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[OM] Re: OM-1 age & s/n, batteries/check and battery mod

Subject: [OM] Re: OM-1 age & s/n, batteries/check and battery mod
From: Ross Orr <voxbongo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 22:42:36 -0400
Cc: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
Hi Michael,

About your questions 3 & 4 . . .there's quite an exhaustive 
discussion in this PDF,

http://olympus.dementia.org/Hardware/PDFs/batt-adapt-US.pdf

The short version is that yes, for proper metering a stock OM-1 needs 
a battery supplying 1.35 volts with a *flat voltage curve* over its 
lifetime.

If you fit a silver oxide battery (~1.6v) into the compartment, the 
metering will be quite badly off--but probably not by a constant 
amount that you could correct by changing the E.I.

A good Olympus service shop can internally re-adjust the meter to 
work correctly with 1.5v batteries. But that's going to be expensive 
if you have no other reason to overhaul the camera.

The solution of finding a battery adapter is probably the best one. 
These use a Schottky diode to drop the voltage of a 1.6v button cell 
to 1.35 volts. You will want to use a silver oxide cell, because 
alkalines have a sloping voltage curve. This seems to be the 
best-known brand,
http://www.criscam.com/mr9.htm

but does anyone know of a cheaper alternative?

>was the OM-1 actually designed electronically around
>some specific characteristics of that type/voltage of mercury
>batteries, and what might those have been, that prevents any other
>battery from working right. Was it a current factor?

cheers,

  -- Ross

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Do something foolish once, and it's a mistake.
  Do it repeatedly and it's a philosophy."

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