Staying in same hotel everyweek - need ideas

[anonymous2]

I will be staying in the same hotel at least one night per week for the next 3 months in the Baltimore/DC area Would like a few thoughts regarding hotels with plenty of targets AND thoughts regarding recordings. I will be staying during the week, so generally not a high point of activity, however it could lead to hiding a recorder to catch weekend activity.

Also, I could stay in a Bed & Breakfast which could lead to more direct opportunities, but fewer rooms. Generally B&B's are older homes with larger gaps under the doors and easier to spot targets arriving.

All thoughts are appreciated.

[anonymous2]

Found the perfect spot. Staying on business at a very busy B&B who specializes in romantic getaways. For example, very classy place with jetted tubes and LCD TVs in the rooms. Specializes in "couples getaways".

The plot: I am reserving the same room each week and have found the perfect place for the recorder (behind a canvas painting on the wall 5 ft from the bed. I stay during the week and let the recorder go over the weekend. My first return trip is this week, so we'll see if we've had any luck.

Question: My recorder can record for 150 hrs based upon the internal flash memory, but battery life is 22hrs when fully recording? Help? Thoughts to extend this time?

[mjj9994]

What type of batteries are you using?

The energizer lithium's last about 3-5x longer than 'normal' batteries.... i swear by them on all recording missions now!

Aside from that... there is not much else you can do to extend battery life on recorders that I know of, unless your recorder offers a 'VOX" function... but then you run the chance of only capturing the loud sounds and having gaps in your recording.... plus I do not know how much or even if that would save battery life.

[shung421]

The voice activation feature will extend battery to some degree.

[anonymous2]

Thanks! The 22 hrs is the spec from Sony. I'll look into the lithium batteries and keep everyone posted. Tested the VOR feature, but many gaps and could not adjust mic well enough to avoid or achieve a satisfactory recording. Hopefull the 22hrs is worse case.