OLD STROBES- Advice from an OLD strobe guy (me)

I am a full time professional photographer. At one time in my career I was involved in an electronic flash modification, custom construction and repair business So here's inside stuff on old flash gear.

Some of the older units are great- simple, but very usable. Yes there are trigger voltage issues with old flash gear and digital cameras, however the adapters, like the ones offered by Wein are safe and effective. Triggering you older units by radio or photo-electric slave cells is also safe provided the old unprotected unit is in no way directly connected to the digital cameras, synchronization system.

As I alluded to, some of the older units are fine, however, before investing in adapters or power source conversions it is advisable to make certain that the old unit is in good working condition. Electronic flash equipment that has been in storage and left dormant for long period of time, perhaps years, can suffer form DEFORMED CAPACITORS. The electrolytic capacitors within you unit "like" regular usage, that is, i being charged and discharged all the time. Simply stated, long periods of non use can damage them beyond repair- they may need to be replaced and that is expensive IF the replacement parts are still available. In some cases, however, the can easily be reformed. If possible, turn the unit on- hopefully the ready-light will come on BUT DO NOT FLASH- just allow the unit to charge up and "idle" for at least an hour and then begin to flash it by means of the open flash button or by "shorting out" the sync. cord or socket with a small insulated metal object. Because of the potentially high trigger voltage or other possible malfunction issues, do not connect it directly to the camera until it is operating normally and the trigger voltage has been established and the proper adapters is in place.

If during this operation, the ready light fails to come on steadily , if there is a crackling sound (like bacon frying) or there is smoke or the odor of burning plastic (phenolc circuit board stuff) or burning rubber or plastic insulation, well- sadly, the old thing deserves a decent dignified burial. If the unit works but the non-user replaceable flash tube is blackened near the electrodes, again, further investment in time and money is not advisable.

The good news is- if the unit is functioning, some of those older units are really fabulous in terms of light quality. The old Graflex Stroboflash units have a gorgeous soft and even lamp head- great for location portrait work, weddings and assignment like those. They are worth the battery-power conversion but remember, theses are strictly manual types of equipment- no TTL or any kind of dedicated operation so you gotta know your flash exposures how to use your flash meter, guide numbers and distance estimation instincts instinctively and effectively. The power supplies (shoulder carried power packs) are oftentimes bulky and heavy. Also, when having the conversions done, make certain that the trigger voltage is adjusted or adapted for digital camera applications.

@the OP- your Vivatar 273 weighs in at 290 Volts (trigger voltage). That can quietly vaporize you camera's electronics so don't use it without the aforementioned adapters or remote triggering methods. Electrocuted cameras don't explode or smoke- they just die silently and won't work anymore.

The Honeywell Strobinars (model 8225) have a safe and tiny 1.25 trigger voltage, however, it is always wise to check out the actual voltage regardless of published specifications. A multi-meter (in DC higher voltage modes) placed across the sync contacts will tell the story.

Also remember that the trigger voltage has noting to do with the battery voltage on portable units or speed-lights or the AC (input) operating voltage on studio type units and mono-lights. Trigger voltage originates in the trigger circuit that is usually within the unit's lamp head close to the flash tube. A trigger coil and capacitor provide the pulse of high energy that ionizes the gas in the flash tube and produced the light. Some of this power goes through the camera during synchronization.

OK- I know I sound like an old-lady kinda guy but I always write this when talking about flash conversions and adaptations. If you are not familiar with servicing higher voltages devices- don't go poking around in your strobe with a screwdriver. Even some of the little units harbor dangerous and potentially lethal voltages and currents. A nasty shock can cause burns, nerve damage and even death. Cardiac defibrillators work on the same principle as flash units so you don't want your ticker defibrillated if it don't need it! Y'all scientists and engineers out there,please forgive the oversimplifications but with cameras and tickers- better safe that sorry, I just hate the smell of burning flesh or dead cameras.

In our retail business, we were lugging 440 sets of four heads and a power pack into schools all over the country on a daily basis. When we gave up long roll film cameras (2005 to 2006) and switched to midrange Canons, we couldn't buy all new lights. Those lighting setups cost about $4000 each with stands, cables, and various light modifiers. SOME of the packs we used had very high trigger voltages, so rather than risk an "unknowing" photographer frying our new Canons, we put the Safe Sync HSHSB on every camera. We still had two folks who didn't listen in training --- too busy texting on their CrackBerries. They plugged their old Novatron packs into the Canon sync terminal. Bzzzt <POP> smoke... brick.