No Luck with LumoPro Hot Shoe Universal Translators w/Audio Patch Cord

[Greg_Embree]

<p>I am hobbyist who occasionally shoots location portraits for free for our neighborhood association. I've had great success with Cactus 4 radio receivers to fire my off-camera flashes, but I thought it would be a good idea to carry along a cheap and reliable backup triggering system. I purchased a 15-foot audio patch cord to connect my camera to an off-camera flash unit via two LumoPro Hot Shoe Universal Translators, one on my camera's hot shoe and one attached to my off-camera flash (a normally reliable Vivitar 283). I tested this combination this evening. It worked sporadically at first, then stopped working at all.<br>

I've used the Universal Translators and Cactus Fours to fire my Alien Bees studio strobes for years with no problem, albeit using the Translator's PC connection, not the 1/8" mini-plug connection. I suspect the problem lies with the patch cable. When I experimented with plugging one end of the patch cable directly into my Alien Bee's mini-plug socket and the other end into the Universal Translator mounted in my camera's hot shoe, the Alien Bees wouldn't fire. As you can see in the photo below, the patch cable's plugs don't match exactly the configuration of the plug at the end of the cable that came with the Alien Bees. Did I buy the wrong kind of patch cable? If that's the case, can anyone recommend a source for the correct kind? <br>

<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~suza1/IMG_5603.JPG" alt="" width="534" height="577" /><br>

<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~suza1/IMG_5604.JPG" alt="" width="601" height="504" /></p>

 

[ellis_vener_photography]

I've had a similar problem but with different devices. What solved the problem was switching to a single channel cable.

[Greg_Embree]

<p>Thanks, Ellis. Do those two black bands on each plug of the audio patch cable indicate that it's not a single-channel cable? I'm new to everything associated with audio cables. <br>

After posting this, I found on the web site of Midwest Photo Exchange a 16-foot cord for connecting two Universal Translators. I should have shopped the photography sites for the cord instead of simply Googling for an audio patch cord. </p>

[Jochen_S]

<p>Yes! its for stereo headphones. - Maybe try it with a headphone / speakers set and your PC's audio out? Personally I'd maybe try to solder the middle and rear cable together somewhere but I agree my low level of soldering skills would have an impact on reliability.</p>

[Greg_Embree]

<p>Thanks, Jochen. I've now learned that all audio patch cords are not equal. I'm going to toss this one and buy another from Midwest Photo Exchange. Live and learn. </p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>Yes, what you have there is a stereo cable. Actually, it should not make a a difference, but it could depending on how the flash and the "translators" are wired. Try it with a mono cable and see what happens.<br /><br />For what it's worth, these connectors are referred to as "tip-sleeve" for a mono cable or "tip-ring-sleeve" for a stereo cable. In a mono cable, the tip is hot and the sleeve (longer portion) is ground. On a stereo cable the tip is one channel (left, I think) and the ring is the other channel while the sleeve remains ground.<br /><br />If the photo gear you are using is wired mono, the presence of the "ring" connection should simply be ignored. But if it were wired stereo on one end and mono on the other, the "ring" connection could be grounded, potentially causing problems.</p>

[Greg_Embree]

<p>Thanks, Craig. Audio patch cables are more complicated than I realized. The stereo cable in the photo above indeed worked for a few of my test shots, but not for the majority. This morning I ordered a 16-foot cord from Midwest Photo Exchange that the salesperson said would work with no problem with my two universal translators. </p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>My guess is that what should be the ground connection is contacting the ring of the stereo jack at one end and not at the other. As has already been said, you need proper mono jacks for reliable operation. Or a P-C to P-C or P-C to mini-jack cable.</p>