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Topic: Battery in Yashica super 800

Mason Dent
Junior
Posts: 2
From: Chicago
Registered: Jun 2005

posted June 01, 2005 10:40 PM

I just found an lder Yashica super 800 electro which seems to be in perfect working condition (I havent shot anything on it yet but it looks and sounds right) but when I put the 4AA batterys in the handle it will open the shutter and make the right sounds but after
I stop using it, when I try again it says the batterys are dead (and it doesnt open the shutter or do the electric zoom). When I put some of the "dead" batterys in my cd player it said they were very low. Do the super 8 electrics really drain that much battery? Has this happend to anyone else? any advice would be helpfull. Thanks [Confused]

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John Whittle
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 791
From: Northridge, CA USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 01, 2005 10:56 PM

You know 4 AA batteries doesn't seem like the right pak for a camera. The motor and zoom are a heavy draw. I wonder if there was originally a high capacity OEM pak that shipped with the camera. You might be better off rigging an external powersupply. I also wonder if 4 AA (which would produce 3 volts) is right, but if you can come up with a surplus lead acid battery and a shoulder pak for the power, you'd solve your problem.

John

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Jan Bister
Darth 8mm

Posts: 2629
From: Ohio, USA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted June 02, 2005 12:17 AM

I really don't think that 4 AA batteries could be drained THAT quickly even if the camera was meant for a stronger battery pack. They fit into the handle so they must be correct, right? [Wink]

Maybe there's an (intermittent?) short circuit somewhere that drains the batteries between uses of the camera... it might be worth checking that out. When the camera refused to run and you took the batteries out, did they feel warm to the touch?

FTR, four AA batteries in series produce 6 volts.

--------------------
Call me Phoenix. *dusts off the ashes*

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James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003

posted June 02, 2005 06:36 AM

Hi Mason, welcome to the forum-

Its funny that you mentioned this. I picked up a Yashica SU-60 Electro a few years back, and the exact same thing happened to me. So I started removing the batteries when not in use.

The strange thing is, sometimes I forget to remove them, and it does'nt drain them [Confused]

.

I did notice one time that after I had used the camera and put it down, I could hear something quietly running inside. So it seems to be selective when to drain the batteries, but I havent figured it out yet.

Other than that, great camera!

I'll let you know if I figure it out.

Nick.

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Mason Dent
Junior
Posts: 2
From: Chicago
Registered: Jun 2005

posted June 02, 2005 01:05 PM

Thanks for the advice all. Ive been doing some tests with some rechargeable AA batterys and they do not feel hot when I take them out to investiagate. But I also dont hear anything when im not using it and the batterys are in. Due to the fact that I am a junior member/convert from the world of dv (I saw the light after seeing the last scene in slacker) I am wondering how it is possible to rig a camera taht runs on 4 aa placed in the handle to run on a larger external battery (preferably one that doesnt weigh a bazzilion tons) because I hope to use this cam on my trip to japan in late june.

Thanks for the warm welcome/advice [Big Grin]

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Tim Christian
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 219
From: Norfolk, UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 02, 2005 01:43 PM

4 x AA is a normal battery complement for a S8 (and R8) camera. They usually last for three or four rolls of film (provided you turn the camera off after every shoot [Roll Eyes]

).

In none of my cameras (hal-a-dozen in regular use) do the batteries go flat so quickly, which suggests an internal fault.

--------------------
Tim

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John Whittle
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 791
From: Northridge, CA USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 02, 2005 11:39 PM

quote:
I am wondering how it is possible to rig a camera taht runs on 4 aa placed in the handle to run on a larger external battery

This should be too big a problem if you can solder a wire to each side of the battery take-off and run it to a little jack you can use to connect an external DC source. Since appears the camera is supposed to run off 3 volts, then you need a 3 volt source or if you use a high battery voltage, then a voltage regulator (prefered) or a proper voltage dropping resistor (you'll have to compute the value and power requirements and it'll also eat up the battery compared to a voltage regulator).

There are a number of ICs that are simple voltage regulators that only require a couple of additional components, if memory servies we, there is a series in TO-220 cases that begins with 78XX with the last two digits being the regulated voltage.

John

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Tim Christian
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 219
From: Norfolk, UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 03, 2005 02:25 AM

No point in going to all this trouble just so the camera can eat bigger batteries. Find the fault first!

--------------------
Tim

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Kevin Faulkner
Film God

Posts: 4071
From: Essex UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 03, 2005 11:19 AM

I go along with Tim.s sentiments here. There is obviously a fault such as a dried up capacitor or the like which is not uncommon, given the age. You will just exhaust the batteries in the external pack quickly too and possibly damage the camera in the bargain.

Kev.

--------------------
GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.

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David Pannell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1072
From: Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Registered: Nov 2004

posted June 03, 2005 12:16 PM

Kev and Tim are right.

The old adage "If it aint broke, don't fix it" is as true as its counterpart "If it is broke, it won't fix itself".

It's often very tempting to see if another approach might overcome the problem, but in cases such as these, you could do more harm than good - and wast time, money and effort to little or no avail.

Good luck with the troubleshooting.

Best,

Dave.

--------------------
Dave.

Valves and celluloid - a great combination!
Early technology rules OK!

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John Whittle
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 791
From: Northridge, CA USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 03, 2005 06:07 PM

quote:
"If it is broke, it won't fix itself".

If you're old enough to remember "tubes" then you'll recall a service technique of "condensor reforming" by placing the offending set on a variac and slowing bring up the ac voltage and getting the condesnors to "reform". Depeninding on the age of the device it actually works sometimes!

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David Pannell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1072
From: Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Registered: Nov 2004

posted June 04, 2005 01:14 AM

Hi John,

Yes! I do, I do, I do.

You could even re-vitalise tubes (or valves, as we call them over here), including CRTs, by what was called re-gunning. This was usually done by applying a high voltage to the cathode or filament, in order to attract back the cathode material which had evaporated onto the inside of the glass envelope. This usually had been caused by the cathode having insufficient volts to begin with, with the result that the high anode voltage would "strip" the cathode, if the filament wasn't hot enough to provide the correct rate of emission.

But you actually had to do something! It didn't just fix itself, did it! - - - but I know where you're coming from, John. Thanks for taking me back to the "good old days", where you could see and feel what was going on.

Cheers, [Big Grin]

Dave.

--------------------
Dave.

Valves and celluloid - a great combination!
Early technology rules OK!

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Jan Bister
Darth 8mm

Posts: 2629
From: Ohio, USA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted June 04, 2005 03:46 AM

There seems to be some insistence that 4 AA batteries (in series) produce 3 volts...? [Confused]

I know one of them is 1.5V and when multiplying that by 4, I keep coming up with 6V... [Confused]

Am I missing something here [Big Grin]

--------------------
Call me Phoenix. *dusts off the ashes*

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David Pannell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1072
From: Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Registered: Nov 2004

posted June 04, 2005 04:26 AM

You're missing absolutely nothing, Jan. You're 100% correct!

I assumed it was a typo, so ignored it; unless, of course the volts are being measured under load - but WHAT a load, if it's pulling the volts down by half - something definitely wrong with the camera if that is the case.

BTW, I have a Sankyo Auto 5X camera which I use for Regular 8, and I consistently get 10+ reels per set of 4 x AA.

Dave.

--------------------
Dave.

Valves and celluloid - a great combination!
Early technology rules OK!

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