Rolleiflex 6000 Batteries Source

[whlogan]

A fervent Plea, Yet once again!!
Perhaps not the correct place, but does anyone know of a current source for Rollieflex 6000 batteries? I have tried the "fix your own" and they cannot be made to work by me, at least. Cheap enough by all means, but not working is no relief if they won't drive my 6008i when re-assembled, is it? I want to buy a couple of complete, new batteries. the kind one can simply drop in a N or G charger and have them work. I am a mathematician. I want them to work. Inexpensive would be nice. They don't have to be new even, so long as they will last me a few more good years of shooting I will be happy. My email is whlogan@loganphotographics.com and phone is 828-243-2453 (cell) I will be happy to discuss this issue with anyone. It has been no fun with only one working battery. There was one place I saw on the web a while back but now I cannot find them. Wish I had bought the fool batteries back then.
Logan

 

[thegman]

Maybe contact DHW Fototechnik, they may be able to assist.

 

[kmallick]

For the least headache, you can buy them new from B&H. At $169 a pop, they are not cheap, but these are the newer ones that have much longer life than the old ones. Works fine with charger N.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/44660-REG/Rollei_66251_Nicad_Battery.html

 

[kmallick]

For the least headache, you can buy them new from B&H. At $169 a pop, they are not cheap, but these are the newer ones that have much longer life than the old ones. Works fine with charger N.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/44660-REG/Rollei_66251_Nicad_Battery.html

Just realized after posting that they are temporarily out of stock. Maybe you have to hold out. But I did buy one a couple of weeks ago and B&H delivered.

 

[ic-racer]

I guess Sanyo no longer makes the KR-600AE, but I have found a replacement here: http://www.batterymart.com/p-bat-2-3af-600-sanyo-kr-600ae-battery.html I have not yet tried them.

 

[mAc12563]

This is resource that I read on a forum would be able to recondition your current batteries with new cells and should work with your current charger. I don't have any pricing but you should be able to contact them and get a quote.

http://www.batteryspecialties.com/

 

[Noble]

I am a mathematician.

If you are a mathematician did you run the numbers first before embarking on this odyssey? You can buy 2/3A NiMH 1600 mAh cells from All-Battery.com for less than two dollars each. You need eight of them per a Rollei battery. So with shipping that should cost $20. If you go to a hobby store or battery store like batteriesplus.com they will recell your batteries for $10 each... providing you bring your own cells. How much aggravation would you go through to save $10?

I want to buy a couple of complete, new batteries. the kind one can simply drop in a N or G charger and have them work.

If that is what you want then you are stuck with NiCad cells. I recommend the NiMH cells though. They have a much higher capacity and I would assume they should last longer (more capacity to lose). I have seen people recommending the Cellpro Multi4 charger for the NiMH cells. I got one and couldn't be happier. You will need to stick two small nails in the battery in the appropriate holes to form terminals for charging.

'

As a public service I wanted to attach a copy of the wiring diagram of the Rollei 6008 battery. I did not make this diagram. I wish I knew who did so I could give them credit. When you take your battery to be recelled take this diagram with you so the technician knows what to do.



Dead Link Removed

 

[Patrick Robert James]

Back when I had a Rollei I would rebuild the cells using NiMH cells which last a lot longer than the NiCads. I had a Maha charger, I think there was a 777 in the model number. The Maha charger worked great for the Rollei batteries since there were adjustable prongs. All you have to do is line up the prongs, and slide the battery on to them. The charger was great for all kinds of other batteries too, and wasn't too expensive IIRC. I highly recommend you go this route.

 

[Noble]

Back when I had a Rollei I would rebuild the cells using NiMH cells which last a lot longer than the NiCads. I had a Maha charger, I think there was a 777 in the model number. The Maha charger worked great for the Rollei batteries since there were adjustable prongs. All you have to do is line up the prongs, and slide the battery on to them. The charger was great for all kinds of other batteries too, and wasn't too expensive IIRC. I highly recommend you go this route.

The Maha MH-C777PLUS has been discontinued. I was looking into getting one until I discovered Maha stopped making them for whatever reason. The Cellpro Multi4 works really well and you can hook it up to your computer to get real time data and graphs. The only problem I have with it is having to kludge a connector for the Rollei battery. I connected two small alligator clips to the wires and then just used nails. The charger nails the fall back voltage every time.

