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I bought an E3 on eBay, but it came without battery or charger or AC adapter. The seller says it worked fine but he removed the battery for storage and now can't find it. I know that the chargers for the D1 series will charge EN-3s and I am going to buy one of those, but the battery itself is the real problem. I have only found one place currently offering EN-3 batteries and they are new old stock and would cost about as much as the camera cost me. I don't really want to spend that much when I'm not even certain that the camera will work. Are there any substitutes? Does anyone know what the pinouts and voltages are for the AC adapter, so I could fake one up and at least try the camera out on AC before investing in a battery? Is it possible to repack the batteries, so if I find an old dead or dying one I could renew it? How about using a regulated DC supply at 7.2 volts and the contacts in the battery chamber? What is their polarity? So many questions, but I would like to at least try this amazing thing out before consigning it mostly to the shelf.

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Ross Alford
http://www.pbase.com/northqueenslandphotos

Hi,

Yes, you could use a bench supply to run the camera, if you can cobble up a way to attach the leads up inside the battery bay.

The AC adapter uses a wired dummy battery case to connect to the camera. Good luck finding one of those. I have one, but have never seen another with a camera for sale.

Oh, and the dummy battery has a switch on it for ROS cleaning mode, too. I've never opened the thing up to see just what they do in there to tell the camera it's supposed to leave the shutter open. Probably a diode gets switched in, I suppose.

I think I have a dead E3 NiMH battery pack laying on the shelf, though. I got it with one of my parts cameras without a charger. Since I had a few of the older E2 NiCd packs and a charger already, I never did bother to re-cell the E3 pack. That'd do, wouldn't it? You'd have to get it re-celled and then buy a D1 charger, but it'd work.

Stan

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Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer

OMG, As in "Oh my God"...I know what you are going tru...I didn't read Stan's reply(sorry) but I know the camera is going to work!! Its almost impossible to break one of them things!!
I have a solution for you....I'll sell you one for $10.00(kinda lika doing a favor as Americans would say) + Shipping!
Fully charged so you can conduct your test! But be carefull for what you are asking for!I am sure Aussie's know about "luring them in"!
Kiu
PS: there is a catch!

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Lets talk Nikon

OK, I lured the Aussie in!! He pay-paled me!!
He even agreed to the catch!
Now...I got the EN-3 conditioned(about 1 hour) and recharged by the MN-16 and tested it(in the E2)....all ready!

I know what's coming next....Card isuues!!
Are we ready???!!
Kiu

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Lets talk Nikon

Thanks, Kiu

I will certainly let you know how it works out. It may be a little while since I had the eBay seller send the camera to relatives in the USA, who are sending it on to me; with luck the camera and battery may arrive at about the same time. You worried me with the card comment but after reading the threads on this site I will keep hoping; I have several CF to PCMCIA adapters and a variety of CF cards, plus a couple of actual PCMCIA flash cards, and it sounds like the E3 isn't as picky as the E2, fingers crossed...

Cheers,
Ross

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Ross Alford
http://www.pbase.com/northqueenslandphotos

Hi Ross,

Glad to hear that you got the battery. I don't think you'll have any card problems with the E3. Seems to work fine with most cards/combinations.

Good luck!

Best regards,
Jarle

Look what I found:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-EN-3-Battery-for-E3s-E3-Series-Cameras-NEW-USA_W0QQitemZ160062916950QQihZ006QQcategoryZ48519QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Anyone interested?
Hopefully they have more than one.
I was thinking of getting one, if you guys outside USA want one let me know, may be we can save some money on the shipping.

Kiu

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Lets talk Nikon

Hi Kiu,

I found it a couple of days ago. Planned to get it, but shipping ($34 to Europe) is too expensive, IMO. I'm not that desperate - I have everything I need.

Anyway, I'd still be interested in another, brand new one. If you buy some, please get one for me as well. You know where to find me.

Thanks,
Jarle