A New Bare Bulb Flash Arrives

mmmfotografie wrote in post #18310334
They have the same price as Lencarta for the AD200. Will have a look at Photomart.

Don't forget that Lencarta offer a THREE year warranty, with repairs in UK not all the way back to Shenzhen. Never needed repairs (yet ) but it's reassuring to know that it's there if needed.

Wow, I like the look of this flash extension cable. I came across this thread while searching for a Quantum QF36T Remote Flash Head cable. Do you have any details on how you made this unit? If, so are they available? Thanks. I love the idea. David

Flash50 wrote in post #18363288
Wow, I like the look of this flash extension cable. I came across this thread while searching for a Quantum QF36T Remote Flash Head cable. Do you have any details on how you made this unit? If, so are they available? Thanks. I love the idea. David

Abbadon31 had made a limited number of connectors in 2014. This is upscaled in the AD600 to which you can get a separate head of 600 or 1200 Watt/s

Thank you for your reply. I currently have Quantum QFlash T2s and a Godox AD360. I am looking at using the extensions to place the tube in Softbox / Large Soft umbrellas and having the main unit in easy reach to adjust.

I would like to know if there is any circuits in the flash tube end of the cable or is there just the plug. I would like to make my own if possible.

Some info/musings/experimen​ts on the AD360 batteries:

My two original AD360 batteries are now stuffed - ballooning out and distorting the case. With the knowledge that you can run them with the 12v recharge cable plugged in, I made the decision to rip the 11.1v battery out and graft in an ebay 12v LiPo unit of a size that should fit but with lower mAh rating. I could live with that.

The battery was cheap enough, and it almost but not quite fit into the enclosure. The issue was an inbuilt on/off switch on the new battery which I decided was redundant and would allow the battery to fit perfectly. So, I had a glass of stout to steady my hand and set about poking about the insides of a fully charged cheap chinese LiPo battery with a soldering iron. (Not my smartest decision)

The good news was that I managed to successfully graft the new battery into the Godox pack without burning a hole in my dining table.

The bad news was that after all that, it didn't work.

The AD360 now flashes the leds briefly before shutting down. My assumption was that 12v is just too high a voltage for the AD360, which I confirmed by removing the LiPo pack from my second dead battery and trying to power the AD360 from just the 12v charging cable - same result. (which in hindsight, was a test I should have performed first) I read somewhere once of claims that Godox do not recommend you power your strobes with the charge cable attached - this would be why, but would only be an issue if the battery were fully charged.

Plan B has me installing a DC/DC converter and a capacitor in the battery shell and powering the unit from a remote battery pack. (Looking into a way to easily connect my 18v Makita batteries)


TL;DNR

Godox 360 strobes will run on 11.1v, but not 12v.

Drk Orange wrote in post #18549723
With the knowledge that you can run them with the 12v recharge cable plugged in...

This is not true and a really bad idea in practice.

How old were your batteries and were they Godox branded? (i.e. not Flashpoint)

Bad practice or not, the flash unit works with the 12v charger plugged in*. (I have done so in the past when the batteries were losing capacity)

The batteries were the original batteries that had issues - one was replaced under warranty while the other lasted a little bit longer.

*(edit) ...and the battery connected.

The AD360 should easily handle up to 14 Volts so I don't think that is the problem.

A good Godox battery pack has a voltage of 12.6Volt. If you have an physical damaged during production battery pack then it charge to a lower voltage.

Hmm... I did briefly consider the possibility of the issue being lack of current capacity from the new battery. That'll be something easy for me to test tomorrow. (But I do like the idea of using Makita batteries)

I get that it "works". You can also drive 50 in 3rd gear, or with the e brake engaged. It's going to wreck your car. Shooting with the battery plugged in is similar.

Drk Orange wrote in post #18549914
Bad practice or not, the flash unit works with the 12v charger plugged in*. (I have done so in the past when the batteries were losing capacity)

The batteries were the original batteries that had issues - one was replaced under warranty while the other lasted a little bit longer.

*(edit) ...and the battery connected.

Given the price of a new Godox battery pack, I'm not sure why one would not just get replacements. You don't need the whole unit, just the lower part. $46.00 gets you a battery that will clip right into your pack, guaranteed to function, use the same charger you already have, and charge in a very short amount of time.

Drk Orange wrote in post #18549723
Some info/musings/experimen​ts on the AD360 batteries:
...Plan B has me installing a DC/DC converter and a capacitor in the battery shell and powering the unit from a remote battery pack. (Looking into a way to easily connect my 18v Makita batteries)

Tp drop the power from an 18v Lipo you'd just need a dc voltage regulator, an adjustable one.

Although what Jake said +1

Yeah, I could buy one, but where is the fun in that?

Update:

Couldn't find a replacement battery (Anybody got a link?) so it is back to home brew fun.

It looks like the Godox units are just fussy when it comes to voltage as I installed a big fat cap on the 12v battery with no difference. Then I realised three 18650 batteries will fit in the original battery case and give me the 11.1v the strobe is expecting.

Experiment successful, and all it cost me was some spare batteries and $3 worth of battery carriers I had laying about.

I have a shoot planned tomorrow so will see how it goes capacity wise, but they are 3000mAh cells which is only a little bit lower capacity than original 3800mAh but the battery pack is now a lot lighter.

Drk Orange wrote in post #18617172
Update:

Couldn't find a replacement battery (Anybody got a link?)

In Sydney, though they should ship to you -

http://www.photo-shop-studio.com.au …960-spare-battery-bt4300/