Help sourcing battery for Argus 2 Thermal Camera - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Junkie
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 03, 2015, 08:22:34 pm
content: Hi,Apologies if this has been posted in the wrong section, Just wondering if anyone knows where I might be able to source a battery for an Argus 2 Therma Imaging camera?Ideally I am looking for a 8x AA dry cell case like the one in the attached photos... Tried eBay but these things don't seem to come up very often!Junkie

author: radhaz
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 01:20:46 am
content: Have you tried MSA?http://us.msasafety.com/Thermal-Imaging/c/105?N=10174&Ne=10187&isLanding=true

author: Junkie
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 04:43:50 pm
content: Yes, it seems MSA in the USA an E2V in the UK no longer stock this battery.... Looks like the 2nd hand/surplus market may be my only option....Junkie

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 07:43:24 pm
content: I own five ARGUS cameras so have bought every battery pack that I could lay my hands on. I have both the Alkaline and NiCad versions. Sadly they do not appear as an individual part on eBay very often. I would be very surprised if an email to E2V in the UK did not result in a helpful response. They are a great company and were supporting the ARGUS 2 when I was talking to them last year. Expect the battery pack to be expensive though. Nothing to do with professional thermal cameras is cheap!Please note that the 8 AA cell holder is not the same as the NiCad battery and you should not place NiCad cells in the Alkaline battery pack. The battery level meter and cut out will be inaccurate. There is a resistor inside the battery holder that calibrates the battery type for the cameraIIRC the connector on the battery pack is an IEC female as found on equipment power leads. I can supply plenty of pictures and dimensions to help you make your own battery holder. It isn't that complex a design.Please also note that the ARGUS cameras eat Alkaline batteries so a custom NiCad battery may be worth considering. I have the service manual and schematics for the ARGUS 1 which uses the same battery packs and very similar power boost converter.Fraser

author: Junkie
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 08:34:13 pm
content: Thanks Fraser,Maybe I need to give e2v another try, its maybe just case of getting put through to the right person!I too thought the connector looked like an IEC but it seems the terminals are slightly larger so won't mate with a standard IEC female..... Looks like a custom battery pack may be the way forward if I don't get anywhere with e2v or if the battery pack proves to be cost prohibitive.This is the first argus 2 that I have owned, but I do have a couple of argus 3's along with some ISG k90's... Seems we both have a collection lol :-)Thanks again!Junkie

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 08:47:09 pm
content: I own 42 thermal cameras of various makes and models. Amongst them are 3 X ARGUS 1, 2 X ARGUS 2 and 5 ISG Talisman K90 Wasps 😀 My serious cameras are all FLIR PM and SC series units. I have a soft spot for my NEC AVIO cameras as well.Fraser

author: Bruno28
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2017, 06:22:52 am
content: Quote from: Fraser on October 04, 2015, 07:43:24 pmHell Fraser, are you able to send me the manual for it? Im looking on getting one of these cameras but it needs a battery and the AA battery box is missing the end on it. So I would need to see if the manual is able to help me.Thanks

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2017, 10:38:25 am
content: This is quite an old thread. I have learnt more about the ARGUS cameras since.The ARGUS 1 and 2 are designed to accept the use of AA alkaline calls. There is a small resistor in the end of the battery pack that supplies the battery meter circuit.The Rechargeable battery pack contains a PCB that translates the discharge curve of rechargeable cells into something similar to that of an Alkaline cell. This ensure that the battery meter circuit can correctly indicate true battery state.With regard to sharing ARGUS schematics and service information, I regret that I am not permitted to do so. They belong to E2V and are protected by their IPR. I can possibly provide some insight into a circuit design or component values, but no more.Fraser