Forums » Equipment (cameras, recorders, K-II, etc.)

• Jenn Hollis

  

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  March 27, 2011 9:57:52 AM EDT

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  So, this might be controversial, but what does everyone think about battery drain as 'evidence' of paranormal activity?

  I know some camps feel it's definitely a precursor to activity and others that it's equipment or environmental factors.

  I know for a fact that my cell phone's charge, a li-on battery, lasted longer in colder conditions. However, I've heard lots of opinions/facts stating that cold will have a draining effect on standard alkalines.

  What about other rechargeables?

  Should we start to disregard battery drain as an indicator of ghostly goings on?

  What's everyone's take on this?

• Phil Payette

  

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  March 27, 2011 11:08:10 AM EDT

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  I've certainly had my share of equipment failures at the exact moments of perceived activity. I can't say its battery drain per se, because the stuff will start working again moments later.
• Rob ~ DEADPsalm

  

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  March 27, 2011 1:59:27 PM EDT

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  I do not think battery drain alone is useful evidence. If it coincides with other events it gains value. Batteries in storage will last longer if they kept cold. If batteries are in use in cold conditions they will not last as long as they should. Why? When electronic circuits are cold, more power is required for them to function properly. More power needed means batteries may appear to drain faster. Then, back in warm conditions, the circuit require less power and the batteries may appear to be back to normal.
• Wes Forsythe

  

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  March 27, 2011 5:58:17 PM EDT

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  Tricky question.

   

  I don't think we should disregard ANYTHING that could be evidence in total. However, battery drain in itself rarely adds much to the equation, unless as mentioned above it occurs in conjunction with other measurable or at least observable activity.

   

  The real problem with battery drain is that the actual amount of drainage is very hard to document. I have had rechargeable batteries fail "out of the blue" in non-paranormal situations plenty of times so I definitely would hesitate to give their failure much weight.

   

  I avoid rechargeables in everything except my cameras. All stationary cameras are plugged in if possible. I have "oversize" (like 8 or 12 hour battery life) packs in the handheld video camera that I carry. My sima IR lights are rechargeable but they drain pretty fast with or without paranormal intervention so I am prepared for that - probably wouldn't notice if a ghost did suck the life out of one.

   

  lf a device will take a regular battery, that is what I put in it. I try to load anything I am counting on during an investigation with a fresh battery/batteries before starting. Sometimes I fudge a little on flashlights since I tend to carry a spare or two as backups.

   

  As long as we keep close track of the details, I see no reason not to consider battery drain as evidence just as we would consider a sound or fleeting shadow seen in the corner of our eye....evidence but not proof. It just a possible part of the big picture that we must consider.

• BadBoy Bill

  

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  March 28, 2011 2:28:06 PM EDT

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  I have fount that sometimes that paranormal activity can drain a battery. But I have also experience battery drain with out any paranormal activity. High power electric lines can also drain batteries. I am sure that there are other things that can do so as well. Before using batter drain you should check what is going on around you that might cause this problem. Battery drain in itself is not evidence of paranormal activity.
• Jenn Hollis

  

  • 21 posts
  March 29, 2011 7:05:14 AM EDT

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  Okay, guys! Thanks for weighing in :)
  
  I tend to lean towards taking it as a note and if anything really compelling happens around the same time (like a really strong EVP) then it might be something more.
  
  The most interesting one I noted was my very trusty Canon Powershot SD1000 (with a full charge) shut off after 30 minutes of filming. Roughly analogous to this was the sound of boot steps on the unoccupied upper floor of the location.
  
  So, I'll consider it a potential factor and see how it pans out over time.
  
  Anyone had any interesting coincidences with drain?
• BadBoy Bill

  

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  March 29, 2011 2:00:15 PM EDT

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  I don't know if its a coincidences or not or even if its paranormal.
  But here in Charleston SC there is a little park decanted to the solders of the revolution war. There is only 4 graves and a couple of picnic tables. You can peg any meter that you want to use and a fully charged cell phone only last about 10 minutes. A lot of people have gotten readings but no one has ever seen anything. I have never gotten any kind of feeling there either.It will even drain a car battery if you park there for an hour or so. No battery dosen't last long in that area.
• Wes Forsythe

  

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  March 29, 2011 2:34:18 PM EDT

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  One of the reasons I am so skeptical of battery drain (skeptical of whether it actually happened in any particular instance...not whether it could possibly be paranormal) is that I have never personally experienced it.

   

  It has happened several time to people I have been with. But I - WHO CARRIES MORE GEAR AROUND THAN A TRAVELING RADIO SHACK SALESMAN - has not had anything go "unexplainably" dead. When it happens to others, I just have to take their word for it that a particular device was properly charged...not that I am any more reliable than the next guy...I just can't "vouch" for someone else's personal experiences nor technical precision.

   

  I do believe it is a phenomena related to paranormal activity. I do NOT however believe that spirits "take" the energy. I believe it is more of a by-product of the paranormal. I think it is more like the cool air you feel when you open a refrigerator to get a sandwich. The cool air is there because you opened the door - not because the sandwich stole the heat.

• BadBoy Bill

  

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  March 29, 2011 3:27:12 PM EDT

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  Wes the place that I am talking about I go by it to and from work. I am always boosting off cars there or calling for help for them when I am on my bike. In the summer I fine 5 or 6 cars stranded there in a week. I don't think that's a coincidence. My cell can be fully charged and If I stay there for around 10 minutes it is dead. I park about 50 feet up the road and nothing goes dead. I don't know but several people has told me that any meter will peg but only last about 10 minutes before it is dead, My cell has went dead there and my bike but I had to kick start my bike.But the funny part Wes is that I can usually pick up on any kind of paranormal activity but I have never felt anything there. I have never had anything out of the normal happen to me there except the battery drain so I have no ideal what is going on. Might even be allies there , Who knows
• Wes Forsythe

  

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  March 30, 2011 3:30:41 PM EDT

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  Well, Bill...you know me...I usually start questioning coincidences after the third or fourth one. Since I have no small amount of faith in your abilities, my guess is that while whatever is going on there is NOT normal, it isn't PARAnormal (at least not in the sense that we use the word around here).
  
  
  Sounds more to me like either a natural or man-made energy field is wreaking havoc. Next time you are past there in a car or truck, notice if your radio does anything funky...AM band would probably be more sensitive.