6000 series battery advisory - Lithium batteries from eBay not recommended
Over the last year I've had a number of Rolleiflex 6008/6000 series users tell me about a bad experience with one particular ebay seller who is a Lithium battery solution for 6000 series cameras. The seller on ebay is from Quebec, Canada and the batteries are 3D printed blocks fitted with 3 Li cells. I've been sent several of these batteries after they fail. One user told me that they failed shortly after buying but not before they left feedback on ebay. I know that one big problem with Lithium batteries is fire - and that each cell needs to be charged independently to avoid that potential problem. These Li batteries from the Canadian ebay vendor charge all the cells in a sting or series connection - so that should be the first clue that these are not well designed.
Now I'm also hearing from my service technician that these batteries could be causing main circuit board failures. This is an expensive fix. Rolleiflex 6000 series cameras use more than just the two pins needed for charging to monitor battery and load and temperature. The Li batteries from Canada don't use all pins, don't have a thermal resistor the cameras read, and can provide higher current. This is also why those batteries don't work in all cameras. I strongly recommend against buying battery rebuilds from this vendor.
I have seen Lithium battery solutions that work well, for example the ones made by Wiese Fototechnik, and some nice home built ones as well. The 3D printed battery block is an interesting idea, but unfortunately can not recommend.
Comments on this post (6)
I purchased one of these Lithium packs some time ago, and fits my 6006 ok, but is a little hard to remove.
It powers the camera fine, but charges up to 12.5 volts, which is a little concerning, as the old NiCd’s were around 10.4V.
This may be the cause of the circuit board problems, but should only be a problem if using the camera on continuous drive for long periods, I would think.
If the Rolleis have a voltage control circuit, there shouldn’t be a problem – not sure if they do.
As for the thermal resistor that the camera reads, this is not possible with any battery, as there are no corresponding pins in the camera that match to the resistor sockets in the battery.
The thermal resistor is for charging only, it’s the fuse in the battery that protects the camera when in use.
— Jon Ferguson
I purchased one of these Lithium packs some time ago, and fits my 6006 ok, but is a little hard to remove.
It powers the camera fine, but charges up to 12.5 volts, which is a little concerning, as the old NiCd’s were around 10.4V.
This may be the cause of the circuit board problems, but should only be a problem if using the camera on continuous drive for long periods, I would think.
If the Rolleis have a voltage control circuit, there shouldn’t be a problem – not sure if they do.
As for the thermal resistor that the camera reads, this is not possible with any battery, as there are no corresponding pins in the camera that match to the resistor sockets in the battery.
The thermal resistor is for charging only, it’s the fuse in the battery that protects the camera when in use.
— Jon Ferguson
Another issue with the 3D printed blocks from the Canadian seller is that they will not fit either the SLX or the 6008 without considerable paring away of the plastic shell. Having said that, once the battery pack would actually fit the camera then it will initially power the camera and was good for a single session on my 6008 integral. Then when I again tried to use the charger, the socket pin from the charger would no longer not fit the battery! All very odd. Now the camera shows ‘bc=7’, and havng read the foregoing report, I will be using my manual SL66E instead.
— David MORGANS
Another issue with the 3D printed blocks from the Canadian seller is that they will not fit either the SLX or the 6008 without considerable paring away of the plastic shell. Having said that, once the battery pack would actually fit the camera then it will initially power the camera and was good for a single session on my 6008 integral. Then when I again tried to use the charger, the socket pin from the charger would no longer not fit the battery! All very odd. Now the camera shows ‘bc=7’, and havng read the foregoing report, I will be using my manual SL66E instead.
— David MORGANS
The other issue with the 3D printed insert is the female sockets are not very well made and don’t always make good contact with the camera. And the seller’s idea of charging the pack while in the camera sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
— Pieter de Koninck
I had a SLX that stopped working after using it just to play around with – unfortunately I didn’t have a NiMH battery to test the camera and sold the camera for parts. The “charger” the seller sold with it was a simple 12V power supply – definitely not a safe way to charge it. A 3S RC LiPo pack could work, but you’d have to work out the thermal resistor issue. the 3AA holder would also rub on the 3D printed block and pinch the tiny wires.
— Leo Tam