Gossen light meters with 9V batteries

Philippe-Georges · Jul 26, 2024

Here, as I promised, some photo's of that SIXTRONET flash meter.
It's presented by Gossen as a jewel, it coms in a jewel case, really much more better (and respectful) than these sloppy, often teared, hard to open and to-small-for-the-paperworkl (if there is some included) cardboard boxes light meters are sold in now!
There even is a dedicated compartiment for a 9V battery...

BrianShaw · Jul 26, 2024

Very nice flashmeter; Love that the entire kit is complete and it's in "like new" condition!

runswithsizzers · Jul 26, 2024

The 9V battery in my Gossen Luna-Lux (aka "Lunalite") does not self-drain. I havent used mine in months, or a year(?) and it seems to be functioning as expected. Usually, I remove the battery from anything I don't use on a regular basis, but apparently I forgot about the Gossen last time I put it away.

I absolutely hate the terminal connector used for most 9V devices. It seems to me like it often takes a great deal of force to detach the connector from the battery. More than once I have accidently broken the short thin wires to the connector when trying to change 9V batteries in other devices. Fortunately, the wires on my Gossen meter are long enough to prevent handling without strain. Despite my aversion to 9V batteries, I am happy that the battery for my Luna-Lux is a common item, and widely available. My Luna-Lux is a great meter but I don't carry it as often as I could. My Sekonic L308s is not nearly as satisfying to use as the Gossen, but it takes up less room in my camera bag (and uses a single AA battery).

Focomatter said:
Rechargeable batteries self-discharge. How fast depends on brand and battery model. Eneloop batteries were designed for a low self-discharge rate which is why I have been using them since 2008 with my underwater strobes that use AA batteries. Other brands of rechargeable NiMH batteries are all but dead after sitting for one week (cancelled shoot due to bad weather). I have not seen 9 Volt Eneloops.

+1

Most of my experience with rechargeable batteries is with the AA size, and my Panasonic Eneloop NiMH AA batteries are noticeably superior all others I have tried. But I don't believe the Eneloop brand is available in the 9V size(?)

RalphLambrecht · Jul 28, 2024

runswithsizzers said:
The 9V battery in my Gossen Luna-Lux (aka "Lunalite") does not self-drain. I havent used mine in months, or a year(?) and it seems to be functioning as expected. Usually, I remove the battery from anything I don't use on a regular basis, but apparently I forgot about the Gossen last time I put it away.

I absolutely hate the terminal connector used for most 9V devices. It seems to me like it often takes a great deal of force to detach the connector from the battery. More than once I have accidently broken the short thin wires to the connector when trying to change 9V batteries in other devices. Fortunately, the wires on my Gossen meter are long enough to prevent handling without strain. Despite my aversion to 9V batteries, I am happy that the battery for my Luna-Lux is a common item, and widely available. My Luna-Lux is a great meter but I don't carry it as often as I could. My Sekonic L308s is not nearly as satisfying to use as the Gossen, but it takes up less room in my camera bag (and uses a single AA battery).

+1

Most of my experience with rechargeable batteries is with the AA size, and my Panasonic Eneloop NiMH AA batteries are noticeably superior all others I have tried. But I don't believe the Eneloop brand is available in the 9V size(?)

they are on Amazon as EBL brand.

runswithsizzers · Jul 28, 2024

RalphLambrecht said:
they are on Amazon as EBL brand.

I have never used the EBL brand rechargeable batteries. From what I have read about them, they are good quality — but some say their AA batteries have a higher self-discharge rate than the Panasonic Eneloop brand.

But it doesn’t help you to know Eneloops have a lower self-discharge rate if Panasonic does not make them in the 9 volt size.

RalphLambrecht · Jul 28, 2024

koraks said:
I have a Variosix F that I bought from @Philippe-Georges some time ago. It's still on the battery he put in and so far it seems to be doing fine.

If you happen to have a guide/tips on how to open the housing (responsibly...) on this meter, I'm willing to inspect mine to work out how the auto-power-on circuit works and what might be wrong with yours. My first inclination would be that there might be a tantalum capacitor used (for sake of their small size) that has started to leak. The leakage current of a worn out tantalum capacitor would drain a 9V batter within a matter of weeks, easily.

