Kodak DC-120 Battery Pack

by Baron Sekiya

Six C-Cell Pack Front

The pack is quite compact, built with parts from Radio Shack. I had previously built a five cell D-battery pack but it was too big and didn't hold the voltage long enough for the DC-120 during the course of use. The DC-120 will resort to using the internal AA batteries once the voltage drops below a certain level.
Six C-Cell Pack Back

The two cell holder was hot glue gunned to the four cell holder then soldered in series to make a six cell pack. This provides the DC-120 with 9v of power to start and the voltage doesn't drop too much as more photos are taken. Be sure to glue everything together well and use heat-shrink and/or tape to cover all solder joints.
Six C-Cell Pack Front (close-up)

The connector is an RCA female plug that has been connected to the power supply then covered with heat-shrink. You can probably use the excess wire from the battery holders for the RCA connector. You should then put a dab of glue (hot glue gun) on the pack where the connector sits before securing the RCA connector down with wire (I used straightened-out paper clips) for strain-relief.

The dab of glue gun glue keeps the connector from moving around and loosening things up. Glue guns are pretty cheap, a couple bucks from craft section of your favorite discount store.
Six C-Cell Pack Back (close-up)

The Radio Shack four-cell holder is nice in that it already has four holes on the end to run the hold-down wires through. Make sure you clip excess wires and don't have any shorts from the securing wires!

I didn't have my glue gun for these photos but have since bought the hot melt glue gun. I tried epoxy to glue the holders together, it didn't work...use a glue gun.

Battery Pack Parts List:
(With Radio Shack Catalog Numbers)

  • 1 four c-cell holder (Cat. No. 270-390A)
  • 1 two c-cell holder (Cat No. 270-385A)
  • RCA female connector (Cat. No. 274-338)

Battery Pack Cable Parts List:
(I took an old cable from a car cigarette lighter adaptor and put the RCA male jack on the end; the camera end I can change plugs):

  • coiled or straight cable
  • coaxial plug to fit DC-120 (5.5mm neg. O.D. & 2.1mm pos. I.D.) (Cat. No. 274-1569A)
  • RCA male connector (Cat. No. 274-383) (you may want to get a more heavy-duty soldered version)

Misc Additional Parts:

  • Wire/Paper Clips
  • Glue Gun with hot melt glue
  • Solder
  • Tape/Heat Shrink Tubing
  • Diet Coke (caffinated) to keep you going
  • CDs playing music, your choice

In use I've found that the extra voltage really zips the lens motor in the camera. You can tell that the pack is working because the DC-120 assumes you're using an AC Adaptor and battery level isn't shown on the LCD screen. I use electrician's tape to hold the batteries in the pack since they can pop-out. Over the months of use I found that the 4 C-cells tend to tourque the holder due to the spring tension so you may want to glue the 2 cell holder in the center of the 4-cell's back to prevent bowing.

It's up to you if you want to put this thing in a case, drop it into your pocket (without coins or keys of course) or wrap the whole thing in tape. If you're going to put this pack into a hard case you may want to secure the RCA female connector to the case instead of the holder.

Visit Brock Neverman's website http://weba.uwgb.edu/nevermab/kodak.htm for more information on the DC-120 and batteries than my brain has to offer.

I take no responsibility of damage or death to yourself, your DC-120 or other loved ones if you attempt to follow my instructions above, they are for informational purposes only. If you don't feel comfortable with simple electronic projects, don't do it.