name/type of DC power connector? (Nikon D70, pic)

[Jan Wagner]

Hi,

I'm looking to make a portable battery pack (12V lead-gel battery and 9V
step-down switching reg) to power a Nikon DSLR. The Nikon docs state
that the 4-pin DC-in connector is an "industry standard DC connector".
While it looks familiar somehow I couldn't find anything like it in
those catalogs I glanced through.

So, would anyone here be kindly able to identify the connector shown here:

http://www.pitlane.nzsca.co.nz/eh-5_label.jpg

(actually it is a pic of the label of the EH-5 AC PSU, but shape and
pinout of mystery connector is shown below the CE)

Many thanks!
- Jan

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Hi,

I'm looking to make a portable battery pack (12V lead-gel battery and 9V
step-down switching reg) to power a Nikon DSLR. The Nikon docs state
that the 4-pin DC-in connector is an "industry standard DC connector".
While it looks familiar somehow I couldn't find anything like it in
those catalogs I glanced through.

So, would anyone here be kindly able to identify the connector shown here:

http://www.pitlane.nzsca.co.nz/eh-5_label.jpg

(actually it is a pic of the label of the EH-5 AC PSU, but shape and
pinout of mystery connector is shown below the CE)

Many thanks!
- Jan

It doesn't look very familiar to me. I'm looking right at it, and it's
got little recessed blades. Maybe a Japanese-standard automotive
stereo connector?

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to use such a heavy battery?
The power consumption of the D70 is pretty low, and the Li-ion
batteries last a long time, even with the camera on. Much, much better
than earlier cameras which ate 2500mAh NiMH cells for lunch.

 

[Jan Wagner]

It doesn't look very familiar to me. I'm looking right at it, and it's
got little recessed blades. Maybe a Japanese-standard automotive
stereo connector?

Hmm, could well be something in that direction, yes...

Or some later version of the prehistoric plus/4 power connector?

In the end it might be faster to just assemble something from bits
of a DIL spring socket and epoxy resin, instead of hunting through
component stores. (Of course, if someone knows what that connector
is and what Farnell etc catalog number, comments are still welcome )

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to use such a heavy battery?
The power consumption of the D70 is pretty low, and the Li-ion
batteries last a long time, even with the camera on. Much, much better
than earlier cameras which ate 2500mAh NiMH cells for lunch.

Short answer: for astronomy pics. For "normal" use I get the Nikon
batteries to last pretty well, no problem there

Longer answer: 1) shutter is open and the mirror is up for a long
time, battery seems to drain faster. 2) unless the D70 has external
power, its IR remote receiver automatically switches off after 15min
of inactivity. The D70 should work with an bulb exposure IR remote
control "intervalometer"/timer (PIC12F675 plus some bits&pieces) at
all times. And D70 has no bulb exposure feature over USB, only IR,
AFAIK.

But I obviously haven't thought this fully through yet ;-) E.g.
portable telescope really has battery-powered tracker (eats alkaline
AAA's right now i.e. $$$), thus the heavy battery wouldn't actually
be solely for the D70.

- Jan

 

[Clint Sharp]

It doesn't look very familiar to me. I'm looking right at it, and it's
got little recessed blades. Maybe a Japanese-standard automotive
stereo connector?

If it's the same of the one on my D50, then it looks very similar to the
connector used on CCTV cameras for auto iris lenses, I don't have one to
hand ATM but I'll try and find one tomorrow.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to use such a heavy battery?
The power consumption of the D70 is pretty low, and the Li-ion
batteries last a long time, even with the camera on. Much, much better
than earlier cameras which ate 2500mAh NiMH cells for lunch.

Again, may be slightly different but the D50 has had two battery charges
so far (initial charge included) and it's filled the 512Mb SD card eight
times so far (over a thousand pics) since Christmas.

 

[[email protected]]

So, would anyone here be kindly able to identify the connector shown here:
http://www.pitlane.nzsca.co.nz/eh-5_label.jpg

Hirose RP-34 series? The three-pin version is commonly used as a power
supply connector on older Dell laptops, and is approximately D-shaped.
There is a four-pin version - never seen one in person, but Digi-Key
carries them. Take a look at page 6 of the PDF available at
http://rocky.digikey.com/scripts/ProductInfo.dll?Site=US&V=26&M=RP34-8SP-4SC .

Clint Sharp suggested it might be an auto-iris connector; Mouser sells
a Kobiconn auto-iris connector as catalog number 163-196J. Drawing in
the PDF linked from
http://www.mouser.com/index.cfm?handler=displayproduct&lstdispproductid=690399 .

Alternatively, you could cut the PSU output cable in half and install a
connector that mortals can purchase on both ends. Then, you can swap
the end that fits the camera between the AC PSU and your battery.

Matt Roberds

 

[Jan Wagner]

Hirose RP-34 series?
...
http://rocky.digikey.com/scripts/ProductInfo.dll?Site=US&V=26&M=RP34-8SP-4SC

Clint Sharp suggested it might be an auto-iris connector; Mouser sells
a Kobiconn auto-iris connector as catalog number 163-196J. Drawing in
the PDF linked from
http://www.mouser.com/index.cfm?handler=displayproduct&lstdispproductid=690399

Many thanks you both! Those are already very very close to the actual
connector

Seems like the right direction to go, thanks for pointers, I'll dig a
bit further before going home-brew if necessary...

Alternatively, you could cut the PSU output cable in half and install a
connector that mortals can purchase on both ends. Then, you can swap
the end that fits the camera between the AC PSU and your battery.

Hmm, yes. PSU price is ~$90 on eBay and it could be a good solution. The
bit with the AC PSU would be superfluous for my needs, though. Well I'll
check maybe Nikon repair here has some dead AC PSU's to give away. (BTW
strange that there are no 3rd party PSU's for Nikon Dxxx around... maybe
it's a proprietary connector after all...)

- Jan