Nikon cp990 need help

I need to replace the battery holder due to broken clips .The slide on the
battery door has nothing to keep it shut. Anybody know where the
instructions on this fix are?
Thanks Jack

Jack Sloan

"Jack Sloan" <> wrote in message
news:4004ab9d$0$41125$...
> I need to replace the battery holder due to broken clips .The slide on the
> battery door has nothing to keep it shut. Anybody know where the
> instructions on this fix are?
> Thanks Jack
>
>

If you're mechanically inclined, this
was posted here last March 17:

----------------------------------------------------------

"Terry Brown" wrote in message
news:b5588m$u5$...
> Exec. summary:
>
> The small plastic tabs that hold in the lid of the battery compartment
> on my Nikon CoolPix 990 have broken. Has this happened to others?
> Are there any suggested fixes? Thanks for any responses here or to
> .



Yes. Mine broke.

I put the camera on my drill press in a padded cross feed vice and drilled
through from the front, coming out into the battery compartment right where
the tab was... the idea is to have something there for the sliding tab on
the battery compartment door to slide under and latch as it did with the
crappy plastic tab.

Small bit .75 or .8mm if I remember correctly. I had an assortment of tiny
roll pins and sized the bit to a press fit for the pin. You could use any
small diameter wire to do the same thing.

I pushed the pin in from the front protruding into the battery compartment.
I cut the pin off flush to the outside with a Dremel tool cutoff wheel and
dabbed a bit of "Sharpie" black ink on the shiny metal. You have to look
close to know it is there. All has been well since.

Took longer to tell about than to do. If you do not have a drill press, I
believe it could be done by hand if careful.

Whoever the engineer at Nikon was that designed that stupid latch tab was a
moron.

Tom

Vance Green

Thanks Vance Green and Terry Brown, I never thought of that.
I bent up a 1/8" aluminum bracket and hold the door closed
with a thumb screw )
http://www.photoprojects.net/doorlatch.jpg
Gene



Vance Green wrote:

> "Jack Sloan" <> wrote in message
> news:4004ab9d$0$41125$...
> > I need to replace the battery holder due to broken clips .The slide on the
> > battery door has nothing to keep it shut. Anybody know where the
> > instructions on this fix are?
> > Thanks Jack
> >
> >
>
> If you're mechanically inclined, this
> was posted here last March 17:
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
>
> "Terry Brown" wrote in message
> news:b5588m$u5$...
> > Exec. summary:
> >
> > The small plastic tabs that hold in the lid of the battery compartment
> > on my Nikon CoolPix 990 have broken. Has this happened to others?
> > Are there any suggested fixes? Thanks for any responses here or to
> > .
>
> Yes. Mine broke.
>
> I put the camera on my drill press in a padded cross feed vice and drilled
> through from the front, coming out into the battery compartment right where
> the tab was... the idea is to have something there for the sliding tab on
> the battery compartment door to slide under and latch as it did with the
> crappy plastic tab.
>
> Small bit .75 or .8mm if I remember correctly. I had an assortment of tiny
> roll pins and sized the bit to a press fit for the pin. You could use any
> small diameter wire to do the same thing.
>
> I pushed the pin in from the front protruding into the battery compartment.
> I cut the pin off flush to the outside with a Dremel tool cutoff wheel and
> dabbed a bit of "Sharpie" black ink on the shiny metal. You have to look
> close to know it is there. All has been well since.
>
> Took longer to tell about than to do. If you do not have a drill press, I
> believe it could be done by hand if careful.
>
> Whoever the engineer at Nikon was that designed that stupid latch tab was a
> moron.
>
> Tom

-Gene-

Well, I did the modification with my CP-990 and it was easy
and it does work. No roll pin so I used a tiny screw.
http://www.photoprojects.net/index6.html
Gene

-Gene- wrote:

> Thanks Vance Green and Terry Brown, I never thought of that.
> I bent up a 1/8" aluminum bracket and hold the door closed
> with a thumb screw )
> http://www.photoprojects.net/doorlatch.jpg
> Gene

-Gene-

Nice job, Gene.

Your picture's worth a thousand words
(pun intended).

"-Gene-" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Well, I did the modification with my CP-990 and it was easy
> and it does work. No roll pin so I used a tiny screw.
> http://www.photoprojects.net/index6.html
> Gene
>
> -Gene- wrote:
>
> > Thanks Vance Green and Terry Brown, I never thought of that.
> > I bent up a 1/8" aluminum bracket and hold the door closed
> > with a thumb screw )
> > http://www.photoprojects.net/doorlatch.jpg
> > Gene

Vance Green

"Jack Sloan" <> wrote in message news:<4004ab9d$0$41125$>...
> I need to replace the battery holder due to broken clips .The slide on the
> battery door has nothing to keep it shut. Anybody know where the
> instructions on this fix are?

have the same problem with an 880. the little plate that attaches the
camera to a tripod works very well at keeping the door shut.

