Pixel Flash Battery Pack TD-381 - Notes

I have seen only the TD-381 (2 versions), but they have the same type of press-to-contact arrangement. From the photo, I would say the Pixel was a better implementation.

I agree with David. I sent one Pixel pack back for exchange, too. The case can be opened safely, being careful to not lose the 4 barely-captive nuts. The springing can then be adjusted. Suspect soldering of the spring contacts to the circuit board can be re-worked, and has fixed one faulty unit.

If it is made by man, it will fail. And I sometimes wonder about God's record, too.

Are people still getting good results with these battery packs or are people having major porblems with them? Just thinking about getting one....

Cheers

Simon

I got the TD-381 from Cheetah recently. Although I haven't used it very much, it seems to work fine (but it does "click"). I posted a brief write-up and photos of it on my blog at http://lightdescriptio​n.blogspot.com …-td-381-battery-pack.html.

I received two TD-381s today in the mail which I ordered from Cheetahstand.com. I noticed after opening the boxes that one of the soft cases was missing so I sent them an e-mail. Within minutes I received a phone call from Edward at Cheetahstand who was very nice and genuinely apologetic about the missing case. We had a nice conversation and within minutes afterwards I got another e-mail letting me know that the case was in the mail. It's hard to get upset when you have customer service like that.

I got two of these and super happy with it. would have been awesome if the 430EX II can use it. oh well.

what's the consensus on these? I'm thinking about buying them soon (hate waiting for the 580ex to recharge)

Looking through this thread I see where there have been various random issues with the off brand units. Some seem to relate to battery connections, and I wonder if anyone has done any 'hacking' of these units?

Eight AA batteries equals 12 VDV ( 8x1.5=12 )

I was thinking of an external battery pack for the external battery packs!

Like a 12 VDC gel cell rated at 10-15 amps used to power two or more of these units, or a smaller 5-7 amp to power each one.

One would have to use caution though as you might be tempted to use the flash hard and really heat it up.

I'm getting ready to order a couple of these and play around along those lines. I already have some 12 VDC 17 Amp batteries.

I don't mind buying two off brand units and destroying them, beats destroying my Canon unit.

harcosparky wrote in post #11161057
I don't mind buying two off brand units and destroying them, beats destroying my Canon unit.

I much prefer the Pixel TD-381 in actual use, and would put the Canon pack in jeopardy - I could do without that one.

doubledragon wrote in post #11160900
what's the consensus on these? I'm thinking about buying them soon (hate waiting for the 580ex to recharge)

Well, I ordered three of these total.

Unit A has flickering status lights that become solid when ready. It's been through 2 birthday parties, and it's still working fine.

Unit B and C were ordered two weeks after Unit A. These two have different battery tray design. The flickering status lights stay solid red all the time. One of them has been through 2 weddings, and it's still working fine. One of them has been through 1 wedding, and now it's not working anymore.

So I guess for $50 a pack, it may be worth it to buy 2 or more.

cuongduong wrote in post #11198046
One of them has been through 1 wedding, and now it's not working anymore.

I also have a mixture of versions as you describe. I have found that the wrong battery tray can be inserted in a case, resulting in the contacts being deformed.

The trays are now labelled to avoid the problem. I also modified the contacts on the mother board as they were too wide to fit within the plastic moulding on the newer trays. The springs sat on the plastic. (The case needs to be opened.)

I have had no further problems.

CliveyBoy wrote in post #11199478
I also have a mixture of versions as you describe. I have found that the wrong battery tray can be inserted in a case, resulting in the contacts being deformed.

Well this sounds like quality control isn't a priority for the manufacturer.

If they are gonna change the design midstream, you'd think they would at least mark the units and or design them so there can be no mixups.

CliveyBoy wrote in post #11199478
I also modified the contacts on the mother board as they were too wide to fit within the plastic moulding on the newer trays. The springs sat on the plastic. (The case needs to be opened.)

I have had no further problems.

Hey, I also opened up the case, but couldn't spot any problem. Could you post a picture of your mod please?

You are awesome!

I haven't followed this thread carefully but just in case it hasn't been mentioned already, there is a new version of the TD-381. I don't recall the issues that were addressed but there were some upgrades to deal with a few common issues and design flaws in the first version.

@TMR - Any way to know if you have the new version? I just bought one about 2-3 weeks ago.