TASCAM BP-6AA External Battery Pack for Portable Digital Recorder

Let’s review the TASCAM BP-6AA External Battery Pack. If you use a portable field recorder like the Tascam DR-40 or Zoom H4N you may have learned by now that they suck batteries hungrily. Especially if you’re using them to provide phantom power to an XLR mic. I’ve been on shoots and put freshly-charged rechargeable batteries in my DR-40, hit record, and watched the battery indicator drop to 1 of 3 bars in no time.

I picked up an AC USB charger by Tascam for home use or when I leave my recorder at the mixing board (which is actually a great place to leave a recorder when filming concerts), but what to do when you don’t have a plug nearby? Well today I received the Tascam BP-6AA battery pack .

It’s a simple power pack using 6 AA batteries to provide power to your Tascam DR-40. It comes with a round adapter that fits the Tascam DR-100(II), however Tascam gave the DR-40 a mini USB charge plug. (Why?) So you’ll need to order a mini USB to USB cable with this if you own the DR-40. My Tascam AC USB adapter already has mini to USB so I’m able to use it with this charger.

Below you can see how the charger attaches right to the DR-40 via the included brace. And it then provides a 1/4 20 thread to attach both to your rig. It’s a little bulky. But it will keep your. Oh and one added benefit: This thing can recharge your iPhone!

The white sticker on the cable above is my label. I always label my cables when I get them (so I don’t end up with a box full of mystery cables and chargers.)