HACK IT:
Words: Steve Muller
While shooting file footage in the Alaskan wilderness with his Sony DV camera, John Behrens had the kind of bad break that can bring a shoot to a disappointing end. His Sony battery charger went down, inexplicably and permanently.
Behrens, director, DP and founder of Oakland, California's Point Beach Productions, was hundreds of miles from the nearest replacement charger. He was headed deeper into the wilderness, and had booked a plane to take him up for aerial shooting. Rescheduling was not an option, nor was waiting around for a Fed Ex.
It was time to get inventive. Behrens wandered the aisles of the few nearby stores, hoping for a miracle. At a marine supply store, he had an idea. "I knew I had 12 volts of direct current from my car battery, but that it would be too much current for a camera battery. I needed to step down the current to a level that would not fry my batteries." He bought $11 of odds and ends: a car cigarette lighter adapter, a piece of wire and a ship light bulb. Then he walked out of the store... and into the pages of DV legend.
By making a series circuit connecting the lighter, bulb and battery, he reasoned, he could charge the batteries without blowing them up.
The real brilliance, however, lies in the light bulb. By adding resistance and drawing a fixed wattage from the circuit, the bulb reduces the current to levels that -- he hoped -- would be safe for his batteries.
Behrens plugged in the first battery and kept feeling it to make sure it didn't get too hot. According to the camera's LCD, the battery was getting charged. But how would he know when it was done?
After about three hours, the light bulb started to flash. At first, Behrens thought a wire had come loose, but the blinking was too regular. He deduced that the Sony infolithium batteries contain a "smart" circuit that opens and closes, telling the Sony charger, "I'm full." The smart circuit was making the bulb flash. As he charged each battery, Behrens waited for the helpful flash and, sure enough, each time the battery was almost full.
While Behrens recommends bringing a spare charger rather than using this technique, the important thing is that, thanks to an inventive hack, Behrens was able to keep on shooting.
Do you have a tale of saving a shoot with imagination, determination and duct tape? Or have you ever rigged any of your gear in an inventive way? Send it to us.
Disclaimer: RES Magazine does not test the inventions featured in Hack It and makes no warranty as to their effectiveness or safety. Do not attempt to duplicate the inventions featured in Hack It unless you are thoroughly familiar with the technology and the potential dangers that may be present.
