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cameras sense that the DR-400 is inserted vs. a regular battery

Something for your web page, and a question I hope you can answer:

The cameras sense that the DR-400 is inserted vs. a regular battery using a microswitch, not using one of the B/D contacts. You'll see a raised bar in a BP-511 charger that stops the DR-400 going in. In the cameras this location is occupied by a switch. Take a regular battery, cover over the matching slot with tape, put it into an EOS D30 and it will be happy to go into sensor cleaning mode: it believes it's on external power (that hack has been useful more than once!).
In the BG-ED3/BG-E2/etc the DR-400 pushes down more than just a switch (but using the other "non-slot" nearer the edge of the cell): you'll see the cable slot open up to allow the cable to escape.

Now my question:
I had hoped that a DR-400 in a battery grip with a BP-511 battery in the right-hand compartment would allow the camera to continue operation if the external power fails. Are you able to confirm this for me?

My own DR-400 is now in non-original condition, having had the plug cut off and the cable attached to the back of a 12V->8V regulator. The reason for that is that I'm about to head out on a desert trip and will be shooting star trails unattended overnight (using a TC-80N3 for multiple shots) with an SLA cell underneath the tripod... So I'm hoping someone with fairly "original" equipment can confirm (or refute) my finding that the camera ignores the 2nd battery. It seems that the grip electrically disconnects the battery when the DR-400 pushes down the switch, but I'm not in a position to disassemble my grip at the moment to check.

Thanks

David Burren
Thu, 25 Aug 2005 15:18:09 +1000

Hi David,

Thanks for the interesting information you provided. You got me intrigued. I would love to help you out and satisfy my own curiosity. Unfortunately, I recently moved and most of my stuff are still in boxes laying all throughout the house. Basically, I couldn't find my DR-400 adapter right now.

I hope someone will be able to help you out before your desert trip. Otherwise, I will promptly respond to your message as soon as I unpack the box that contains the DR-400 adapter.

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 25 Aug 2005 02:18:33 -0700

David,

I have just found the DR-400 adapter after unpacking several boxes and tried what you asked. For the experiment, I used a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, D30 camera, a BG-ED3 grip, a DR-400 adapter, and aCA-PS400 charger. I started by removing both batteries from the BG-ED3, plugged the DR-400 into the BG-ED3, and then plug the power plug into the wall socket. I turned the camera on. While the camera is on, I unplug the wall plug and the camera shut off, thus, establishing the control data. I turned the camera off.

Next, I inserted a battery into the empty bay. Plug the CA-PS400 back into the wall socket. I turned the camera back on. After the camera booted up, I unplug the wall socket, which caused the camera to shut down. Turning the camera off and on doesn't help. It seems that the BG-ED3 will not operate on battery power when the DR-400 adapter is inserted into its battery bay. Thus, when the external power fails, the camera shuts off.

It seems that you'll have to modify your BG-ED3 so that the battery grip thinks that the DR-400 is actually a battery pack, rather than an external power source for your hack to work. This probably means disabling the DR-400 sensing switch that you talked about. Or cutting a slit into the DR-400 adapter.

By the way, I have also modified my DR-400 adapter like you did. Just a tip, I have also added a male and a female power plugs inline with the DR-400 cable, so that I can return it to its original condition at any time. This hack is covered in my Hacking Digital Cameras book.

Chieh Cheng
Mon, 29 Aug 2005 09:14:29 -0700

> It seems
> that the BG-ED3 will not operate on battery power when
> the DR-400 adapter is inserted into its battery bay.
> Thus, when the external power fails, the camera shuts
> off.

That's what I thought: thanks for the confirmation!

> It seems that you'll have to modify your BG-ED3 so
> that the battery grip thinks that the DR-400 is
> actually a battery pack, rather than an external power
> source for your hack to work. This probably means
> disabling the DR-400 sensing switch that you talked
> about. Or cutting a slit into the DR-400 adapter.

Modifying the DR-400 seems the better way, although it does mean that the cord will have to push the cord-slot open by itself. I would rather modify one DR-400 than the multiple cameras/grips I use...

> By the way, I have also modified my DR-400 adapter
> like you did. Just a tip, I have also added a male and
> a female power plugs inline with the DR-400 cable, so
> that I can return it to its original condition at any
> time.

A good thought, although that was the first time in almost 5 years of owning the DR-400 that I'd wanted to use it on AC power. I probably wouldn't have bought it except it came with the D30... I cut the cable with enough room to put adaptor plugs inline, but have elected not to do that yet in the interests of making the rig as small as possible.

Unfortunately on the trip my power supply (built with a TI 8V regulator circuit, two capacitors and a zener) started blowing its fuse and I didn't have enough gear with me to investigate the problem properly. So I had to do my star-trail shooting on battery. Luckily I had enough juice left over after a day of shooting for 4.5 hours of trails, so the pictures look quite good. They're in the pipeline to get put on my website soon.
Now to get the regulator working again for the next trip!

Cheers

David Burren
Mon, 29 Aug 2005 16:31:19 -0700

Let me know when you get those pictures on your web site. I would love to see them.

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 1 Sep 2005 10:15:12 -0700

"Unfortunately on the trip my power supply (built with a TI 8V regulator circuit, two capacitors and a zener) started blowing its fuse and I didn't have enough gear with me to investigate the problem properly. So I had to do my star-trail shooting on battery. Luckily I had enough juice left over after a day of shooting for 4.5 hours of trails, so the pictures look quite good. They're in the pipeline to get put on my website soon.
Now to get the regulator working again for the next trip!

Cheers "

Did you find out why your regulator was blowing fuses? I just built 3 of these to power some 30D cameras for a project at work. I am going to document a 2 year construction project with one photo every hour. I used the TI regulator and the circuit found at My External Power Source for the Canon EOS 10D
I hope that your problem was not with one of these type of regulators and if it was that you can give me an idea of what failed. Thanks

Eric Bourelt
Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:39:03 -0700

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Title: Canon DC Coupler DR-400 Pinout
Weblog: Camera Hacker
Excerpt: You have a very good article on Canon adaptor and battery "DR-400 pinout". In that article, you asked about the B and D pins on the battery. The missing information can be found from a generic battery supplier such as GP Battery: GP Rechargeable Speciality Batteries Keep up the good work.
Tracked: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 02:12:00 -0700

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