Hi Folks, I know this is a beat-to-death topic, but I searched and searched and I haven't found what I was looking for so I'm asking here.
What do you folks think of using the Lithium DL-1 battery in place of two MS76s in an MX? I understand the original battery (mercury-something) started at 1.3V but quickly dropped to and held a fairly even 1.2V until it suddenly died, which made it perfect for the meter application. I read that the alkaline replacement (AS76?) starts a bit too high at 1.5V, but quickly comes down to around 1.25V, but the discharge characteristic of slowly getting lower and lower in voltage (especially in the last third of their life) makes these "useless" for the meter application. I've read that the MS76 US replacement is a silver-oxide battery that starts at 1.6V, but quickly drops to 1.5V where it stays until the last 1% of it's life. This is a great discharge profile but the voltage is "too high". Yet these are what I most often see recommended as the battery to use in my MXs. What I haven't seen is any discussion of the Lithium DL-1 battery, which says it is a 3V battery. I've used those occasionally and they seemed to work, but then again I was shooting wide-latitude color print film and "bracketing like crazy". One of the reason I like the DL-1 is it provides voltage at very cold temperatures (-10 degrees F or "Christmas in Connecticut") and has a nice 10 year shelf life. Does anyone know the DL-1's discharge profile (which is probably similar to other Lithium batteries)? Or what is the current solution of the MX battery issue? If I want to use DL-1s exclusively do I really need to / can I get the MX meters adjusted for the higher voltage? Do I need to if I use the MS76 silver-oxide replacements? Sorry to bring up an old issue, but I've read what I could find online and I still have these questions. Thanks for listening! - THaller