F. D. Lewis

"F. D. Lewis" <> wrote in message
news: om...
> "Jack Sloan" <> wrote in message
news:<4004ab9d$0$41125$>...
> > I need to replace the battery holder due to broken clips .The slide on
the
> > battery door has nothing to keep it shut. Anybody know where the
> > instructions on this fix are?
>
> have the same problem with an 880. the little plate that attaches the
> camera to a tripod works very well at keeping the door shut.

Yep,that's how I've handled it for the last year, but I think I want to do
the real fix on it and can't find the instructions. I saw them on the net
somewhere (with photos) and can't remember where. Google hasn't been my
friend in this case.
Jack

Jack Sloan

If you are referring to your battery door simply will not latch because of
broken catches in the mechanism. This is a common problem due to the tension
of the springs in the battery compartment and the stress that they put on the
battery door by pressing the batteries under strong pressure. Especially in
colder weather when the plastics can get brittle the door can snap open. The
problem, as I noticed, is not so much the door or the latch but the little
edges on the edge of the battery opening that will break. Thus the door has
nothing to catch on to.

I have posted a couple of posts about this before with a solution that I found
using materials that I found at my local Home Depot. I wrote a few queries a
few years ago when this happened to me one cold winter night while out shooting
with my telescope. The cold single digit temps, I believe, made the plastic in
the camera a little brittle and the door popped open. The camera started
acting a little erradically then I herd a whisssssh as the batteries launced
like little missiles into the cold black darkness. The solutions included
sending to Nikon which could cost a couple hundred dollars and take as much as
a month to get fixed. Or one solution mentioned using fishing line or
something like that, fiberglass I think was mentioned also, and shredding it
into fine strands. Then using some epoxy, or super glue to bind them and using
surgical skills with a tweezers etc, rebuilding the catch.

My solution was to make a plate that would fit to the bottom of the camera and
bolt on using a tripod bolt that also had a socket for another tripod screw.
This is the bolt that is commonly used on flash mounts or camera cases that
bolt to the bottom of the camera then allow a tripod to be bolted to them. For
more on this check this address....

http://members.aol.com/wmas1960/home...pixRepair2.htm

Based on the frequency of this problem I decided to put this web page together
this afternoon with some pictures of what I did. Hope it is helpful.

You can also run a check on GOOGLE for Coolpix 990 Battery Door and probably
find more info.

My solution that I describe took me about an hour to fabricate and only cost
about $15 not including tools and such that I didn't already have. I had to
buy a hacksaw and a set of files. Actually only one file but the set was a
better value. You might also want to get some fine sand paper to finish the
edges a little more cleanly. I also tried getting some of the stuff that you
would use to rubberize your tool handles. It worked fairly well and using the
black color blended very well with the design of the camera. However, the
rubber eventually wore off. You might consider simply painting the piece with
black paint. I believe, since the metal I used was galvanized you might need
to clean the metal piece with some vinegar or other good cleaner to remove any
oils before paint will properly adhere.

WMAS 1960

Obviously the reply that I just sent a few minutes ago is a bit late as the
repair has been made and other similar solutions have been posted. Nice Job.

WMAS 1960

Here is a post I saved .. it is not mine so I am just posting, not
recommending.........................
NORM


I put the camera on my drill press in a padded cross feed vice and
drilled through from the front, coming out into the battery
compartment right where the tab was... the idea is to have something
there for the sliding tab on the battery compartment door to slide
under and latch as it did with thecrappy plastic tab.

Small bit .75 or .8mm if I remember correctly. I had an assortment of
tiny roll pins and sized the bit to a press fit for the pin. You
could use any small diameter wire to do the same thing.

I pushed the pin in from the front protruding into the battery
compartment. I cut the pin off flush to the outside with a Dremel tool
cutoff wheel and dabbed a bit of "Sharpie" black ink on the shiny
metal. You have to look close to know it is there. All has been well
since.

Took longer to tell about than to do. If you do not have a drill
press, I believe it could be done by hand if careful.

















On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 08:53:44 -0600, "Jack Sloan" <>
wrote:

>
>"F. D. Lewis" <> wrote in message
>news:. com...
>> "Jack Sloan" <> wrote in message
>news:<4004ab9d$0$41125$>...
>> > I need to replace the battery holder due to broken clips .The slide on
>the
>> > battery door has nothing to keep it shut. Anybody know where the
>> > instructions on this fix are?
>>
>> have the same problem with an 880. the little plate that attaches the
>> camera to a tripod works very well at keeping the door shut.
>
>Yep,that's how I've handled it for the last year, but I think I want to do
>the real fix on it and can't find the instructions. I saw them on the net
>somewhere (with photos) and can't remember where. Google hasn't been my
>friend in this case.
>Jack
>

NSN