Nikon EH-6 secrets, part 6

Small update to blog post, since new Nikon consumer & pro DSLR's have been released and already on the market:

-D800/D800E: not compatible to EH-6 (uses EH-5B; with adapter EP-5B).

-D600: not compatible to EH-6 (uses EH-5B; with adapter EP-5B).

-D4: compatible to EH-6B, but requires EP-6 adapter (dummy battery with EH-6 input connector)

Nikon EH-6 secrets, part 5

Here is the view to a bottom sticker at Nikon EH-6 power supply:Described are - input voltage range, ouput voltage and current (13.5V, 5A) and also pins of power connector.

Nikon EH-6 secrets, part4

Recently Nikon annouced D3s digital SLR, with fast frame rate for pro users. Interesting camera, you can always dream of it :-) D3s is compatible with EH-6 external power supply.

Nikon EH-6 secrets, part3

Status update: Nikon announced two new DSLR bodies, updated D300s and entry level D3000. Both of them are not compatible with EH-6 supply, instead EH-5 is required (4 pin connection to camera).

Nikon EH-6 secrets, part2

On my previous post #1 about Nikon EH-6, I described alternative supplies for powering DSLR. Since many Nikon models have been released after that, I summarize current situation:

Compatible with EH-6 supply:
D3
D3x

Not compatible with EH-6:
D700 - uses EH-5a/EH-5 supply
D300 - uses EH-5a supply

Nikon EH-6 secrets, part1

NOTE / DISCLAIMER:
Opening the covers of the EH-6 power supply, exposes parts with high voltage. So there is actual risk of electric shock, dangerous to your health. I have checked information in this article. I do not take any responsibility of the actual information, the correctness of information, or misusage of it. If you have any feedback, please inform me.

This "cracking project" started when I bought a external power supply for my Nikon D200 camera. The only available model was the EH-6 supply (by Nikon, that propably explains the price tag). For astro photography there also was a need to use D200 directly from the "non-Nikon" DC supply. The current / voltage specs needed for that were same as in EH-6, i.e. 13.5V 5A. Also there was a need to know pin purpose for low voltage connector (that mates the D200 body).

So I decided to "sacrifice" my EH-6 product quarantee, and open the covers... There was most propably SMPS -type power supply inside (based on the small size of heat sink and the high voltage electrolytic capacitor). On the left side, low voltage output cable connects to Nikon D200 (red / black wires).

I measured the DC voltage on the output. It was 13.66V, when supply was not connected to D200. After connecting supply to camera and swithing on it, the voltage dropped to 13.65V. Red wire carries the positive voltage (I call it as "VCC") and black wire is for the ground connection ("GND"). After measuring the voltages on the secondary side of EH-6 supply, it looks that pins have following purpose:

The "NC" stands for "not connected". This is because I did not found any voltage on this pin. I measured the resistance also towards the other pins, no connection found. If this "NC" pin has some other purpose, that I do not know (if you have info, please let me know). The respective pins on the Nikon D200 body are:

Again the "NC" pin was named on the D200 body. This is a pin that I am not sure, where is used to (if you have info, please let me know). The following is a situation where I feed D200 power from the external adjustable DC supply. Voltage reading (13.58V) is on the upper left, and current (0.29A) on the right. Typically the camera drains 0.3A, when swithed on and back TFT display is on. During long "bulb" exposures, the drawn current was about 0.6A. This is two times the "average" value. Current drain is especially important factor (if the camera is used only by batteries)

Conclusion:
What I will do with my EH-6 supply ? For the moment, I'll leave it like it was. If I am not able to find the Nikon specific power supply connector electronics stores, I propably need to cut the secondary wire in half. And to install some suitable good quality two-pole locking connector there inbetween. That would allow to use EH-6 and leave also possibility to power D200 with suitable "non-Nikon" DC-supply.