The workaround is obviously to store the meters without the battery connected.

I'd expect the display to stay on in that case.

me too but the display shuts off after the specified time of 2 minutes.

Chan Tran · Jul 28, 2024

runswithsizzers said:
I have never used the EBL brand rechargeable batteries. From what I have read about them, they are good quality — but some say their AA batteries have a higher self-discharge rate than the Panasonic Eneloop brand.

But it doesn’t help you to know Eneloops have a lower self-discharge rate if Panasonic does not make them in the 9 volt size.

I use Eneloop and Ladda for NiMH rechargeable. I use EBL AA Li-Ion rechargeable for devices that need 1.5V instead of the NiMH 1.2V nominal. So far the EBL AA Li-Ion works well for me.

Frank53 · Jul 28, 2024

RalphLambrecht said:
I own several Gossen light meters powered by common 9V block batteries. According to their manuals, they turn themselves off after 2 minutes of no use. I don't use them constantly, so, they rest in a drawer between shoots (supposedly turned off). But, too often, the battery is dead when I need one again. I use rechargeable batteries and they are easily recharged for close to nothing, but I wonder if they are really turned off. There is no dedicatedon/off switch. My question is: What is your experience with these meters?

the red button on the left has a ”locked on” position.
just use the other position.
mine was eating batteries, till Infound out I did not rtfm

koraks · Jul 28, 2024

RalphLambrecht said:
me too but the display shuts off after the specified time of 2 minutes.

In that case you're likely just looking at the self-discharge of your batteries.
Alternatively it's still possible that you have a leaky capacitor in there, but we'd have to study the inside of the affected light meter(s) to be sure.

Chan Tran · Jul 28, 2024

Since these meters that Ralph has use 9V battery it's quite easy to connect a milliamp meter (or microamp meter if needed) to check if the meters are draining the batteries.

Frank53 · Jul 28, 2024

First check the position of the metering button. The white dot should be facing the light sensor. Not the other side.

RalphLambrecht · Jul 28, 2024

Frank53 said:
the red button on the left has a ”locked on” position.
just use the other position.
mine was eating batteries, till Infound out I did not rtfm

Do you mean the left function button? Please elaborate. How do you switch to an off position?

runswithsizzers · Jul 28, 2024

RalphLambrecht said:
Do you mean the left function button? Please elaborate. How do you switch to an off position?

The screen shot below is from the owner's manual for the Gossen Lunalight. I assume other similar Gossen meters work the same way? Basically, these instructions explain how to enable or disable an option to keep the meter on for an extended time -- which may, or may not, be related to your short battery life (?)

Frank53 · Jul 28, 2024

The left button that’s used for metering. It’s got a white dot, that should point to the front (sensor side) when it points to the back, the meter is always on (locked) and batteries go very fast.
when you push the button, you can turn it..
that was the problem with my Lunasix F.

Philippe-Georges · Jul 28, 2024

koraks said:
I have a Variosix F that I bought from @Philippe-Georges some time ago. It's still on the battery he put in and so far it seems to be doing fine.

If you happen to have a guide/tips on how to open the housing (responsibly...) on this meter, I'm willing to inspect mine to work out how the auto-power-on circuit works and what might be wrong with yours. My first inclination would be that there might be a tantalum capacitor used (for sake of their small size) that has started to leak. The leakage current of a worn out tantalum capacitor would drain a 9V batter within a matter of weeks, easily.

The workaround is obviously to store the meters without the battery connected.

I'd expect the display to stay on in that case.

On the back side, carefully peal off the aluminium plate with the short user instructions and then you will see a few screws.
But first open the battery compartiment and take out the battery and, I don't really recall but, there will be an other screw.

I did it with the other one I had and was broken by sitting on it (yes that was stupid), but be careful as that plate is very thin and is easily damaged.
The knob's red rubber covers will fall out too.

koraks · Jul 28, 2024

Philippe-Georges said:
On the back side, carefully peal off the aluminium plate with the short user instructions and then you will see a few screws.
But first open the battery compartiment and take out the battery and, I don't really recall but, there will be an other screw.

