Don't do the Varta 9v trick would be my advice! The cells are a very awkward
shape, meaning that you can't pack the can efficiently, and end up with a
low - capacity pack. I was really not happy with the one I did, so it got a
second rebuild.
!/3AA NiMh at 250mAh are available easily. I got mine from
www.eurobatteries.com at GBP1.59 each . The advantage is that 13 cells will
fit in the can, giving a useful increase in both voltage and capacity over
the standard pack. As for charging, the Oly charger becomes effectively a
trickle charger in this instance (1/10 th capacity), so no worries. My
rebuild to this spec has been very successful, in both performance from full
charge and charge retention.
Alternatively, an OEM Oly replacement NiCd pack is available at 125GBP plus
shipping in the UK. If that's too much (it was for me!) contact Axess
international (sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx), who can supply a perfect
replacement as drawing number SP2470. This will take about 4 weeks to
deliver, but comes out at GBP23.45 plus VAT and carriage (about 250f the
Oly price all - in) . This is one of their standard 250mAh NiCd packs of
1/3A cells, and the drawing number is for the modification to fit the
control pack. Mine arrived last week, and fits the control pack perfectly.
In addition, they are friendly and helpful, and will build anything to order
if you supply a drawing. The pack is built to at least the same standard and
finish as the OEM.
As you can tell, I now have two control packs with 250mAh batteries, one
NiCd 12 cell and one NiMh 13 cell. I'm continuing to test the relative
performance.
Full instructions for disassembly / reassembly of the pack are on the FAQ.
It's really not hard. In my view, a dead Control Pack battery is about the
best thing you can get when buying, as it's a really effective bargaining
point, but costs little to fix.
BTW, does anyone know what the nominal capacity of the OEM Oly pack is?
Logically it should have increased over the years as NiCd densities got
better, but there is no mention of it in the documentation I can find, nor
of the charge - time increase that would result.
Julian
Cambs, UK
----- Original Message -----
From: <baysm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 2:01 PM
Subject: RE: [OM] Motor Drive 2 - What to look out for
> It isn't that difficult to replace the batteries inside. They use 1/3 AA
> NiCad batteries. You won't find 1/3 AA NiMh batteries available anywhere
> because they are not manufactured. People have attempted(successfully?)
> disassembling Varta 9 volt NiMh batteries and reassembling the individual
> cells around the tripod mount post inside. Problem with NiMh is they are
> much more particular about how they are re-charged(look on the web under
> forums for RC cars and the like. Those guys know battery systems
> inside-out!). The original charger, intended for the NiCad's will not
> provide an ideal charging rate and the batteries will either deteriorate
> over time or self-destruct. The NiCad's actually have higher capacity than
> the morphodite 9 volt Varta de-construction and discharge at an evenly
> higher rate, but of course, they are subject to developing a charge
> "memory". I've looked at using Li-Ion gel cells, but same issue with
> charging only to a much higher degree. NiMh would be the answer if you
> could get them in 1/3 AA size, and of course, have a proper charger.
>
> > As for NiMH, there are instructions for rebuilding the batteries (just
> > search on battery and MD2), but the consensus is you do NOT want to use
> > NiMH. I won't repeat the details here, but it is in the archives.
> > There is a company that will sell you, for a reasonable price, a
> > prebuilt battery that is pretty easy to put in. Can't remember the URL
> > (somebody jump in), but I THINK it was www.maxxprod.com You have to
> > tell them it is for an Olympus Winder (OK, they don't know the
> > difference) and I think it was about US$35.
> >
>
>
>
>
> < This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
> < For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
> < Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
>
>
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|