stuny Posted December 8, 2008 Share #1 Posted December 8, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Some of you might remember that when I returned form Borneo in the spring I sent my R8/DMR to Leica since it died. They did lovely repair, got it back to me in reasonable time, and other than testing it when I got it back, I used other cameras until yesterday. Yesterday I found that all three batteries had gone flat so I recharged them, but none of them would start up the camera. I tired the old suggestion of removing the power portion completely and reattaching, but no luck. Before I send it back to Leica for service, any ideas? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 8, 2008 Posted December 8, 2008 Hi stuny, Take a look here The DMR Blues. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
TimF Posted December 8, 2008 Share #2 Posted December 8, 2008 I presume you cleaned the contacts? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share #3 Posted December 8, 2008 Tim - Thank you for your response. I rationalized that they had not been exposed to the air since the repair, and did not clean them. I assume you refer to the two sets of gold contacts (male and female sets in two loactions each). I'll have to try that tonight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
guidowi Posted December 8, 2008 Share #4 Posted December 8, 2008 Tim - Thank you for your response. I rationalized that they had not been exposed to the air since the repair, and did not clean them. I assume you refer to the two sets of gold contacts (male and female sets in two loactions each). I'll have to try that tonight. Hi Stuart, did you test the batteries' voltage with a tester? The DMR battery charger is a very poor tool and could fail easily. I had one replaced by Leica and I bought a second one for safe. Cheers Guido Wilhelm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsteve Posted December 8, 2008 Share #5 Posted December 8, 2008 Stuart: With most rechargeable batteries and intelligent chargers, if you let the battery get too low in voltage, the charger will refuse to charge it. As suggested in the post above, you should check the voltage of your batteries. I just checked a DMR battery that I had by my desk and it read 8.38 volts, which I assume means it is a charged one. The work around if your batteries are too low to charge is to manually apply a voltage to them for a short time to raise the battery voltage above that required for the charger to accept them to charge. Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overgaard Posted December 9, 2008 Share #6 Posted December 9, 2008 Cleaning contacts. That's what I believe in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share #7 Posted December 9, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Gents - Thank you for your advice. I tried them all (including finding my VOM meter to check voltage), but to no avail. I guess my kit will visit Germany a second time in the same year, unless Leica New Jersey can deal with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsteve Posted December 9, 2008 Share #8 Posted December 9, 2008 Stuart: Could it be the camera that is the problem? When you sent the DMR in for repair, did you send the camera too? Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share #9 Posted December 9, 2008 Robert - Yes, I played it safe that way, too. The last time they went in almost everything was done to the camera, and only a board update and cleaning to the DMR. They're on their way to Leica NJ. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted December 10, 2008 Share #10 Posted December 10, 2008 Stuart, I'm sorry to hear this. I've been using my R8/DMR manually because I just can't part with it yet. I guess I'll drive it out to NJ next week & see if the Wizards can set it right again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhsimmonds Posted December 10, 2008 Share #11 Posted December 10, 2008 Stuart Sorry to hear of your problem with the R8/DMR and batteries. I can also confirm that the chargers are not too robust and had one changed by Leica earlier this year. I know that you do a lot of long distance travelling and they definitely do not like being within checked in baggage!! I always carry mine with the camera in the overhead locker now! Hope you get it returned and sorted soon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share #12 Posted December 10, 2008 Ben - Manually would have been acceptable (I too treasure the results from this system), and was how I finished the last three days of shooting in the rainforests of Borneo, but the system died completely by the time we got to the SCUBA location. Leica did a beautiful job fixing and cleaning everything after we returned, but now it won’t power up. Leica NJ will have it sometime today, and Dave promised to get it back to us before we start mountain gorilla trekking. Dave – The only time we’ve ever checked any baggage in recent years is when we were carrying SCUBA equipment. In that case only the scuba gear, and not even the enclosure and flash for the C-Lux went into checked baggage. Cameras, batteries, lenses, film (in the olden days for me) and accessories are in my small backpack. Gents – Thank you for your concern, advice and empathy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrisfoto Posted January 26, 2009 Share #13 Posted January 26, 2009 I experienced what seems to be a failure of the DMR charger. Batteries were working, tried to charge, but insufficient charge in two different batteries to power the camera. Does anyone know what the specs are for the charger and batteries, and how to check them with a meter (what kind of meter)? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsteve Posted January 26, 2009 Share #14 Posted January 26, 2009 Try cleaning the three battery contacts on the batteries. Stuart posted in a new thread that his camera returned from Leica with a note the contacts on the batteries were dirty. One suggestion for both the DMR or just the film R8 or R9 is to clean all the contacts when you start getting troubles. This includes the contacts under the film gate which mate with the rear door or DMR, the contacts in the grip area where the winder supplies power, the contacts on the base of the camera and the motor winder, and finally the contacts for the battery on both the battery and the winder side. In post #5 above, I measured 8.38 volts on a charged DMR battery. All you need is a multimeter to measure the voltage. Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono0272 Posted January 26, 2009 Share #15 Posted January 26, 2009 Stuart: With most rechargeable batteries and intelligent chargers, if you let the battery get too low in voltage, the charger will refuse to charge it. As suggested in the post above, you should check the voltage of your batteries. I just checked a DMR battery that I had by my desk and it read 8.38 volts, which I assume means it is a charged one. The work around if your batteries are too low to charge is to manually apply a voltage to them for a short time to raise the battery voltage above that required for the charger to accept them to charge. Robert I agreed with Robert's assumption above since I have the same problem. I keep playing my M8 in the recent months and left the R8+DMR in my dry box for over 4 months. A month ago I wanted to use it again I found the charger had no response to both of the batteries. The red LED (indicating charging process) kept blinking but not stayed on as usual charging process. I then sent the charger and the 1 batteries back to the sole agent and now still waiting the return. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
topoxforddoc Posted January 26, 2009 Share #16 Posted January 26, 2009 Stu, It would be a remarkable coincidence for all 3 batteries to fail. It must be one of the following 1.charger is knackered 2. poor contacts somewhere (battery/powerpack/camera body 3. DMR given up the ghost I'd put my money on the charger Charlie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share #17 Posted January 26, 2009 Charlie - The two most recent holidays that the DMR enjoyed with me were to Papual New Guinea and to Borneo. Both have hot, humid areas, and in both venues we did SCUBA diving. I suspect the sea air caused the oxidation to the contacts on the batteries as found by Leica NJ -- Prior to sending the unit to Leica I cleaned all other contacts & I successfully charged the batteries to 8.34 volts. But all is well now, and the DMR fucntions with all three batteries, thanks to mark & Dave at Leica NJ for diagnosing the problem, telling me what to do to solve the problem, and sending the sheet below along with my gear. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/70744-the-dmr-blues/?do=findComment&comment=790499'>More sharing options...
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