Speedotron issue (1-stop difference between 200 Ws and 1600 Ws)

[tom_christiansen]

Folks,

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At a local camera store I found a good deal on an older set of Speedotron

lights. D1602 power pack, two M11 lights, two MW3R lights, and an assortment of

reflectors, umbrellas, etc.

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However, I don't seem to be able to vary the power from the power pack by very

much. I have the power pack set to "symmetrical" power distribution between the

outlets and one M11 with a 16" reflector hooked up to it. I'm measuring the

light output with a Gossen Lunapro Digital F flash meter located on a table

about 3 meters (10') from the light. Here are my results:

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200 Ws: f/22.1<br>

800 Ws: f/22.2<br>

1600 Ws: f/22.9<br>

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The results are very repeatable. I had expected the difference between 1600 Ws

and 200 Ws to be three stops as there's a factor of eight difference in energy.

Is my expectation incorrect or is there something wrong with the power pack?

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Does anyone have a manual for this power pack?

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Thanks,

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Tom

[michaelmowery]

Your switches are arched. Send it in for repair

[Gary Naka]

The manual is available on the Speedotron site.

[todd_k.]

Ditto on the switches. The brownline packs are very simple and depending on where youre at, you can probably save some repair cash by sending it to a local shop.

[jmf]

OR if there isn't a local shop, FlashClinic in NYC does good work and turned around my Norman pack in about a 8 days.

 

They're not rocket science inside, but that's enough joules to jumpstart 4 people (i used to build cardiac defib units as a summer job MANY moons ago). I don't know the Speedo's, but I've had my Norman 2000's open, and they're both from the same design era. Some parts are pretty generic but others are special to the mfg. If you're comfortable discharging the pack safely, the switches are easy to check and relatively easy to replace. You and most likely anyone in a 50 ft radius will know if you get the wiring wrong when you power up the pack.

 

Did I mention I like FlashClinic?

[tom_christiansen]

Folks,

 

Everyone and their dog is saying "switch is bad" so I guess that's it... Although, I did some measurements on it with an ohmmeter and it didn't seem bad. But the two sides of the switch were connected. I'm not sure if that's normal (my guess is that it's not).

 

Thankfully, I bought the used kit from a local store so I'll exhaust their warranty options first. I believe they normally offer 60-day warranty on used gear. If that should fail, one of the Speedotron repair places listed on Speedotron's website is a 10-minute drive from my house...

 

Does anybody by any chance have a repair manual with an electrical schematic for that Speedotron D1602? It would be nice to have for future reference.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Tom