S3 maximum input voltage?

[jnthn]

Howdy,

I am hoping someone might know what the upper limit of the power input range is for the S3 IS. I have built an external battery pack using four 3.7v Li ion batteries (series+parallel) that connect to the 7.4v input jack on the side of the camera. When I measure the output of the pack I get 8.35v (batteries rated 3.7v but full charge and cut-off discharge are 4.2v/2.75v). Will this much over-voltage fry the camera or cause it to simply not power up? I haven't tried plugging it in yet but I am eager to do so.

jnthn

[Jon]

I wouldn't go past the rated voltage. Did you measure the voltage under load, though?

[SimpleGirl2008]

Woah. I wouldn't even have tired that.

[jnthn]

I just tried hooking up the pack to an old hard drive I have sitting around - I measure 7.65v under load, which I fear is still to high. I guess I will work on limiting the output to 7.3v, which is what the wall adapter puts out.

jnthn

[jnthn]

Well...I soldered two diodes (IN4001 micromini silicon), in series, between the positive side of the battery output and the lead to the camera connector. This reduced the unloaded voltage to 7.3v - perfect. I removed the AA batteries from the camera and plugged my pack in and it powered up the camera. The connector I bought (from a national electronics company that used to be good but now SUCKS) fits but doesn't maintain a steady connection. I am going to chop the connector off of my CA-PS700 Compact Power Adapter and replace it later.