# Do it Yourself Battery Pack for Camera



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

The Sony has a powerpack that plugs into wall and puts out 8.4 volts.I thought why not make an external Battery pack to compensate for crummy Li-Ion battery it has? Saw someone on the web did it.

As it turns out the actual battery is 7.2 volts,the charger/wall plug is 8.4

6 of my AA rechargeable batteries = 7.2 volts,they are 1.2 volts each.

The charger/wall power unit has a goofy Sony only pin.

Today at thrift store I found a Sony charger.Plus I found a battery holder that holds 6 AA batteries.Go figure,the battery holder is a Sony product that goes to who knows what.So it even matches my Video Camera!

I cut the wire from the wall charger that plugs into camera.I drilled a hole in bottom of battery pack and ran that wire in.

I soldered those wires to the output pins on battery holder.*The wire with the white stripe on it is the negative wire.*
Then I made a pile of epoxy and slathered it over the new wires in battery holder to keep wires from flexing at the solder joints.

Then I installed the batteries,closed the case and plugged into my camera.The camera cant tell the difference from charger power or NiMh battery power.

Now I have a rechargeable battery pack,just remove the AA's and put on charger.

Plus the cameras' proprietary Li-Ion battery runs about 15-35 dollars depending on size. The Camera battery I have is 7.2 volts at 700 ma.

My battery pack is 7.2 volts at 2000 ma or three times the output,or a good 3 hours of recording on video camera.

And from now on I only need AA batteries,not a special battery from Sony or elsewhere that ONLY works for the camera.

This is the inside of battery pack with the wires soldered and the epoxy over wires drying...


What the whole pack looks like....


Batteries in holders,it holds 6, 3 per side...


Close battery pack,plug into camera and take picture of Spuds.It isnt really plugged in in this pic,the epoxy is still drying.But I did test it when soldered and it works like a charm!



There it is,my 3 times more powerful battery made from 3 dollars worth of thrift store parts.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Whats it like to hold on to? I wonder if a lanyard to help support the weight either to the camera or your wrist is needed or not. Great project though.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

Sweet!! Can you leave the original battery on the camera so it doesn't loose the date settings and stuff when you disconnect?
~Don


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Yers,original battery stays hooked up,and I wear the pack in my pocket,has about a 5 foot cord.In fact must use original battery as computer in camera must communicate with a Li-Ion battery,it has to read some special codes and such,like time remaining,etc.Though when plugged in to wall or batt pack that function ceases.

Its just getting 'charging juice' from the NiMh pack,camera cant tell if that comes from a battery or wall plug,just that its receiving 7.2 volts is all it knows.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

Hmm.. What happens when the Li-Ion battery finally take a dump? Maybe a blocking diode somewhere so it doesn't become a load to the NiMh pack?

Have you tried to operate it without the original battery attached since it ignores the time remaining function and stuff AFTER the new pack is connected? Just curious..

I have an older camera that I've threatened to do a similar act on myself. I'll let you be the Guinea pig.. LOL
~Don


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Well the original battery is pretty much dumped,holds about a 15 minute charge,but plug in pack and good to go.

I did about 3 hours of work the other day of filming,editing and transferring to VCR tape and man that battery pack did great,but I have no way of knowing just how great 'til I just run em dead,but definitely awesome run time.

I did try it with battery removed after running with pack,(pack plugged in and then remove lithium),and without LI ion at all,just plug in pack.In both cases a error message came up in a minute or so about not communicating with 'Info Lithium System' and stopped working.

Then I just tried it now to tell you the exact message and its working today without the Lithium in at all,before it was shutting down when no original battery.

So I cant tell you what your camera will do without the Li-ion and I cant tell you what mine is doing,LOL!

I do know with original battery,in crummy shape,as long as camera sees it it is happy,doesnt seem to care about its quality.Will it work without it? Maybe,depends on which way wind is blowing I guess.

Have to say its a major winner running camera on AA NiMh's.Im really sold big on NiMh rechargeables,what a great battery tech it is!

