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    Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

    I recently acquired a Nikon D40X body, and it didn't come with a battery. I tried hooking up a power supply to the contacts and got the dreaded "Can't use this battery" because of the counterfeit battery security code on the firmware.

    Is this defeatable so I could use a power supply? I'd hate to buy a battery and find out this body is broken some other way, plus I already have a D5100 which has the same problem: I cannot power via AC adapter, have to use batteries. But yeah hopefully the D40X won't blow up my D5100's lenses, though they should be compatible...

    #2
    Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

    Why not take it to a camera store that deals in used equipment?
    They should have a battery available to test it with...
    "The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it."

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      #3
      Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

      Do what Like Per Hansson said
      When its connected to the power supply try doing a reset
      To reset the camera. Hold down the menu button and the info button at the same time. Hold it down for a couple of seconds. Camera will turn off then on
      some people using after market batteries have said this can work
      Looks like this can happen with nikon batteries also if the camera is left in storage for a while.
      Last edited by R_J; 12-30-2018, 04:44 PM.

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        #4
        Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

        Well, that would at least tell me if the body is viable, but I still would like to power it by AC long term. And I'm definitely too cheap to buy a cable for the D5100. (Both of these cameras are not happy with DC, because they serial number check the batteries for authenticity.)

        The D40X is expendable I suppose, it was cheap so I could do some toying with it, unlike the D5100...

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          #5
          Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

          these do have an adapter available so one could use it on a PSU.

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            #6
            Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

            ... or steal the circuit board from an original battery

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              #7
              Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

              Originally posted by CapLeaker View Post
              ... or steal the circuit board from an original battery
              The hope that it does not come down to this. The cheapest option is if I could get a free, expended battery and hack that, alas it would mean I have to locate such...

              I despise chip protection of addons and consumables... *sigh*

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                #8
                Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                security??
                could just be reading a missing thermocouple/thermister and deciding it's too cold/hot to run.
                nokia phones did that.

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                  #9
                  Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                  Yes, "security" for their bank coffers. Unfortunately Nikon has been doing this crap for ages, at least I know that the D5100 does it, and it appears the older D40X also requires it. The "security" has been reverse engineered and thus there are some third party batteries out there that trick the camera...which is what I need...

                  There is a bit of worry that if it thinks it's a battery it may kick into power save mode, which is also an unfortunate side effect of using a gutted battery pack to trick it into staying on, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there...

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                    Starkly reminds me of Motorola in the flip-phone-era and their "Unauthorized charger" message, just because of a poor connection, LOL. I think I saw that one in 2009, the early-2010s or 2008.

                    I have a late-2010s Kodak bridge camera, which don't have that kind of bullshit! (The JK-Imaging-Ltd.-era)

                    The batteries are double-As, just like an old skool digital Canon!
                    Last edited by RJARRRPCGP; 12-30-2018, 06:50 PM.
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                      #11
                      Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                      I also have an old Kodak bridge camera that uses the somewhat annoying KLIC-8000 battery, though this cell doesn't have the silliness and it can be swapped with two AA's. Alas it has its problems. It has a scratch on the lens, which is a bit annoying. It also uses a custom USB cable that look like the D5100 but they aren't compatible. But the camera was also a cheaply acquired unit likewise the D40X, so I can't complain about them.

                      Incidentally the D40X uses a more sane mini-USB which I really look forward to using. Not sure if I'll opt to using it instead of the D5100 or not, but the scratch on the Kodak makes me look for it in the photo each time... Grr... wish I could replace that front element...

                      My Nikon lenses on the other hand are still in good shape and if I need a good picture, I'll have to use them instead.

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                        #12
                        Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                        Originally posted by CapLeaker View Post
                        ... or steal the circuit board from an original battery
                        Note: the Nikon EP-5 ( and various knock-offs) are essentially that, a dummy battery-pack with an adaptor cord attached if you want a "plug and play" solution.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                          Originally posted by eccerr0r View Post
                          Not sure if I'll opt to using it instead of the D5100 or not
                          You don't want to be using a D40X for anything except as a backup camera. The ISO performance on it is pretty low for 2018 standards. In addition to this the DR is also quite... behind at about 10 stops or so. Your D5100 is still a superior camera in many ways...

                          As for your battery question, just get an eBay battery. I paid $10 for a generic EN-EL9 battery. This same battery is also used in my D3000 and D5000 cameras (which I haven't touched for years - currently on a Nikon D4s and D750) saves you the hassle of hacking DC cables etc. Alternatively like the others have said - go to your local camera store and find a battery there to test.

                          I believe Nikon also sells a DC coupler for this camera, but research this as I am unsure.
                          Last edited by stevo1210; 12-30-2018, 10:49 PM.
                          Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

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                            #14
                            Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                            Yeah I was hoping to use this D40X as a burner, or use in environments that I'd like to keep the D5100 out of, one of which is electrical experimentation including figuring out how to run it off of AC, which was the thread topic. I'll also need to find a burner lens for it too from a thrift shop or something, and don't even care if it won't AF.

                            Indeed the D5100 is a better body, no question about it, hence wanting to keep it out of places where I may need to worry about it.

                            I just have holds on buying an EN-EL9 as I need EN-EL14/EP-5. And the hope was that I spent little or nothing on this particular body minus lenses, of which I'm not necessarily buying for this body anyway.

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                              #15
                              Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                              ^^ Correction...
                              EP-5A is the EN-EL14 corresponding cable.
                              EP-5 is for the EN-EL9... So obscure...

                              I might have to end up ordering a battery... sigh. I *really* hate firmware locks.

                              OH... AND PURE BS... it looks like sometimes Nikon changes firmware to detect poorly reverse engineered packs and disables the camera when detecting those batteries after a firmware update!!! WTF.
                              Last edited by eccerr0r; 01-01-2019, 02:57 AM.

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                                #16
                                Re: Nikon D40X : hacking a power supply?

                                Well, for closure, I fleabayed a "Sure it's got more ampere-hours than physically possible" battery. Not like I cared that much, just need it to get past the stupid "security" chip that prevents Nikon from stealing more profit (then again, I despise companies that try to label their phonies as the real thing. At least make your own brand if you want to make a clone.)

                                The camera body appears to work just fine. Yay for interchangeable lenses, yay it didn't fry my lenses. I can start seeing the limitations of the D40X - definitely would rather use the D5100, but maybe the D40X battery will hold charge longer than the D5100 packs I have...

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