 

[kmallick]

I have no connection with the seller, but I see some NiMH cells being sold on eBay ready to be refurbished into the Rollei 6000 series battery cells, replacing the NiCADs. The seller claims you can use the Charger N, but you may have to lift the battery up and restart the charging.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360477140886?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[Noble]

I have no connection with the seller, but I see some NiMH cells being sold on eBay ready to be refurbished into the Rollei 6000 series battery cells, replacing the NiCADs. The seller claims you can use the Charger N, but you may have to lift the battery up and restart the charging.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360477140886?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I believe the OP already tried that route...

I have tried the "fix your own" and they cannot be made to work by me, at least.

There is nothing special about the ebay battery innards. All they are is a battery of 1600 mAh NiMH cells just like the ones you can buy for less than $2 a piece. You can charge them on the N or G charger by picking them up and putting them back down to start the charging cycle over again. It is possible but it is not ideal. If you are going to refurbish your batteries you might as well get good cells and treat them right.

Also I find the cost of almost $48 to be ridiculously high. I ordered my own 1600 mAh NiMH cells from a battery website and paid a local battery specialist $10 a battery to do all the assembly. So $50 should get you two recelled batteries with someone else doing all the work and everything should be purchased and assembled in the United States. $48 for some battery innards with loose wires that you then have to figure out how to solder in place is a rip off. And as whlogan found out the hard way when it doesn't work you don't have any customer support. You are on your own.

 

[Tony-S]

The cells in my SLX were dead so I decided to go the NiMH route. I couldn't find much in terms of solutions since the MaHa charger was discontinued, so I just bought eight 2/3A cells from batteriesinaflash.com and had my local Batteries Plus solder them in the right form for the pack. They charged me $16 for their work. For the charger, I bought a Tenergy Smart Charger for about $22. The Rollei charger really caused my cells to get hot, so I don't think it was compatible with the NiMH since the original cells were NiCd. It's clunky - you have to insert two conductive nails attached to the charger with alligator clips. But it works. And the pack stays charged for months between use so long as you remove the pack from the camera during the interval.


Charging the battery

Tenergy Smart Charger - US$22

Tenergy Smart Charger

 

[whlogan]

Gentlemen, After an incredible amount of fussing about, rebuilding and swearing I have finally gotten the battery pack bought off Fleabay and installed by me to WORK!!!! Yes!!! it worked the Rollei 6008. I am finally happy and not going to sell the Rollei 6000 stable. It really did seem like a choice there for a while, but seems out of the question now. And I will order up another pack and rebuild the remaining pack and have 3 packs once more. Thanks for the comiseration and assistance. I will also get one off B&H as further back up. These really are great cameras save the lousy batteries. However came up with that idea should be whipped.
Logan

 

[kmallick]

whlogan, was it easy to install the battery pack off of eBay in the battery enclosure. can you provide some assurance and tips on soldering the leads etc, beyond what the ebay Seller provides?

 

[MarkusG]

hi guys,
thanks for the info above. Especially the wiring diagram, that came handy a few years back.

I was also struggling for a while to get my dead Rollei batteries somehow fixed. I tried converting them with LiIon batteries and StepUp/Down circuits, but the initial draw of current was too high for the circuits I tried.
So after a few trails I ended up doing conversions with LiFePO4 batteries. I currently have two working batteries with that technology.

For those who are interested to do the conversion by themselves I have created a very detailed guide on ifixit.com:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Rollei+6000-6008+Battery+LiFePO4+Replacement/77648

If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know.

Cu
Markus

 

[GarageBoy]

Is there a way to wire an external battery pack in? I love the Rolleiflex 6000 series, but the lack of availability, people willing to do a CLA, and batteries are annoying

 

[NJH]

I bought my 6008 from Ffordes, it came with a freshly refurbished battery which they offer as a service:
http://ffordes.com/product/12022409373261

 

[ic-racer]

hi guys,
thanks for the info above. Especially the wiring diagram, that came handy a few years back.

I was also struggling for a while to get my dead Rollei batteries somehow fixed. I tried converting them with LiIon batteries and StepUp/Down circuits, but the initial draw of current was too high for the circuits I tried.
So after a few trails I ended up doing conversions with LiFePO4 batteries. I currently have two working batteries with that technology.

For those who are interested to do the conversion by themselves I have created a very detailed guide on ifixit.com:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Rollei+6000-6008+Battery+LiFePO4+Replacement/77648

If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know.

Cu
Markus

That is nice. I'm currently working on a LiPo conversion for the Rolleiflex E36 Flash. A 3-cell lipo fits in the handle. Nominal voltage would be nearly correct without a voltage regulator.