Converting Z To Use Std Digital Camera Battery

[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.

[xatax]

How will you charge it? If you charge the batt via the Zs chipset it will think it's a normal standard battery and always charge it less than it can handle? Just a thought.

[chrget]

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. [...] This may seem "excessive" but trust me the battery thing is wearing me out.

Personally I do think that's even more than a bit excessive, especially since the same result can be achieved by modifying the batteries instead -- with a much lower risk of doing harm to your poor little collie  

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.

I wouldn't know about 'Almost all', but I decided on an EN-EL5 compatible battery (originally for the Nikon Coolpix family of cameras) to modify and use in my Z. (If you read German, you can read up the details on that and have a look at the pictures here). Others have been using other batteries (e.g. originally designed for use in Nokia mobile phones) and did similar things. The user 'Lauter' has even turned this into a semi-(?)-commercial venture and is selling modified Nokia-compatible high-capacity batteries for use in the Z.

Anyone think of any reason why I cant use a (good) digital camera in this way - I mean from the battery standpoint .[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=88862\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

None whatsoever. I've been running the Z on my modified battery for 3 months now, with rather satisfying results and no ill effects.

How will you charge it? If you charge the batt via the Zs chipset it will think it's a normal standard battery and always charge it less than it can handle? Just a thought.

Uhm, no. That's not the way contemporary battery charging circuits work  

Best regards,
Chris.

[Marty]

I wanted to have much better battery life as possible and I could only get this with a much bigger battery so I decided to go down the modified battery route.

I've gone for an Energizer FLNP120 3.7 v 1800MAH.
It only cost £17.28 including tax(we call it vat in the UK) and shipping.

First thing I did was cut it out of the plastic case to get proper access to the contacts and to reduce it in size a little. (This is because its too tight a fit with the plastic case on).
You then need to tape the opposite end of the bare metal battery case with insulating tape as this end is going to take the new contacts.
Take some thin copper sheet (buy from a craft shop) and cut three copper strips
which you bend into a u shape and fit over the taped end for your new contacts.
Before you can tape the new contacts into place you need to solder wires from the battery contacts on the little exposed PCB on the other end of the battery (the pcb contains the charge protection circuit)

Position the newly wired contacts onto the taped end of the battery and tape them in position. Tape over the end of the battery with the pcb contacts and tape down the wires and you have a new battery. The tape and the new contacts will make the battery a snug fit in the z case - just be carefull your new contacts line up ok with the terminals in the Z.

Had I used the smaller 1000mah battery I'am sure I would be able to put the cover back on but the 1800 mah battery is about 10mm thick (even without its plastic case) so I had to make a new cover. I cut out a new cover from the copper sheet and insulated the inside with tape. I then taped it in position over the battery by applying (black) tape around the edges.

I see how this cover goes. Physically I think it looks fine.It has a little bulge at the back but not too bad. I may refine its looks later but I hardly notice it as it is at the back of the Z.I dont expect to have to access the battery for a long time so I am not worried about the use of the tape.

[Snappy]

As far as li-ion charging is concerned, putting in a larger cell will just mean proportionately longer charging time.  The charging circuit will only stop when the cell voltage reach around 4.1 or something.

You can think of it using buckets of water as an analogy. The voltage is the height of the buckets (batteries). The volume of the buckets is the capacity of the battery. So if the water (charging current) filling the buckets up is constant, it will just take longer to charge up.

Some older ni-cad chargers may use a timer, which is why they needed to discharge completely and then charge up. Otherwise, the water will overfill, ie the battery will explode.

Hope it makes sense.

[esteeven]

I wanted to have much better battery life as possible and I could only get this with a much bigger battery so I decided to go down the modified battery route.

I've gone for an Energizer FLNP120 3.7 v 1800MAH.
It only cost £17.28 including tax(we call it vat in the UK) and shipping.

First thing I did was cut it out of the plastic case to get proper access to the contacts and to reduce it in size a little. (This is because its too tight a fit with the plastic case on).
You then need to tape the opposite end of the bare metal battery case with insulating tape as this end is going to take the new contacts.
Take some thin copper sheet (buy from a craft shop) and cut three copper strips
which you bend into a u shape and fit over the taped end for your new contacts.
Before you can tape the new contacts into place you need to solder wires from the battery contacts on the little exposed PCB on the other end of the battery (the pcb contains the charge protection circuit)

Position the newly wired contacts onto the taped end of the battery and tape them in position. Tape over the end of the battery with the pcb contacts and tape down the wires and you have a new battery. The tape and the new contacts will make the battery a snug fit in the z case - just be carefull your new contacts line up ok with the terminals in the Z.

Had I used the smaller 1000mah battery I'am sure I would be able to put the cover back on but the 1800 mah battery is about 10mm thick (even without its plastic case) so I had to make a new cover. I cut out a new cover from the copper sheet and insulated the inside with tape. I then taped it in position over the battery by applying (black) tape around the edges.

I see how this cover goes. Physically I think it looks fine.It has a little bulge at the back but not too bad. I may refine its looks later but I hardly notice it as it is at the back of the Z.I dont expect to have to access the battery for a long time so I am not worried about the use of the tape.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=89254\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

[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.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=91929\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

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!

[Snappy]

Marty, any idea where to get this Energizer battery in state side? Thanks!

[Marty]

Try here first  

http://www.energizer.com/

They can tell you where to buy your battery in the U.S and also have a tutorials on how batteries are made, which may help you to customise the battery.
If your stuck phone their product support section and they'll tell you how the battery is put together.

[Snappy]

Thanks Marty! Found a site that lists the FLNP120 as "a direct replacement for the Fuji NP120, Pentax D-Li7 and Ricoh DB43 batteries."

From the product number NP120, D-Li7 and DB43, google and I can find an equivalent OEM battery around $16 (wo shipping).

[eccerr0r]

There are three contacts on the battery, +, -, and a third - what is the third contact?  Is it a smartbattery?  My laptop has a I2C controllable battery monitor, is it the same way with these batteries?

Anyway,

For those in the US here's an option for collie/poodle batteries

http://www.pdainternalbattery.com/sharppdabattery.html

Unfortunately $29 is higher than some other options, wish there was a source for around that 17 euros mark even if US currency is less than the original USD to Euro conversion

Anyone have any other good places to go for batteries?

[brashley46]

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.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=91929\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

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.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=91930\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I ordered one from Lauter last week. Waiting patiently for shipment from Germany to Canada. I'll report how it works when it gets here ...

[patsy999]

how did the battery perform?

ive been geting my replacment batteries from Digiprintuk and found them to be of a higher power in most cases then originals.

Plus baring in mind Nikon had a product recall for there batteries due to melting im quite happy i use originals.