Christopher Drye

Thanks. I’m using a new to me Olympus TG-6 in a PT-059 housing. I have a Backscatter M52 Air Lens on the housing I bought the kit as a used complete set from eBay. I was told it had done about 100 dives (not sure where or over what time frame). I checked it upon receipt and I missed the fact that whilst the strobe was firing it was not registering the TTL I just removed the knob and screw from it and have now discovered another major issue - cracked mount (was being held in place by the other side mount). Basically it’s scrap. I have no comeback via eBay or PayPal because it has been more than 30 days since delivery. I’ll enjoy my training and this next trip and then when home will sell the working twin YS-01s (one of which still under warranty) and then look out for / save up for the INON S-220s. The best price I’ve seen here in the uk is eBay from Italy at about £375 each once all taxes and duties are paid. I’m shocked by the cost of these things and their apparent fragility! I’m glad my ScubaPro regs don’t have the same reliability risk. I’ve heard INON are very very long lasting (I am meticulous about caring for and maintaining my equipment as I expect it to very rarely let me down and last many holidays !)

UPDATE: I spoke to Maria and think I will go for option 4.

Thanks for the replies so far, I appreciate your help. I'm really scratching my head now. Not quite sure what to do next, this failure and a massive drop in confidence in the YS-01's has thrown me a bit. We do have a local (ish) "in country" repair / service centre here in the UK, however I called them this morning and the one guy that know about these strobes and their issues and he is not in until Wednesday. That in itself is also concerning (prone to failure, limited expertise) and from you info above almost certainly not economical or even possible to repair So I think I have the following options given my next trip is 25 days away and I am trying to fit in a 1 day training course with Maria, using my intended equipment between now and the trip. 1) Do my training course and the next dive trip (17 -20 dives only) with a 1 strobe setup using the fully functional one in TTL mode 2) As above, but in Manual mode only (I read that TTL use can "wear out" the strobe more than manual use 3) Take both Strobes on the trip, but either use one TTL and the compromised one on manual, or both manual 4) Buy a new YS-01 Solis for £310 GBP and use on this one trip along with the other working one. When I get back sell all 3 of them as I can't be doing with this fragility and low confidence long term. then look with zero time pressure for a better solution (probably INON) 5) Buy 1x AOI Q1i to pair with the working YS-01. My budget could just about stretch to this, but I am confused on how the fibre optic connection would work (same connector style?) and also am mixing battery types AA vs 18650 6) Buy 2x AOI Q1i - I just don't think I can find £800 right now for 2 plus 4 18650s and the additional diffusers etc 7) Buy a single video light or hybrid strobe/video to pair with my working YS-01 Solis. Not sure on which one, the cost, and whether it has good/fast availability in the UK. I am open to new or good used condition, but again, time not on my side for this trip. sorry for the long post, I've ended up in an unexpectedly complicated situation!

Hi all, I’m new here (joined on Maria Munn’s recommendation) and hoping to tap into some collective experience! I have a pair of Sea & Sea YS-01 Solis strobes. One is fully functional; the other has developed a fault that I’m trying to understand before deciding what to do next. Observed behaviour on the faulty strobe: Powers up normally, LED red First TTL exposure: LED briefly goes green After that, the LED goes dark and stays off Strobe continues to fire reliably In manual, it fires consistently at all power levels In TTL, exposure is wildly inconsistent shot-to-shot (correct exposure → full dump → almost no output) I’ve confirmed this with controlled side-by-side tests against the good YS-01 using identical settings, distance, and subject. So I think what this means is: Flash tube / capacitor / triggering seem OK Manual output is fine TTL quench/control appears unstable or intermittent LED behaviour seems linked to the TTL state change Questions: Has anyone seen this specific YS-01 failure mode before? Is this a known TTL control / quench circuit issue on older YS-01s? Is repair realistically possible or economical, or is this effectively a “manual-only from now on” strobe? If repair is possible, is it typically board-level or full module replacement? The strobe hasn’t flooded, hasn’t been opened, and hasn’t been abused; this looks like a latent electronic fault rather than corrosion. I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth pursuing repair, or whether experience suggests that replacement is the only sensible option. Thanks in advance — any insight appreciated. My next diving trip is T minus 26 days (Maldives) so I am a bit gutted to have found this issue in pre-trip checks, but hopefully time to solve it one way or another! Chris

Hi, My name is Chris aka Chipstix. I'm new to the forum as I am getting back into underwater photography having dabbled in one form or another in the past. Hello! I live in the UK and I've been diving for about 25 years, and typically dive in tropical waters. Needless to say I love it and am at my happiest when bobbing around with the majesty of the underwater world. I used to have a Canon IXUS SD850IS in an Ikelite housing which I used in the Caribbean and Borneo having read Martin Edge's 3rd edition from cover to cover! Despite only using the internal flash and simple diffuser I was able to make many photos that I still treasure to this day. I've posted a link below to that trip's collection. That housing had to be retired eventually, and I went diving without a camera for several years before the urge overtook me again! So I recently bought a used rig consisting of TG-6, PT-059 housing and dual Sea & Sea YS-01 Solis strobes. This is for an upcoming liveaboard in the Maldives in early February. I am very excited about the trip, and in fact next week I have booked a 1 day 1:1 training course with Maria Munn down in Bournemouth. So this brings us to the question of why today to join the forum!?! Well, I was practicing and testing the kit I bought late last year and have sadly discovered an issue with one of the YS-01 strobes that I wanted to get some help and advice on. So I will head over to the relevant forum section to see if anyone can help me out! ImgBBUnderwater PortfolioBorneo 2010