Travelling with K-1, but forgot charger. Advice?

C_Jones · 06-11-2017, 05:38 PM

Good luck. I hope everything works out for you. Looks like you took a good step.

**jva59** · 06-15-2017, 05:56 AM - **2 Likes**

I am happy to report that persistence paid off. I received a charger in Athens on schedule, and I have successfully charged the battery with it. What is more, I have taken some pictures with my camera! Many thanks again for the kind advice, encouragement and offers of help.

**BigMackCam** · 06-15-2017, 06:00 AM

Originally posted by jva59

I am happy to report that persistence paid off. I received a charger in Athens on schedule, and I have successfully charged the battery with it. What is more, I have taken some pictures with my camera! Many thanks again for the kind advice, encouragement and offers of help.

That's great news! Thanks for keeping us posted, and have a wonderful time!

maltfalc · 06-15-2017, 08:49 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Audi 5 cyl

Just an idea. I do not know how desperate you are to try it but it could work. I don't know if this will destroy the battery or not but my guess is that it will not.

You can charge a battery with a battery. I did it once when my car battery was dead in the middle of nowhere, in the hole so pushing the car was not an option, and I've used a battery from an electric drill to charge the car battery just enough so that it could start the car. The same should be possible with a camera battery as well. You just need to improvise a connection that will stick to your camera battery while it's being charged. 7.4V cannot be substituted directly via AA batteries but 7.5V can by serially connecting 5 AA batteries. I think to charge the Pentax battery, you would need a parallel connection of two serially connected rows of 5AA batteries. So, a bit of wire, duck-tape and 10 AA batteries could charge your battery I think. Positive to positive, negative to negative.

you can't treat li-ion batteries like lead-acid batteries. this is horribly irresponsible advice. you should never "guess" when it comes to things that can burst into flames.

**Bob 256** · 06-18-2017, 10:35 AM

Ditto on that. Only use the appropriate type charger for lithium ion batteries (and advisably for NiMH batteries too).

One gadget I found handy is a small 12V to 110VAC converter (plugs into a cigarette lighter and gives 100W of AC power). When on the road, I can plug my K-1 charger into it and charge my spare K-1 battery. It also allows me to charge the K-1 battery from any 12V source without worrying about the complexities of directly charging a lithium ion cell (a cigarette adapter with clip leads is also available). Good to have in your gadget bag.

Still not much help though if you forgot the K-1 battery charger.

**UncleVanya** · 06-18-2017, 01:37 PM

Originally posted by Bob 256

Ditto on that. Only use the appropriate type charger for lithium ion batteries (and advisably for NiMH batteries too).

One gadget I found handy is a small 12V to 110VAC converter (plugs into a cigarette lighter and gives 100W of AC power). When on the road, I can plug my K-1 charger into it and charge my spare K-1 battery. It also allows me to charge the K-1 battery from any 12V source without worrying about the complexities of directly charging a lithium ion cell (a cigarette adapter with clip leads is also available). Good to have in your gadget bag.

Still not much help though if you forgot the K-1 battery charger.

The power output from those small converters is very dirty. I'm not clear if they actually provide clean enough power to not harm the Li-Ion batteries. There are many forums on power tools and water craft that indicate that inverters do not work well in the long run for batteries. The square wave most produce is not a great source for DC output for things expecting a sine wave.

**Bob 256** · 06-19-2017, 12:51 PM

That probably depends on the lithium ion charger being used. Many chargers first rectify the AC input and then apply it to a regulator that does the battery charging. After it's rectified, it doesn't matter if the original was sinewave or a pseudo-squarewave (which most small 110VAC converters output). In fact, a lot of lithium chargers will work on 110 or 220 VAC just for that reason.

I didn't have problems with my OEM Pentax charger (which accepts 100-240VAC), but you could well be right for some other lithium chargers out there, and I can't speak to those.

I am aware that a pseudo-squarewave introduces a lot of noise in some 110VAC devices. It can, for example, introduce buzz in audio equipment, and video glitches in video equipment if they are directly powered from that type of converter. If that's a real worry, there are some small sinewave output inverters available on line (check Amazon - Bestek 300W, AIMS 180W, Samlex120W, etc., and ebay).

GeneV · 06-21-2017, 04:47 AM - **1 Like**

This is one reason I am glad Pentax stuck with the LI 90 through so many bodies, and why I am hesitant about the bodies which do not use this battery. After a few bodies, you can afford to leave a charger in your luggage at all times.

