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David_ritchie
Tinkerer
Username: David_ritchie
Post Number: 28
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 11:44 am: | 
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I want to use a 1.5V battery to replace the 1.35V in my Olympus 35RC. In the past I have seen instructions on how to do this using a diode but have not been able to find it.Can someone point me to those instructions or post info on how to do it? Please include info on the diode. Thanks |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 511
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 12:59 pm: |
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It's kind of long reading, but i have a copy of what i think is the definitive article on the subject posted on my website at http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/batt_adapt_us.pdf
Personally, I just blow off all that stuff and drop a Zinc/Air 675 cell into it for the same results and lots less hassle. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 512
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 01:01 pm: |
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(in the interest of not being misleading, i am NOT the author of that article.... it was written and is periodically updated by Frans de Gruijter of the Netherlands. He keeps me informed when he updates it and I keep my copy current.) |
David_ritchie
Tinkerer
Username: David_ritchie
Post Number: 29
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 01:17 pm: |
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Thanks Rick, I have seen and read this article before. The writeup that I remember told hold to remove the base plate from the Olympus 35RC, insert a diode in the cirduit and then use a silver oxide battery instead of the mercury battery. The silver oxide battery will provide longer life and steady voltage throughout it's life just like the mercury battery. Any idea where I can find this procedure? Thanks |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 513
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 01:58 pm: |
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Haven't seen that. I do have some disassembly notes here http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-134.html if you can connect the dots between that and the diode article.
For me, the diode job is more work than one extra battery change a year, and the voltage stability of a silver cell is no better than the ZA. |
David_ritchie
Tinkerer
Username: David_ritchie
Post Number: 30
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 03:21 pm: |
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Thanks again Rick. Re the batteries, I have seen graphs which show that the silver oxide batteries show a very flat voltage until they are almost exhausted whereas the ZA batteries begin to drop slowly from the beginning and faster as time goes on.With negative film it would not matter too much, but I still shoot a lot of slides. Again, Thanks |
M_currie
Tinkerer
Username: M_currie
Post Number: 110
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 04:55 pm: |
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Before you go too far on this, you might check how accurate your meter is. I got a 35 RC last summer, and when I put an alkaline cell in it, it was close enough to right that it didn't matter. Because this is a single battery meter, the difference is not very great, and even if it isn't quite right, you might be able simply to compensate with the ASA dial and get it close enough, especially if you're using print film. If it's close enough, you can put in a silver oxide cell later and get the best of all worlds, but for the testing, an alkaline is adequate.
Of course the diode solution is best, assuming that the meter is accurate now with a mercury cell, but it would be too bad to go to all that trouble and then find it worked better at 1.55 volts anyway! |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 136
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 07:20 pm: |
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My understanding is that zinc/air hearing aid batteries have a very flat voltage, same as the older mercury batteries throughout their life. I have used them in Olympus and Canonet cameras with no problems. However I have not sen the #675 (1.4 volt) ones advertised in the Sunday pharmacy ads. Does anyone kno if they're being discontinued? |
Donnie_strickland
Tinkerer
Username: Donnie_strickland
Post Number: 43
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 08:13 pm: |
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You are correct, Charlie. Here is a Duracell chart of the discharge curves for the 675 cell:
http://www.duracell.com/oem/primary/Zinc/zinc_air_tech.asp
David, it is the alkalines that have the sloping curve. I use these 675s and mine last a year on average. A lot less trouble than modifying for a silver-oxide (and a lot cheaper too). |
Donnie_strickland
Tinkerer
Username: Donnie_strickland
Post Number: 44
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 08:15 pm: |
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That's Figure 2.3.3 in the table linked above... |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 514
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - 08:49 pm: |
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I don't know what graphs you've seen, David; maybe you've confused the ZA curve with the Lithiums, which have an Alkaline-like dropoff. In addition to the link that Donnie provided, here is a correct discharge curve comparison from my own website:
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-111.html
On this graph, you will note that the ZA cell curve is almost perfectly superimposed on the Mercury curve, while the Silver cell's voltage has some visible dropoff. |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 137
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 07:14 am: |
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One of the references above implies the z/a batteries can't be stacked because the air holes in one of the batteries will be blocked but I never had a problem stacking them in my Oly 35ED, possibly because the plastic sleeve I put them in was just loose enough that the batteries were not perfectly concentric. Also I have read that the batteries will last longer if you only unseal two of the airholes. Maybe two opposite ones if you are going to stack them. |
M_currie
Tinkerer
Username: M_currie
Post Number: 111
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 08:11 am: |
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I use ZA hearing aid batteries stacked in my Konica T3, and they work fine. However, they don't last very long, at least not in that application. It may depend on whether or not the camera is one of those that's easy to leave on by mistake (which I find is the case with the Oly. 35RC as well as the Konica). I wouldn't spend the money on Wein cells for this, unless nothing else works. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 516
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 08:15 pm: |
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I wouldn't spend the money on Wein cells for anything... it's a $1 battery stuck in a $7 metal O-ring. As for stacking them, I've never seen any that fit together so air-tight that it would starve those tiny holes, it doesn't take a huge airflow to feed them. Life will vary with conditions... the power capacity of the battery is actually much higher than a mercury or silver cell of the same size, but the clock starts running when you remove the seal. I typically get 6-8 months out of a cell in an OM1, but I've had anywhere from 3 months to over 24 months out of them. In different climates it can vary even more. Still, with a worst case of 4 battery changes a year it's not the most crushing inconvenience I've ever faced, especially in comparison to my digitals...... |
Thuggins
Tinkerer
Username: Thuggins
Post Number: 17
Registered: 12-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 09:11 pm: |
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The MR-9 adapter from C.R.I.S. is the perfect, all around solution to this problem. |
David_ritchie
Tinkerer
Username: David_ritchie
Post Number: 31
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 03:55 pm: |
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Rick and all...I started this string asking about a battery for the Olympus 35RC. Now let me broaden it to include the Canon G-lll QL. I have read that the C.R.I.S adapter wiil not fit for some reason or another. Does that leave me with the Wein Cell or is there an easy and cheaper way to adapt a 675 ZA battery for this camera? |
Dgillette4
Tinkerer
Username: Dgillette4
Post Number: 168
Registered: 04-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 04:53 pm: |
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I've used 675 batteries and they work fine I just put a small o-ring around the perimeter of the battery so that it doesen't flop around. They are pretty cheaply priced and widely available. Iv'e used them in srt 101 ,leica-flex and leicaflex sl with no ill effects, accurate too. Don |
David_ritchie
Tinkerer
Username: David_ritchie
Post Number: 32
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 07:06 pm: |
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Dgillette, thanks a lot. I picked up some o rings today and found that they do allow the use of 675 batteries in the Canon G-lll camera. It is a sloppy fit but it works. The o ring size is 7/16" ID and 9/16"OD. Using an o ring you may have determine the polarity by trial and error. It will not work if the battery is installed backward. |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 139
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 07:05 am: |
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The polarity is marked on both the batteries and 35RC (and Canonets). Embossed on the white plastic at the top contacts on the 35 RC (but hard to see) and a grungy label inside the Canonets. (Just remember the (+) is towards the lens on the Canonets.) |
David_ritchie
Tinkerer
Username: David_ritchie
Post Number: 33
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 08:24 am: |
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Charlie, on my 35RC the polarity is marked on the screw in battery cap.I have not been able to find any label on the Canon G-lll, but you are right, the (+) is towards the lens. |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 140
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 01:16 pm: |
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You're right, I was thinking of my 35ED with the twin battery cavity. |
