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Gear / Technical Help => TS Knowledge Base / Archive => Remote Power => Topic started by: Simp-Dawg on June 10, 2003, 05:20:51 PM
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I recently bought a used TCD-D3 off ebay, and it did not come with the standard battery and I did not feel like spending a lot of $$$ on rechargeable SLA's or the like....plus in the field, I figured, it would be more convenient to just be able to have some extra alkalines around than worry about charging.
Here's the idea - a 6 C-cell battery sled to plug into the DC in jack on the D3...problem was, Sony had made this plug proprietary and there wasn't an exact match for it besides getting it direct from Sony. I didn't want to bother with ordering it from them, so after some reading I discovered that it would be just as easy to hack the end off the AC adapter and create a connection piece to be able to use the tip for both AC and DC power. (For the record I did check out the Adaptaplugs from Radio Shack but the closest match, which was type "C", was still a little too loose for my liking.)
So I goes down to the local Rat Shack and picked up these items:
2x - (2) "C" Battery Holder - part 270-385A @ $1.49/ea
2x - (1) "C" Battery Holder - part 270-402A @ $0.99/ea (would have gotten another 2 batt holder but they ran out)
1x - Adaptaplug 6" Power Leads (male plug) - part 273-1742 @ @ $1.99/ea
1x - Adaptaplug 6-ft Power Cord (extension, both male and female ends) - part 273-1642 @ $1.99/ea
1x - roll electrical tape 20' @ $0.99/ea
3x - (2) C Alkaline batteries @ $2.69/ea (6 total ;) )
*note: this project required NO soldering, just plenty of electrical tape!
Step 1: Hack the tip off the AC adapter and hack the female end off the Adaptaplug power cord. Then splice these 2 pieces together. (The packaging for the Adaptaplug pieces had info on correct polarity for the wires, but the Sony Piece didn't, so I guessed.) Pic here:http://makeashorterlink.com/?A509511E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?A509511E4)
Step 2: Mate the Adaptaplug Power Leads (male tip) to the AC adapter. Again, I had to guess on the polarity...luckily when it was finished I just tested it, when it didn't work all I had to do was flip around the Adaptaplug tip and plug it in backwards, it works fine this way and I marked it so as not to make a mistake in the future.
Pics here:http://makeashorterlink.com/?A529211E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?A529211E4)
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A539131E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?A539131E4)
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q259211E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q259211E4)
Step 3: Building the sled - I simply lined up all the battery holders, alternating the positive/negative ends side by side. I simply taped them to a spare piece of metal bar I had lying around. Pics here:http://makeashorterlink.com/?W289321E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?W289321E4)
http://makeashorterlink.com/?O5D9251E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?O5D9251E4) I then connected the positive wires to the negative ones on the adjacent holder....making sure to leave one positive and one negative lead at either end of the sled, creating a complete loop. Finally I taped all the loose wires to the bottom of the sled and reinforced the sides. Pic here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?V4E9631E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?V4E9631E4)
Step 4: I connected the Adaptaplug 6-ft power cord, at the end I had hacked the female adapter off of, to the battery sled. Pic here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?J2F9421E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?J2F9421E4) I again taped the excess wire to the sled and secured the power cord to the end of the sled. Pics here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?I20A521E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?I20A521E4)
http://makeashorterlink.com/?E62A111E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?E62A111E4)
Step 5: I had a Belkin computer tool set lying around that I found to be the perfect size for the sled. It was in a zippered, fake leather case with hard sides and had some elastic straps sewn in to either hard side to hold the tools. I cut some of these straps out and freed one from it's stiching in the middle of the flap, so it would run the width of one flap with no obstructions. This made for a perfect way to secure the sled to the inside of the case. Pic here:http://makeashorterlink.com/?V64A211E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?V64A211E4)
So now I have a battery sled in a nice zippered case to power my D3 in the field. I researched a little and found that 6 C-cells were the right amount of voltage for the D3, Sonicstudios sells a device similar to this for about $75. Total cost for mine was less than $20. All I need to do is plug the power tip to either the AC adapter or the battery pack for it to work.
Here's a pic of it all set up: http://makeashorterlink.com/?G27A521E4 (http://makeashorterlink.com/?G27A521E4)
And finally, a link to all the pics in my album on Imagestation: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289958011 (http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289958011)
Hope somebody finds this useful! Also any other suggestions or pointing out my faults...go ahead!