flash trigger voltages / Discuss

kevinmurrayphotography says:

The goal of this group is to create an relatively accurate reference point on whether or not a particular brand/model of flash or strobe can safely be connected to a contemporary DSLR without doing damage from unexpectedly high trigger voltages often found in older flash and studio strobe power packs.

How to participate in our Strobe-Trigger-Voltage Group here on Flickr.

Requirements:
1. A working strobe, portable flash or Studio Power Pack with at least one Flash Head.
1a. If it's a portable (like the kind you slide on to your camera hot-shoe or, plugin in to a PC sync) you'll need a set of *FRESH BATTERIES.
2. A working Voltage Meter (Often called "Multimeter" at your local DIY Hardware or RadioShack) that meters DC current and handles incoming impedance of at least 10megaOhms.

BEFORE YOU SUBMIT, BROWSE..
Before you add your flash/strobe trigger voltage findings PLEASE browse our topic titles for an existing post/thread covering your brand/model of flash. If you find an existing thread please add your listing to that thread, DO NOT START A FRESH POST. By adding your results to an existing topic we can quickly find ALL RELEVANT data on that particular flash/strobe without having to search potentially thousands of posts/topics.

Members NOT following the "Browse before Submission" guidelines will be laid, face up, under a bank of vintage Graphlex Speedlights aimed, straight down.. :-) *oh! and we'll likely remove your post.

Submission Instructions (Please read carefully):
Once you've run a baseline test on your particular flavor of flash/strobe and jotted down your results, please, PLEASE reformat so that when you post your results it appears like our example below..

NEW POST: You'll see two fields (Subject and Your Post), Subject will appear as the title of your post. To make it easier to find a particular flash model we ask that you use the subject field to list the following:
SUBJECT: Manufacturer Model TV="?"

Flash/Strobe Data:
Manufacturer (Nikon, Vivitar, Sunpak)
Model name/number (SB600, 285HV, 555)
Build Origin (Thailand, Japan, China)

Trigger Voltage Results: (6.6v, 220v, etc.,)

Baseline: ex; 4 NEW Duracell AA Alkaline batteries, Fluke AC200 Multi-meter

Your Info: (optional but helpful)
1. your name
2. your email (won't be published)
3. your website (published/linked to your results)
4. any additional info on your tests, results - e.g. "I've used this XXXX flash with my XXXX camera for XXXX years with no apparent malfunctions.."

TO ADD YOUR RESULTS TO AN EXISTING THREAD: If there's an existing thread on the flash/strobe you want to list, simply find the post and enter your data the same as a new post in the field "Reply to this Topic".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How to test "Trigger Voltage" the "Cliff Notes" version. A more complete/detailed "How to" can be found on www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html, the inspiration behind this Flickr Group (Tho, in no way affiliated with either Kevin Bjorke or botzilla.com)

1.Get your Multimeter out (if Digital, turn it on) and set it to DC600v (or, if you don't have 600v capabilities, the highest range your meter displays).
2.Get your flash/strobe out, Install new batteries (Battery condition/charge affects voltage test results, PLEASE ONLY USE NEW ALKALINE or FULLY CHARGED RECHARGEABLES) so we can metric your results along baseline standards.
3.Turn on your Flash, watch for ready-light to glow.
4.Connect your Multimeter probe tips to:
PC-SYNC - Outer metal sheath is ground/Black, Inner metal contact is positive/Red.
HOT-SHOE - Hot Shoe Plate (if metal) is ground/Black, if not metal, look between where the plate slides into your hot-shoe and the bottom of the flash unit, there should be a strip of metal somewhere. The CENTER pin/post in the middle of the hot-shoe is usually the Positive/Red.
5. Take your reading from your multimeter. Take a few readings if there's an inconsistent reading (like you may be slipping around and not making solid contact between the probe tips and the positive/negative poles on your flash.)
6. Write down your results and reformat (please) according to our "Submission Instructions" above.
7. Send us your results.
Originally posted at 8:49AM, 8 February 2010 PDT (permalink)
kevinmurrayphotography edited this topic 28 months ago.