Update: 3.3V vs. 3V dilemma

D

David Nebenzahl

Guest
To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

So I'll probably bite the bullet and shell out a little $ to buy the AC
adapter made for this camera (found one on the internets for about $12).

The camera itself (bought for $1 at Oakland's White Elephant sale) works
like a charm; just got the USB cable for it today ($4.75).


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
 
On 3/12/2010 12:38 AM, David Nebenzahl wrote:
To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

So I'll probably bite the bullet and shell out a little $ to buy the AC
adapter made for this camera (found one on the internets for about $12).

The camera itself (bought for $1 at Oakland's White Elephant sale) works
like a charm; just got the USB cable for it today ($4.75).
Click to expand...
Try cramming a little bit of aluminum foil inside the plug. That'll
tell you if the diameter is the problem.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal
ElectroOptical Innovations
55 Orchard Rd
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058
hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
 
On 3/12/2010 7:23 AM Phil Hobbs spake thus:

On 3/12/2010 12:38 AM, David Nebenzahl wrote:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

Try cramming a little bit of aluminum foil inside the plug. That'll
tell you if the diameter is the problem.
Click to expand...
Mmmm, don't think so. I can see inside the sleeve in the camera that
there's a spring contact, and I can feel this being displaced when I
push in the jack*. I think the problem is with the center contact not
mating correctly.

*Hard to say whether this should be called a jack or a plug. The package
calls it a jack, even though it appears male and goes into a female hole
in the camera. Maybe it's a jug, or a plack.


-
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
 
Hard to say whether this should be called a jack or a plug.
The package calls it a jack, even though it appears male
and goes into a female hole in the camera. Maybe it's a jug,
or a plack.
Click to expand...
The usual term is "hermaphroditic connector". "Jug" suggests something
female. "Plack" is better, but it's a homonym of two other words.
 
On 3/12/2010 1:39 PM, David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 3/12/2010 7:23 AM Phil Hobbs spake thus:

On 3/12/2010 12:38 AM, David Nebenzahl wrote:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

Try cramming a little bit of aluminum foil inside the plug. That'll
tell you if the diameter is the problem.

Mmmm, don't think so. I can see inside the sleeve in the camera that
there's a spring contact, and I can feel this being displaced when I
push in the jack*. I think the problem is with the center contact not
mating correctly.

*Hard to say whether this should be called a jack or a plug. The package
calls it a jack, even though it appears male and goes into a female hole
in the camera. Maybe it's a jug, or a plack.


-
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
Click to expand...
Right, I mean inside the female contact (on the cord). Works great.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal
ElectroOptical Innovations
55 Orchard Rd
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058
hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
 
David Nebenzahl wrote:
To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

So I'll probably bite the bullet and shell out a little $ to buy the AC
adapter made for this camera (found one on the internets for about $12).

The camera itself (bought for $1 at Oakland's White Elephant sale) works
like a charm; just got the USB cable for it today ($4.75).
Click to expand...

What is the current rating of the AC adapter? Fuji recommends a 2
amp, 5 volt supply for my Fuji Finepix S5200 camera.


--
Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!'
 
On 3/12/2010 10:57 PM Michael A. Terrell spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

So I'll probably bite the bullet and shell out a little $ to buy the AC
adapter made for this camera (found one on the internets for about $12).

The camera itself (bought for $1 at Oakland's White Elephant sale) works
like a charm; just got the USB cable for it today ($4.75).


What is the current rating of the AC adapter? Fuji recommends a 2
amp, 5 volt supply for my Fuji Finepix S5200 camera.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've seen that too. But the camera says "3V 2.5W", which should be
fine with my 1 amp supply in theory. Besides, I see absolutely no
voltage sag on my VOM when I connect the camera and try to turn it on,
which seems to indicate no connection (if the supply were being
overloaded, I'd expect to see some sag).


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
 
David Nebenzahl wrote:
Yeah, I've seen that too. But the camera says "3V 2.5W", which should be
fine with my 1 amp supply in theory.
Click to expand...

What model number?


--
Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!'
 
David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 3/12/2010 10:57 PM Michael A. Terrell spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

So I'll probably bite the bullet and shell out a little $ to buy the AC
adapter made for this camera (found one on the internets for about $12).

The camera itself (bought for $1 at Oakland's White Elephant sale) works
like a charm; just got the USB cable for it today ($4.75).


What is the current rating of the AC adapter? Fuji recommends a 2
amp, 5 volt supply for my Fuji Finepix S5200 camera.

Yeah, I've seen that too. But the camera says "3V 2.5W", which should be
fine with my 1 amp supply in theory. Besides, I see absolutely no
voltage sag on my VOM when I connect the camera and try to turn it on,
which seems to indicate no connection (if the supply were being
overloaded, I'd expect to see some sag).
Click to expand...

You may not see it without using a scope. A lot of regulation
problems don't show up with a meter, when you're right on the edge. :(


--
Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!'
 
