MTBtrials wrote:
No problem with the 7.2 volts? Yikes, that overvoltage scares me a little bit.... or is that what makes it "turbo"? (I thought that the higher ampers were what made it turbo, not the higher voltage)
as far as it looking clean, the Quantum MB2 adapter looks the part, except for the open battery door, but at least you're not sticking wooden pegs in your flash....
As far as chargers, I went to my local battery store (bulldog battery in my case), the kind of store who rebuild laptop batteries would work... they had a charger which lets me know when I am charged.... 4500mAh, 6 volts has served me well with my 430ex. ...Show more →
Higher voltage is what makes a Turbo "turbo". It's somewhere around 400 volts (370?). The plug in connector on Nikon and Canon flashes (or pretty much any speedlight with a power plug) is strictly for HV battery packs. There are a bazillion "how to" descriptions out there on building a simple battery pack for a flash that work just like a Quantum 1 (dummy batteries and low voltage). You can shoot forever on them, but they do very little (if anything) for your recycle time. The setup I originally posted will cut recycle time down to almost nothing (in addition to getting more flashes per charge).
Personal update-- I got a deal on a DOA Quantum Turbo (about $60 to my house). I was *really* hoping it was just a dead cell... No such luck . Looks like the transformer is fried, and what I'm guessing is an overload switch is cooked. I just sent Quantum a message asking if they sell parts...I'd just replace the main board myself if they do. If not, I guess I'll send it in. The estimate on their web page lists a $90 estimate for that type of repair. On top of that, someone jimmy rigged a set of Cylon 2.5V batteries into a pack instead of just buying a new single SLA cell . Weird. Oh well...so much for getting a Turbo cheap . If I really want to fix this thing I could be into it for almost $200. I usually have remarkably good luck with that sort of thing too...
You can always mod a CP-E4 or whatever HV pack you found with NiMH/Li-Ion/LiFePO4 batteries. The cheapo Chinese CP-E4 (http://tinyurl.com/djrex8) is good for Li-Ion mod (2x3.7V). I <3 my Sunpak TR-2000 packs; mine are modified to use 4x18650 (7.4V 4000mAh), each pack weighs 1lb 3.6oz (560g). SLA and NiCD should be banned
That's a pretty cool mod, but am I now to assume that it only works with flashes like the 580exII with the external battery pack port? (where there is a separate voltage for the electronics of the flash maintained by the 4x AA's, and then the 400vdc for the caps?)
MTBtrials wrote:
That's a pretty cool mod, but am I now to assume that it only works with flashes like the 580exII with the external battery pack port? (where there is a separate voltage for the electronics of the flash maintained by the 4x AA's, and then the 400vdc for the caps?)
Makes me want a 580ex even more!!!
Most newer speedlights have an HV port. With Canon, they do at least back to the 550EX. My Nikon SB-28s have one too...I'm guessing they do back to at least the SB-26. A lot of older ones do too...I know my Sunpak 544s do. Even Vivitar 285HVs do (that's what the HV stands for).
400d wrote:
You can always mod a CP-E4 or whatever HV pack you found with NiMH/Li-Ion/LiFePO4 batteries. The cheapo Chinese CP-E4 (http://tinyurl.com/djrex8) is good for Li-Ion mod (2x3.7V). I <3 my Sunpak TR-2000 packs; mine are modified to use 4x18650 (7.4V 4000mAh), each pack weighs 1lb 3.6oz (560g). SLA and NiCD should be banned
I am thinking of doing the same thing and wonder how we go about making a protection circuit for the lithium battery - e.g. over-current, over-discharge protection. Any ideas?
anyone try those aftermarket CP-E4 replicas from gadget infinity? does it work? i cant see it being that hard to replicate since its just batteries connected to wires....
Occasionally I shoot for ASI and we use the R/C battereis on Metz's and at a lower power, we shoot literally thousands of frames before they are depleted. Neat stuff.
You know what's funny...in the time that's passed since I posted this thread I've decided I'm happy with just a AA battery pack for on camera flash. For a speedlite (or two) on a stand I have a Dynalite Jackrabbit.
I did however buy a big (and kind of expensive) 10AH NIMH battery pack...I made an adapter to run my portable Norman lighting setup, and put together a *very* portable 400 watt second two light set. I've got two Norman 200b packs, two heads, and the power supply all in a shoulder bag that's easy to carry around. Because the packs are already 12V, I don't need an inverter . I also made an adapter that plugs into the AC adapter for my 1Ds, so if I ever needed *really* long battery life I have it.
Eventually I'm going to get a pure sine wave inverter to run studio lights on location with that battery...it would be smaller/lighter than a Vagabond, but the VBII uses a 20AH battery so I would get roughly half as many pops. I'm curious to see how many full power shots I can get with my WL X3200...probably not that many. It would be a lot more fun to pack around than a VB anyway. That battery only weighs 3 pounds...a 10AH lead acid battery weighs closer to 10 pounds .
RL15 wrote:
anyone try those aftermarket CP-E4 replicas from gadget infinity? does it work? i cant see it being that hard to replicate since its just batteries connected to wires....
I have always wondered if it is a high voltage pack or a low voltage pack.
. Looks like the transformer is fried, and what I'm guessing is an overload switch is cooked. I just sent Quantum a message asking if they sell parts...I'd just replace the main board myself if they do. If not, I guess I'll send it in. The estimate on their web page lists a $90 estimate for that type of repair. On top of that, someone jimmy rigged a set of Cylon 2.5V batteries into a pack instead of just buying a new single SLA cell 
. Weird. Oh well...so much for getting a Turbo cheap 
. If I really want to fix this thing I could be into it for almost $200. I usually have remarkably good luck with that sort of thing too...
. I also made an adapter that plugs into the AC adapter for my 1Ds, so if I ever needed *really* long battery life I have it.