Oh,and this...If the lithium runs out completely dead,then you plug in pack it works fine,so charge of lithium doesnt seem a factor.Even dead lithium (fully discharged as much as Lithium will discharge,they never go to zero or it kills battery they say,wont take a charge again) the pack works.

Edit-cord length is about 3 feet,not 5.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I'm frustrated with my NiMH batteries. I have some that have only been used a few times. I charge them until the light goes out and after just a few pictures the give out. I contacted the company and they sent me 2 packs of new batteries but they aren't much better.

The meter icon in the camera says they are good but the camera quits and the screen says the battery is dead. 

A friend says that rechargables don't work in her camera either.


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## gccrook (Nov 21, 2003)

Look up eneloop battery. They are supposed to hold a charge better than the old NiMH batteries.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Im using energizers from 3 years ago in my camera,2 sets.One set is getting pretty weak.I'd say they are done.Ive probably taken minimum 10,000 pictures with them,maybe far more.
I have over 20,000 images on computer and most are pics Ive taken,some days I take 20-30 pics with flash and I use it several times/week.Being digital I take several pics of one thing just so I can edit for the best ones.

Just got the eneloops,we shall see.

Might be your camera needs 1.5 volt batteries like alkalines and not the 1.2 volts of rechargeable AA Nimh? Ive heard of that before being a problem.

I also use the adapter shells for C and D size so I can use AA in regular flashlights.They are good for 3-4 hours of bright light,then wink out in about 10 seconds when done.

So plus and minuses with that usage.Shorter run times than an alkaline D cell for instance.And when they go out,zero warning,they are bright and POOF,darkness! But the rechargeable part makes for very cheap battery use overall. The cost aspect is a definite winner for me.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I'll check on the voltage requirement. I hadn't heard that before. Do rechargeable alkalines have a higher voltage? I've used them before without any problems.

Eneloops are a new one to me.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

fishhead said:


> Do rechargeable alkalines have a higher voltage? I've used them before without any problems.
> 
> Eneloops are a new one to me.


I just read this....
http://www.greenbatteries.com/nibafa.html#substitue


*What about rechargeable or renewable alkaline batteries?*

Rechargeable alkalines work well for some uses but, they are not a good alternative for use in digital cameras. They typically have an even lower capacity than standard alkaline batteries. This means that if a standard alkaline only lasts for a few exposures, a rechargeable alkaline will last for even fewer!
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*Why do my alkaline batteries run down so quickly when used in a digital camera (or other electronic device)?*

Alkaline batteries were not designed to meet the very high power demands of today's electronic devices. Alkaline batteries have a high rated capacity, but they can only deliver their full capacity if the power is used slowly. (See chart). Electronic devices such as digital cameras place a high power drain on batteries, so it is much better to use rechargeable NiMH or NiCd batteries for these type of devices. Lithium batteries also work well in high drain applications but they are expensive and are not designed to be recharged.
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*Can NiMH batteries be substituted for alkaline batteries even though they are only 1.2 volts?*

Yes, for most high drain electronic applications NiMH batteries are ideal substitutes and you needn't worry about the apparent voltage differences. Even though alkaline batteries are rated at a nominal 1.5 volts, they only deliver 1.5 volts when they are fully charged. As they begin to discharge the voltage of alkaline batteries continuously drops. In fact, over the course of their discharge, alkaline batteries actually average about 1.2 volts. That's very close to the 1.2 volts of a NiMH battery. The main difference is that an alkaline battery starts at 1.5 volts and gradually drops to less than 1.0 volts. NiMH batteries stay at about 1.2 volts for most of their discharge cycle.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I've either gotten some bad NiMH batteries or a bad charger because they just aren't working for me.

When I contacted the battery company last year they sent me 2 packs of batteries within a week. She also asked about the charger but I didn't take the time to use the batteries right away so I couldn't answer her question.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

What model camera?Im thinking a google search on it might be enlightening ?


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I think it's an Olympus 720. Stuff like that slips my mind.


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