Aaaand there's the fading. He kind of forgot about the fading.

(He feels a little better now. Getting locked out of the bar is a better option than dying.)

"I'm not arguing with you," he says mildly, a little amused at her fierceness. "A question, though. I assume I have to carry the recorder on me? What keeps it from fading when I do?"

The last time he had that problem, all of his kit came with him.