Leica LTM Leica IIIf flash unit. What kind of battery & where do I get one?

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
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kknox

kknox
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Hi I just got a flash unit with my new IIIf. Could someone tell me where to get a battery, and does it go in the top piece above the black bottom attachment. The old manual is not clear to me. I can find flash bulbs on ebay, what kind should I try and find the old blue looking ones? Thank's
 
Those old flash guns (is that a CHICO or CEYOO you have?) used unusual batteries with capacitors. The capacitor is usually shaped like the battery so both can fit into the compartment. It may not be possible to find those batteries anymore.

You can perhaps put together several smaller cells which can fit into a dummy holder which in turn will fit the compartment. I did a similar rig with an old Honeywell Tilt-A-Matic. I put a small 12 V battery (same one used for radio controlled car keys) and bypassed the capacitor. It was able to fire AG-1 and M2 bulbs properly.

The capacitor may not be needed- they were necessary then when batteries were not reliable. The capacitor built up the power needed to fire the flash so that each time it was dumped, the bulb got the proper amount it needed to flash.
 
From memory, they are 15v or so - don't think they are made now.

\in some guns, the capacitor is essential to store enough charge to properly fire the bulb - the circuit may have a diode chain to multiply the voltage up to 50v or more.

As suggested above, you could try an external 12v source across the battery terminals and see what happens, but I doubt you will find a battery with sufficient Ah capacity to fit the available space.
 
Hi
If you can find out the voltage that you need then one of the specialist battery suppliers may be able to help. Battery technology has increased 10 fold since your flash was made they have become both smaller and more powerful. Even the humble AA cell can be found with a 3 Ahr (Amp/hours) capacity.
There are several companies who make up packs to your specification in the UK

you could try
http://www.batterywholesaler.co.uk/oem_batteries.htm
or
http://www.overlander.co.uk/category.asp?cid=2&scid=78

I would have thought at worst you could power it from an small external pack if you really can't find anything that will fit

Good luck


Chris
 
The "23A" 12v battery is really small. About the 1/4 the length of an average ball point pen and about same in diameter. An even smaller 12v battery, the "27A" is even thinner and slightly shorter. They could easily fit, and may even require a spacer sleeve when used inside the compartment.


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These and the various button alkaline cells have enough power in them to fire bulbs like the AG1, M2 and even the 5. I don't know how many bulbs a set of cells will fire, but I was able to finish two boxes of bulbs with one set of battery. There should be a lot of juice left in those batteries after firing 24 M2's, but I ran out of bulbs before I could find out.

The capacitor may not even be necessary with the newer cells- BC (battery-capacitor) were needed then because the old carbon zinc batteries did not put out consistent power. Alkaline or lithium cells behave differently.
 
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