strange problem with converter ttl

hi people... i need your help with the "Heinrichs ettl covnerter"..

first of all, my setup is canon eos350d camera, sea&sea 350d housing (with 5 pinc bulckhead) and sea&sea ys-90 duo

i've installed the ttl converter and tested the system at home.. all works fine..

today i've tested the system at the sea and i've noticed a very strange behaviour...

at 12 meter (36feet) nothing work.. between 7and 2 meter (21f/6f) sometime it work sometime not..

when strobe work i can see the strobe icon in the camera but sometime the icon disapper and the strobe doesn't fire.. so if i turn off the strobe the icon reappear and obviously i can't use it...

suggestion?

i suspect that the problem it's in the converter... like Heinrichs told me.. i''ve connected the trigger, quench and ground cable but not the fourth cable...

thx for any suggestion

regars

poetazzo

Does everything work above 12 meters?

If it works and fails dependent on depth, it sure sounds like a connection and/or external cord issue. Try reseating all the connections, and/or try a different cable.

thx for quick response... im' not sure that the problem is the depth .. because remaining at the same depth like 5 meters, sometime the strobe work sometime not...

another thing that i've tried is pointing differently the camera...

ll' try to explain, stating that the strobe icon was disappeared while tryng to shot under me i've tryed to shot in front of me and sometime the icon reappear.. sometime not..

my idea is that there is a problem concerning some light sensor....

I had a similar problem with my C5050 Heinriechs convert with my Inon 220. It turned out to be a bad cable. I never found out what the problem with the cable was. It looks perfect, but I know that when i swapped cables, the problem also disappeared.

the strange is that when i was shooting without converter (in manual mode) everything works fine at every depth, today i'll try to shot with converter set to manual mode

if the strobe work maybe the problem is in the converter, if not in the cable ...

wait 3 hours and i'll post the result

ok... the result of the test is......

nothing is working :D

with the converter set to manual mode i've the same problem.. it seem that the problem is in the cable...

tomorrow i'll try to change it

ok .. i've changed the connection cable between housing and strobe with a new one

and nothing is changed...

have some suggestion for me?

thx

this is what Matthias write me as answer to my question "I really doubt that this is converter related problem, our converter do not have a depth sensor. You have minor flood one connector is loosing

contact due to the increased water pressure, perhaps it is pushed into

the bulkhead to far or something like that."

maybe he's right, the problem is not the sensor but when i was without it everything work.. and now i have this problem...

i can't see the solution, i've ispected every connection in the housing and they seems to be good, (anyway the depth shouldn't affect them)

if i'm having minor flood in the external side of bulkhead i should find water in it but there's not trace of infiltration

suggestion?

thx albe

If the problem is not the strobe cable, it could be a damaged pin in the bulkhead. The fact that it works in manual doesn't rule this out since the manual strobe connection does not use all 5 wires in the connector.

maybe i don't exply well...

before using converter i was able to shot in manual mode since can't use ttl...

now, with converter, either in manual or automatic mode a can shot under 5 meter

tomorrow i'll try a little experient... i'll take with me my old film camera and the y-90 in slave mode so i can see if the problem is in the strobe

ok, today i was in the sea.. and instead of my old film camera i take with me my strobelight for night dive..

as always at 5 meter the strobe fail to work but setting it in slave mode and pointing it at my strobelight it work normally

so at this point it semms to be a bulckhead problem...

i'll try to change and i'll tell you the result

finally i've resolved the problem and everything work fine

after long brainstorming process with my housing seller we found that the problem was in the hotshoe connector

that arrived with ettl converter.

we note that pressing the upper side of the hot shoe connector the strobe icon disappear... like when i dive

under 2-3 meter.

the pressure of the water over the housing cause a little compression of it so the up side of the housing touch and press the connector in the hotshoe..

i've gone to an electronics shop and they 've soldered the old hotshoe to the ettl connector solving my problem

now a picture showing the difference between the hotshoe connector

thx who helped me, especially Matthias Heinrichs responding my mail and luciano of fotoshark.it that found the solution

Superb troubleshooting by all involved.

I guess another solution would be to remove the slightest sliver of stock from the housing, to stop the fit being to borderline. By the looks of it, the pressure actually breaks the ground contact which is picked up by the tracks on the top edges of the board. As the housing plastic presses down on the gold connector towers, they press down on the board, moving it away from the hotshoe flanges.

Ten minutes of careful attention with a Dremel and I'm sure the system could retain the Heinrichs hotshoe. I present this merely as another option.

Hopefully Matthias can use shorter contacts for his board.

It's very good to hear that you now have an operational system.

Martyn