Housing repair

Hi,

I have an Ikelite housing for my D200 which was flooded at the last trip unfortunately. I have checked the housing and all seems to be fine except the iTTL circuit. Ikelite quoted $200-400 repair cost which is fair enough. But unfortunately I'm in Europe and the shipping cost of the housing to Ikelite and back would make this price up to the level of a new housing (not mentioning the hassle dealing with customs).

It would be more straightforward if Ikelite could ship the circuit alone but sadly they do not do that.

So I'm considering to do some DIY here. I'm planning to remove the iTTL circuit and join the sync cable creating direct link between the hot shoe and the strobe bulkhead. Can anyone tell me what can I expect? Will it work at all? If so will I lose only the handy TTL compensation and manual control provided by the controller on the housing or more?

All comments and tips are really appreciated.

TIA,

Zoltan

HI,

have you got a ikelite dealer local to you or the outlet you brought it from??

Surly their are dealers all over Europe for ikelite, in the UK their are quite a

few. Postage for housing can not be that much.

Andy

I believe there is only one reseller in Hungary what I have contacted. He told to me I should contact Ikelite directly for any repair issue what I did. Emailing with Ikelite they also confirmed that it should go directly to them.

I have checked both UPS and DHL for shipping. They quoted $300-400 for a one way shipping on the housing. Probably regular posting service would be cheaper but I don't consider that as an option due to the bad reputation of our local service. According to the quoted prices the repair would cost about $800 in the best case and $1200 in the worst case. There is also a lot of hassle with customs. I need a statement that the housing is manufactured in the states and being sent back to the manufacturer for repair. Then visit the nearest customs office where they record the content and close the package. I took me about 2-3 hours hanging on the phone to find this out. I can imagine it would take a whole day getting it done knowing how things are working with customs here.

Therefore seeing the price and the hassle I decided to do this small DIY project. But before I start I would be interested if anyone around would be able to tell me what can I expect as a result.

Zoltan

Hey Zoltan

But would you have the same Customs headaches if you mailed the housing somewhere in the EU for repair?

As Andy suggests, you can get Ikelites repaired in the UK. And I wouldn't have thought the DHL/FedEx charges would be as much as sending it to the US.

That is really odd. When I sent my system to ikelite, it is around 100 euro for the entire system (i am in the netherlands). When they sent it back, they charge around 30-40 euro's.

Customs: make sure you get a "sent for repair" form when sending it, Ikelite marks it as repair as well.

DHL seems to price very differently.

Who in the UK repairs ikelites ? Dont they sent it in as well and just act as a store front?

The other option is to get Ike to ship you the rear connector and the ttl circuit block. It is not that tough to fit and would be a lot cheaper.

Ike and their dealers are really very helpful and have supplied me component parts in the past. Try emailing the UK dealer http://www.camerasunderwater.co.uk/ they have always been great for me. ( I have no connection with them other than being a satisfied customer ).

The alternative is to bypass the ttl, even if you do this I would suggest that you start with new parts and cables as flash connections and salt water are not good long term partners.

A shipping cost of $400 sounds like a stupid price to me - for that kind of money you can get on a plane!

Paul C

Thanks guys for the tips. Certainly I'm going to give a go to the option of repairing via a European reseller.

The other option is to get Ike to ship you the rear connector and the ttl circuit block. It is not that tough to fit and would be a lot cheaper.

That was my initial query to Ikelite but their repair dept answered it was not possible to ship the circuit but I need to send the housing to them for repair. Is it worth running another round here asking them for the circuit hoping that I will find a helpfull guy there? Is there any contact what is worth trying?

The alternative is to bypass the ttl, even if you do this I would suggest that you start with new parts and cables as flash connections and salt water are not good long term partners.

That's my plan if the second round for repair based on the tips above still leads very expensive solutions.

