http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=879704&a=6682208
The original 'Empire' pack hung down quite a bit from the belt and
gets in the way when sitting down especially on roller coasters.
The new 6V, 3AH battery is from Nesco Battery Systems, part #
NSL630 and only weighs 2 lbs. The new battery with the Tamrac pouch
works great. There's also a bit of extra room in the bag to put in
any excess cable and the dummy battery when not in use; such as
when I put in a regular battery and sucker the usual bystanders
into taking our pictures. (I set the camera to continuous mode and
tell the shooter to hold down the button and count to 15 while
everyone gets settled, this way I get some very natural shots.)
The wiring that came with the original battery kit used RCA jacks
for connectors with the center as the positive lead, and had a 10
amp fuse wired into the positive line. I just trasferred it over to
the new battery since the terminals are the same. I spliced RCA
jacks into the line of the dummy battery that came with the DK110
kit. I'm waiting for a respone from Canon to see if I can get just
the dummy battery with having to buy the full kit. I'll post the
results later.
Instead of using any of the thin web belts I used a Bianchi
International web belt. It has a stiff plastic core which spreads
the weight around nicely. I dont recommend the thinner materials
since they have a tendancy to buckle under the weight, and then the
other side digs into your hip. Another alternative would be the
thicker web belts you can get at a dive shop, (the kind used for
weights). Now if I could just find a yellow belt with a Bat
buclke.... ;-)
The charger I picked up for $50 is from Xenotronix and is quite
nice since it has a red/yellow/green led to show charger status;
red for fault, yellow for fast charge (which takes the battery to
about 75%) and green for a 'float' charge, basically a trickle
charge. The manufacturer recommends leaving the charger connected
all the time till the battery is needed thus ensuring maximum
power. This is perfectly ok for this type of battery, since it's
designed for emergency lights, exit signs, etc. which always have a
trickle charge going to them.
Sorry I didn't measure how long it took to charge. I plugged it in
and went to work and it showed a green light when I got back.
Enjoy
David S
PS Here are some battery links if you want to build your own kit
(usual disclaimers here)
http://www.gsbattery.com/sla/index.html
http://www.powerqualityinc.com/6vspecs.html#6V7AH
http://www.computer-comfort.com/store28/merchant.ihtml?pid=1634642133&step=4
Well as it turns out, my 3lb external battery pack had been on the shelf
a little too long so I wasn't getting as many shots as I'd hoped.
I've now gotten a smaller gel pak and run some tests. The new battery is
only 2 lbs and is rated at 3AH. I charged it over night and held the
shutter button down till I got the low batt signal.
Here's what I got on a single charge on S10 with 340 microdrive:
LCD on, flash on every shot, all shots in superfine mode.
Large size: display showed 236, I got 218
Mediem size: display showed 348, I got 380
Small size: display showed 715, I got 686
Total of 1284 shots on a single charge. I also let the camera erase the
340 drive at the end of each test.
The battery was only $20 at Fry's!
If anyone wants I'll post pics of the new battery rig in the next day or so.
)