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04-05-2012, 03:02 PM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by DaveHolmes Quote
Well they arrived...

Either they're not the right battery or the meter does not work... At the moment I'm gutted...
I'm not saying that those battereies should not be able to make your meter work, but they do not look like the correct size to me.
You needn't feel gutted....depending upon how much you love your Spottie....because it can be fixed...by the "Guru"...Eric....and I'm sure there are others.
Just had a dead meter in my ES11...got it back from Eric...all good!
Cheers, Pickles.

04-05-2012, 04:04 PM - 1 Like   #17
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Spotmatic Battery Information.

Here is the information about batteries that is sent to each new member of the Yahoo! Spotmatic Group (of which I am the owner):

Spotmatic Battery Information

The most experienced members of the Spotmatic group have compiled the information below and many of them have been using Spotmatics since they purchased them brand new in the sixties and seventies. This information is being provided so that you do not have to ask about it as a discussion topic on the forum. It has already been discussed and answered many times and there is nothing more to add so please do not ask again. All you need to know is contained in this document.

For battery cap information go to the bottom of this document.

In relation to batteries, there are 5 groups of Spotmatic cameras:
1. SP Series. This includes SP, SP500, SP1000, SPII and SPIIA.
2. SP F
3. Electro Spotmatic and ES
4. ESII.
5. SL. This camera has no meter and, thus, no battery.

SP Series
The 1.35-volt mercury (mercuric oxide) battery originally used in the Spotmatic SP is no longer available due to environmental protection laws.
Replacement batteries available today are 1.55-volt but the Spotmatic uses a "bridge" circuit in its meter, making it insensitive to battery voltage variations. So, despite what you may have read - No meter recalibration is necessary as all Spotmatic SP series cameras can handle the increased voltage.

The alternatives are:
• Spend about $30 for an adapter from CRIS Camera Services (Camera Repair by CRIS Camera Services: Digital Camera Repair: Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Pentax, Ricoh, Sigma) and a battery to insert into it. But this would be a waste of money as it is definitely not required.
• Spend about $10 for a Wein Products MRB400 cell (modified Zinc-Air cell). They are quite expensive and have a limited life (about 6 to 12 months) unless you remove the battery after each use and seal up its air hole (it needs air to work). This is not a recommended solution.
• Spend about $3.00 for one of the many 1.55-volt silver oxide batteries available over the Internet, at Radio Shack, most drugstores, camera stores and even some supermarkets. They will last you for about three years if our experience is typical. Make sure you insert it the right way for proper polarity, and take up the excess space in the battery box with a rubber O-ring from the hardware store, that will cost you about 49 cents. You might have to bend up the battery contact in the battery box to make good contact.
• Silver oxide batteries that work are: Mallory PX-400 or RM-400-R, Varta V394, Maxell SR936W or SR936SW, Renata 394, or any type 392 equivalent.
• Do not be tempted to use alkaline battery equivalents as they have a much steeper discharge curve. The silver oxide batteries have a flat discharge curve similar to the old mercury batteries.



SP F.
• Mallory PX625, Duracell PX625A, Excel Z625PX, Eveready E-625N.
• The Spotmatic F uses a dual coil meter movement that, like the bridge circuit, cancels out battery voltage variations on the level we are dealing with here. So it is immune to the difference between 1.35v and 1.5v, too. The original battery for the Spot F was a mercury type. In this case, Pentax used the identical circuit in the KM and K1000, without any electronic changes. They substituted the silver types with NO ALTERATION at all.

Electro Spotmatic and ES.
6-volt Eveready #544, Duracell 28L Lithium.


ESII.
Eveready S76E, Mallory MS-76H, in fact any 76-type battery works -A76, S76, MS76.

Places on the Internet to purchase from:

http://www.photobattery.com/
Batteries Plus battery store - All your battery needs for Laptop, camera, cell phone, camcorder, SLA, batteries recycling and much more (good model search facility)
Swatch Battery.com Swatch batteries, watch batteries Watch Battery Renata Energizer (very cheap, good quality)
Welcome to MDBattery.com - Right Battery | Right Price | Right Now ? (you need to know the battery number you want)
Welcome to MDBattery.com - Right Battery | Right Price | Right Now ? Look for the S400PX (for SP series) or the S625PX (for SPF) on this page.

Battery Caps.
The following are two known sources for Spotmatic SP series and SPF battery caps:

http://gallery.bcentral.com/GID2025592P1812152-Replacement-Parts/Pentax/Batt...ttery-Cap.aspx

Pentax Camera Service (Eric Hendrickson)
“I still have new caps for the Spotmatic.
If you would like one just send 15.00 plus 2.00 postage.
Email me at pentaxrepairs@aol.com
04-05-2012, 04:25 PM   #18
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Rayallen - great info, thanks!
04-05-2012, 04:59 PM   #19
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E387s batteries are available from Amazon

04-05-2012, 08:28 PM   #20
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One thing to try is to remove the battery and at the bottom of the battery chamber is the battery contact, take an angled pick and lift it up a little. If the contact has gotten smashed down it might not make contact, this happened to my spotty once. Also (in case you were unaware of this) the battery on the spotmatic is placed positive side toward camera, negative side toward the threaded battery cap. This is opposite of many non pentax cameras of the 60's and 70's and had me thinking my spottie had a defective meter when I first got it. Good luck and if all else fails, if the camera is worth it, send it to Eric Hendrickson for repair.

Last edited by average-guy; 04-05-2012 at 08:37 PM.
04-05-2012, 08:36 PM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by average-guy Quote
Also (in case you were unaware of this) the battery on the spotmatic is placed positive side toward camera, negative side toward the threaded battery cap. This is opposite of most cameras of the 60's and 70's and had me thinking my spottie had a defective meter when I first got it. Good luck and if all else fails, if the camera is worth it, send it to Eric Hendrickson for repair.
Eric returned a camera with the battery reversed so It wouldn't discharge in shipping. I "replaced" it three times (all three new batteries that were in the blister card) before I thought to turn it over.
04-05-2012, 08:43 PM   #22
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You're a faster study than I am/was when I first bought my spotmatic, I assumed my meter was off and shot mine by sunny 16 for a couple of years before I was told to flip it over, Duh!


Last edited by average-guy; 04-05-2012 at 09:12 PM.
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