External power for Spectra?

<p>So I bought this polaroid spectra on ebay, and a pack of old expired film to go with it. Apparently, the batteries for these cameras reside inside the film packs, with the idea that you'd never run out of juice since you'd always be popping in fresh ones every time you reload the film. Of course this doesn't work when the film supply dries up and all that is left is 10-year-old expired stuff... anyway, so I loaded it up and of course it doesn't work. Some lights come on but the camera dies when I try to take a picture. [aside: I ordered some impossible project spectra film just now, but I'd still like to shoot the expired stock I do have]<br /><br />Now, someone somewhere in the world has got to have thought of hacking together an external battery pack for the spectra. So you can use old film but not be reliant on old batteries. But in all my internet searching, I haven't found anything! I've soldered together a makeshift 4AA battery pack and have been vainly trying to jimmy some voltage into the camera, but nothing I've tried has yielded consistent results - I got the flash to fire once, and then the camera stopped working again. Does anyone here know of some secret-sauce way to rig an external battery pack for the Spectra, perchance?<br /><br />Anyone?</p>

<p>Cheers,<br>

Tuan</p>

<p>My experience with Polapower batteries is that they outlast the film, so if the battery won't run the camera any more, the film itself is going to be totally useless.</p>

<p>My guess is that you can make a "charger" out of an old wall wart power supply of 6 volts or more, then try recharging the battery until it gets warm, (a small amount of electrical knowledge is useful here..)then shoot the film promptly...that may temporarily solve the power problem, but the chemicals are probably going to be pretty crunchy if the film is old enough for the battery to fail.<br>

I personally fear really old film, because the extra effort it requires to expel dried up film may be responsible for motor jams and bent picture claws...two common problems with the folding sx70's</p>

<p>The battery used in there is a flat square power cell. It is very high current. Polaroid called it a PolaPulse battery and they were available for other uses. Most notably, they were sold/used to power toy rocket ignitors and Estes used to sell them. Probably not made anymore since Polaroid is gone. </p>

<p>Hi there, Tuan. Impossible Corp (a group of former Polaroid employees) makes fresh B&W film for Polaroid Spectra, 600-type, and SX-70-type cameras; the film contains an integral battery, just like the Polaroid film did. The Impossible film works great in my Spectra cameras! It's quirky, sepia-toned stuff, but lovely. You can order directly from: <a href="http://www.theimpossibleproject.com">www.theimpossibleproject.com</a><br>

Cheers!</p>

 

<p>Thanks for all the replies folks - a lot of useful responses!<br>

It seems like the chemicals in my old packs of spectra were mostly crusts, so external power would indeed have been pointless anyway. I've ordered some modern spectra stock from the impossible project instead (:<br>

Cheerio!</p>

<p>Tuan,<br>

I rigged an external battery pack to a Spectra in my conversion of the camera from Polaroid to regular negative film. I was able to run wires outside the camera that attached to the terminals on the inside. Probably not the way to go since you will also have to have the film pack in there as well. I'd drill some small holes in the botton of the camera where you could attach wires to the terminals. You would have to probably wire glue the wires on and reinforce with epoxy. One everything is in place you can make it light tight with black paint (probably not required). Here is the link to my hack if it helps:<br>

<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Modify-Your-Polaroid-Spectra-Camera-to-use-Non-Pol/">http://www.instructables.com/id/Modify-Your-Polaroid-Spectra-Camera-to-use-Non-Pol/</a></p>

<p>Hi Tuan,<br>

I found a 1200FF Spectra camera in a junk shop with some film inside but not enough juice left in the batteries. I modified it for external power like this...open the camera up so it's ready to shoot. Undo the screw on each of the neckstrap mounts. Open the film bay door and undo the small screw just inside on the roof of the film bay. You'll then have to do a certain amount of judicious levering. I broke two small plastic tabs getting the camera apart, but they're not important. The top part of the body lifts off, and then you'll see a blue and a red wire inside leading from the battery terminals to the camera mechanism. What you do next is up to you. Initially I just cut the wires, filed a hole where the two halves of the camera body met and fed the wires outside. I put the camera back together, hooked up a 6 volt battery, and took the remaining photos in the film pack. I got more ambitious and fitted a small double pole-double throw slide switch and DC socket so I can select between an external battery pack and the film batteries. This involved drilling a hole in the camera body for the socket and cutting another hole for the switch, then soldering it all together with hookup wire. I bought a small plastic 4-AA battery pack and DC plug, connected it up and velcro-dotted the pack to the back of the camera. It's pretty slimline so doesn't interfere with how the camera hangs against your body and can be removed if the film batteries are OK. I realise your Spectra may be different to this one but hopefully the idea is transferable - they seem pretty simple once you get them open. <br />Cheers,<br>

Selwyn</p>