On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:38:02 -0800, David Nebenzahl
<nobody@but.us.chickens> put finger to keyboard and composed:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).
Click to expand...
I had the same problem with a Kodak camera. However, I never bothered
to determine the cause, as I scored a cheap dock.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
 
In article <4b99d1e2$0$2377$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com>,
David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).
Click to expand...
What kind of regulator are you using? A lot of regulators will not
function properly with only 1.75 volts across them. It might be failing
only when the camera wants more then average current -- like when it's
trying to focus.

Isaac
 
In article <4b9f0855$0$2381$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com>,
David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

On 3/14/2010 9:01 PM isw spake thus:

In article <4b99d1e2$0$2377$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com>,
David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

What kind of regulator are you using? A lot of regulators will not
function properly with only 1.75 volts across them. It might be failing
only when the camera wants more then average current -- like when it's
trying to focus.

It's an NTE 1904 (replacement for ECG1904). Similar to the LM78xx
series, I guess; just your standard 3-terminal positive regulator.
Click to expand...
According to the data sheet, it's *not* similar to a LM78xx because it
does have a low differential requirement -- 0.45V.


Not sure what you mean by only 1.75 volts across; do you mean the
difference between input and output?
Click to expand...
Yes. Some regulators (LM78xx for example), need more like 2.5V to work
properly.

In any case, I assume it's working
correctly, since I can see 3.xx volts at the output.
Click to expand...
You do happen to be using a low-dropout device, but still, you have to
measure the voltage under maximum expected load, not open circuit, to
really see whether it'll work.

I tried it using a variable DC power supply; no better result. I'm
thinking there's something wrong with the camera.

(And by not working I mean the camera doesn't respond to the power
switch *at all*. No little beeps, no display, nothing.)
Click to expand...
Does it work if you stick the proper batteries in it?

Isaac
 
David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:
It's an NTE 1904 (replacement for ECG1904). Similar to the LM78xx
series, I guess; just your standard 3-terminal positive regulator.

Not sure what you mean by only 1.75 volts across; do you mean the
difference between input and output? In any case, I assume it's working
correctly, since I can see 3.xx volts at the output.

I tried it using a variable DC power supply; no better result. I'm
thinking there's something wrong with the camera.

(And by not working I mean the camera doesn't respond to the power
switch *at all*. No little beeps, no display, nothing.)
Click to expand...
Polarity on the jack, or maybe a blown picofuse?

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA
 
On 3/14/2010 9:01 PM isw spake thus:

In article <4b99d1e2$0$2377$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com>,
David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

What kind of regulator are you using? A lot of regulators will not
function properly with only 1.75 volts across them. It might be failing
only when the camera wants more then average current -- like when it's
trying to focus.
Click to expand...
It's an NTE 1904 (replacement for ECG1904). Similar to the LM78xx
series, I guess; just your standard 3-terminal positive regulator.

Not sure what you mean by only 1.75 volts across; do you mean the
difference between input and output? In any case, I assume it's working
correctly, since I can see 3.xx volts at the output.

I tried it using a variable DC power supply; no better result. I'm
thinking there's something wrong with the camera.

(And by not working I mean the camera doesn't respond to the power
switch *at all*. No little beeps, no display, nothing.)


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
 
On 3/15/2010 8:56 PM isw spake thus:

In article <4b9f0855$0$2381$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com>,
David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

On 3/14/2010 9:01 PM isw spake thus:

In article <4b99d1e2$0$2377$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com>,
David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall
wart, put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a
little piece of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power
mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

What kind of regulator are you using? A lot of regulators will not
function properly with only 1.75 volts across them. It might be failing
only when the camera wants more then average current -- like when it's
trying to focus.

It's an NTE 1904 (replacement for ECG1904). Similar to the LM78xx
series, I guess; just your standard 3-terminal positive regulator.

According to the data sheet, it's *not* similar to a LM78xx because it
does have a low differential requirement -- 0.45V.


Not sure what you mean by only 1.75 volts across; do you mean the
difference between input and output?

Yes. Some regulators (LM78xx for example), need more like 2.5V to work
properly.

In any case, I assume it's working
correctly, since I can see 3.xx volts at the output.

You do happen to be using a low-dropout device, but still, you have to
measure the voltage under maximum expected load, not open circuit, to
really see whether it'll work.

I tried it using a variable DC power supply; no better result. I'm
thinking there's something wrong with the camera.

(And by not working I mean the camera doesn't respond to the power
switch *at all*. No little beeps, no display, nothing.)

Does it work if you stick the proper batteries in it?
Click to expand...
Yes, that's how I know the camera works. It just doesn't seem to be
connecting to external power, although it does act sorta flaky when the
batteries get low--but it does work (camera beeps, lens extends, display
comes alive). It also regularly "forgets" settings (in NOVRAM), like
date and time. But for $1 ...


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
 
On 3/15/2010 9:12 PM Warren Block spake thus:

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

It's an NTE 1904 (replacement for ECG1904). Similar to the LM78xx
series, I guess; just your standard 3-terminal positive regulator.

