Canon AL-1 Battery Chamber Remedy Trick

[ralf_j.]

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year.

Most of us are familiar with the issues with the battery chamber for this particular unit, Canon AL-1.

In my experience, these have been ruined 100% of the time and no longer work according to the original design.

I came across a solution from a reddit post and I thought I would share/pass it along. It works like a charm, whether the auto winder is mounted or not.  The fix is about the cost of one of Amazon Basics photo frame about 6.99 USD.

I purchased the frame and removed the screw and one of the photo backing retaining clips. 

On the camera body, remove the corner screw that is on the outer border of the battery chamber, and replace this along with the clip from the photo frame. The screw is pressure/self drilling so it fits perfectly provided the plastic is not coming apart. If plastic is a problem, a dab of plastic putty can take care of that, but I personally did not have that issue. 

Once the batteries are inserted, flip the retaining clip on top, and voila, everything stays in place.  

 

Regards, Ralf

[John Seaman]

That's a good idea, thanks for the post. How often are battery covers the weak point in a design.

[rick_drawbridge]

A good tip, certainly more elegant than duct tape! Thanks for posting.

[Tony-S]

Do you have a link for this part?

[jim_momary]

Something like this probably -

 just search on Google for  "Amazon Basics photo frame": and look at the the choice for Amazon Basics Photo Picture Frame - 4" x 6", Black

The entry I looked at was about $5.99. I've seen them on other fames too, usually low end ala Walmart, etc. There are close up photos of the rear that show the retainer clip.

Good luck and not a bad thought for those rascally AL-1 bodies. Back when I made one out of some aluminum sheet and the appropriate screw.