>Paul,
> You are correct, this did come up about 6 or 7 months ago (when last
>it was cold ?). I believe that such a accessory was produced and at
>least one list member did have one. The bottom line, I believe, was
>that one could be made by just drilling a hole in a (spare) battery
>cover and makeing up a dummy battery and connecting it to a pack kept
>close to the body. AFAIK
>Rand E.
The thing was for the OM2(n) only. Different fittings for other cameras.
Below is Franks home made version.
Foxy
All-right then. I will try to describe my selfmade 3V device.
Disclaimer: I realize that my knowledge of the english language may
cause some confusion here, because I am not familiar with the names of
all electronic parts... So be careful and don't blame me if any
disasters result from that. ;-)
1. The camera part.
Ingredients:
1 OM battery compartment cover
1 RCA jack chassis mount (1 hole mount with nut at rear)
Drill a centered hole of the same diameter as the RCA chassis mount in
the battery cover and assemble the two ingredients together. If
necessary the central soldering pin of the RCA chassis mount can be
shortened by bending or cutting it. It should touch the little
connector spring in the battery compartment when closing it with the
converted cover.
Now you have the camera part ready. You can apply 3 volts immediately
to the jack through any RCA plug. Centre pin is negative, shield is
positive (connected to camera body through cover).
I made this set to test the current drain in my OM bodies. Later I
found out that it can serve as a means to apply voltage to the camera
in adverse (cold) temperature conditions as well. For this you will
need:
2. The battery part.
Ingredients:
1 battery or set of cells of any kind giving at least 4
volts (max 12 volts).
1 low drop voltage regulator, 3.0 volt type (as used in
computers)
1 cord with male RCA plug on one end
1 case to build everything in to.
Connect the voltage regulator (pin connections depending on type, see
instructions coming with device) with the battery and the cord in such
a manner, that the central lead of the RCA-plug is negative and the
shield is positive.
I use one of my 6 volt battery packs for this purpose. It has two
cables coming out of it now, the original one for 6 volts and the new
one for 3 volts (fotunately with different plugs!). The little voltage
regulator has found a place in the plastic top part that also contains
the on-off switch. The 6 volt lead-gel battery in the pack is easily
recharged when the camera has emptied it in a century or two...
If the voltage connector is hard to find, you could use a poor man's
solution by only connecting two 1.5 volt alkaline cells (e.g. AA
cells) together with the cord. Special 2-cell cases do exist. In this
case you will have to check the voltage regularly, particularly when
the kids 'borrow' your cells and put their empty ones in instead...
One drawback: this device cannot be used together with winder or motor
drive. But I remember (from long ago) that another list member
described how he (or she?) converted a winder and glued a connecting
device on top of it, to fit exactly into the battery compartment. He
had to sacrifice the 250 frame back cogwheel connection for this...
He also used a voltage regulator, if I remember well. In cold weather
the external (and kept warm) batteries used for powering the winder
also provided the camera with energy. Maybe one of the other list
members has better archives than I have and can give more details on
this one...
Frank van Lindert
Utrecht - NL.
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