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Old Honeywell Strobonar 200's, 202's, and 52A's


neil_poulsen8

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I have some old Honeywell Strobonar 200's, 202's, and 52A's, two of each. They belong to a friend who

was a well known Hollywood photographer, and I'm taking a look at them. They haven't been used in a

few years.

 

Is anyone still using these? They might come in handy as lights to emphasize parts of an interior. I

understand they are 75 watt seconds, and in the case of the 202's, both 75ws and 150ws. I saw a post in

2004, where someone recommended them as an inexpensive lighting system.

 

I'm a little concerned about their lack of consistent use. I could condition them using a high wattage

resistor before plugging them into straight power, like I've done with Dynalites. (At the manufacturer's

recommendation.) I'm also kind of wondering if their safe. They're in plastic housings, though. He and I

will be photographing together, and he'll want to use these lights.

 

Also, they have this strange twisting thing on top that can be pulled up. I think this is probably a light

sensitive synch. Not sure, though.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

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Hello Neil, I'm of little help because I only have one old Strobonar that has been unused for years. I was playing with it a few months ago and it surprised me by what appeared to be normal activity after the cpacitator reformatted. If you use digital media to test their consistency you are only out your time if not satisfied. Good luck D.D.
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Hi Neil, I have three of these,2-202's and 1-204(battery capable). They are good units that just need to be plugged in and fired a few times to reform the capacitors. If you plug them into AC for about 1/2 hour and then fire them, they should work ok for you. They make a great background light or with a snoot a good hairlight or kicker and the built in slave works well too. Good luck and I hope you can find a use for them.
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Robert is right on the money, plugging in 1/2 hour to reform then test fire a few pops at 1/2 then full and you're on . Honeywell had very good caps in them wich rarely fails. The slave is pulled then rotated in the direction trigger flash will be coming from.Light controls for them is rarely seen and I suggest you try to do yourself some
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  • 7 months later...
They're right on reforming, 1/2 - 1 hour plugged into AC w/o popping them than a fews pops and you're in businees .Also as mentioned,Capacitors in Honeywell very rarely fails.I would'n be worried about safety either except if power cords/plug are in bad condition. These were very well made with quality components.Even the plastic body is very tough after all those years still hard to break, unlike China C stuff wich grow old before you know it (If it still works) and become very brittle.I don't remember much about accessories except for lenses diffusers and color filters who were snapping in front of them. AS for showing on Ebay, you do see them once in a while but oftenly shipping prices from sellers are high making them unattractively priced if you do the total.
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks so much for all the informative follow-ups, I was gifted a 200 and a 51-A and have been trying to find out as much about them as I could and this thread is by far the most detailed.

 

I have some additional questions...both units have a resistor pack sealed in clear plastic with two metal prongs and each unit has three slots into which the resistor can be fitted. What does the resistor do and what is the effect of using the resistor in each of the two possible positions as well as completely removed? Does this affect the WS output and if so what are the values?

 

Thanks!

 

- mike

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  • 4 months later...

I have been using the same four 202's since 1976. The flash tubes are originals and still fire great. I am not sure the modeling lamps can be replaced, at least not with the same frosted ones. If someone knows where replacement lamps and/or flash tubes can be had, I'd appreciate a shout.

 

Thanks.

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By the way, I use them today primarily with a Canon 40D, using a Wein hot shoe adapter with the built-in voltage protector. No sync problems at all, and works as well as with my old ELM or 330cf.

 

BTW, if anyone has any of these units to sell, I'd be interested.

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  • 5 months later...
i recently came upon 5 of these Honeywell Strobonar 202 Slave units and am really curious whether i can use them for more than hair and backlight. this is my first attempt at ANY kind of strobe lighting. up til now, i've been using halogen construction lamps... any advice would be very much appreciated. thanks so much!!!
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  • 5 years later...

<p>I am posting here in this old thread to anyone who uses these 202 strobes or for the ones that have already posted & have notices turned on for this topic. As well as any one new that may come across this topic in the future. please message me.<br>

You can post here too but message or eMail me so I can come back here to post.<br>

<strong>I have just acquired 2 of these 202 flashes. </strong><br>

<strong>One is a 202E and one is a 202LA . </strong><br>

I cant find much information on them. And i am not buying the manuals off ebay .. but i sure would love to have the Technical manual that they are advertising with the exploded views.<br>

Anyway, there does seam nothing too them, I just want to know if anyone has any of the accessories for it and could I see photos of them.. Particularly the barn doors or the Snoot.<br>

I found 2 photos online of previous 202's that were for sale which had those accessories, but the photos are not clear.<br>

Also I was thinking of getting one more strobe to round out my set; three are more useful than just two but I cant seem to find a single 202 for sale. I have come across a 51A & a 52A (the 52A looks in rough shape) .<br>

What would some of you, more you experienced users, suggest is a fair price that one should pay for these strobes?</p>

 

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  • 7 months later...

<p>Has anyone heard of the Slave Strobonar 204?<br>

I have a chance to purchase a couple. Someone is selling them for 40 dollars a piece, and I know nothing about them. They look just like the 202's. Does anyone know if they are just a more powerful version?<br>

It seems a little high from what I use to see people selling the 202's for, but it has been a long time since I even seen a 202 for sale.</p>

 

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