Motor Drives are a fun accessory to the Topcon RE Super/Super D camera. One of the nice things about this camera is that they all came from the factory Motor Drive Ready. With the recent revival of Topcon popularity, Motor Drives are increasingly available. However, there is trouble in paradise. How to power these accessories?

The original Motor Drive used a separate power pack, attached to the Motor Drive via a one meter cable. Later, the Motor Drive was modified with a slide mount and contacts for the non-cord battery pack-it mounted directly to the Motor Drive and did away with the connecting cord. Both of these power packs held 10 0.5 AmpHour Nickel-Cadmium cells that required recharging with the available Battery Recharger accessory.

The trouble is that with age, most of these NiCad cells have died and no longer retain a charge. And to make matters worse, replacement cells of that size and capacity are no longer being manufactured. Towards the end, Topcon also made available a Universal non-cord power pack that held 10 AA size dry cells or NiCads. If you are lucky enough to own one of these, that you have no problem, but if you have a NiCad type, there are few alternatives.

One alternative is to make your own power pack. If your motor drive has a certain type of connector, and if you are handy with tools, the information below should help.

Connector Types

For some reason Topcon used two different types of connectors on their Motor Drives. I have found no correlation between serial numbers and connector types and have no idea why two types were used. I have found a source of mating plugs for the pin (male) type only. So if you have the socket (female) type, this information will be of no help. If anyone out there has located a source of connecting plugs for the female, type please share this information with me.

It is easy to identify the connector type: Look at the connector at the bottom of the Motor Drive handle. If you see four shiny pins, yours is the pin (male) type. If you see a black plug with four holes then you have a socket (female) type. Again, the following information is only valid for the pin (male) type connectors.

Mating Plug

Radio Shack sells a plug that mates to the Motor Drive. This plug has a Catalog Number of 274-001A and is designated "4-pin MIC PLUG".

Voltage Requirements

The nominal voltage for the Motor Drive is 12 volts. But any voltage between 15 volts and about 9.5 volts seems to be OK. Topcon's Universal non-cord pack holds 10 Alkaline cells resulting is a new-battery voltage of 15 volts.

Interconnect

The diagram below shows the interconnect for building a power pack.

+12 Volts

10 AA type Alkaline batteries wired in series

The wiring is quite simple--just wire 10 AA batteries in series. Then connect the plus (+) end to contact No. 1 on the plug and the minus to contact No. 4 on the plug.

The images below show the power pack I build . It is housed in a plastic Utility Box, 1 inch by 3 inches by 8 inches. It has no controls, or belt clip, but its size and shape allow it to fit nicely into a hip pocket or a jacket pocket. The connecting cord is three feet long.

The Utility Box and AA battery holders are also available from Radio Shack.

An Alternative
If you are reluctant to build your own power pack, I offer this alternative. I will fabricate, test and sell you one. My asking price is $45.00, shipping included. These power packs will come with fresh, major brand, alkaline batteries that should be good for approximately 750 frames.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these power packs, send me an e-mail.