Dropped a Vivitar 283--Repairable?

[Greg_Embree]

<p>Yesterday I dropped one of my Vivitar 283 flashes on a linoleum floor from about waist-high. Nothing broke from it. Nothing rattles when I shake it. But it no longer turns on and it won't fire when I push the test button. I hate to add this flash to a landfill unnecessarily, but I presume that mailing it off for a professional repair job would cost more than simply buying a replacement for it. Am I right? Also, I wouldn't know to whom to send it. Is this flash unit's problem something I can diagnose and repair at home? I have a Radio Shack multitester and know how to use a screwdriver, but I'm no electronics professional by any means. How would I go about diagnosing and fixing the problem? </p>

[RobertChura]

<p>I would check the battery connections first.</p>

[jack_fisher1]

<p>Check Messages.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>You can buy a used one for about $40, so I would definitely not pay anyone to repair it. As Robert says, I would check the batteries. Maybe take the sensor off the front and put it back on again. Maybe try fresh batteries. Maybe try it with and without an external high voltage pack if you have one. Beyond that would really be exploratory surgery and probably not worth the trouble. BTW, I have 283 and I think three 285 units and love them.</p>

[Greg_Embree]

<p>My damaged 283 won't work on batteries; the ones I tested it with are 100-percent fresh. I tried firing the flash with the VP-1 Vari-Power module and the standard Auto-Thyristor sensor installed. No dice with either, at least in battery mode. I even tested it with different battery carriers--those things that one slips the batteries into before stuffing the whole shebang into the flash. <br>

To my surprise and great relief, the flash does work perfectly with the SB-4 AC adapter plugged into the wall. This is a partial victory, because it means I can still use it for product photography in my basement, of which I do a lot, and I won't have to dump the flash in a landfill. I already found a replacement 283 for $27.50, for my use on the road. <br>

So, Robert and Craig, you were both right. I seem to have messed up the battery connections somehow when I dropped it. Craig, I'm always glad to run across another 283 fan. I have four (well, now three and a half) and they do everything I need them to do. I never spent more than $40 on any of them. <br>

Thanks for your responses.</p>

 

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>I'll never understand the attachment people have to these crappy old Vivitars. Even $40 is way overpriced for the functions they offer. No swivel head and having to swap modules between AA mode and manual power control!?</p>

<p>Spend your 40 bucks on a new YongNuo or something similar. Landfill is where that old relic belongs.</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>Don't be tempted to try and fix it unless you know exactly what you are doing. The capacitors un flashguns retain dangerously high voltages.</p>

[Greg_Embree]

<p>Thanks for the tip, John. I definitely won't be doing any exploratory surgery on it. </p>

[pics]

<p>Check all of the contact springs inside the compartment. Depending on the angle it falls, the springs become permanently compressed/bent from the inertia of the batteries violently slamming around and no longer make solid contact with the batteries or battery insert afterwards. If so, reach in there with thin pliers (or whatever you can rig up) and pull the springs back out to where they should be. I used this to "resurrect" a Yongnuo that took a spill and wouldn't turn on afterwards.</p>

[Greg_Embree]

<p>Thanks for the suggestion, Daniel. I tried it, but had no luck. At least the flash unit works with the AC adapter. It looks like I'm going to have to settle for that. </p>