Ah OK, thanks for that. Seems like the repair centers are not up to scratch with correct info. I kind of got that impression when I spoke to Asahi Photo guy, he sounded like he had a bad cold, coughing and spluttering all the time. Seems like I have ythe choice of either using batteries that work at the time (whatever chemistry they may be), or getting hold of an AC adapter so I can upgrade the firmware.

Hi

Yes it is very frustrating. Its a perfectly capable camera, certainly for my needs, and I have a collection of older Pentax, Tamron, modern Pentax, Russian lenses that I use with it. Its all a great waste because of a simple avoidable power issue.

Yes the Energizers were the ones recommended to me by a Pentax specialist camera dealer. These were the disposable types. The problem with sensitive electronics seems to be the available battery voltage, the available voltage under load and the quality of the cables or circuitry. I worked for years in the tech dept. for a company who imported opto-electronic products (of a kind). Power delivery was an issue because the electronics were sensitive and required good power cabling (which they often didn't get due to cheap Chinese power cables having high resistence). With this camera, its not just about battery type, but voltage and draw. My Lithium Energizers have a resting voltage of 1.67v but won't turn the camera on at all. The Eneloops are rechargable, have a resting voltage of 1.34v, but at least they turn the camera on (although only for about 30 seconds). This may mean the Energizers may drop to below 1.2v each under load, or at least lower than the Eneloops are. Now I try a set of Alkaline Duracells which shouldn't work at all, and they work!! Someone mentioned earlier about turning the battery type indicator to Auto Detect. When I looked it was set at Lithium, but still the Alkalines worked. I have since set it to Auto Detect.

[quote:3496ace15f="JAK"][quote]https://www.batterystation.co.uk/aa-batteries/energizer-lithium-aa-l91-lr6-batte...

Hi

These are the batteries I already have. I have three sets of them. None of them even power the camera on at all. They measure 1.67v each (not under load).

Further development. The guy at Asahi said that the correct battery pack is listed in the Users manual of the camera. Unless I am going blind, I can't find a mention of a battery pack. It just mentions AAs and the K-AC84 AC adapter as power options. Another strange development. Just as a matter of trial, I put into the camera an ordinary set of Duracell AA batteries which I think are Alkaline. Camera comes on with Full Green Battery level indicator. What is going on??? When I got the camera initially, Duracell AAs were the batteries it would complain about!

Hi

Spoke to Asahi Photo. They said to try a Lithium battery pack rather than individual AAs. He said they were CR-something, he couldn't remember the correct model. He said they would fit into the Kx and the Kr. Anyone got an idea of which pack he means?

Hi

I don't think the camera warrants the repair prices that Johnson Photopia charge. Although in many ways the camera is almost in mint condition, paying out a large amount for a fix that may well go wrong again is not worth it. Speaking to Johnsons Photopia, they don't admit there is a problem, so won't discuss potential remedies. That rings loud alarm bells. This issue is well known and there is a fix for it which normally entails simply re-setting the firmware or replacing two internal Asmann batteries, or both. They don't admit to any of it, which tells me they are not honest people. They simply say send it in and they will look at it. If their quote is too high, then they won't send my camera back unless I pay £24. Pentax themselves simply wash their hands by pushing me toward Johnsons Photopia, after also denying the issue. They don't want to talk about it.

The issues are simple.

1. The camera was designed with a fault that shows up in many cameras after a while.
2. The fault is identified fairly early on but is not remedied at manufacture stage during the current on sale period (2 yrs?) of the camera. Instead, Pentax simply provide a Firmware update that "partially" solves the problem.
3. If you are lucky your camera goes wrong within the warranty period.
4. Both Pentax and Johnsons Photopia deny the problem even exists, even though Pentax release firmware update to specifically remedy the issue.
5. If it goes wrong outside the warranty period you are screwed. Either you pay an extortionate amount for a mains adapter (if you can find one), or get it fixed by the sole official repairer also at extortionate rates. Either is unethical and unworthy of the name of Pentax.

If this is the cynical way they treat their customers, I will never touch a Pentax or Ricoh product again.

I did mention this to them when the problem started up but they said its an older camera and when the warranty period runs out they just send cameras away to be fixed. They did say back then that there was a basic fee of £80 for a standard fix, with anything more complicated costing more. In my experience of buying stuff on the sales pitch of a salesman, if you discover what was told to you was false, the stock response is usually - "Don't know anyone here who would say that" or "That shouldn't have been said". Unless you can prove mis-selling you have no recourse.

No that's part of the whole Pentax adapter. Its the AC outlet, a transformer, a couple of cables and pin connectors and the fake battery unit that sits in the battery compartment in the camera.

Not sure but I seem to recall a mention of 8.4v the camera uses, or at least requires. If this is correct its not surprising that 4 X 1.5v batteries are inadequate, and plays into the post earlier about Pentax poor design in making the camera an AA battery camera to begin with.
If the Maplin one uses a similar type (apparently the Pentax adapter is comprised of two fake batteries that fit into the middle two battery slots in the camera), then that may work. I am conscious about the whole Tip Positive or Tip negative thing with adapters, because there is no indication on any Pentax literature I can see. If you choose the wrong setting, you will fry the motherboard.