Help - strobe(s) not firing.

[HCIdiver]

I have inon Z240 Type 4. Nauticam A7R5 housing and Nauticam trigger. I have had issues with my strobes (either strobe) firing on the second cable.

I bought this: https://www.saltedlineeurope.com/products/fiber-optic-cable-inon-d-type-to-sea-sea-2-meters?_pos=1&_sid=981ddcef5&_ss=r

Brand new and it doesnt fire at all... on either strobe.

 

I have tested both strobes, I have swapped cables problem follows the old cable.  I have snipped with razors the cable ends.  I can get it to fire with no cable ends.  WHen i bend the cable into the holders it fails to fire. If i place the cable in the holder, but dont bend them or screw them in they work 100% of the time. wtf am i ding wrong?

 

I have one old cable that works fine on both strobes, but i cannot make or buy a new one that works on both. The salted line cable has my strobe in the decription... why doesnt it work at all?

Edited yesterday at 08:14 AM by HCIdiver

[makar0n]

Hmm had similar issues with Nauticam trigger and Z240s - issue was the cable (original multi-core Nauticam) was basically half broken - i.e. after years of use, too many strands have failed and not enough light went through. That said, putting a stronger trigger (TRT) did help with another cable that had similar issues (DYI multi-core one this time that I did not make very well...).

Silly question - you sure its original Inon cable and not some cheap replica?  As looks too cheap for an original and don't think Inon makes them in 2m length neither. Such random cables often use shitty quality (or single core) fiber optic and that might result in not enough light being carried to trigger the strobes.

Again, speaking from experience of buying similar once and not being able to trigger the strobes as well - it would work fine with built in flash, as it was more powerful, but not with the Nauticam trigger...

 

You can very easily make you own cable - see here:

 

 

And here:

 

Edited yesterday at 09:08 AM by makar0n

[HCIdiver]

I think you are 100% right. I was in a hurry ordering from that site, never bought there before.  The cables look cheap, and comparing the light output on my one working cable its very different.

 

I can point the old caable towards the window in kitchen and i see a huge ball of light. Nothing comes out of there new ones unless i hold it up to a bright light source.

 

I need to source good DIY cable in EMEA/Ireland...

[Barmaglot]

Get proper multi-core cables.

 

https://www.divervision.com/products/howshot-fiber-optic-cable-613l-for-inon-strobe-4-types-ofl613-in

 

https://www.divervision.com/products/seaandsea-fiber-optic-cable-ii-2-connectors-50128-50133

 

The Sea & Sea ones are a bit more expensive, but the cladding is somewhat more robust.

[brightnight]

I struggled with cables at first. You should be able to have a fiber connected to your camera and see the light come out the other end, this way you can take the strobe out of the equation and just focus on the fiber cable. I ended up needing to cut mine with a very sharp blade, too many reflections from the first time I made them when using a dull blade and the light wasn't getting through. As @makar0n suggested, I'm a fan (because of this site) of making your own if you're not in a rush. Ther are super easy to make, cheap, work well, and you can make any custom length and also have spares without breaking the bank and they will give you a good understanding of how they work and what to do if they aren't working.

[TimG]

As brightnight says, a sharp blade is important to get a clean cut especially if you are thinking of using TTL. A box cutter is ideal.

[HCIdiver]

Everyone take a bow. I went home amd went into that box of cables i never throw away, found a tos optical and gave it a snip and boom it works again. Returning the other set of cables i paid 100 euros for... Happy days.