HLD-3 mod for E-330

[Mickey]

HLD-3 conversion for E-330
(possibly E-500/510 as well)
Due to my addiction to the battery grips on my E-10, E-1, E-300, and WZ-8080,
and seeing a foreign site of the conversion (German I believe), I purchased a
new HLD-3 and decided to give it a whirl.
The foreign site as well as some follow-up posts by others left a lot to the
imagination and as I found out there was more to it than meets the eye.
I shall try to relay my findings and resolutions in the following message.
HLD-3 as received.

There were screws of varying lengths involved, so I suggest making a diagram
of the part using them. I used a paper plate with small holes punched in it.
Or, just screw them into the hole they came out of as the parts are disassembled.

First order of business is opening up the unit and removing the Thumbwheel assembly.

Notice the four screws to the right in the base of the power tower.
(that slides into camera)
This next shot shows the T_wheel assembly removed and the existing screw guide hole.
This hole will have to be elongated to line up the screw with the tapped camera
tripod hole.If you will notice there is also a raised circular ridge that the
thumbwheel fits into.I removed the right half of this ridge so the T_wheel would
fit flush against the underside of the top housing once the assembly is shifted
to the right for alignment.

This shot shows the T_wheel unit disassembled in it's original state. The
portruding flange on the thumbwheel fits in the hole and the plate is sandwiched
between the Thumbwheel and the screw.

This is the power PC Board and contact pins accessible after removing the four
screws in the base of power tower(fourth photo from top), and the five screws
accessible on outside of power tower.

While the tower is disassembled, remove the two screws holding the contact pin
assembly and push the pins down, remove and insulate them and store them in base.
These pins and wires are for the auxillary remote and shutter and unless you want
to open your camera and try to figure out how to utilize them,they are of no use
at this time.

This is also a good time to remove the appendage at the top of the tower that housed
the auxillary shutter and remote contact pins. I used a jewelers saw to cut it off
flush with the tower top. I also filed flush with the main top surface a small circular
button in the recess near the tripod screw (seen in photos 9 & 11) so the base of the
camera would rest flat when unit is tightened.
Next, insert the top plate into the camera to determine the amount the hole has to
be slotted. A round file or Moto-Tool (my preference) can be used for this.

Be aware that the hole in the metal plate for the T_wheel has to be shifted also.


Before reassembly you will also have to trim the right side of the slot that the
T_wheel slides through since the wheel will drag due to shifting the assembly to the right.

This shows the shutter button and remote wires tucked away before reassembly.

Reassembly is a reverse procedure, and you end up with IMHO a better balanced,
more comfortable, and longer battery life with deeper power to enhance the function
of the lens motors,plus the ability to add the GS-2 which I love. The original battery
door (though a tight fit) can be stored in the power tower.

(Lens focus speed due to double battery usage is arguable) ;-)
Hopefully, I have covered everything.
Best wishes,
Mickey

[Hokuto]

Great work, Mickey. This should go into the permanent archives.

[Mickey]

for my not being familiar enough with the procedure on this forum to embed the photos in the post.
Hopefully someone with administrator privileges will/can take the time or effort to rectify the inconvenience of having to click on every photo link.
Thanks again!
Mickey

[rolfw]

for my not being familiar enough with the procedure on this forum to embed the photos in the post.
Hopefully someone with administrator privileges will/can take the time or effort to rectify the inconvenience of having to click on every photo link.
Thanks again!
Mickey

Just add [img] before each photo URL and [/img] after, then the photos will display in the post.

You will have to delete the existing [url] bb code though.

[Mickey]

Thanks rolfw.
Sorry for the quality of the photos. They were taken in haste handheld under varying light conditions.
Hope the images are an acceptable size.
Thanks again!
Mickey

[Kyle Jones]

I love people who won't take "no" for an answer. Nice work.

[syntaxerr0r]

How would it compare to this: http://www.ownuser.com.tw/e_E330_1.htm ?

Apart from the battery life, having at least an extra trigger is one of the things that make grips comfortable. I sure miss it on the 330, since I shoot vertical a lot!

[Mickey]

I love people who won't take "no" for an answer. Nice work.

