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Hot-shoe signal to external GPS

Started Apr 24, 2017 | Questions thread
inohuri Regular Member • Posts: 100
Re: Hot-shoe signal to external GPS

I don't know what you mean by "hot-shoe signal".

If this connects to the hot-shoe center pin then it is usually a switch that closes temporarily. This will usually only tolerate 6 volts which implies it is solid state. (If using an pre digital era flash check to make sure it is not putting out higher V and ignore the lists on the internet - the V will vary with the same flash type and could be 200 V.)

The most common problem that I have seen is the ground or common on the side of the hot-shoe making poor contact. Rarely they are painted with the wrong paint and scraping down to bare metal works. Just see if the paint is conductive with a meter or an LED  and battery.

You could connect an LED and a battery to the center terminal and side to get an idea of the duration. If too short a duration it would be hard to see.

An analog meter that uses a AA battery set to lowest ohms might also give an idea in the same way. (The old meters use 22 volts for high ohms.) I just tried this on a Canon XTi and the hidden switch on the right side had to be closed to get it to work. The meter needle bounced. There was also a polarity. With it hooked up one way it was open and went low, the other way there was low ohms which went lower with the shutter. The hidden switch detects a dumb external flash so the internal flash does not pop up. If your camera has a hidden switch in the slot make sure your device pushes on it.

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