Yeah, I did that and I did find a small connector maybe for diagnostics etc. I didn't find any screws though - or maybe I should peel back the sticker underneath the battery? I only removed the tiny little tag on the side of the battery compartment - it was glued on and essentially removed itself when I checked.

Thanks in any case; I'll have another look at it in the next few days!

Thanks also for the warnings about the construction. I figured the button caps would indeed fall out - and yes, the plastic underneath the battery compartment is really thin. I'll be extra careful.

Philippe-Georges · Jul 28, 2024

koraks said:
Yeah, I did that and I did find a small connector maybe for diagnostics etc. I didn't find any screws though - or maybe I should peel back the sticker underneath the battery? I only removed the tiny little tag on the side of the battery compartment - it was glued on and essentially removed itself when I checked.

Thanks in any case; I'll have another look at it in the next few days!

Thanks also for the warnings about the construction. I figured the button caps would indeed fall out - and yes, the plastic underneath the battery compartment is really thin. I'll be extra careful.

No, I was talking about that plate on which the "kurzanleitung" and the serial number are printed. Just above the battery compartiment (see photo), it's glued with a kind of pasty glue that let you 'peal' off that plate. But be careful as it is rather delicate.
When this plate is taken away, you will find the screws in the corners of the slightly recessed space in which that plate fits. It could be that some glue must be cleared away.

Gossen's engineers ware masters in concealing screws...

koraks · Jul 28, 2024

Ah thanks, that one. Yeah, I pried at it a bit a couple of days ago because it was a prime suspect for hiding some screws, but it was so snug that I started to suspect it wasn't a label at all and the instructions were directly printed onto the case. They did an admirable job aligning the label into the recess; 9 times out of 10 on devices like these there's a minor misalignment that gives away the fact that it's a sticker.

Let me have another look at that meter in a minute.

'One minute' later: I've had a quick peek inside the one I have here and sure enough it's absolutely chock full of SMD tantalum caps. So 'mysterious' battery drain issues are pretty much to be expected as these meters age.

"Very much more than a minute" later: on my blog I've posted some photos of the inside of my Lunasix F as well as a hypothesis/rant about the tantalum caps as the culprit of the battery drain issue: https://tinker.koraks.nl/photograph...sen-light-meters-might-drain-their-batteries/

RalphLambrecht · Jul 28, 2024

runswithsizzers said:
The screen shot below is from the owner's manual for the Gossen Lunalight. I assume other similar Gossen meters work the same way? Basically, these instructions explain how to enable or disable an option to keep the meter on for an extended time -- which may, or may not, be related to your short battery life (?)

thanks for taking the time. my Gossen meters do not have such a button.

BrianShaw · Jul 28, 2024

RalphLambrecht said:
thanks for taking the time. my Gossen meters do not have such a button.

Which Gossen meter(s) are you discussing?

RalphLambrecht · Jul 30, 2024

BrianShaw said:
Which Gossen meter(s) are you discussing?

mainly the Gossen LUNA-STAR F2 but also theGossen COLOR-PRO3F; both take 9V block batteries.

dokko · Jul 31, 2024

as other have mentioned, rechargeables with traditional NiCd or NiMH chemistry will discharge quite rapidly even if not in use.
There are NiMH with newer design that keep charge quite well over time, a very good brand being eneloop (which I also use for high performance applications).

for 9V blocks, I haven't looked if there are low-discharge brands, but I'd expect they exist too.

Chan Tran · Jul 31, 2024

If the problem is the meters drain the battery then the best bet is to remove the battery when not use.

BrianShaw · Jul 31, 2024

Chan Tran said:
If the problem is the meters drain the battery then the best bet is to remove the battery when not use.

... and have a freshly charged battery on hand when the meter is put back into use!

Chan Tran · Jul 31, 2024

BrianShaw said:
... and have a freshly charged battery on hand when the meter is put back into use!

So if I were Ralph I would want to find out if the meter drain the battery when not being used or the battery self discharge rate is too high. Each should have different solution.

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