Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/02/11

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Subject: Re: batteries
From: Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@apple.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 97 08:53:51 -0800

>I am still able to pick up Varta V 625 PX 1.35V batteries in Canada.
>There was a problem getting these for a while until this supply
>showed up. Can anyone confirm if Varta still does make these,
>or am I just buying up my dealer's old stock?

Varta still manufactures the PX625 and PX27 mercury batteries, but I 
believe that they are no longer shipped to the United States for 
environmental reasons. It might be that they are not legally imported to 
certain states instead, but if so the numbers of them being imported are 
fewer and fewer as they are becoming quite hard to find. My understanding 
was that the EU environmental regulations will likely ban them in the 
future as well, at which point they might go out of production since the 
biggest markets for these batteries are the US and Europe/UK. 

>Some cameras use a PX27 battery which was originally 3 mercury cells
>in series; there is no alkaline equivalent. But Minox makes a replacement
>that uses 3 zinc-air batteries in a tube, and you can replace the zinc-air
>cells yourself. (http://www.minoxlab.com)

Minox makes two replacement battery packs for their cameras. Neither use 
zinc-air batteries. One is for the 9.5mm cameras: a holder and four 1.5V 
silver 386 cells. The other is for the Minox 35 cameras: a battery 
compartment replacement and two 3.0V lithium cells. Both allow 
replacement of the cells independent of the holder.

Godfrey