Okay, so a friend of mine pointed this cool tool to me. It’s the Keith McMillen Batt-O-Meter. In a nutshell, it’s a battery tester, but why I’m bringing this up.. it’s super convenient with pedals and active pickups. Basically plug in the 1/4″ jack into the pedal and it will tell you the status of your battery. Don’t have to take the battery out, etc. As you can see… very cool.
Here is the official description of the Batt-O-Meter:
The Batt-O-Meter from Keith McMillen Instruments is the first battery tester for musicians. Test the remaining hours of battery life and voltage of 9 volt batteries while they are still inside gear through a 1/4-inch plug. The Batt-O-Meter works with almost any active instrument pickup or effects unit (stompboxes and other floor effects) that requires a 9 volt battery to operate, and is turned on when a standard 1/4-inch cable is plugged into it. The Batt-O-Meter works by automatically placing the battery under an appropriate load to simulate real world usage. A micro-processor within the unit allows the device to intelligently determine the different loads that can be put on the battery and calculate the power in hours remaining. This eliminates the need for extra buttons and adaptors, and makes the Batt-O-Meter simple to use. The Batt-O-Meter can test stand-alone batteries: 9V, 1.5V (AAA, AA), and 3V. It works with Alkaline, Rechargable, and old school Carbon-Zinc batteries. The Batt-O-Meter requires its own 9 volt for operation, which it can self-test. Located in Berkeley, California, Keith McMillen Instruments (KMI) is an intimate company that makes innovative technology for string instruments. A portion of each KMI sale is donated to the BEAM Foundation for research and provide commissions for new musical works. Visit www.Batt-O-Meter.com for more product information, including videos, documentation and support.
Also, here is a great video showing it’s capability:
You usually see this tester in the $30-$40 range, but I found it on Amazon for only $19.87!!! That’s a great deal.
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8 years ago
Hank, that was a good idea – using it to check the pre-amp in active guitars/basses. However, based on some of the buyer comments on Amazon, this device seems to have some issues registering the correct battery level with active pups. There seems to be a number of folks who say it just plain doesn’t work or gives them false readings. Some people have similar issues with regular pedals too. So, may not be totally ready for prime-time yet. It’s definitely a YMMV situation. BUT, that said, it defeats the whole purpose of the device! If you can’t count on it 100% of the time it’s value is quite questionable.
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