12 volts is 12 volts, should not be the battery that is creating the problem. That 3.5 should run the 168 for as long as 12-15 hours.
If those are 2200 mAh double A's you are using about a 1.75 Amp Set up that is only 9.6 volts, most F/F run on 8 volts minimum.
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