400d
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 p.2 #1 · batteries for external flash? | |
Unfortunately guys, obviously I have no idea wtf I am talking about, so it will be a high risk if you make yourself an external battery pack. You are now warned!
1) The "not too good looking" battery pack. The pack is made of two 6 AA battery holders, there are three wires from each holder, red, black, and white, you can ignore the white one. Load each holder with 5 AA batteries (5 only please! 6 will be very likely to KFC your flash!), the reason for 5 NiMH AA is because each NiMH battery is 1.2V, so you get 1.2V x 5 = 6V for the flash; this is one of the reason why NiMH seems to go down so fast, since the flash is primarily designed for 6V, if you have 4 1.2V NiMH, you get 4.8V only for the flash. Then, you solder red wire to another red wire, and same for the black wire, this means you are connecting the holders in parallel, which means, if holder A capacity is 2500mAh 6V, you do a parallel with another holder B 2500mAh 6V, you will get 5000mAh 6V in total.
2) Dummy battery. Since it's a 6 cell holder, there is one empty slot. You can either solder a wire to both ends so you short the empty slot, or use hot glue to create a dummy cell. I wrapped a post-it note paper around a regular AA battery, and fill it with hot glue (with a wire in the center, which connects the screw on both ends together). The screws are the ones from the regular computer case. You can do the same with an empty marker (if you find the right size), cut both ends and fill with hot glue, or use wooden dowel...Geez, my dummy batteries are so ugly looking! You'd better off buying someone else product for over $150!
3) RCA female jack.
4) The Quantum cord. The Quantum cord made for 580EX is $52.95 on B&H. You are highly recommended to buy a spanking new Quantum cord for your flash, since buying new feels better than using cheapo DIY stuff. Using high glue to make dummy battery makes you look bad while shooting wedding, as if you can't afford a product which is made by a highly reputable manufacture; please by all means avoid the use of hot glue dummy battery, or you may experience a 10% decrease in your service charge! By the way, you don't even have to buy an old Quantum cord, you can use an old spiral phone cord.
5) A flash in action with the highly unprofessional battery pack!
In conclusion, you can use the similar approach to create an even higher capacity pack. And by altering the battery configuration, you can create pack for your digital camera and 120V studio strobes too! Please also be creative, if you find any substitute for any of the components shown in the pictures, go ahead!
Edited by 400d on Feb 20, 2007 at 12:06 AM GMT
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