How I dramatically improved my SQ12 battery life
To make it short, my dear Quelima SQ12 has made a bath and, after it - even if still working perfectly once it got dry - the battery life has started to last only 10 minutes, out of the 30 minutes it used to last in the beginning.
Way far from the 2 hours promised, but hey, it's a 12€ camera, I'm not going to complain.
I decided to find a replacement for the battery. I opened the camera and looked for the battery model/form factor... without success. I found out the original battery had a capacity of 200mAh but, frankly, I didn't believe it.
So I took a ruler and checked the size. I then spent some time on Aliexpress to find the perfect replacement and... I managed to find a REAL 200mAh, bigger than the original but still able to fit in the case, for around 4 bucks.
The battery you'll need is a 3,7V 502020 200mAh one, like this.
I took my soldering iron and proceeded with the replacement. I had to find the best position for the battery (see below) but... in the end it fitted properly.
The results are incredible.
SQ12 back to life and, on the first test with full recharge, I got 105 minutes of video. Very, very close to the promised 2 hours (and this makes me wonder if the original battery was even CLOSE to 200mAh. More probably some 70-80mAh)Go ahead, make yourself a gift ;)
