580EX what connection for external power (idea)

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

Hi,
I have raced with model cars and I have some competition sticks laying arround doing nothing they are 3300Mah racing matched 7.2 V.

Yesterday I shot my first REAL fashion event and found out that in about 20 minutes my 2100Mah batteries would not boot up anymore, when giving 20 minutes rest they would work again.

I was shooting little over 400 shots per hour most needed fill in flash.

My idea was to buy an external power source like the Quantum or the Canon version but when I saw they used the same technique as the racing packs (even less powerfull) I decided to make it a DIY project.

My questions are :
1.
Is 7.2 V enough to run the flash, I think it is because 4x 1.5 = 6 V
2.
Will I destroy the flash with 7.2 V.
3.
How to connect the battery packs to the 580EX.
I could offcourse use dummy batteries but I would rather opted for the highpower input.

Please help.

Greetings,
Frank

[felix21685]

what if you take the pack apart and take one 1 cell :)
then it would be 6 volt..right ?
rechargebles are 1.2 volt a piece..
-Felix

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

I don't want to take my packs apart, I still use them for racing some of the time :D.
They consist of 6 batteries by the way.

I allready found out that I have to use the highvoltage input of the flash, now the question is the pinlayout :D.

[Streetshooter]

I used to race those cars too...good idea about the batteries...I would get the external battery pack and wire that up with your batteries. That way your just adding extra power to the main supply....don

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

I got the C3 today from canon but that one is going back.
Maybe my unit is faulty but the red light goes on but the refresh is just as long as the standard batteries, even with CF7 on 1 or 0.

[shoot_a_star]

JAF:

You can use Quantum Turbo battery (what I am using now). It is expensive, but a lot of power. You can walk around with this battery and shoot at anything all day long.

If you buy quantum turbo, you also need Quantum CZ power cord to connect your flash to the battery.

Tom

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

I have ordered the QBC1+ with power cord.
Will do for what I need.

[tim]

You could have looked here (http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/213691) for instructions. He reckons it costs about $45, and while it's not as good as a quantum, it's better than NiMH cells.

[massamia]

Hi there.
I asked a similar question a few weeks ago.
Try http://www.aljacobs.com/ (http://www.aljacobs.com/)