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06-11-2017, 05:38 PM	#16
C_Jones Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: NY Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,084	Good luck. I hope everything works out for you. Looks like you took a good step.

06-15-2017, 05:56 AM - 2 Likes	#17
jva59 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,409 Original Poster	I am happy to report that persistence paid off. I received a charger in Athens on schedule, and I have successfully charged the battery with it. What is more, I have taken some pictures with my camera! Many thanks again for the kind advice, encouragement and offers of help.

06-15-2017, 06:00 AM	#18
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,670	Originally posted by jva59 I am happy to report that persistence paid off. I received a charger in Athens on schedule, and I have successfully charged the battery with it. What is more, I have taken some pictures with my camera! Many thanks again for the kind advice, encouragement and offers of help. That's great news! Thanks for keeping us posted, and have a wonderful time!

06-15-2017, 08:49 AM - 1 Like	#19
maltfalc Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Winnipeg Photos: Albums Posts: 396	Originally posted by Audi 5 cyl Just an idea. I do not know how desperate you are to try it but it could work. I don't know if this will destroy the battery or not but my guess is that it will not. You can charge a battery with a battery. I did it once when my car battery was dead in the middle of nowhere, in the hole so pushing the car was not an option, and I've used a battery from an electric drill to charge the car battery just enough so that it could start the car. The same should be possible with a camera battery as well. You just need to improvise a connection that will stick to your camera battery while it's being charged. 7.4V cannot be substituted directly via AA batteries but 7.5V can by serially connecting 5 AA batteries. I think to charge the Pentax battery, you would need a parallel connection of two serially connected rows of 5AA batteries. So, a bit of wire, duck-tape and 10 AA batteries could charge your battery I think. Positive to positive, negative to negative. you can't treat li-ion batteries like lead-acid batteries. this is horribly irresponsible advice. you should never "guess" when it comes to things that can burst into flames.

06-18-2017, 10:35 AM	#20
Bob 256 Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Idaho Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,375	Ditto on that. Only use the appropriate type charger for lithium ion batteries (and advisably for NiMH batteries too). One gadget I found handy is a small 12V to 110VAC converter (plugs into a cigarette lighter and gives 100W of AC power). When on the road, I can plug my K-1 charger into it and charge my spare K-1 battery. It also allows me to charge the K-1 battery from any 12V source without worrying about the complexities of directly charging a lithium ion cell (a cigarette adapter with clip leads is also available). Good to have in your gadget bag. Still not much help though if you forgot the K-1 battery charger.

06-18-2017, 01:37 PM	#21
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,401	Originally posted by Bob 256 Ditto on that. Only use the appropriate type charger for lithium ion batteries (and advisably for NiMH batteries too). One gadget I found handy is a small 12V to 110VAC converter (plugs into a cigarette lighter and gives 100W of AC power). When on the road, I can plug my K-1 charger into it and charge my spare K-1 battery. It also allows me to charge the K-1 battery from any 12V source without worrying about the complexities of directly charging a lithium ion cell (a cigarette adapter with clip leads is also available). Good to have in your gadget bag. Still not much help though if you forgot the K-1 battery charger. The power output from those small converters is very dirty. I'm not clear if they actually provide clean enough power to not harm the Li-Ion batteries. There are many forums on power tools and water craft that indicate that inverters do not work well in the long run for batteries. The square wave most produce is not a great source for DC output for things expecting a sine wave.

06-19-2017, 12:51 PM	#22
Bob 256 Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Idaho Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,375	That probably depends on the lithium ion charger being used. Many chargers first rectify the AC input and then apply it to a regulator that does the battery charging. After it's rectified, it doesn't matter if the original was sinewave or a pseudo-squarewave (which most small 110VAC converters output). In fact, a lot of lithium chargers will work on 110 or 220 VAC just for that reason. I didn't have problems with my OEM Pentax charger (which accepts 100-240VAC), but you could well be right for some other lithium chargers out there, and I can't speak to those. I am aware that a pseudo-squarewave introduces a lot of noise in some 110VAC devices. It can, for example, introduce buzz in audio equipment, and video glitches in video equipment if they are directly powered from that type of converter. If that's a real worry, there are some small sinewave output inverters available on line (check Amazon - Bestek 300W, AIMS 180W, Samlex120W, etc., and ebay).

06-21-2017, 04:47 AM - 1 Like	#23
GeneV Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Photos: Albums Posts: 9,830	This is one reason I am glad Pentax stuck with the LI 90 through so many bodies, and why I am hesitant about the bodies which do not use this battery. After a few bodies, you can afford to leave a charger in your luggage at all times.