I've got a Kodak camera that runs off of 2 AA batteries (NiMH or
alkaline). I've also got a 6v rechargeable lantern battery that I was
thinking of using. Then I started thinking of how to draw 3 volts from
it without much waste. Those linear regulators would work but probably
waste too much energy for my liking. A DCDC converter might be the
ticket, anyone ever used one to feed a 3volt camera and a 5volt
picaxe?
My camera two is supposed to run on 2 AAA batteries. It is perfectly
happy with 3.6 volts - 3 AA NiMH rechargeable cells. I'm guessing you
might see the same thing since my camera has an on-board regulated
boost converter that takes the nominal 2.4 (pair of rechargeable) or
3.2 (pair of alkaline) and boosts it to a regulated 3.3. Camera one
does the same thing but boosts to 5 V.
You may not need anything as hefty as lantern batteries depending on
your motion detector. I had an alarm system with 14 year lithium
cells in each of the detectors and I notice All Electronics has one
that runs on 3 AA cells. But if you have the room, or need the
ballast . . .
My intent was to use 2 D cells on camera two after experience with
camera one - figuring I'd need that much for 1,000 shots versus 60.
Thanks to someone's earlier post to this group:
I took a pair of small analog clocks mounted an external battery
holder and load resistor. I discovered the batteries I on hand had
wildly different capacities ranging from 120 mah to 2,200 mah. Using
three tested good cells made all the difference.
Some folks interface to the usb connector which is designed for 5
volts - and can run the camera. The battery connectors may use less
total power than going in through the USB.
Have you poked around in the camera?
If you do need to use 6V check out the National line of "simple
switchers" They are easy to apply, with few external parts and come
in larger DIP and TO220 size packages as well as surface mount. They
offer both step down and step up regulators.