Do you know how the strobe is going to operate in this case? Will it work only in manual mode? IOW will I loose the TTL operation completly or only the control over TTL via the knob on the housing?

TIA,

Zoltan

So, is there anyone who can tell me how the Ike DS-125 strobe operates in the D200 housing when the TTL circuit is bypassed?

TIA,

Zoltan

I think (please do check somewhere else) you need to attach only the ground and trigger ends of the cord to the hotshoe. Then it will flash manually.

Zoltan, you did realise you can only send the housing back (if you still trust the front) ? You might also try sending it in through an ikelite dealer. Companies have often better deals with DHL and other couriers.

I really think that Ikelite should begine training and developing authorized repair facilities abroad. This kind of expansion of their already awesome service could be the next value add they offer.

Joe

I think (please do check somewhere else) you need to attach only the ground and trigger ends of the cord to the hotshoe. Then it will flash manually.

Thanks, I was expected something like this.

It doesn't seem to be easy to find someone who can confirm this. I was hoping some technical answer on this forum but it looks like the techie guys are diving somewhere at the moment.

Zoltan, you did realise you can only send the housing back (if you still trust the front) ? You might also try sending it in through an ikelite dealer. Companies have often better deals with DHL and other couriers.

I have checked and our local dealer doesn't deal with repairs. Shipping to a deaker in another country doesn't make the shipping cost lower because what they can save I loose on shipping to them. So I would only save on the hassle with customs.

Zoltan

Sorry for delay - yes without the circuit block you will gave manual only and no TTL at all. If you put the strobes on ttl you will get a full dump.

If you want ttl the only option is to replace the whole thing.

If you want manual you only need the central pin (fire) and ground - do not connect any other pins.

This is how I run my D200.

I am pretty sure that if you hit Ike again and explain the cost of shipping and hassle they will ship you the bits. you might want to get a service kit for the housing also - though they are only standard quad rings (not o rings).

Paul C

Thanks for the answer.

This is how I run my D200.

Do you set the flash control to manual on the D200 and control the strobe from there or you are using the rough steps on the strobe? Is there any topic on this forum about manual strobe control?

If you want ttl the only option is to replace the whole thing.

I was googling a bit more on the subject and found that Ike is also selling the TTL circuit as an external unit to provide TTL for Ike strobes in non Ike housing (e.g. one at B&H). This looks like a reasonable option. I assume if the circuit in the housing is bypassed (all pins) and this external unit is added between the housing and the strobe then it is going to provide the same TTL functionality as the one in the housing.

I am pretty sure that if you hit Ike again and explain the cost of shipping and hassle they will ship you the bits. you might want to get a service kit for the housing also - though they are only standard quad rings (not o rings).

I hope you are right about the willingness of Ike as it would be the best option. I just dropped a mail to Them again explaining the situation. Fingers crossed.

I have ordered all the available replacement stuff with the housing just in case. I'm going to do a check dive to see if they need to be replaced.

Thanks again,

Zoltan

I am pretty sure that if you hit Ike again and explain the cost of shipping and hassle they will ship you the bits.

Unfortunately they don't seem to be so helpful. I just dropped a mail to them explaining the situation. I wouldn't say I got a friendly answer (or probably my English is too poor to interpret it friendly). See below

Ikelite does not have an alternative to offer. The front and rear

sections of the housing must be sent to Ikelite for evaluation and

repair of the TTL conversion circuitry. Bypassing the TTL system

would obviously eliminate TTL functioning. I have no assistance to

offer with regard to the possibility of you bypassing the circuit.

TBH I was shocked by this mail (and not by its content). Reading the high number of positive views about Ike support on this forum I would expect something different.

Cheers,

Zoltan

Ikelite never waste time writing long emails. I've never recieved a messages more then 5 lines.

The response is easy if you understand their strategy (or policy). They wont guarantee anything they are not doing themselves, and they rather not have anybody else handling their stuff if they will be the ones to be blamed if it still doesnt work.