2 flash questions

First, let me explain that I am referring to equipment that is of 3

different brand names. The camera is a Nikon N6006, the flash is a

Vivitar 636AF(Dedicated TTL), and the sync cord is un-named.

I have 2 questions. 1) What exactly does "dedicated" mean on the

flash? Will it read the amount of light that it will need to emit,

then make necessary settings for a "correctly" illuminated photo?

Does it do this automatically? And 2) Is there a simple way to test

the operation of the sync cord? I'm not sure if it is sensitive to

anything more than acting as a simple(all or nothing) power cord to

the flash. Yet I 'thought' that it might have been an off-brand

version of Nikon's SC-17. But am not certain.

I have read and read about these things, and seem to be getting more

and more confused the deeper I get into my research. So kindly keep

it as simple as possible. Don't get me wrong here. I have taken

decent flash pictures. The thing is that they are all as a matter of

chance. I don't have a clue as to what I'm really doing. So as you

can see, I need help here. Thanks much.

"Dedicated" means that the flash is designed to work with

one brand of camera. Background: All cameras/flashes communicate

the "fire" signal in the same way -- two wires are

connected electrically in the camera when it's time to produce

light. Beyond that, everything else is different between different

camera brands. If a flash supports a viewfinder ready light,

TTL metering, pre-flash, AF assist light, etc., then it's "dedicated".

<p>

What does your sync cord look like? Where does it connect to the

camera? The standard PC outlet is always non-dedicated, because

it only supports a two-wire connection telling the flash when to

fire. A dedicated sync cord will connect to your hot shoe,

and will act as an "extension cord", connecting <em> every one</em>

of the pins from the flash to the corresponding contacts on the

camera's hot shoe. Does the shoe at the "flash" end look just

like the shoe on your camera? Are all the pins connected

electrically? You can use a volt/ohm meter to determine this.