24 year old Vivitar 285 Flash works on my K-7! Yeah! Look!

My old Vivitar 285 Thyristor Flash still works! What scared me and confounded me was that I didn't know whether the voltage it utilizes would fry my K-7 or not! I went to my trusted friend Ron at the Henrys store here in Waterloo and he recommended an SM Voltage Safe Hot Shoe Adapter...the Wein version was not in stock. This was the same price as the Wein @$89.99 Canadian. I took it home with some trepidation.

My grandson came over to visit after school and so I took heart and put the new doodad on the K-7 hotshoe and tested it was working with a test button it has...a red LED comes on if the controlling battery is OK; mounted my Vivitar 285 flash on my Novoflex Flash bracket; connected it to the sync plug on the new doodad; turned on the K-7 and set it to X sync and turned on the flash! So far so good. No smell of burning circuits yet! I set the flash to half power and made the necessary adjustments for the distance involved et al and pointed the flash head at the ceiling for a bounce.

I fired off several shots and still the camera was working! Praise be to the various photography gods!

Here are a couple of the shots that resulted with minor PP'ing, some brightening (maybe too much!) and cropping. I was using the Sigma 105mm EX DG lens at f8, 400 ISO at 1/180.

To say I am pleased is quite an understatement! I now have 2 flashes which includes my Pentax 540 and now the Vivitar 285. To be honest, I understand this old flash better than I do the 540 and I think once I refresh my skills with it, I will make better captures with it. I now understand why so many pro journalists and photographer love(ed) this flash so much! It is a jewel!
Others here who have one from years ago, take hope mates!

Best to all
Leo

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K-7: Pentax DA* 200mm f2.8, Pentax DA* 55mm f1.4, Pentax DA 35mmm f2.8 Limited, Pentax DA14mm f2.8, Sigma 17-70mm Zoom, Sigma EX DG f2.8 70mm Macro, Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG Macro
mitch