Olym;pus FL-50 Battery Door

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Flavius - 27 Mar 2005 04:01 GMT

Does anyone here know the proper procedure to remove, without breaking,
the battery door on an Olympus FL-50 flash? Any help is greatly
appreciated, thanks!

JDR

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Larry CdeBaca - 27 Mar 2005 07:12 GMT

Looks fairly easy -- press down, slide back. Check out page 4 of the on-line
manual.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/e1/e1_lit/FL50-instmanual.pdf
You'd be amazed what resources are available at your manufacturer's site.

> Does anyone here know the proper procedure to remove, without breaking,
> the battery door on an Olympus FL-50 flash? Any help is greatly
> appreciated, thanks!
>
> JDR

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Flavius - 28 Mar 2005 04:06 GMT

Sorry you did not understand the question. Please allow me to clarify it.
The object is NOT to *OPEN* the battery door, it is to *** REMOVE *** the
battery door. Without breaking it!
The owners manual says nothing about how to remove the door. A service or
repair manual does not appear to be available on the manufacturers website.
REMOVAL is necessary for the installation of a Quantum MKZ3 battery
replacement module and cord. This will take the place of the piss-ant AAs
and allow me to run the flash on my 4.5 amp hour Jacobs Pack. (1500+ flashes
per charge, with MANY recharge cycles available) (Sealed Lead Acid battery).

JDR

> Looks fairly easy -- press down, slide back. Check out page 4 of the on-line
> manual.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> > Does anyone here know the proper procedure to remove, without breaking,
> > the battery door <<<< snip

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Larry CdeBaca - 28 Mar 2005 06:56 GMT

This is as good as I can do for you.
http://www.qtm.com/home/manuals/P592.pdf
Looks like Canon and Nikon users are in luck (you aren't -- should have
ponied up bux for a real Oluympus flash) --
5. ***Some flashes*** (such as SB800) allow removal of the battery cover --
refer to its instruction manual.
6. For other flashes the battery door can be held closed using the hook and
loop strips provided. <<<<<<<<
Place one adhesive backed strip on each side of the battery door. Secure the
door using one 4" (10cm) long strip.

You're welcome.

> Sorry you did not understand the question. Please allow me to clarify it.
> The object is NOT to *OPEN* the battery door, it is to *** REMOVE *** the
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>> > breaking,
>> > the battery door <<<< snip

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Flavius - 28 Mar 2005 17:16 GMT

Thanks for the reply!

<<<< snip

> Looks like Canon and Nikon users are in luck (you aren't -- should have
> ponied up bux for a real Oluympus flash) --
> 5. ***Some flashes*** (such as SB800) <<< snip

In fact, it IS a REAL Olympus flash. In fact, their top-of-line, and
"ponied" to the tune of $347.00. It works GREAT! Except for it's hideous
hunger for batteries! Olympus makes a great little battery grip for their
cameras. Why is it their flash battery "solution" (SHV-1) has to be so
expensive? My Jacobs battery pack just ROCKS on my Vivitar 283 and at only
$99.00 is real bargain. Alas, the 283 is a "dumb" flash and actually makes
me use my brain. (Not that using my brain is a problem, it's just that
automation is faster.)

C U L8r
JDR

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Dwight Stewart - 28 Mar 2005 22:23 GMT

> Does anyone here know the proper procedure
> to remove, without breaking, the battery door
> on an Olympus FL-50 flash? Any help is greatly
> appreciated, thanks!

Of course, I haven't seen your particular Quantum MKZ3 battery setup, but
have you considered not removing the door at all? In the past, I've cut a
small hole in the edge of the door of a flash unit, just large enough to run
the cord through, and simply closed the door over the battery insert with
the battery pack cord running through that hole. In fact, at one time,
Quantum even recommended that solution with some flash units.

I've even went so far as to build my own external battery pack, consisting
of four wooden dowels cut to the length of a battery, a cord, two screws, a
"D" size battery holder from Radio Shack, and a case for a small camera. The
wooden dowels are glued together in the shape of the flash battery
compartment. Afterwards, the two screws are placed on the dowels touching
the two battery contacts inside the flash and the cord attached to the two
screws. Then I cut the small hole in the flash unit door to run the cord
through. The other end of the cord is attached to the battery holder from
Radio Shack, which is then inserted into the small camera case for a "pro"
look, with "D" batteries added. A set of four "D" size batteries will allow
hundreds of fast recycle, full power, flashes before fully discharged. At
that point, they are tossed and replaced (easier then recharging and a real
bargain compared to endless "AA" batteries).

Stewart

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Flavius - 29 Mar 2005 05:05 GMT

Thanks for the feedback.
The reason I went with the Quantum cable (despite the cost) is the fact it
will "stay in" the battery compartment without the door on. I considered
cutting the door, this is the solution I used on my Vivitar 283, but because
of the Oly. FL-50 design the cut would interfere with using regular crv3s
(or even, God forbid, AAs) if the need arose (broken cable, failure of the
battery pack, etc. etc.). Having a spare door with no cut was easy with the
Viv 283 as they are so common. If I can figure out how to remove and replace
the FL-50 door then I could keep a spare uncut door handy, cut the other
one, then interchange them as needed.
BTW, valve regulated sealed lead acid batteries present less internal
resistance than event the several D cells of other designs, thus faster
flash recycle times. My Viv 283 can do a full charge between shots in about
2.2 seconds.

JDR

> > Does anyone here know the proper procedure
> > to remove, without breaking, the battery door
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> have you considered not removing the door at all? In the past, I've cut a
> small hole in the edge of the door of a flash unit,

<<<<< snippage

>camera case for a "pro"
> look, with "D" batteries added. A set of four "D" size batteries will allow
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Stewart

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