How to trigger Vivitar 285 with CTR-301P

[whereswally?]

I have one of the old Vivitar 285 with the million volts running through them and I also have the Yongnuo CTR-301P (http://szyongnuo.en.alibaba.com/product/216244618-200177673/YONGNUO_Newest_PT_04_Flash_Sync_Trigger_Remote_CTR _301P.html) which I bought to trigger them.

I also purchased a couple of these Male PC to Vivitar Sync Cord (http://www.flashzebra.com/short_pc_sync/0051.shtml), thinking those are what I needed to connect to the CTR-301P but there not.

So is there another cable or adapter I can use to connect the Male PC to Vivitar Sync Cord to the CTR-301P or would I need to fork out for something like this? (http://www.flashzebra.com/radiocables/vivitarradio.shtml)

Or would another possibility be to chop up one end of the cable I already have and put a 3.5mm jack on it?

I can't find an awful lot of information about triggering the old 285's with my triggers.

[gonzogolf]

www.flashzebra.com Best source for cables.

[dpds68]

I just got me CTR-301P's and I love em but I also want a Cable to connect them to my Vivitar 285Hv's .

Any help here , Flash Zebra seems to have Vivitar to Screw Lock not the same input as my CTR-301P Triggers I think .


David

[gonzogolf]

David, email Lon at the support address on flashzebra, he responds promptly and accurately. I think the vivitars have a proprietary cord plug on their end, I dont know what your trigger has but I bet Lon has or can make whatever you need.

[dpds68]

Thank you , I will shoot off a Email now .



David

[dpds68]

Can I cut 6.35mm end off the Cable that came with my 301P's and solder the wire into my Vivitar 285Hv's ?

David

[Seanzky]

Can I cut 6.35mm end off the Cable that came with my 301P's and solder the wire into my Vivitar 285Hv's ?

David

There are mods for the Vivitar 285HV you can search here on the forums.

[dpds68]

There are mods for the Vivitar 285HV you can search here on the forums.


Yes I know about all of the Mods , I guess my question really is if the Cable that came with my Triggers will work .

[Seanzky]

Yes I know about all of the Mods , I guess my question really is if the Cable that came with my Triggers will work .

I doubt any triggers come with cables for 285HV's proprietary jack. You'd have to buy it separately but I wouldn't recommend using cables with 285HV's proprietary on one end. Not that those can't be trusted, but the jack in the flash unit itself can't be trusted. I was in this very same situation months ago and I spliced the cable my 285HV came with and one end of a male mono cable my CyberSync came with. (I think that was your question.) It worked fine for a while until that little tip wouldn't touch anymore. I tried with my other 285HV and it worked so it wasn't the cable. After opening up the mount I realized that it's really a poor design on Vivitar's part. I decided to just take that spliced mono cable and soldered it inside.

This is all just from my experience. I don't know if other members enjoy using Vivitar's proprietary jack.

[robtography]

I fire my 285s and 283s straight in the hotshoe of my CTR-301P's...voltage is only relevant when placing them on the camera's hotshoe. You should change the foot on your 285 to the metal replacement one with the PC port on it like this Vivitar foot (http://www.micro-tools.com/store/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=VIVFT) which can be found on ebay for cheap, then you can use a Male PC to Mini-Subphone cord like this Male PC-Sub-Miniphone (http://www.flashzebra.com/short_pc_sync/0054.shtml), to connect the flash to the trigger via sync ports.

[dpds68]

Thank you Sean and Rob .

What I am looking at doing is Cutting off the 6.35mm end of the Cables that came with my 301P's and take off the Foot from the 285Hv and solder it into so that I will have a 2.5mm Jack hanging out of my Flashes .


David

[Seanzky]

Thank you Sean and Rob .

What I am looking at doing is Cutting off the 6.35mm end of the Cables that came with my 301P's and take off the Foot from the 285Hv and solder it into so that I will have a 2.5mm Jack hanging out of my Flashes .


David

Yup. That's what I ended up doing except I had a 3.5mm for my CyberSyncs. Instead of drilling a hole one the side of the shoe mount, I just poked my soldering iron through it while it was hot and that made a perfect circle. I then used a box cutter to shave the excess melted plastic.

[whereswally?]

I thought this thread had died of back in October.

I ended up cutting up my Male PC off my Vivitar sync cord, cutting the end of the 6.35mm jack on the CTR-301P cable and soldering them together.

And it works great.

[dpds68]

Any visual of this ?

[whereswally?]

Any visual of this ?
I don't have any photo's at the moment.

But when I get home tonight I'll take a few snaps and upload them.

[dpds68]

Thank you , I will do my mod this weekend will + and - from the Jack make a difference as I am not sure which one is what .


David

[whereswally?]

Thank you , I will do my mod this weekend will + and - from the Jack make a difference as I am not sure which one is what .


David
The vivitar cable I have has + and - and the CTR cable has 4 cables, just match red with red and black with black and you should be fine.

[whereswally?]

Now for the pictures.

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/4369/ctr301cable1.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/4322/ctr301cable2.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/5836/ctr301cable3.jpg

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4808/ctr301cable4.jpg

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2433/ctr301cable5.jpg