Adam Fox-Long 0 Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) I've been shooting on a K3 for the past year or so, and decided to pick up a Scoopic (Gray model). The camera definitely needs a CLA, but overall seems in decent condition. The main problem is power, which I understand is common with scoopics. It came with a battery and charger. The battery is charging now, though I'm assuming it will need to be recelled. I was curious as to what other options there are in terms of powering the camera. Specifically, I was wondering how simple it would be to make an external power source to connect to the four pin connector on the camera. I'm no electrical engineer, so I assume it would be more complicated than finding a 12V battery and soldering it to the proper cable. I've also seen some tutorials on making internal battery packs using 10 1.2V AA batteries, though they all seemed a little insecure to me. What goes into making an external power source for the camera, and what should I look for? Edited April 3, 2017 by Adam Fox-Long Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil Rhodes 488 Posted April 4, 2017 I know nothing of this camera specificslly, but if it just needs 12v DC, like most things, and if it's on a 4 pin XLR, it's not rocket science - it pretty much is just soldering things together. Get the polarity right, otherwise you're fine. You could probably just buy any 12v camera battery and a mounting plate then be able to just slap batteries on like any other camera. Camera batteries are expensive. It's reasonably easy to make up battery packs. I made some using AA cells in little plastic project boxes, with an XLR connector in the end. The only thing is, don't solder directly to battery cells. Look for "tagged cells" which have metal strips spot welded on; solder the tags, not the cells, to avoid heat damaging them. Use nickel metal hydride cells. Avoid lithium ion. They're a pain. Use one of the hobby chargers that abound online. Put a fuse in your battery packs. P Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter O'Shea 4 Posted April 4, 2017 Adam, dm me and I will send you some photos of a battery I made for my scoopic :) - Hunter Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Will Montgomery 88 Posted April 4, 2017 If you have a Batteries Plus store near you, take the battery and the charger up there and they will be able to re-cell it for you. Should cost between $50-80. Try to track down a few extra battery "shells" that you can also re-cell. Once you have those you're golden. My re-celled batteries last for at least 4 or 5 reels (MS model). I'm not sure but I think the original grey model has an external battery connector but I don't believe it's an industry standard and is hard to find in general. If you can take a picture of the connection and post it here maybe someone can help track it down or identify it's name. You would probably want to create an adapter from that to a 4-pin XLR power connector so you can connect it to industry standard 12 volt batteries. Great camera, congratulations. I also went from a K3 to a Scoopic many years ago and my wrist is very glad I did. Only thing I miss on the K3 is some of the M42 lenses I had for that camera. Bernie at Super 16 Inc. can do a cleaning and tuning for you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
