Converting Z To Use Std Digital Camera Battery, Using std Digital Camera Battery in the Options

[Marty]

I am seriously thinking of opening my SL5500 up to perform some surgery on it in order to take one of the stock digital camera batteries that I can get easily and cheaply. The benefits are that I can stick an Li Ion 1800 mah battery in the Z which I can buy for about £17 to £20.

My current sharp battery the EA-BL06 is not holding its charge and is difficult to get in the UK. (I have found one place charging 49 Euro )

I have the instructions on how to open the Z , and although I wont know until I look at the PCB in detail I am assuming I will just cut the tracks to the two outside terminal posts of the battery connector and wire them in reverse.
This may seem "excessive" but trust me the battery thing is wearing me out.

Almost all the digital camera battery have the opposite polarity from Z and you can get battery with the exact same footprint as the EA-BL06 if not slightly smaller so they will fit with a bit of plastic packing if need be.

Anyone think of any reason why I cant use a (good) digital camera in this way - I mean from the battery standpoint . The only thing I'am worried about is a muli layer track that I cant get access to. If I find that I may have to desolder the connector and isolate the two end pins completely.
Since Sharp pulled out their's not a lot left here in the uk for parts and support for the Z SL5500.

[esteeven]

oops. sorry about the above. fingers too quick on the keyboard.....
Marty ---- I want to do what you did with the FLNP120 ---- is it still working?? My Z 5500 battery no longer holds a charge and like you I am reluctant to pay nearly 50 euros for a replacement. Is it possible to dumb your explanation down a little and provide more detail? I don't like messing around in batteries and, though happy to solder, I don't understand what you mean.
Thanks.

[Snappy]

oops. sorry about the above. fingers too quick on the keyboard.....
Marty ---- I want to do what you did with the FLNP120 ---- is it still working?? My Z 5500 battery no longer holds a charge and like you I am reluctant to pay nearly 50 euros for a replacement. Is it possible to dumb your explanation down a little and provide more detail? I don't like messing around in batteries and, though happy to solder, I don't understand what you mean.
Thanks.

Lauter is selling 1800mah batts for the Z5500 that is as thick (or thin) as the original batts. Its around 35euro shipped. Pls check with him for latest pricing.

[Marty]

The replacment battery I altered has been working fine for some weeks now. It holds its charge great and charges fine.

How to.

As I recall I had to cut the battery out of its plasctic case to get it to fit in the z.
Take a scapel and carefully cut the end off where the contacts are. When you get the end off you will see the contacts are plated onto a small rectantagular PC ontop of the battery. Now remove the rest of the plastic case carefully.
You should now be left with the battery in its raw state with the little pcb at the top end. Get some insulating tape and tape over the opposite end - this is where your new copper contacts are going to be sited so you dont want them shorting to the metal case. Get some thin copper sheet from a craft shop. Use scissors to cut three rectangular strips for your new contacts - base the width on the size of the contacts on the original Z battery. You want to bend the strips into a u shape round the end of the battery you've just taped.
The strips dont need to be that long, just long enough to solder a wire on the top and long enough to be able to tape them securely into position on the top side and the bottom side of the battery. Now solder wires onto the top of each new contact.
Once you've soldered wires onto the new contacts, position your strips to match that of the original Z battery contacts and tape them in position. (Dont try soldering the wires onto the new contacts whilst their taped in position the heat will melt the insulation tape underneath and short the contacts to the battery's metal case.)
Make sure you've taped the new contacts solidly into position exactly to match the original z battery. You can easily try the battery in position as there is no power to the new contacts just yet (suggest you tape up the pcb end of the battery whilst you do this to prevent any chance of a short.)
Once you are happy you can then solder the wires from the new contacts to the battery contacts on the little PCB. Now check the polarity on your new contacts is ok with a voltmeter. Ok its time to tape up the PCB end securely as well.
Finally tape over the wires across the body of the battery so they dont catch on anything and you now have your new battery! SLot the new battery into position and put the bettery switch back to normal and switch on the Z. It should work first time. You can now just tape over the battery with duck tape to keep it in position. I made a little cover out of the copper I had left. Make sure you tape the inside of the copper plate before taping it into position.
The secret to this is to check and double check everything you do. Take your time making the new contacts and lining them up correctly on the battery - you dont want to short anything. The new battery should be a tight but neat fit - this is good as you dont want it moving about in case it shorts anything!
Let me know how you get on!