Hey Rob... Being the lazy type when possible, I have always had my pack assembled by the battery seller. I initially used NiCd cells for my packs. What I found was that using the Sanyo 225 mah cells (I think they are same ones you use) my battery vendor would first shrink the cell columns, and then shrink the two columns together to complete the pack. With that approach, the new cells fit rather tightly... in fact, there were times when I had to remove the outer shrink just to get them to fit at all.
When I went to NiMH AA cells using the same construction, the replacement packs were about the same size as the originals, making the rebuild easier. FWIW, in the 80's and early 90's when I was working as a photojournalist, I owned 6 or 7 packs and recelled them on average about ever 18 months... but only one at a time. I found every pack I ordered was slightly different in size depending on the brand of the cells in it. I have always just added or removed foam depending on how big the cell packs were.... in fact, I have an NiCd pack M that currently has no foam in it because the 225 mah NiCd cells in it were a bit larger this time. As far as tripod and pack stability, everything "feels" ok. Though I use my monopod and tripod a lot, it is usually with a lens that has a mounting collar... I do use a copy stand at times, though, and it seems to be no less stable screwed into a rebuilt pack. Regards, James Rupprecht -----Original Message----- From: Rob Studdert [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 7:01 PM To: Rupprecht, James R; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: LX motor drive - question On 29 Apr 2002 at 12:57, Rupprecht, James R wrote: > The huge plus of NiMH packs is that they are less succeptable to memory > issues so you can charge partially discharged packs w/o worry. If you use > NiMH packs, you can build them from 1/3 AA cells. They range from 225 mah to 300 > mah. The NiCd cells suggested by the article are 1/3 A cells with a 225 mah > rating. NiMH cells are also a bit more environmentally friendly. Hi James, Thanks for the info, the 1/3A cells are a different diameter to the 1/3AA cells, smaller I believe, they would have to have been padded so as to fit? Is there any loss of mechanical stability in the pack? Would it be as stable as the original pack when the LX, Motor and BP are tripod mounted? Cheers, Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications.html - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
