Multiple strobes - sync cords

Just for a sanity check, I did actually put a 285 and a 283 in series.

They both go off.

Why do you deem it impossible? What's the logic?

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #2916051
Just for a sanity check, I did actually put a 285 and a 283 in series.

They both go off.

Why do you deem it impossible? What's the logic?

Show me that setup.

I suspect that you are under the impression you put them in series, but in fact you put them in parallel.

Enjoy! Lon

lol I knew you'd say that.

I can't attach images, but hopefully there's enough coffee in my brain for a verbal description.

I took two vivitars with aluminum hotshoes. It makes it easy to attach alligator clamps to them.

Setup 1:
Red wire from one plate to the second plate of the hot shoe. Then I take a black wire and connect the central pins together. They fire.

Setup 2:
Same thing, but crossways. Plate of first flash to centerpin of the second flash with red cable and vice versa with the black cable.

Ask me if my hands are shaky and I shorted it in the wrong place.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #2916123
lol I knew you'd say that.

I can't attach images, but hopefully there's enough coffee in my brain for a verbal description.

I took two vivitars with aluminum hotshoes. It makes it easy to attach alligator clamps to them.

Setup 1:
Red wire from one plate to the second plate of the hot shoe. Then I take a black wire and connect the central pins together. They fire.

Setup 2:
Same thing, but crossways. Plate of first flash to centerpin of the second flash with red cable and vice versa with the black cable.

Ask me if my hands are shaky and I shorted it in the wrong place.

This AM, armed with actual circuit descriptions, I recreated DocFankenstein’s methodology using hotshoe based flash units (as he did).

Setup1 - Where the center (+) terminals are connected and the metal feet (-) are connected (the metal feet are the same as the side terminal on most hotshoe based flash units with plastic feet). This is the classic parallel connection. And although not mentioned by DocFankenstein, in order to get the flash units to fire, the (+) side and the (-) side must be bridged. But, this is what the switch in the pocket wizard would do; bridge these two parallel sides to make both flashes fire. With flash cords consisting of two parallel conductors, equipped with terminals that make two connections simultaneously, this is the way most flash connections would be made.

Setup2 – This is the nut of the recent discussion in this thread; the series connection. If the flash units are connected in series as described, when the last connection is made (in essence this is a switch) they indeed do fire.

I suspect the best way to eat crow is in one big efficient gulp.

DocFankenstein was absolutely correct that series flash units can be fired using only one switch (a pocket wizard). I was pigheadedly incorrect.

I apologize to DocFankenstein for being so being so unmoving, and to the forum for spreading disinformation.

Enjoy! Lon