Polaroid 101 Land Camera Repair/Battery?

[clive1]

I recently acquired a Polaroid 101 Land Camera in what looked like pretty good shape, along with instruction

manual. I followed the instructions to the letter, but the b/w photos I have taken so far have all been totally

black. Eliminating the other possibilities mentioned in the manual, it looks like the shutter is broken. <P>Has

anyone had any experience in taking this camera apart to repair?<P>Also, I used a normal AAA battery that I

sealed with tape. However, the appropriate battery size is slightly shorter. Are these batteries still available?

<P>Thanks in advance for any help.

[jeff_s]

<p>Sometimes Google is your friend--Look what I found:</p>

 

<a

href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/polaroid_/discuss/72157604766170233/">http://www.flickr.com/groups/polaroid_/discuss/721576047661

70233/</a>

[patrick j dempsey]

A single AAA battery will not provide enough voltage. Polaroid pack film cameras usually take 4.5V batteries. Your AAA is 1.5V. In other words, it will require 3 AAA batteries in a pack to get it to work, or ordering the correct battery online. Occassionally these cameras do actually have broken shutters, but usually the problem is just lack of batteries or corroded electrical contacts somewhere.

[clive1]

Jeff, thank you very much. I'm very grateful for the informative link. I'm also pleased to see a return on my paid PN

subscription. <P>Patrick, many thanks for the info. I often read your posts and am always impressed at your

breadth of knowledge. I live in Tokyo and therefore may be able to find the battery you mention in <a

href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara">Akihabara</a>.

[nate_weis]

http://option8.110mb.com/polaroid/batteries.html

 

Spend $2 and get it modified to 3xAAA batteries. Wasting time and effort looking for the original batteries is silly.

[samuel_tang2]

I have done a few battery mods too, the space can take three AAAs, or three N-size batteries, a bit of soldering, double-sided tapes and suitable battery holders are all tha's needed.

[jonathans]

Check out the Land List - tons of good information on older polaroids ranging from the 95 up to the SX-70. Here's a link

directly to the battery info page, but it's worthwhile to explore the site:

 

http://www.rwhirled.com/landlist/landbatt.htm

[catherinevankempen]

Hey guys, I am in the same boat, unearthed an old land camera that had been hiding in the closet and am wanting to fool around with it. I read all about how to do a battery mod but I'm nervous about the soldering part. Do you think I would be able to take it to someone who could do such a thing for me? I don't know who would be able to help me with it, an electrician I'm assuming but it's not like there are electrician's stores on every street corner. Any ideas? Catherine.

[rdm]

hey Catherine, such things are not too difficult to do. I could even show ya if you happen to live nearby in NY.

I might be able to do it for you . Or I'll get brother, he is a electronics teacher and is often coming home from

school with bits of solder on his cloths. Loves soldering things. Hes got 3 DVD players in his house that people

threw away and he just needed to solder on a new resister in 2 cases. But really its just a matter of buying the

holder and connecting 2

wires. If you still rather have someone do it for you and don't mind shipping it out. Send me an email, ill have

it done for next to nothing and cost of parts.