Canon New F-1, AE motor Drive FN, Battery Pack FN

I bought the Duracell 28L which is a 6V cell compatible with L544 which is what the Canon New F-1 needs, not only for metering, shutter release but also for the operation of the whole motor drive mechanism.  That's even if the motor drive is fully powered by 12 AA batteries, it won't release the camera shutter or wind the film transport forward at all.  What it works, without the 6V battery, is the meter and the rewind actually, surprise (I haven't actually tested with a film cartridge inside, but the rewind seems to work when the motor drive is not attached to the camera or when attached but quickly stop as the counter hits 0).

So the conclusion is the 1.2V AA rechargeable batteries do work with the motor drive even it's 1.2V not the 1.5V.  The 6V L544/28L battery is required for the motor drive to operate.  A depleted 6V battery enough to operate the meter and even the light but not enough to operate the shutter won't allow the motor drive to run.  So you can't run the motor drive at all if your 6V in camera battery is depleted.

These are the quirks of the system I found.

Canon F-1

The shutter of the Canon F-1 will always stay operational if you remove the battery, i.e. short of any malfunction of the camera.

If the 6V battery is drained, the shutter release won't work even some shutter speeds are mechanically activated.  You need to remove the battery for it to work.

From 1/125s to 1/2000s, flash sync ⚡️(at 1/90s) and B are mechanical.  The good news is all other shutter speeds will "work" too but default at mechanical 1/90s when the battery is removed.

I must have read about it but forgotten.

The Canon F-1 is such a beast, it simply refuses to die or stop working.

Canon Battery Pack FN

This is the battery pack that takes 12 AA battery cells.  It has been working since I bought the set in 2010.  Then it stopped working as the battery drained.  I have never used any rechargeable cells with this.

This past weekend I went to IKEA and bought a bunch of rechargeable cells.

Unfortunately they don't work inside this Canon pack.  They mystery is is the pack broken or does it demand the 1.5V per cell very strictly?  The IKEA cell called LADDA is rated at 1.2V at 2450mAh.

I have yet to buy a whole bunch of cells to test it out.  The pack has no response if I set to it OFF, which is expected, but neither is S and L.  The only time the pack is making an effort as if it's trying to wind the film it's when I set it to H.  It makes some grinding noise as if it's trying very hard to advance the film.  I don't believe it's the contacts or something with the camera itself.  It's either the motor is broken, the switch is broken, or some combination of such, or the pack is working but it has no leeway in terms of voltage.  Though that's a bit hard to believe.  I tested the LADDAs in my Nikon F5 and my Sunpak 120J, the batteries have juice to power them.

I know next to nothing to electricity but I read usually the 1.2V would work on 1.5V appliances as when loaded or when over time, the cell can hardly stay at 1.5V.  But the fact that it takes 12 of 1.5V batteries, if replaced by 1.2V then the voltage variance can be quite big when magnified by 12.

I wonder why I don't just go out and buy 12 of those one time use 1.5V AA cell to prove this theory one way or another.

My initial thinking was something wrong with the "motor drive" or even the camera.  But as I did some trouble shooting here and there, I changed my mind.

This battery pack is really just a pack.  It's separate from the actually mechanism that drives the film, which is done by the AE MOTOR DRIVE FN.  The AE MD FN itself doesn't have any power source and it's a separate piece of equipment.

Diet Prada vs Dolce & Gabbana

Diet Prada won.

Diet Prada single-handedly brought down D&G in maybe less than 48 hours.  The Shanghai show is cancelled.

Cyclocross, Downhill and Track

When I go to cyclocross or downhill, I am careful not to trip and fall.  But things happen.  I did fall a few times, once bad enough that the flash and the camera mounts got ruined.  Not totally ruined but bad enough to malfunction if not repaired.  Bad conditions make for good pictures at least in my case as I can't dramatize my own pictures without the help of bad weather.  The very first time I went to a cyclocross on Long Island, both my flash and camera ended up in Nikon's service center.  It was pouring the entire time.  It was memorable.

This year I think I have a string of unfortunate incidents.  So the cyclocross season is here and yet I can't go anywhere without a car or the resources I need..  My equipment is semi or somewhat functional.  And my mindset is not exactly in photography.

Motley Fool

When investment news is concerned, there is nothing I love to hate more than Motley Fool.  I just love to hate it.

Whirlpool Experience

Got the double oven about five years ago.

Within a year and within warranty, one of the knobs got stuck.  Or the valve.  In layman's parlance, I can't turn the knob.

The repair came and replaced the valve.

The Whirlpool over the range microwave makes noise and smell.  Basically it's malfunctioning.

Then one of the knobs on the range stopped working again.  I can't turn it.  The knob has been resistant to turn when it's hot or in use and now the knob for the  simmer burner head just stopped turning at all.

When you try to find the model number, good luck with that as the model number is always hiding somewhere like at the door on the side or totally behind, that means you have to pull the range from the wall just to know the model number.  I am not even talking about serial number.  This is I suppose not uniquely Whirlpool, all the appliances like to hide their model and their serial number as if they never needed them.  The truth is people need them.  Just stick them front and center.

I think Whirlpool sucks.

Apple Wireless Keyboard 2011

This is essentially a Bluetooth enabled keyboard.  I do find it magical.  I do enjoy typing it.  It's the major interface where I interact with my MacBook Pro.

There are certainly a few iterations of this keyboard.  But I would say they are somewhat minor.

The version I have is I believe the second iteration or could it be third I am not sure.

This version needs two AA batteries to run.  And they basically keep running.  The latest version is powered by some internal rechargeable battery that can be charged by a lightning cable.  I supposed it's good and bad.  When the internal rechargeable battery can't hold a charge what are you going to do?

I like the tactile feel of the keyboard, which is of course subjective by and large.  The more important issue is is this tested and proven to be durable.  I have heard enough horror stories of the new butterfly keyboard.  One of the things I like is this Apple keyboard also allows you to control your audio from the top row kind of function keys there.

My function key F3 has the mission control icon on it.

The connection is fantastic and I experience absolutely no lag as I type.

Things I don't like is it doesn't have illuminated keys.  I would like to have it so I can turn it on when I feel like it.  Also the battery chamber can be somewhat leaky or losing some spring to it.  You have to be careful and make sure that the AA cells don't leak.  And if the spring loses its bounce, you lose connection because of bad contact.  The remedy can be simple and yet quite effective, make tiny disc of ball out of aluminium foil and drop it inside the battery chamber.

I do some digging so you don't have to.  My version is the 2011 version.  It uses two AA cells and the F3 and F4 function keys have the Exposé and Launchpad icons there whereas the 2009 version the F4 key has the Dashboard icon, otherwise they look the same.  Of course if you go shop eBay, you have to be careful, some sellers don't know what they are selling and worse they don't really care.  Fortunately most of my experiences are positive and if it was wrong, they make it right.

Apple wireless keyboards