If it's too good to be true, it probably is. I obviously know it to be true but still it somehow manages to bite me right in the ass every now and again...
After a harvest shoot on a weekend trip to the inlaws' farm and constantly needing just a couple minutes more out of my 2 almost dead batteries to get that perfect shot I realized I can't live without a 3rd. Being the cheapskate I am I decided to check Craigslist on the off-chance there would be a battery out there for a sweet deal. Low and behold the first post was from a traveller moving back next week with their ex-roommates' battery for sale that he had left, and for only $50!! I was skeptical of course but went out at night and risked it. The battery LED indicator circles were DOA (first sign of problem) when I showed up to test it but I had no charger with me and drove a distance so I just hoped for the best.
I got home and in the light saw there was a little green corrosion present on one of the terminals which I Q-tipped with alcohol and scraped off fine, no biggie, I hoped. I plugged it in and none of the battery LED's lit up. F%@*!! I left it for 10 minutes, wiggled the charger, tested the charger with another battery (which was fine), to no avail. When I bought it the lady did say that there was a blinking white light on it that eventually stopped. Did it run to zero and damage one or more of the cells? Did it maybe get moisture somehow from being in the basement suite? Is it a combo of both? Did I get totally screwed here or is there something I can do? I'm guessing 3DR is going to tell me I'm pretty much out of luck, right? So many questions...I probably just bought myself a $50 paperweight huh?
Thanks for any input and/or sage advice to a clearly massive newb.
After a harvest shoot on a weekend trip to the inlaws' farm and constantly needing just a couple minutes more out of my 2 almost dead batteries to get that perfect shot I realized I can't live without a 3rd. Being the cheapskate I am I decided to check Craigslist on the off-chance there would be a battery out there for a sweet deal. Low and behold the first post was from a traveller moving back next week with their ex-roommates' battery for sale that he had left, and for only $50!! I was skeptical of course but went out at night and risked it. The battery LED indicator circles were DOA (first sign of problem) when I showed up to test it but I had no charger with me and drove a distance so I just hoped for the best.
I got home and in the light saw there was a little green corrosion present on one of the terminals which I Q-tipped with alcohol and scraped off fine, no biggie, I hoped. I plugged it in and none of the battery LED's lit up. F%@*!! I left it for 10 minutes, wiggled the charger, tested the charger with another battery (which was fine), to no avail. When I bought it the lady did say that there was a blinking white light on it that eventually stopped. Did it run to zero and damage one or more of the cells? Did it maybe get moisture somehow from being in the basement suite? Is it a combo of both? Did I get totally screwed here or is there something I can do? I'm guessing 3DR is going to tell me I'm pretty much out of luck, right? So many questions...I probably just bought myself a $50 paperweight huh?
Thanks for any input and/or sage advice to a clearly massive newb.
