[Leica] R6 motor question

[George Huczek <ghuczek@sk.sympatico.ca>]

A question for those who've used the R6.  The camera will operate with or
without the battery in the camera base (tried it) because of the mechanical
shutter.  Of course, the light meter requires the battery.
   With the motor drive, I was using the R6 outdoors last week at -30+
below, and the camera stopped working.  I took it indoors and warmed it up
slowly.  Nothing worked.
   I checked the batteries in the motor drive with a voltmeter.  The
polarity on three of the batteries had reversed.  I took the motor drive
off and the light meter and the shutter worked fine.  As soon as I put the
motor drive on with the dead batteries, the shutter and meter stopped
working.  (I found the remedy if this ever happens again in the field ...
just remove the motor drive if I don't have any spare batteries.)  Can
someone tell me why the camera no longer functions at all when the
batteries in the motor drive go dead?  It is quite an alarming experience
to have a mechanical camera stop operating like this.




 _
[o] -GH