I received my Meike D800 Grip (MD8) via a mailing bag, when I opened the bag the box had been crushed pretty well. Looked at the grip and one of the locating pins was broken off. Spent a few days trying to get ‘reasonable’ (in my opinion) satisfaction from the seller…in the end decided to fix it myself and move forward.
I opened up the grip expecting a circuit board that simply had traces terminating in the plug affair not expecting many solid state devices….surprise for me.
At any rate to the pin. I determined that there was clearance for a screw head inside of the housing.
Using the center point of the broken off pin as a drill point I enlarged the tiny hole to 2.75MM. I grabbed a screw from my computer screw collection (flat headed).
OALength = 8.85mm
Shaft length = 6.85mm
Shaft diameter = 2.87
I applied a tiny drop of plastic cement on the base of the screw head and screwed it into the plastic, being careful not to over tighten it and strip it out.
Satisfied with the tightness I slipped a small length of shrink tubing onto the exposed threads and applied a bit of heat (carefully) to shrink the material around the threads. Trimmed it with a razor blade. The threaded portion now measures 3.1mm in diameter and fits the base of the D800/e just fine. This tubing will probably be a wear issue but I’ll watch it closely and if need be go back in with a brass screw that has the threads files smooth.
While inside the grip I removed the tightening screw assembly that attaches the grip to the body. The gears are not of a precision variety (understatement) their loose tolerances lead to the wobble and rattle I didn't care for. I cut a piece of 1.5mm thick mylar material and trimmed it to fit under the metal plate but between the gears and this plate. This put a slight amount of tension on the gears/screw which almost totally removed the obvious play/rattle.The mylar won't be affected by moisture and should wear just fine.
Not perfect but for my needs this grip will now suffice.
CGrindahl wrote:
And you're certain all those electronic parts come from a source different from what Nikon uses? Just curious...
They almost certainly don't use anything Nikon. Most companies "own" the tooling for custom boards like this as well as casing, etc. Even contract manufacturers are disallowed from using them outside their contract. There may be other IP issues as well, which isn't a problem in China, will be in the USA, UK and other large markets.
Net: Knockoff guys get a real one and make it with different/cheaper stuff. Their testing and quality standards are generally lower (and often virtually non-existent, though there are definitely exceptions), and they are usually savvy enough to avoid getting tripped up on patents.
(I've worked in the tech industry for over 20 years, a lot of that on the product management side)
I remember with the MB-D10 Photix made a 3rd party battery. And there was another group that knocked off the 3rd party guy. It was pretty funny. I got one and they somehow made it with less screws.
I just wonder what a real MB-D11 looks like inside. I just cringe when i see those wires going from circuit board and soldering straight to ribbon cable. Makes you wonder. What idiot designed this product.
Maybe I missed it somewhere, but why couldn't you use the broken off piece with a screw from underneath it to hold it on (with some glue too)? Was it not accessible or was the piece missing?
mrgetalife wrote:
I just cringe when i see those wires going from circuit board and soldering straight to ribbon cable. Makes you wonder. What idiot designed this product.
I rip into a lot of electronic things and have for many decades.....those three hand soldered wires are of zero concern to me (since the joints look good).
I bet that if someone opens up another one next month, there will be changes to the board...or at least jumped leads.
jhinkey wrote:
Maybe I missed it somewhere, but why couldn't you use the broken off piece with a screw from underneath it to hold it on (with some glue too)? Was it not accessible or was the piece missing?
John
I have the piece but I felt the 'screw' was a more reliable solution. Time will tell.
