30035 | Poweroid - Open source SX-70 i-Type hardware solution

Hello dear people!

I'd like to introduce you to the "Poweroid" - a full-feature, open source SX-70 i-Type hardware solution.

This is a passion project of mine I've been occasionally working on for the past year and a half. Since it has now reached a state of maturity where I'm comfortable with publishing it, I'd like to share it with everyone today :)

What's the Poweroid? - It's a rechargeable battery pack designed to mount to the bottom of folding-style Polaroid SLR cameras, such as the SX-70. In combination with a camera modded for ISO-600 film or an ND-filter, it enables the camera to take the cheaper i-Type film.
It aims to be a sleek yet cheap, easy to use, robust, full-feature battery pack with features such as internal USB-C charging, broad camera compatibility and safety considerations.

What features does it have?

• Physical on/off switch

• Charge level display

• USB-C charging

• Battery safety (fuse, over-current/under-voltage protection, ...)

• External voltage protection (compatible with SX-70 and 600 film)

• Integrated tripod socket (camera does not need one)

• Easy mounting system with no internal mods to the camera required

• Modular battery layout compatible with whatever cells you have available

Why yet another i-Type battery pack? - Every i-Type solution currently around is either quite hacky, has little convenience features, is proprietary and/or very expensive, or not available whatsoever. I wanted to make a battery pack that has all the features, is easy to install, looks good and is cheap to build, while being open to everyone to build themselves or modify to their taste.

What's special about it? - The Poweroid is supposed to be an open alternative to proprietary solutions which are often expensive to buy and/or out of stock entirely. Anyone can build the required hardware, given they have access to the necessary tools and good soldering skills. If you don't like it, you can change everything about it yourself.

Is it a product? Where can I buy it? - It's not currently commercially available, however if there is some interest, I may produce a batch or two, or sell cheap DIY kits with pre-assembled PCBs at some point. We'll see, this post however is not mean to be an advertisement, as there is no product yet.

Further information - I've written up a comprehensive documentation on the Poweroid GitHub repository, which is where you can access all project resources.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks! There's still a couple of ideas I have on how to improve it, but at this point I'd like to share it, maybe it's already helpful to someone as is :)