ken_holtane

OK, I have a Digital Rebel and a Rebel XTi. I bought the Canon 430EX and it

works great, but I'd like more power. I have a Metz 60CT-1, a Vivitar 285,

and 2 - 283s that I've been using for years and years with my film cameras.

They've always worked well, I know them in and out, and I'd like to use them

with my 2 digital Rebels. Being well aware of the trigger voltage thing, I

measured my flashes. The Metz was about 8.5 volts, the 285 was about 4.5

volts, and the 283 was about 8 volts. Now, as Canon digicams are said

to "allow" 6 volts, I feel I can use the 285 with no problem, but with the 283

and 60CT-1 i could cause damage. I talked to a sales guy at my camera store

regarding the Wein Safe Sync, but he stated that he's seen alot of problems

with these, sometimes working, sometimes not. I NEED a safe way to hook up the

283 and 60CT-1 to my Canon digicams...So, what other methods are there to

achieve this other than the Wein?

I'm putting together a cord free,portable, slave monolight set up. I have the Pocket Wizard set, a Photogenic 320B AC/DC 320WS monolight, and a Turbo Z battery pack. After looking around for advice as to how to power an AC flash via some kind of home made inverter, I decided to go with this set up. My MAIN goal is to have a totally free standing remote flash which can be set up and taken down QUICKLY, and decided that the above plan is the best. I'm still seeking info on building my own custom battery pack.

Hi Dihn. I was looking into building a DC power pack to power a Photogenic 4001 monolight but havent been able to find any advice. I I know enough about electronics not to kill myself, but dont know how to figure out the amps, wattage, etc. I've got one of those power converters that you plug into your cig lighter , providing 110 volts and 450 watts which I use to power my laptop, and I'd like to try using it in a system with a battery ( motorcycle?, gel?, what power?.), so I can run the AC monolight cord free. BTW, what is a "TSW-Inverter". This sounds like we're looking at the same concept. PLEASE, any help is appreciated. Thanks, Ken

I've got a brand new one for sale!! I bought what I thought was a Pocket Wizard "set" at an out of town photo store, but it turns out I got 2 receivers. I'll either trade one receiver for one transmitter, or sell one of the receivers at a very good price. Brand new, never used. TSFEHolta@aol.com

FYI , it's not the cord because I tried the 3 cords that I have and got similar readings with all. I also measured the voltage out of the power pack and it's about .6 volts as well.

Bill, thanks for the info. However, I probably didnt state the case exactly in my post. The battery I used was a newer, totally charged Dryfit battery which I use in my Metz 60CT. When I put it in to the 402 power pack, it whines as if charging the cap, and will beep every 3 seconds when it's ready. When I get beeps I hook up the cord to the flash head, but it never charges the head enough to be able to flash it. There's a capacitor in the head that I assume is the "triggering" cap, and this could be faulty, and I've determined that the capacitor in the power pack is the one that holds the voltage until tripped. I'm going to try replacing both if I can find the right ones and see what happens. The triggering cap could be fine , but without the power pack putting out the right voltage, ( .6 volts VS. 6.5 volts) I'm figuring that the power paqck cap is the culprit. What do you think?

I have an old Metz 402 unit and would like to rebuild it for use.

I've had it in storage for about 10 years and when I load a dryfit

battery, the power pack makes the traditional "whine" sound but never

powers up the flash head. The voltage coming off the power pack cord

is reading about .6 volts, and I know from previous testing that it

should be about 6.5 volts. My question is, could the power pack

problem be the capacitor inside? Is the powwer from the dryfit being

stored in this capacitor, and if bad would replacing it only solve

the problem?? I also opened the flash head and will be looking for a

replacement capacitor fpor that as well. Any info, insight, help

would be appreciated.