Polaroid SX-70R Bluetooth Dongle upgrade! More repairable and better than ever!

[@JerOmyRamos]

“Smooth brain arguments” 😂 Love how you’ll call them right out Jake, it’s what makes your work top notch. You don’t settle for just fine you make these Polaroid Cameras the best way you know how!

[@curtis.strange]

It's shocking the extent to which consumerism has been normalized, you're hitting on some great points. I'm down for all these ideas to push things in the other direction!

[@Shipwreckbricks1]

I’m on your page I like being able to replace my own batteries, sending it off to get replaced can be expensive and annoying, that new dongle is lovely

[@ОлександрДемяненко-ь9м]

I often watch your videos, it's cool. Videos are at the same time an advertisement of your quality work and help to fix some problems that arise with the camera yourself. Thank you. Please let me know if you have repaired gearboxes, i.e. broken gears? Do you have any solutions for replacing them with new ones?

[@TidNul]

Nice! I was hoping that would happen. Now I will get the dongle for my SLR 680.

[@JessicaFEREM]

if you were to use 10440's in a mass market item, you need to make sure to properly mark that it's not a AA slot, because a company in china used those types of batteries in a mini game console and people would think it was a AA compartment, open the battery compartment, remove the lithium cells, and then put in AA's which then exploded if you ever plugged them in, and didn't work anyways. they got an influx of bad reviews, so they replaced the AA battery slot with a Nokia BL-5C compartment and stuck a sticker over the door that says something along the lines of "do not open"

[@theinstantcameraguy]

this is 100% true Inside I will be adding a sticker that says to only use '10440' 3.7v lithium ion cells I will be getting Yongmin to add further warning labels to the PCB silk screen in future revisions too

[@JessicaFEREM]

@@theinstantcameraguy It's a shame that you can't buy bl-5c compartments for DIY projects because they're so nice to work with. they come with built in protection and can be charged externally easily with a plug in dock even if you wanted to just hacksaw them out, it costs too much to get a cheap thing with it already installed compared to 10440's

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@JessicaFEREM 100% Part of the issue is all the things we are trying to do is on a relatively small scale. The entire point of my PolaVolt solution for example is the fact that it's open source and uses nothing but readily available parts. Unless manufactures change their ways and make things more open source in terms of battery holders etc, it's hard to find "off the shelf" components that tick all the boxes

[@jak44kart]

Do you know when it will be available? Still out of order on their website.

[@jmccutube]

Thanks for the videos. Very enjoyable and informative. I’m still astonished by your enthusiasm for replacement batteries but lack of enthusiasm for a solution that allows the re-use of 600 and SX-70 pack batteries. How hard can it be to produce a holder for those batteries, removed from the film cassette, that slide into a holder on the bottom of the camera with pogo pins that connect to the internal battery connectors. I suspect a far sleeker look than bolting on a lithium battery. None of the currently available, 3D print yourself, adapters are very workable. I suspect there is a large market. I’ve been saving all my Polaroid batteries hoping something will come along. Easily as laudible as user-replaceable Li batteries.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@jmccutube trust me, the market for such a thing is very very very very very small. SPRKPLG made an open source one and I've never seen anyone use it Personally I think the idea would never be popular It relies on 600 film packs existing to poach batteries from, meaning you'd need to purchase a pack of 600 regularly to keep the camera powered. And not everyone has a huge stash of empty 600 film Since it's not a standard battery, any battery holder that uses it would need to be custom made, meaning either lame quality 3D printing or incredibly expensive injection moulding. You'd also then need custom terminals to place into the housing My PolaVolt in comparison is entirely made from off the shelf components. Which one is "sleeker" is completely subjective It's sad that 600 film is so wasteful, but recycling the batteries just isn't something most people want to do - especially when other options exist

[@jmccutube]

I’ve tried the SPRKPLG one-very fiddly and not sturdy. Difficult to connect to the internal terminals (hence need for pogo-style pins. I suspect the market is maybe for 30% of all 600/SX-70 packs sold. That a few million batteries that could be fully used instead of tossed after 8 pics. Would work without PCB mod of course.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@jmccutube to be honest I think an externally mounted solution is just not a good idea A better idea would be to modify the molding of the current packs of film to allow the battery to slip underneath before the pack is inserted This would be a much better option, but likely one that is a bit fiddly for the average user

[@jmccutube]

Or, a replacement body panel that incorporates space for the battery. Adds less thickness than AAAs or equivalent and wouldn’t lengthen the camera body.

