Gold Mount Battery Charger Not Working, Making Ticking/Clicking Noise..

Mike Krumlauf

Mike Krumlauf

Award Winning Filmmaker
My gold mount battery charger will not turn all the way on and charge the battery I have for my varicam and sdx900... the power light flickers and keeps ticking.. i really dont want to have to buy a new charger next week as they are expensive.. any ideas to help me solve this.. kinda need power to use my cameras... I use DynaCore Batteries and the Charger is the DynaCore D2-A Gold Mount Charger.
 
Check the power cable and make sure it's plugged in all the way and securely and make sure that it's getting enough power. I've had a lot of chargers plugged into the same outlet at one time and when trying to charge a lot of batts simultaneously and some would shut down because the individual charger couldn't get enough voltage. Otherwise you'll probably have to send it in for repairs(If it's a company you can get ahold of that actually services their equipment). Battery chargers aren't bullet proof and usually when something does happen, it's not a user fix. Had an A/B charger get banged around in shipping and had to send it in. I had another "off brand" that I bought specifically for their batts(Inik) and after a few years, the charger just died completely. Funny enough, the batteries are still going strong six-eight years later.
 
Run&Gun.. Do you know if Gold Mount Charging "cables" work well? I see some made that attach right to the pins in the battery and some that hook into the Dtap outlet on the side of the battery. These are the cheapest options to charge which is why i am interested in them.. What would your suggestions be for a replacement charging solution?
 
Hey Mike. I've never used them and do not know how well the "cable/powertap" option works.

I understand trying to save money on gear. I remember when I started out 20 years ago, I just bought what I thought I could get by with, without sacrificing quality. And back then, there were really only a few options: Anton Bauer, Sony and PAG. And Anton was the only one I even considered. Fast forward to today and there are many reputable, reliable options and countless "cheap chinese" options that are actually decent. I can't recommend A/B anymore, because the QC on their batts went to hell-in-a-handbasket, their designs are beyond baffling they are so dumb and their customer service is a joke, too. Last January I begin switching over to Switronix(now CORE SW). My understanding is that at least one of the guys is a former A/B engineer.

I would try to get the charger checked out and see if it can be fixed economically. If not, then you need to evaluate if you want to buy another one from this company of go with someone else. If it makes any difference, I'm still using my ORIGINAL two-position Anton/Bauer battery charger that I bought 20 years ago. It was probably ~$700 or so when I bought it, so that works out to about $35/year, less than $3/month and fractions of fractions of a cent per charge at this point. You WILL have to replace batteries every few years(maybe 3-5 depending on use), but other support gear, like a battery charger or tripod head should last a VERY long time, if not a career.
 
I feel like SWIT's gold pin charging cable for $80 at Adorama is the cheapest option.. I would love to drop 800 on that anton bauer charger with the touch screen interface, im sure it would last me a very long time.. i'm a little skeptical on buying the same charger I had for $180 considering I had it a little over a year and it crapped out on me. Then again I have an underlying thought that a shoot a did in my apartment involving a fog machine might have hurt the charger? IDK how but thats when it stopped working so who knows..
 
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