My ACTV-2 has been BLOWING through batteries like crazy.

It really seems like a 9V used to last way longer than it has been lately...
Nowadays I get about a month out of a battery. I even tried a newfangled Lithium 9v battery, still burned out waaaay too fast.

Then I remembered... I had to get my Stick's 1/4-inch jack replaced once, and also had to have the battery terminal replaced another time.

It's supposed to only drain the battery when a cable is plugged in.

Is it possible the guitar tech who replaced my jack may have crossed some wires differently that cause the battery to always drain, even when no cable is plugged in?

I think it's certainly possible esp since the "old school guitar switching trick" uses a standard stereo jack, but expects to see a mono plug. So he may have gotten confused or used an incorrect type of jack.

I haven't seen the ACTV service prints, so I hesitate to make assumptions about Emmett's specific switching scheme (assumptions could have already caused a problem)

but if you have a multimeter it should be relatively easy to NON-INVASIVELY check if you are having that parasitic draw

ALTERNATIVELY

you may just be getting older. It's a well known fact that these kids just don't make batteries to last these days being too distracted with all their twitter tweets and candy crushing. HEY!!YOU! Keep your damn frisbees off my lawn!

BTW, I like the beatboxing - it integrates well

Count me among those who suspect that either the incorrect type of jack was installed or the correct type of jack was wired incorrectly. By the way, is that lithium battery rechargable?

If I had that particular pickup on a Stick I'd put in a mini toggle switch to turn off the battery. Up would be on and down would be off. I have a couple active guitars and I always add that feature. It's too easy to forget and run down the battery. This way you can even get into the habit of turning it off between sets. And yeah I'd pop the hood and check the jack. A stereo switching jack is complex with 5 tabs and easy to hook up wrong. It could also have some schmutz in between the switching points or a blob of solder shorting 2 tabs.

Thanks...
Rob, as for the Lithium Battery... NO, not rechargeable (though in heaven's name I don't understand why)
I was using rechargeable 9V's for a while but they have even shorter life than a standard 9V so then I tried the Lithium which is supposed to last "Soooooo long"

I'm ready to get on with the PASV-4 on my new Stick currently in production.

Though I cannot speak to their performance, your earlier post led me to find a battery and a suitable charger (I have done business with that vender, several years ago).

There is something wrong with the wireing i guess.
I checked my act2 after 50 hours of playing last week and there was no measureable difference to the new battery...

any status updates on your issue?

Hmmm... is that a common problem with the Active pickups? I had a battery terminal snap on me just before a gig, and had to Frankenstein one from a tuner. and then a year later, had the plastic housing around the jack disintegrate hours before another gig. I am fortunate, I use midi on the melody side. I rigged up a mono jack to hold me over until I found a matching stereo jack.

That said, my battery life has been great. So Im guessing your tech wired it wrong. sadly, I dont recall where I got the proper diagrams from, but I suspect SE would be all too happy to help.