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Re: Capacitor need reforming?
In reply to Barrie Davis,
10 months ago
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Barrie Davis wrote:
Darrell Spreen wrote:
Undah wrote:
My sunpak 383 which I've had for 4 years but have used lightly seems to have died.
With freshly charged rechargeable AA batteries, when I turn it on, it makes that high-pitched charging sound for a few seconds and then goes silent. Ready light never comes on, and can't test fire by pressing the button.
Certainly you should try it with Alkaline batteries before you give up on it. Rechargeable batteries can fail and I think you may have a bad one in the set.
My 383 is 12 years old and still going strong.
The OP's flash may just need the capacitor reforming, especially if he hasn't used it for a while. Reforming of the capacitor (also known as "conditioning") is done by switching it on and leaving it on, while feeding it with fresh batteries. Eventually it should start to charge up, and the ready-light illuminate.
No, reforming the capacitor involves doing a series of full power flashes. The OP can't do that because it won't fire by the camera and nothing happens when the test button is pressed.
Of course, this is rather expensive if you have to use multiple sets of alkalines. Better to buy a couple of sets of Eneloops and rotate them in turn through a charger and through the flash. Alternatively, use a mains unit to power the flash, if you have one.
Conditioning/reforming of flash capacitor has been done effectively even 10 or 15 years from last use, although it might take a day or three to 'talk' the flashgun into it!
Keeping the capacitor formed and ready for use is a matter of turning on the flash for half an hour every month. Same thing applies to Studio Flash, btw.
--
Regards,
Baz
"Ahh... But the thing is, they were not just ORDINARY time travellers!"
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