Sounds as though the battery pack is the problem. It may show plenty
of voltage open-circuit, but this could collapse when the drive takes
current. It only takes one cell to have a high internal resistance -
and they do that with age - and you get trouble. A good electronics
tech (not necessarily a camera tech) could confirm this and replace
the cells if necessary. You would need to replace all the cells
together, or you'll get it happening again every month.

If I remember rightly there's a solenoid in the base of the drive
which engages the mechanism and that takes a lot of current for a
short time, causing the voltage to collapse.

Good luck,

Colin

> If anyone out there in Pentaxland has any experience using a Motor Drive
> MX with a NiCad Pack LX - read on please.
> 
> The two units line up well, and according to Boz's site are compatible. 
> But when I tried a newly aquired but used NiCad Pack LX on a newly 
> aquired but used Motor Drive MX, all I get is a loud buzzing noise coming 
> from the left hand side of the drive (as viewed from the back), and 
> certainly no movement from the drive. It happens whether using the grip 
> release button or the NiCad pack release button, on both single and 
> continuous mode.
> 
> Given: the drive was tested before despatch and worked fine.
> Given: The NiCad Pack was sold untested, but after a few hours on charge, 
> a multimeter reveals a healthy output of about 18 volts (!) on two of the 
> four power contacts on top of the NiCad Pack.
> 
> Questions: does this buzzing sound call anything immediately to mind? If 
> you've used these two units in conjunction with each other, do they work 
> okay, or is there a possible incompatibility? If you've used either a MX 
> or an LX drive, did you ever get a strange buzzing sound - almost like a 
> relay trying to avoid a short-circuit - and if so, what was the cause and 
> cure?


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