Battery Door Latch On Digital Camera Goofed Up. How Would I Fix It?

[Cheryl]

The battery door on my digital camera (On the bottom of it) has goofed up on
me. At first it was a little loose & putting a rubber band around it to hold it
firmer in place did the trick. But now this week the battery door is no longer
making contact with the batteries, not even with the rubberband on. In order ot
get it to make contact & me be able to take pics with it, I have to told it
together with my hand. It is still attached but lose & not making contact.

The sad thing I the warrenty is probably no longer valid on it as I got it the
Christmas before last. Can't afford to get another digital camera either as
this one cost me $99 which was a lot of money for me. I bet if I sent it in to
be reparied it would cost an arm & a leg. Can't send it off right now to be
fixed as I nee to use it .on some upcoming trips.

Is there a way I temporarily get it to stay in place for now untiil I can get
it fixed? Another problem is I'll be needing use of it from now until after
next New Yrs with vacation & other trips & events coming up. The camera is a
Vivitar Vivicamn 3550..Thanks for any advice!

Peace,

Cheryl

Peace & have a nice day! Cheryl Harrell-- A T2 diabetic Married To A T1
diabetic...
Personal Quote: "The best thing you can do for your diabetes is to always keep
your faith in Jesus no matter what".. By: My folksinger friend ADG

[Hu Ru]

My brother has had pretty good luck fixing this kind of situation with
self-adhesive Velcro tape, which has enough stretch to exert pressure on
battery compartment door and assure good contact.
"Cheryl" <chery...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030515044552...@mb-m19.aol.com...

[wally]

In article <20030515044552...@mb-m19.aol.com>, chery...@aol.com (Cheryl) wrote:
>The battery door on my digital camera (On the bottom of it) has goofed up on
>me. At first it was a little loose & putting a rubber band around it to hold it
>firmer in place did the trick. But now this week the battery door is no longer
>making contact with the batteries, not even with the rubberband on. In order ot
>get it to make contact & me be able to take pics with it, I have to told it
>together with my hand. It is still attached but lose & not making contact.
>
>The sad thing I the warrenty is probably no longer valid on it as I got it the
>Christmas before last. Can't afford to get another digital camera either as
>this one cost me $99 which was a lot of money for me. I bet if I sent it in to
>be reparied it would cost an arm & a leg. Can't send it off right now to be
>fixed as I nee to use it .on some upcoming trips.
>
>Is there a way I temporarily get it to stay in place for now untiil I can get
>it fixed? Another problem is I'll be needing use of it from now until after
>next New Yrs with vacation & other trips & events coming up. The camera is a
>Vivitar Vivicamn 3550..Thanks for any advice!
>

Gun/Duck/Duct Tape. Its like THE FORCE, it has a light side, a
dark side and holds the universe together :-)

I don't know if this should cause comfort or fear, but there is
even a special grade of duct tape made for use in nuclear power
plants -- according to an article in "American Heritage History
of Invention & Technology" Sumer 2003 issue.

--wally.

[Cheryl]

Thanks for the info! I'll try those & see. It still works! One day maybe I can
save up & get a an even better one. TIll then this one has to do. THanks for
the help!

[FelixC]

I had this problem with my old camera after a family member dropped it
and cracked off the plastic lip that the spring-loaded battery door
holds on to. There's a lot of pressure applied to that spot by the
battery door latch. I glued the cracked plastic back in place, but it
wouldn't hold. The only way I found to fix it was to reinforce it with
metal. I bent a bit of thin metal strip to fit down inside the battery
compartment and form a lip underneath the plastic at the point where
the door latch needs to grab on. Then I superglued it to the plastic,
with the part that extends down into the battery compartment providing
enough surface area for the superglue to hold it in place. The metal
lip underneath the cracked plastic has enough strength to reinforce
the plastic and hold the battery compartment latch securely. It
doesn't show with the battery compartment door closed.

Note to digital camera makers: don't make the rim around the battery
compartment door out of plastic and then subject it to a lot of spring
pressure from the door latch. It's just waiting to crack off at the
first shock!