Anyone know how to...

challengemaster

Repair flashguns? Or rather where to source parts for them....

Can't remember how long ago...but I think it was Kings of Concrete last year that my Sigma DG530 Super ended up breaking at... wasn't anything too serious - the Hot shoe mount broke on either side so it wouldn't sit properly on the camera - No contact, no flash...

So I ordered a new piece from ebay, all was going well until during the repair, I managed to break one of the pins(the main one too), so it's just been sitting in my bag ever since.... and I've got no idea where to get one of those pins from.

smelltheglove

I just had mine repaired a few weeks ago, sent off to Cork and returned within a week. http://www.hahnel.ie/index.cfm/page/contactus

I had a damaged wire replaced, new bulb and battery cover for 50 + vat, not bad.

DaireQuinlan

If you're dis-assembling a flash gun always remember to short out the capacitor by firmly grasping both terminals with your hand. For extra safety grab each terminal with a different hand, ensuring the current runs directly across your chest.












:eek:
Don't actually do this unless you want to potentially die. As a matter of fact, steer well clear of those capacitors. Even the little ones in disposable cameras pack quite a WHUMP. From personal experience. Oh yes.

mawk

true dat.. they kick pretty hard.

as for the flashgun, I dont know specifics, but if the pin is nothing but a standard electrical pin, maplins sell them. do you know the diameter and length? I could check my shed for spares

zerohamster

Post a picture and I can see what broke off (did the pin break or the solder connecting the pin)
I can take a look at it if you want? PM me if you would like to.

Edit: Also, if you are fully disassembling the flashgun and dont have the ability to discharge the cap (using the flash wont discharge it) dont touch either end of the flash tube and try not to connect your fingers from any contacts (especially the battery contacts) to anywhere on the circuit as you can very easily shorten the circuit so that the capacitor will discharge right through your hand which is very painful and could simultaneously fry the board to ad insult to injury. bottom line be careful of caps because they are scary

challengemaster

Not the best photo, but...see the way the 4th (lower right) pin is sitting in much further? It snapped so is shorter than the rest, and it won't fire in a hotshoe, it does still work though (test button)

zerohamster

Ah I see, what you could do is take another hot shoe device (preferably cheap or broken) and desolder the pin from that device. Then desolder the broken pin and solder the replacement pin which could be done quickly and without having to search for a similar type of pin that could damage the connections on the camera if it was sharp.

If you would like to get it repaired I could sort it out for you no problem.

challengemaster

AFAIK, those pins aren't actually soldered to anything.... atleast they weren't when I had it opened up?

It was a good while ago when I was trying to fix it, but I think there was a little "plate" that acted as a conductor that sat above all of those pins inside...

nilhg

I had my Metz apart,


Untitled by cilldara, on Flickr

I'm not sure if CM's flash is similar but in the Metz the pins are held in by the springs you can see and the springs sit into seats on the circuit board, the signals travel down the springs, if yours is similar and you can source a pin then it should be easy enough to sort out.

smelltheglove

I have a dodgy trigger, you might be able to salvage a pin from it.

challengemaster

nilhg wrote: »

I had my Metz apart,


Untitled by cilldara, on Flickr

I'm not sure if CM's flash is similar but in the Metz the pins are held in by the springs you can see and the springs sit into seats on the circuit board, the signals travel down the springs, if yours is similar and you can source a pin then it should be easy enough to sort out.

From what I remember of it, they're almost the exact same. IIRC when I was trying to remve the pins from the old hotshoe mount, the spring stretched then broke, so I think you're spot on. It really is just a pin I need to source.

zerohamster

So is it the spring that is missing and not the pin that is broken if the spring had stretched and snapped? If so then all you need is the little spring that keeps tension on the pin and you should be grand.

If the pins arent soldered to wires or a chip then its even easier to fix provided you have a new spring or an old one from another device (as long as there is similar tension on the pin and that the pin is free to move in and out on the hot shoe "foot".

challengemaster

zerohamster wrote: »

So is it the spring that is missing and not the pin that is broken if the spring had stretched and snapped? If so then all you need is the little spring that keeps tension on the pin and you should be grand.

The spring/pin are the same thing - as you follow the pin upwards it turns into a spring....

zerohamster

They are probably just soldered together very finely as it would be very difficult to make a pin and spring from the same part/material.
If you got a spring from another pin (if you couldnt find the same size pin) it would be easy to desolder and resolder to the pin you have which I would be glad to help out with if you dont have a soldering iron etc...
Obviously if you found a new pin the same you wouldnt need to switch springs though.

challengemaster

Yeah, t'would be quite handy alright. Unfortunately I havent seen any pins/etc on ebay

zerohamster

Ill ask a few other techs and see where/if they source pins and Ill get back to you, other than that if you have any other old dead flashes or something you could probably salvage a pin/spring.

I have two working film flashes I have yet to use and can take a look and see if the pins are the same.

smelltheglove

If you like I can see will the pins in my trigger be any use to you.

challengemaster

smelltheglove wrote: »

If you like I can see will the pins in my trigger be any use to you.

Thanks STG / Zerohamster, I'd appreciate it

challengemaster

Update: I had a look again today, took apart a really old canon flash, no luck, springs were massive in comparison.

However, since I'll be mainly using the flash off-camera, I found out a way to bypass this small issue.

For some strange reason, the Sigma will only trigger off camera when it's set to optical slave mode. For anyone that has the flash and is wondering - it's the mode with a big and small lightning bolt beside eachother, and doesn't say ETTL, it'll say C0 SL to the side. You need to select C0 and change it to either C1 or C2, then set the rest of the settings manually and away you go.

smelltheglove

The trigger I had didnt have springs, think I have another lying around in a box upstairs so will check when I get a chance.