Camera Battery Hack
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
By the time I arrived at the Flag Point fire tower, the two old batteries in my camera were already dead.
Since I had a lot of free time the next day, I decided to see if I could MacGyver a new one. You see, The camera takes 8.4 volts and I had 2 packs of rechargeable AAA batteries.
1.2 volts x 7 batteries = 8.4 volts!
So I looked around the cabin and found all the tools that I needed:
- Duct Tape
- Broken alarm clock (wire and connectors)
- Knife to cut
- Lighter to solder
- Cribbage board (to hold it all together)
- Styrofoam cup (for an added lens hood)
Here are some fuzzy pics of the setup taken with my phone. That last one is from the actual camera.
Lasted long enough to take some great shots!
Jody Says:
I really can’t think of any clever way to say how awesome I think this is… so… wow! I have been in the middle of nowhere with an amazing view and suddenly no battery power for my camera more times than I can count. Apparently I shouldn’t have just given up.
Jessi Says:
I always knew you were a little crazy and insanely smart but how on earth you came up with this idea is beyond me… every time i see anything about what you have been up to i kinda wish a little more of this had rubbed off on me… my life seems boring in comparison
justin Says:
Nice job, but as far as I know AAA’s are 1.5v so you may have been running the camera on 12v. The picture look great and more voltage is better anyways (until you fry circuits).
gabrielm Says:
@Justin,
That’s what I used to think too. Turns out rechargeable AA and AAA run at 1.2V due to the different chemistry:
From Wikipedia:
“The nominal voltage of alkaline and lithium AAAs is 1.5 V, while that of NiMH or NiCd cells is 1.2 V.”
Take a close look at the battery. It should list the V.
Cheers.