Thanks Kyle,
I seem to be a habitual tinkerer that believes in the saying "Ask not Why, but Why Not?"
When I get home this evening I will address Syntaxerr0r's question with my further thoughts on why I chose this route (HLD 3 over Ownuser version) and theory on how to make the HLD 3 grip completely functional.
Thanks again,
Mickey

[tx3dude]

Thanks Kyle,
I seem to be a habitual tinkerer that believes in the saying "Ask not Why, but Why Not?"
When I get home this evening I will address Syntaxerr0r's question with my further thoughts on why I chose this route (HLD 3 over Ownuser version) and theory on how to make the HLD 3 grip completely functional.
Thanks again,
Mickey

does the e330 have a cable remote plug (ALA E300) if so - you could wire the three pin plug. I have modified the same grip to fit an e500 but the tower as you call it had to be rotated. I initially removed the internal cable at the circuit board at the bottom of the grip (no rattles and no need to insulate) but i have since modified my e500 to utilise the the trigger(not for the feint hearted) Works well and a worthwhile modification IMHO.

[Michael Meissner]

does the e330 have a cable remote plug (ALA E300) if so - you could wire the three pin plug. I have modified the same grip to fit an e500 but the tower as you call it had to be rotated. I initially removed the internal cable at the circuit board at the bottom of the grip (no rattles and no need to insulate) but i have since modified my e500 to utilise the the trigger(not for the feint hearted) Works well and a worthwhile modification IMHO.

No, neither the E-500 nor the E-330 support a wired shutter release. Even though the RM-UC1 will fit in the USB multiport, there are no wires in the camera to support it. For providing a second shutter button there are three possibilities that come to mind:

• An infraread dongle that mimics the RM-1/RM-2, which is what the Gadget Infinity grip provides;
• A computer program in the grip that attaches to the USB multi-port and mimics the Studio protocol for tethered shooting.
• Some sort of mechanical Rube Goldbert contraption that triggers the main shutter when you press the other shutter.

[Mickey]

***tx3dude***
Am pleased to know this mod will work on E-500 and probably 510 as well. Perhaps others may be inspired to try it as an alternative to the Ownuser grip.
I would be very interested in your connection to the camera. I have a couple of thoughts I am pondering at the moment.
Please see the reply I shall make to Michael in a moment.
Again, I am very open to your process.
Thanks!
Mickey

[Mickey]

I chose the modification of the HLD 3 instead of the Ownuser grip since from photos I've seen the Ownuser grip appears bulkier and not as sleek looking. Hopefully when Ben H's comes in he could give us comparison shots.
I am bouncing around between two lines of thought for total functionality of this mod.
One would take a bit more work, but would be completely concealed as they are on my Oly's that have OEM grips designed for their respective cameras. The other would be a simpler method using a dongle.
The more complicated approach would involve installing and hardwiring a female receptacle such as on my E-100rs

into and flush with the base of the camera, (using the three original wires that I have coiled up in the base and installing the male counterpart into the grip adjacent to the power tower. Doing this would also enable the grip shutter button lockout switch.

Though I am not very keen on the thought of an external exposed dongle, I have two of these remotes ( along with 3 of the original RMCB 1s) in my bags,

that I could cannibalize and just install and hard wire the female single hole socket at the side of the camera close to the bottom edge opposite the grip shutter button and bring the corresponding male counterpart out of the grip as a dongle.

Using either approach, I could use either the RMCB 1 or the JJC remote and then also as an added benefit be able to use the wireless remote.

Confused yet? I certainly am!!! ;-))
Cheers!
Mickey

[tx3dude]

by adapting the hld-3 to the e500 and wiring the shutter release through(involves taking camera apart and wiring through) i am able to use the original olympus cable release. the HLD-3 grip has the connector on the side for it!! You have to be prepared to bit the bullet and pull the thing apart. I wish id taken photos when the camera was apart.

[Mickey]

I would ask where you connected the wires.
I found a post by rkrenn from a year ago where he opened a 500.
http://fourthirdsphoto.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=5275
If the 330 is similar internally to the 500, it appears that one could solder to either the shutter button or the camera PCB. Where did you make connection and did you wire direct or add diode protection? I have and can use a pencil iron that is grounded, low wattage, and very small tipped for this type of work.
On a side note, something I found interesting while disassembling a spare B-HLD20 (used on 5060/7070) to scavenge the cable remote connection, that Oly used a completely different approach for aligning the Thumbwheel than on the HLD 3.
Instead of using the plate system as shown in OP they elected to cast the retainer into the grip utilizing a different screw, wheel, and aligning it with three staves 120 degrees apart while a shaft at bottom of screw rides in a tubular post located in the center.

Considering this and the flat ribbon connector for the control contact pins, any attempt in modifying B-HLD20 for use on another camera would be a heckuva lot more entailed and difficult than what we are doing with the HLD-3.
Please let me know what you soldered to.
Thanks again for your knowledge and input.