Canister for camera batteries

I am going to revive this topic again. I am getting around to making an external battery for my Aquatica 5000 housing. This will allow me to shoot multiple dives without changing the battery.

I have all the wiring worked out and have the battery pack made. The only thing I need is a casing for the battery. The dimensions of the battery pack are 1.75 x 4 x 1in. I am looking for some ideas on existing casings (with an oring seal) that I can insert the battery pack into. It has to be able to be modified (by me) to attach a strobe bulkhead. My first thought was an Ikelite Accessory Case part #3001 but the inside dimensions are only 3.5in . I guess I can try to fabricate something out of PVC but I'm not too sure about sealing the removable end. I am looking for some creative ideas from you guys.

I make all my own housings so I started writing you a detailed description on how you could fabricate your own inclosure out of PVC pipe.

I stopped midway through the process because it gets very detailed and it would take more time than I have at the moment. If you care to call me I’d be happy to inform you on how you could make it yourself.

E-mail me a private message for my phone number if your interested.

blueseas@earthlink.net

One other suggestion would be to group together a cluster of AA battery holders that might fit flat some where inside your housing. You can buy the battery holders at Radio Shack and attach it to your DC power input jack on your camera. I’ve done this myself on a housing I made for my Nikon 990 and it worked great.

I just thought of another possibility, how about using a water proof flash light container? It might look a little funky, but it could work .

Marc

No luck in trying to fit anything extra in an Aquatica 5000 housing. The flashlight sound ok but I think home built PVC will be better. Check your email.

This is a housing I made for the Nikon SB 28 flash.

I thought you could make a housing like this with out the clear acrylic end.

Marc

I had talked with Marc in detail on how to build a battery housing out of PVC. I went and got most of the material and started thinking about another suggestion Marc had. I am in the process of converting an Ikelite PCa six AA cell flashlight and making that my battery case. Here is how it will work. I will take out the bulb but leave everything else intact. I will drill a .5 inch hole in the lens which I will fit an Ikelite 2 wire bulkhead in that hole. Internally I will use the internal switch which has two spings, one positive the other negative, and solder the leads from the bulkhead to these. I will then fit an Ikelite bulkhead to the spare bulkhead port on my Aquatica 5000 housing and solder a connector that will be compatible to the external power connector on my CP5000. I will use an Ikelite to Ikelite snyc cord (that I already own) to connect the housing and the power supply. I will put Maha 2200mAH batteries in the case and won't need to open my case all day. This is really a hassle with the Aquatica 5000 (w/ dome port) because you must detach the dome and lens to take the camera out to change the batteries. I am really looking forward to setting up my camera the night before and not opening it until I get back at the end of a day