Finally got around to assembling the parts for my external battery pack for my SG550.
The power cord is rather long since I originaly planned to have a weather resistant housing for the battery pack.
I recently decided to hide it in a "birdhouse" instead.
I have the "birdhouse" watching my yard for 2 legged vermin
I just realized I forgot the photo of the finished house...I'll get one later.



Edited to add:
Finished camera house on fence.
This one shows how the door works. It is held closed by 2 #4d galvanized nails. Just like my other bird houses.


The closed camera house. Above it on the fence is a real bird house, as is the one in the back ground on the fence. There is also a real one across the driveway from this.


It will be interesting to see how the Eneloops work out.

_________________
SSS w/ Sony DSC-S40, SG550,
Reconyx- RapidFire PC85, HyperFire HC500, HC600, SM750 license plate cam
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference.
The Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Regan
Proud Father of 2 US Marines

I think the eneloops will be fine and you did a great job putting the whole thing together. I am mostly curious to know how you plan to keep the birds out of it. I am taking for granted that the 550 will be secured into the house with a faceplate and screws.

I am in the process of converting everything over to ULD Nimh Rechargeables. Putting my first sets out next weekend but I feel pretty good about it, especially the ability to recharge 1000 times. Even if I only get 750x they will have saved me wads of $$$ in disposables; not to mention the warm and fuzzy feeling I get to have for "going green" . So far, everything in my household seems to be working well with these new rechargeables so I will just have to wait to see how long they work in my cordless mouse to really see how long they will go. It seems to be the fastest battery eater in the house.

Where did you get the battery packs?

_________________
[formerly papower]

I think the eneloops will be fine and you did a great job putting the whole thing together. I am mostly curious to know how you plan to keep the birds out of it. I am taking for granted that the 550 will be secured into the house with a faceplate and screws.

I edited the original post to add a couple photos with the door attached.
I'm sure I'll get some shots of birds trying to get in...

Where did you get the battery packs?
I assembled them from parts.
The battery holders were easy. Ebay from a seller in Hong Kong.
Now you can get 8 of them for $15 delivered.
http://cgi.ebay.com/8-5-X-AA-5XAA-7-5V- ... 1c0e3339e1

The DC Power plug was a PITA to find.
It is NOT a common size.
Here is the info I found while researching:
Barrel Plug
Hollow center EIAJ - 02
4.0 mm OD
1.7 mm ID
# B at Radio Shack (didn't have it)
3.15 to 6.3 volts

I got mine from Mouser Electronics.
Kobiconn DC Power Plug 171-3219-EX
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Kob ... 1PAw%3d%3d

This should save you a few hours of research

_________________
SSS w/ Sony DSC-S40, SG550,
Reconyx- RapidFire PC85, HyperFire HC500, HC600, SM750 license plate cam
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference.
The Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Regan
Proud Father of 2 US Marines

Now I understand after seeing your last pictures and since you have given them nothing to stand on there is not much chance of them pecking your lense or flash covers. The oversize hole is a big detractor for most birds. I expect you will git a couple of small bird "slams" from them thinking it was a dark hole. Best of luck...I look forward to updates as to how it will work.

Joel

Jiggy, that's a great setup. Just make sure you don't have too much voltage comming from the 5aa holder, I have some eneloops that will charge up to 1.4+ volts. You should be fine but you don't want to accidentally use alkalines or lithium batts. If you are using batteries in the camera you might have an issue with the 5aa's trying to overcharge the 4aa's inside.

_________________
trailcamkits.com


Heaven seems a little closer when your sitting in a treestand.

-JOHN

Good points. I have an analog volt/ohm meter and best I can tell I have between 6.3 and 6.4 volts at the barrel plug with my freshly charged eneloops in the 5 AA holders.

This is ONLY for rechargeables -5 new alkalines or lithiums would be cranking out 7.5 volts.

I emailed HCO some time ago asking what voltage range these SG550's operate at and got the "6 volt" reply.
Obviously they DO operate at much lower voltages because when the standard 1.5 v alkalines discharge down to 1.2 volts - they will now supply only 4.8 volts.
Note: Standard AA alkalines seem to hold voltage fairly well until they get down around 1.0 volt then they drop like a lead balloon.

I originally was going to use some Energizer NiMH I have laying around, but they self discharge relatively fast so I though I would try the eneloops.



There should be a disconnect that shuts off power from the internal souce when the external barrel plug is inserted.
With 8 good alkalines in the cam, I did try inserting just a barrel plug - with no wires attached - and I could not get a voltage reading on it, so the disconnect should be functioning.

I plan to try this on only one cam for awhile to see how it goes.
So far so good....at least nothing went POOF! when I hooked it all up

_________________
SSS w/ Sony DSC-S40, SG550,
Reconyx- RapidFire PC85, HyperFire HC500, HC600, SM750 license plate cam
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference.
The Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Regan
Proud Father of 2 US Marines

How long this 55AA keeps the Camera Working?

When you plug and unplug the DC barrel the camera goes off and on, or it automatically switch source without affecting the funcionality of the camera ?

It appears to seamlessly switch power supplies. I run my 550 on a 6v external battery, but keep the camera loaded with 8 AAs so I can disconnect the 6V for camera service without losing the date and time.