[@Markybug-Keira-Cody]

Thanks

[@wlbcparking]

Is there a way to connect a Alpha pcb to a Model 1 lens assembly and make the Flash FFA work?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

Sort of - but it's pretty janky If you are going to that much effort, you might as well just get an SX-70R PCB, since they are compatible with all flash designs

[@wlbcparking]

@@theinstantcameraguy I just got the Alpha pcb from a Alpha camera I converted to SX70R! So I have a Model 1 where I know the flash is ok but the pcb is dead. Putting them together all works apart from the Flash. That's what's great about the SX70R, all flash FFA works, and I could go for a new SX70R pcb, but I'd like to try recycling a good working pcb. What's janky, I don't know that word :)

[@ashleetough]

I will note one forgotten reason for the dongle is if you want to use PC sync for flash/strobe lighting!

[@theinstantcameraguy]

this is true for both distance based aperture and/OR manual aperture selection

[@ashleetough]

Call me the official “TICG sales rep” 😎@@theinstantcameraguy

[@fenixlolnope361]

I mean this is cool but I don’t think I’d want all that manual stuff on my Polaroid. The remote thing is probably the most important feature. I want an SX70 still hehehe

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@fenixlolnope361 to be honest, I think one of the nicest features of the SX70R PCB is simply just a reliable automatic mode 90% of the time a user will just stick it on automatic mode The manual control etc is a bonus!

[@fenixlolnope361]

@@theinstantcameraguy is the automatic exposure that’s built into the stock cameras significantly worse than a OneStep or Sun 600? I have a pink cool cam that’s basically my main camera and the ae seems fine on that o.o I always assumed that these new PCBs were just for fixing cameras that were broken\corroded

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@fenixlolnope361 the stock PCB also works fine when in good condition But we must remember that the old boards are 50 years old my now Many of them have corrosion of the electric eye etc, which needs to be compensated for in a restoration Not an issue on the new boards

[@Ni5ei]

This has nothing to do with you Jake, you've done a great job. I'm all for user replaceable batteries but I think manufacturers should never have started using AA and AAA sizes for lithium ion. The average Joe only knows single use batteries and rechargeables. Adding a version that looks identical but outputs over twice the voltage was just a bad idea and can potentially ruin equipment. If they'd made them 5mm longer or shorter there would be no way to insert the wrong battery. And think about this: 10 years from now, someone buys a used electronic device like this on eBay. It comes without a battery so what do you think they're going to put in? Exactly, a 1.5V Alkaline or 1.2V NiMH. And then they're going to complain it's not working. That's probably the reason you hardly ever see a commercial product using these sizes Li-Ion.

[@theinstantcameraguy]

I agree with you to be honest. But I think the deal was sealed when NiMH batteries were released in the same form factor. I remember my mum replacing the batteries in our cordless phone with alkalines... it didn't go well! Fortunately in the case of the PolaVolt, the lack of built in charging circuitry becomes a safety feature in this regard. Installing regular AAA batteries just results in a camera that doesn't power on! The lower voltage does no harm to the camera. By requiring the user to source the batteries and charger for the PolaVolt, they become aware of the difference by default. In the case of the dongle, which DOES have built in charging circuitry, a sticker will be placed inside at the battery compartment, informing the user of which batteries to use. Once installed, the battery should last years before needing to be swapped. I'll be getting Yongmin to add a warning label on the PCB silk screen

[@gunhed76]

can you use this on a stock sx70 sonar, and where to buy it?

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@gunhed76 it works only on cameras modified with the new sx70r PCB

[@marianofibonacci]

“I invented” (adds an ugly battery pack in the back). The AMOUNT of ego! 😂

[@theinstantcameraguy]

@@marianofibonacci *provide the instant community an open source battery adaptor solution that seamlessly integrates into the cameras pre existing electronics - accused of being egotistic Thanks for your smooth brain take and for leaving a comment. Your negativity (likely stemming from jealousy or low self worth) only helps boost my algorithm. For the record, my "invention" is not the battery adaptor itself, but the method of wiring it in. It is novel and unique and I came up with the technique. All I ask in return from people who use it is to be credited. Pretty common in the FOSS community tbh

[@DimasFajar-ns4vb]

zamzam water

[@fenixlolnope361]

I mean this is cool but I don’t think I’d want all that manual stuff on my Polaroid. The remote thing is probably the most important feature. I want an SX70 still hehehe