The Backscatter HF-1 strobe has been out for a couple of months now, and a number of divers are using it with great success. The reviews have been largely positive as well, and it seems to be a great product. I've done about 20 dives with the HF-1s and I'm really pleased with it. The power level, recycle time, battery life, and actually useful videos lights add up to very compelling product. When compared to other strobes with fewer features at almost twice the price, it's a killer deal.

All that said, when I've talked to other UW photographers about it, I've really only had one criticism related to the controls and ergonomics. The Power Level Knob is terrible.
 

The Power Level Knob is too difficult to turn while wearing gloves and worse, you can't tell By Feel what power level position it is in. There is a tiny white dot on the knob indicating its position which you can't see unless you point the strobe's back right into your face. Personally, I use long arms and rarely have the strobes pointed straight forward so I have to reposition the strobes just to change the power level. At night this is even worse as you also need to point a light at it. This design is very problematic, and I hope Backscatter will fix it in later production.

In the meantime, I have come up with a solution. I made a new knob that slips right on top of the existing one.
 

This simple 3d-printed part slips snuggly over the existing knob, aligned with the existing white dot. It is much simpler to turn with glove on or off, and you can easily tell it's position by feel. The knob turns freely in the full range of settings.
 

It was just as easy to print out 10 as 2, so I made a big batch to share with others who might be interested. I still need to do a few more test dives with it before I declare it to be finished, but I'm pretty happy with it so far.

I'll publicly share the 3D STL design files once I've tested it a bit more.
 

 

 

Edited August 24, 20241 yr by Dave_Hicks
typo

They look great Dave and i agree the existing knob is not great. If you wanted to sell a few i would be interested. Cheers

12 minutes ago, johnvila said:

They look great Dave and i agree the existing knob is not great. If you wanted to sell a few i would be interested. Cheers

Give aways only. I made some extra to share, and will share the design soon. 

@Dave_Hicks That looks great Dave. Hey, @JayceeB check this out!

Terrific idea!!!

 

Thanks Dave!

I did two dives with the improved power knobs on my HF-1 strobes. Coldwater in Puget Sound, down to 112 feet @ 50F, wearing dry gloves. The modification worked Great! So much easier to turn the knobs and it's easy to tell by feel what the level is set at. The vertical paddle of the knob is set at 1/4 power which you can consider the "home base" as it is vertically aligned with the strobe itself. Every two clicks are another 1/4 power +/-. 

 

I poked at the slip-on knobs at depth, and they are nice and snug. Water pressure holds them on tightly. Not going anywhere on a dive but are still simple to remove out of the water.

 

I printed this first batch with White PLA+ for visibility and sprayed on some clear coat to protect from UV a bit better. I chose white for visibility at night. PLA is not the best material for outdoor gear, but it was the only white filament that I have. Some other PLA+ prints I use underwater have held up well, but I will likely get some White PETG for the next set I print.

 

I'm going to make a similar knob for the MF-2 strobe next.

Edited August 27, 20241 yr by Dave_Hicks

Really great stuff @Dave_Hicks !  
 

I also like the idea of the same for the MF-2.  I find the same issue with them as well.  Keep me in mind once you make a batch.  I don’t have a 3D printer so I’m happy to donate to the cause.

1 minute ago, ChipBPhoto said:

Really great stuff @Dave_Hicks !  
 

I also like the idea of the same for the MF-2.  I find the same issue with them as well.  Keep me in mind once you make a batch.  I don’t have a 3D printer so I’m happy to donate to the cause.

The 10 knobs I made cost 91 cents of materials. 🙂

STL please 😍

I have posted the HF-1 power knob modification on MakerWorld.

 

https://makerworld.com/en/models/610783#profileId-533907

 

I have posted the Backscatter MF-1 and MF-2 strobe power knob modification on MakerWorld.

 

https://makerworld.com/en/models/612317#profileId-535510

 

Edited August 30, 20241 yr by Dave_Hicks

1 hour ago, Dave_Hicks said:

I have posted the MF-2 power knob modification on MakerWorld

Thanks Dave! 

FYI, the MF-2 power knob modification also works on the MF-1. The power knob is identical on both strobes. The HF-1 is a different size.

 

Link added to our DIY encyclopedia

I had the MF-2 covers printed in red and added a white stripe for improved visibility of the marker line.  I’m happy with how it turned out.  Thanks again @Dave_Hicks for the plans! 

I used my MF-2 & HF-1 strobes up in God's Pocket (North Vancouver Island, BC, Canada) all last week, and gave some knobs to a couple of other divers as well. Everybody found that they worked great and make a big improvement to the usability of the strobes. First field tests were a success!

 

Edited September 9, 20241 yr by Dave_Hicks

Thank you Dave, I've printed mine for a MF-2 flash, works well !

A bit tight, but was OK : I printed it using a resin printer, and there is not much flexibility/tolerance. But in the end, it worked, and I'm very happy with it !

 

(the holes have been added for the 3d resin printing process, to let the resin properly flow out while printing)

 

 

Nice! Tight is better than too loose, you can always do a bit of sanding if needed. I have found that they stay on really snuggly underwater even if loose. Not sure if the holes will have an impact. Couldn't you just flip the print orientation to avoid adding holes? 

16 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

Couldn't you just flip the print orientation to avoid adding holes? 

Yes, I could have, but I would have needed to print supports... 
So in the end, the holes were the "fastest" solution i've found :p

1 hour ago, Mathieu Cornillon said:

Yes, I could have, but I would have needed to print supports... 
So in the end, the holes were the "fastest" solution i've found 😛

I printed these with supports on my Bambu FDM printer. I also tried without support (of the internal cavity) and it was just cleaner with. On the Bambu with AMS there is a cool trick where you can print with PLA or PETG, then use the other filament for the support interface layer. They don't stick together well, so the supports pop right off very cleanly. The AMS automates swapping between filaments.