Bauer C2B Power Problem

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zantizoom8
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Bauer C2B Power Problem

Post by zantizoom8 »

The BAUER C2B takes 6 AA cells that fit in the hand grip and are held in place by a plastic cover with spring clips that put a lot of pressure on the plastic groove of the grip end and eventually causes the weak brittle plastic that holds the cover to crumble. The 2 battery posts in the grip both go to minus(-) contacts of 2 of the cell clips. That looks like there might be 2 circuits for power of the motor, zoom and metering. What is the best way to wire into the battery contacts so i can use a homemade external battery pack? This seems to be a common problem with this camera as i have seen a few for sale with broken battery covers or cracked grips that had an attempt to glue a repair. Working without a service manual here, trying to figure a way to remove the grip and reassemble with my own wiring connections.
Thanks.
Zanti
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David M. Leugers
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Post by David M. Leugers »

I love this camera except for its two main faults: The hand grip/battery compartment weakness, and the fact it has no manual exposure capability.
What a shame. I often thought of sawing off the handle and mounting a plate to the bottom for mounting on a tripod. Good luck, let us know how it comes out if you mod it.


David M. Leugers
Bru
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Post by Bru »

Not sure where you are in the world, but at a superficial level, this is my suggestion: buy a AA battery pack from Radio Shack or Maplin, the black plastic open type which holds six cells (they come in a range from 1 to many cell fitments). Next, a stereo plug jack and socket. The stereo jack has three contacts, which means that you can use two for the different (relative) 0V tap-off points. make sure that you connect the positive last, so that full power is only connected when the jack is fully in.

This may take some bodging, but you can solder the ends of the stereo cable to their respective tap-off points on the battery holder, and then again from the stereo socket to the camera contacts. This is a semi-permanent fix. I would think that a stereo socket can be found which fits through a panel hole, using a small nut. So the socket would be 'floating' in the battery compartment, with enough free (multi-strand) wire so that you can manipulate it to screw into the battery compartment cover. Then you can close the cover without internal pressure from the AA batteries.

The seperate battery holder can be anywhere as long as you have enough cable. Plug the stereo jack into the socket in the handle cover, and off you go. The only warning is to ensure that you have mapped the relative battery contact points in the handle, so that you connect the battery voltages correctly. Cosmetically, you have a hold in your handle cover (or handle, if you prefer). You may want to consider clipping the cable the the handle as well, to avoid inadvertently withdrawing the jack. Cables always snag.
zantizoom8
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Post by zantizoom8 »

David M. Leugers wrote:I love this camera except for its two main faults: The hand grip/battery compartment weakness, and the fact it has no manual exposure capability.
There is a manual over-ride thumb wheel on the top front under a plastic lid that can adjust aperture from 1.8 to f/16. The lid cannot be closed until the wheel is set to the detent automatic position.


The rig i am thinking of is basically what Bru suggests (perhaps a nice coiled cord to a belt pack), although the part of the scheme i am lacking is a schematic or pictorial view of what battery contacts get what juice, and perhaps a recommended starting point for removing the grip from the body. i see only one screw at the forward base of the battery compartment and thats the only point i can figure to start at. i dont mind tearing this one apart, but the right tips before taking tools to it can save me from going down the wrong path. it also seems i will need to get the right flathead screwdriver with a longer shaft. is there some special source for tools to work on cameras? that would be a willing investment for me, as i see i might have other cameras to dig into. i dont presently own a good jewelers set, but im looking. thanks.
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audadvnc
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Post by audadvnc »

I've seen the same problem with the S207XL and S715XL cameras, the plastic locking tabs break. Maybe someone acquainted with a metal shop could get these tabs fabricated in steel and we could replace them in our cameras.
Robert Hughes
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