion battery will prevent failure if the battery is installed incorrectly. However, you should still make sure to install your batteries correctly and with consistent levels of charge to get the longest battery life possible.
Questions? We’re here to help.
Please feel free to reach out to our support team should you have any questions. We can be reached by calling +1 (888) 733-0200 or submitting this contact form.
–Wildlife Acoustics Customer Support
Examples of incorrect battery use include the following:
- Installing batteries backwards, with the positive and negative ends reversed
- Combining brand-new or freshly charged batteries with batteries that have already been used
Battery best practices
Make sure all batteries are pointed the right way
The correct orientation for each battery is to position the flat, negative end of each battery against the battery tray spring.
If you install a battery with the incorrect orientation, it may leak corrosive chemicals in a matter of hours. If some AA batteries in a set of eight are installed backwards, the recorder may still power on before the battery begins leaking.
Replace all batteries at the same time
A set of batteries can only perform as well as the weakest battery among them. Mixing brand-new or freshly charged batteries with dead or partially drained batteries prevents the full set from working properly and may cause the batteries to leak corrosive chemicals that can damage your recorder.
When it’s time to replace batteries in your recorder, always install a matching set of brand-new single-use batteries or freshly charged rechargeable batteries. Never mix fresh batteries with ones that have been partially used, and never mix single-use batteries with rechargeable batteries.
What to do if a battery leaks
If you find that any batteries in your Song Meter Mini 2 AA or Song Meter Mini Bat 2 AA have leaked, Wildlife Acoustics will repair or replace your recorder under warranty. Here’s what you should do:
- Wear disposable gloves to protect yourself from the battery chemicals, which can irritate the skin.
- Check to see whether any batteries are installed backwards or are different in type or brand from the others.
If your batteries have leaked, but they all match and are installed correctly, take a photo of the batteries to send to Wildlife Acoustics Support. - Remove all batteries from the recorder.
- Remove your gloves and thoroughly wash your hands.
- Contact Wildlife Acoustics Support and provide the following information:
- The serial number of the damaged recorder
- A phone number and shipping address to receive a replacement recorder, if necessary - Follow Wildlife Acoustics Support’s instructions to send your recorder to the nearest service center for repair or replacement, if necessary.
Why are we sending this email?
We recently learned that users of five individual Song Meter Mini 2 AA and Song Meter Mini Bat 2 AA recorders experienced battery leakage. Our engineers examined each recorder for manufacturing faults and found none, leaving incorrect battery installation as the most likely explanation.
Incorrect battery use can damage any battery-powered device, but it is particularly important to be mindful when using eight AA batteries in a single recorder.
Previous Song Meter models that could be powered using AA or D batteries could use only four batteries at a time. If one of only four batteries in a recorder is installed backwards, the recorder will not power on for more than a few seconds. If this has ever happened to you, you probably noticed that the recorder would not stay on, and you likely corrected the reversed battery before it caused any damage.
The Song Meter Mini 2 AA and Song Meter Mini Bat 2 AA can use up to eight batteries at once. If some batteries in a set of eight are installed incorrectly, the recorder may still power on, and you may not notice any problem with the recorder’s behavior before the batteries begin to leak.
Does this affect lithium-ion batteries?
18650 Lithium-ion batteries are sold as either protected or unprotected batteries. Unprotected batteries are too short to fit in any of our recorders that accept lithium-ion batteries, and you should not use them with our recorders. Protected 18650 batteries have built-in protection circuits that prevent current from flowing backwards through the battery.
The protection circuit in a well-built 18650 lithium-ion battery will prevent failure if the battery is installed incorrectly. However, you should still make sure to install your batteries correctly and with consistent levels of charge to get the longest battery life possible.
Questions? We’re here to help.
Please feel free to reach out to our support team should you have any questions. We can be reached by calling +1 (888) 733-0200 or submitting this contact form.
–Wildlife Acoustics Customer Support