Not sure what you mean by only 1.75 volts across; do you mean the
difference between input and output? In any case, I assume it's working
correctly, since I can see 3.xx volts at the output.

I tried it using a variable DC power supply; no better result. I'm
thinking there's something wrong with the camera.

(And by not working I mean the camera doesn't respond to the power
switch *at all*. No little beeps, no display, nothing.)

Polarity on the jack, or maybe a blown picofuse?
Click to expand...
Polarity is correct; there's a legend cast into the camera showing the
inner post is positive.

Picofuse inside the camera? Just discovered I'd need a special
screwdriver (with a 3-wing tip) to get inside the dang thing. I've got a
whole set of security screwdriver bits, but nothing that small.


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
 
It's likely that you will need a 2A minimum PSU power supply to get this cam
to work reliably (switchmode PSU is likely much better than a small
transformer type).

I have a HP 215 PhotoSmart cam (bought new) that would barely work with 4
new AA alkaline batteries. The batteries weren't drained, the cam just
refused to turn on after only about 8 shots.
The manual recommended the new Energizer (silvery-looking) batteries that
were about $8-$10 for a 4-pack. The HP AC adapter was about $48, IIRC.

I bought an AC adapter (DigiPower, I think) which is labeled 6V 1.5A, and
it's a SMPS type. The cam worked fine with it, and since I wanted the cam
for eBay ad and webpage pics, using the wired PSU wasn't too bad (PSU came
wih a 10 or 12 ft cable on it).

I thought I'd just make an adapter to hold 4 C cells with a connector for
the exernal power connector on the cam, and the cam would give better
performance.

Cam wouldn't even turn on with 4 new C alkalines connected, and not with 4
Ds.. or 5 Ds.

The external batteries needed to be connected directly to the cam's internal
battery terminals, in a deep well in the cam body.
So I made an adapter from some round nylon stock to fit into the 2x2 AA
battery space, that had leads for the external batteries.
The cam would then work with 4 Cs or Ds, but not much better than 4 AAs.

The final solution was to use 4 AA 2000mAh NIMH cells inside the cam.
Perfect operation for a couple hundred shots per charge, all with the LCD
viewfinder turned on.

--
Cheers,
WB
..............



"David Nebenzahl" <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b99d1e2$0$2377$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...
To bring this little saga to a close, I built a little AC adapter for my
Fuji Finepix digicam: brought in 5 volts from a little Samsung wall wart,
put the regulator and an electrolytic cap in a film can on a little piece
of perfboard, and brought the power out to a 2.5mm power mini jack.

The long and short of it is, the camera doesn't work on this supply. It
puts out 3.25 volts alright, even when plugged into the camera, but the
camera just sits there and does nothing. My suspicion is that the power
jack is just not quite the right size to make contact (or else there's
something screwed up inside the camera that makes it not accept external
power, which seems unlikely).

So I'll probably bite the bullet and shell out a little $ to buy the AC
adapter made for this camera (found one on the internets for about $12).

The camera itself (bought for $1 at Oakland's White Elephant sale) works
like a charm; just got the USB cable for it today ($4.75).


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
Click to expand...
 
On 3/16/2010 12:49 AM Wild_Bill spake thus:

I thought I'd just make an adapter to hold 4 C cells with a connector for
the exernal power connector on the cam, and the cam would give better
performance.
Click to expand...
That occurred to me too.

Cam wouldn't even turn on with 4 new C alkalines connected, and not with 4
Ds.. or 5 Ds.
Click to expand...
Wow; surprising. Wonder why that is? Same voltage, and should be plenty
of oomph.

The external batteries needed to be connected directly to the cam's internal
battery terminals, in a deep well in the cam body.
So I made an adapter from some round nylon stock to fit into the 2x2 AA
battery space, that had leads for the external batteries.
The cam would then work with 4 Cs or Ds, but not much better than 4 AAs.

The final solution was to use 4 AA 2000mAh NIMH cells inside the cam.
Perfect operation for a couple hundred shots per charge, all with the LCD
viewfinder turned on.
Click to expand...
I'm thinking about NiMHs too; they're on the official diet for my
camera. Like you, I had planned on using this cam just around the house
for shots of stuff to sell on eBay, so I wouldn't have minded having
tethered power. I mainly want to avoid having to buy and throw out lots
of AA "batteries".


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"
 
The final solution was to use 4 AA 2000mAh NIMH cells
inside the cam. Perfect operation for a couple hundred shots
per charge, all with the LCD viewfinder turned on.

I'm thinking about NiMHs too; they're on the official diet for my
camera. Like you, I had planned on using this cam just around
the house for shots of stuff to sell on eBay, so I wouldn't have
minded having tethered power. I mainly want to avoid having to
buy and throw out lots of AA "batteries".
Click to expand...
Did I not suggest -- a week ago -- that you use NiMH cells? They can be used
in other equipment.

----- The Lady from Philadelphia
 
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