[NYNOIR]

Hi, It seems my Q has started the bad habit of losing the date after a battery change and needs to be reset. I looked at the old postings on this problem and got all sorts of theories. I really don't want to send it in to have an inner battery replaced (too expensive). I have left it sitting for long periods of time, because I use the QS-1 more often. So, I'm restarting this thread in case somebody has new information on solving this problem or do I have to keep resetting the camera? Has this happened with other Pentax cameras?
Any comments or solutions would be greatly appreciated.
George

[volley]

My Q7 did the same ... but only with an old battery in it which didn't hold the charge well.
After "investing" in a new battery the settings are no longer lost when I have to recharge the battery.

[seventhdr]

This is usually a sign that the internal (not-replaceable) battery has worn out. My Q does this every time I change a battery.

Regards

Chris

[Not a Number]

The clock battery/accumulator/super capacitor is charged by the main battery. If the main battery is below capacity (old) it may not charge the clock battery sufficiently. On the other hand the clock battery will lose capacity with age and use and at some point will no longer hold a charge and need to be replaced.

[NYNOIR]

Thanks for quick answers. I guess I have to live with resetting of the clock each time I change batteries.

[barondla]

My original Q will hold memory for about 10 seconds. If I am fast enough swapping batteries, no resetting is required. Getting good at switching.
thanks,
barondla

[Sluggo]

My original Q will hold memory for about 10 seconds. If I am fast enough swapping batteries, no resetting is required. Getting good at switching.
thanks,
barondla

My experience is the same - no problems with losing the date if I'm quick enough getting one battery out and the other battery in. It feels silly to get my adrenaline up for that, as if changing tires on a race car.

[NYNOIR]

barondla and Sluggo....the quick switch works. It's a pain in the butt to do the switch, but not impossible, so thanks for the solution. Correct dates are back without hassle of re-entering info
George

[barondla]

NYNOIR with practice it is pretty easy to do. I hold Q in left hand and battery with contacts oriented correctly in right. A little practice makes it second nature. So used to doing for original Q that I do it with the Q7. Don't even know if the Q7 looses info.
Thanks,
barondla

[Abbazz]

I have two Pentax Q, one Q7 and two Q-S1 bodies. The original Qs and the Q7 have always exhibited the same behavior: there is hardly enough time to switch the battery before the internal clock runs out of juice, thus requiring the user to set the date and time.At the same time, both Q-S1s retain the date and time for a much longer period (at least a few hours) when there is no battery. I have never heard of a Q-S1 suffering from time amnesia so there must have been some change in the latest model circuitry.

My guess is that the first models had an internal clock supplied by some kind of small capacitor charged by the battery. The capacitor was only able to supply power to the clock during a limited time, especially when the battery that was previously inside the camera was partially or totally discharged, meaning its voltage was under the nominal specs. On the other hand, the Q-S1 might have a proper backup battery, which is able to supply more power at a constant voltage.

Cheers!

Abbazz

[barondla]

Good info Abbazz. Sounds like the Q-S1 has upgraded circuitry. Though it is possible they aren't old enough to show the problem. Besides caps and batteries there is a way to make info last. Don't remember the term it goes by. It is more expensive.

Thanks,
barondla

[RickS]

Hi, It seems my Q has started the bad habit of losing the date after a battery change and needs to be reset. I looked at the old postings on this problem and got all sorts of theories. I really don't want to send it in to have an inner battery replaced (too expensive). I have left it sitting for long periods of time, because I use the QS-1 more often. So, I'm restarting this thread in case somebody has new information on solving this problem or do I have to keep resetting the camera? Has this happened with other Pentax cameras?
Any comments or solutions would be greatly appreciated.
George

Hi George, my name is Rick and I may be able to help you out with this. We'll see.

I own a Q and a Q7, both purchased near the beginning of their respective life cycles. Generally, they have performed as expected, except about six or eight months ago they both started losing their time and date settings during a battery change. I remembered the relevant posts on this forum and also at DPReview. I was a bit surprised to find no real progress in solving this problem. So, after reading the posts one more time, I took another stab at it and came up with a simple fix for this problem.

Of course you should be using quality, healthy batteries, but that is not the root of the problem. It appears an internal connection is likely to be the culprit but I don't know for sure. Here's what I did (Under the assumption your camera is working properly otherwise...).

Note: Use great care. The camera is a bit delicate and small. I accept no responsibility for damage.

• Install a fresh battery in your Q, just the way you always do.

• Open the battery door but let the battery remain in the camera, captured by the nylon retainer at the outside edge of the battery compartment.

• If you now press a little on the back of the battery, you'll note the battery is spring loaded and will still move inward against the contacts about another 1 - 2 mm.
At this point we want to "pump" the battery. That is, press and release pressure on the back of the installed battery just a bit vigorously about 8-10 times. Again, this is done with the battery still held in the camera by the battery clip.

Since using this technique I have never had an issue with Date and Time settings loss on either of my cameras during a battery change.

One thing though, my experience is mine only, so far. It will be interesting to see if you and others can repeat it, especially on a consistent basis.


Rick

[NYNOIR]

Hi George, my name is Rick and I may be able to help you out with this. We'll see.

I own a Q and a Q7, both purchased near the beginning of their respective life cycles. Generally, they have performed as expected, except about six or eight months ago they both started losing their time and date settings during a battery change. I remembered the relevant posts on this forum and also at DPReview. I was a bit surprised to find no real progress in solving this problem. So, after reading the posts one more time, I took another stab at it and came up with a simple fix for this problem.

Of course you should be using quality, healthy batteries, but that is not the root of the problem. It appears an internal connection is likely to be the culprit but I don't know for sure. Here's what I did (Under the assumption your camera is working properly otherwise...).

Note: Use great care. The camera is a bit delicate and small. I accept no responsibility for damage.

• Install a fresh battery in your Q, just the way you always do.

• Open the battery door but let the battery remain in the camera, captured by the nylon retainer at the outside edge of the battery compartment.

• If you now press a little on the back of the battery, you'll note the battery is spring loaded and will still move inward against the contacts about another 1 - 2 mm.
At this point we want to "pump" the battery. That is, press and release pressure on the back of the installed battery just a bit vigorously about 8-10 times. Again, this is done with the battery still held in the camera by the battery clip.

Since using this technique I have never had an issue with Date and Time settings loss on either of my cameras during a battery change.

One thing though, my experience is mine only, so far. It will be interesting to see if you and others can repeat it, especially on a consistent basis.


Rick

It didn't work for me. I pressed the battery quickly about 25-30 times with a fairly new battery, fully charged. Don't know why it would work for one camera and not another?? Must be the capacitor in the camera.

[kb244]

Same deal here with a Q10, like the internal battery has exhausted (seems to be a frequent enough problem that it shows up in search), the only work around I found is to have the fresh battery ready to insert as soon as you pop out the other battery.

[2old4toys]

Battery pumping? How ridiculous... yet still I tried it and can verify here that now my q10 can keep the time and date during a battery swap whereas before it couldn't.
My qs1 that is afflicted with instant date and time forgetfulness... was not fooled by this silliness.

How is that!