Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Discuss older Nikon-based Kodak digital SLRs, including DCS 100, DCS 200, NC2000, DCS 400/600/700-series, etc. Ask questions, post general comments, anecdotes, reviews and user tips.
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Rickky1972
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Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Post by Rickky1972 »

I have a Kodak dcs 460 and I think the battery is dead. I see online and on Ebay the battery for the dcs 420. Given that it is the same procedure for changing the batteries for all the dcs 400 series, I dared made the leap to assume the entire 400 line uses the same battery. Of course I could be very wrong and do not want to waste my money. I emailed the store selling the dcs 420 battery but they simply said they did not have the dcs 460 battery. Could anyone tell me if I could use the dcs 420 battery in the dcs 460?

Thanks.
Stan Disbrow
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Location: Raleigh, NC USA

Re: Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Post by Stan Disbrow »

Hi,

IIRC, the 420 and the 460 shared the same battery pack and chargers...

Stan
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer
Rickky1972
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Re: Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Post by Rickky1972 »

Thanks. I will get the 420 battery which is available for sale.
Rickky1972
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Re: Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Post by Rickky1972 »

Again about these batteries. I have noticed reading the forums that many have "jump started" their batteries by hooking them up to chargers. I have been searching for one that could charge the DCS 420 batteries but so far have found none. Nothing seems to accept the three pin used for these batteries or am I going about this all wrong? If someone could point me to a charger I could buy I would appreciate it.

Also it seems the battery and the firmware are connected. Can I update the firmware without the camera turned on? The problem is you can see the LCD light up but the camera does not really turn on and the battery does not charge. Is this enough to update the firmware? Right now I do not know if I have a dead battery or corrupt firmware.
Stan Disbrow
Posts: 601
Joined: Fri May 20, 2005 7:33 pm
Location: Raleigh, NC USA

Re: Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Post by Stan Disbrow »

Hi,

Kodak used a fairly standard charger made by Elpac. The same as IBM used on their notebook PCs during the same timeframe. However, the plug was different. I fixed several bad Kodak chargers by opening them up and removing the Kodak cable and swapping into an IBM supply which was easier to source.

As far as jump starting the battery pack, that is done using an electronics service universal bench power supply. They let one set the voltage and current via knobs so one does not overdo it and blow up the battery cells.

If the pack has not set around dead too long, one can use a 9v transistor radio battery, still used in smoke alarms and available in any store. The later Kodak battery charger for the 5, 6 + 700 series batteries is notorious for not wanting to charge a deeply discharged pack. The 9v trick is how most people jump up the dead pack so the charger will then charge the pack.

Stan
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer
Rickky1972
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Re: Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Post by Rickky1972 »

Thanks Stan. You da man. I do have the charger for the DCS 420 camera which I bought off ebay. It charged one 460 which powered on but I have a 460 and a 420 that the charger seems unable to charge their batteries. The LCD light up on both but no charging happens. I will try the 9v trick.
Stan Disbrow
Posts: 601
Joined: Fri May 20, 2005 7:33 pm
Location: Raleigh, NC USA

Re: Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Post by Stan Disbrow »

Hi,

At this point, I would check the batteries out of the cameras with a voltmeter. Being old NiCds, they probably have some shorted cells and no amount of messing with them will help. Batteries Plus does pack rebuilds at low cost. That is probably what you need.

The 9v trick applies to the later NiMH packs and that smart charger that is too smart...

Stan
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer
Rickky1972
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Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:04 pm
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Re: Kodak DCS 420 battery and 460 battery. The same?????

Post by Rickky1972 »

Thanks Stan. I have decided it would be cheaper if I just bought new batteries. I have found a site that sells them for $45. I will order them and post the results. Hopefully it is just a battery issue. The batteries in these cameras have been in there for several years without any use and I am pretty sure they are dead.
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