Sync Cable threads

Hey guys

Is there something I can coat sync cord threads with before screwing them into a bulkhead? Its just taken me an hour to unscrew a sync cord which seems to have got jammed with salt residue.

Arrrghhhhh

Thanks!

When new, coat the male threads on the bulkhead with o-ring grease. When you attach the sync cord, some of the grease gets into the sync cord threads and will protect them from corrosion. This is part of my regular maintenance schedule. It's also important not to leave the sync cords attached to the housing for long periods of time.

Possible electrolysis issue due to stainless connector in aluminum bulkhead? Attach small zinc washer to housing. Isolate camera body from housing - strip of tape on mounting plate, teflon tape on thumb screw used to mount body. Had a similar problem on my Nexus D70 with stainless S&S connector, but it was ok with aluminum connector. Then I discovered fiber optics with the new Nexus D300

And the silicone grease thing. I typically left sync cords attached for several days without problems.

The stuff you want is imaginatively called blue grease, and guess what..it's blue grease.

they use it on car engines to stop the metal part seizing and galvanising together.

I learnt this after i didn't take my sync cord out for 6 months and went diving every day and then had to buy a new sync cord and port as they were now one.

Silicon works but not for long, i am a lazy so and so and only remove my sync every 2-3 months, I guess it's an improvement on 6 months though,

good luck try your local garage, they gave me some for free in a film canister, still got it, you hardly use any, good for your handle screws as well,

cheers

Jez

Many thanks, lads. Very helpful as always.

I'm using some o-ring grease for the time being till I get the Blue Grease AND a zinc washer. My new Heinrichs Weikamp converter now looks a tad battered after submitting to a vice and grips to get the damn thing off the sync cord. I reckon that was about two weeks of constant use, 2 dives a day and just dunks in the rinse tank...

Life can be such a trip sometimes.

I went in to see our outboard mechanic and asked him if he had ever heard of Blue Grease. He waved at a pot on his work bench and muttered the Bahasa Indonesia equivalent of "help yourself". Jackpot.

Just gotta find a zinc washer now. The mechanic shook his head ruefully at that one and said I wouldn't find one smaller than a brick in Sulawesi.....

With threads coated from sea water, it can be helpful to use vinegar+water for soaking for several hours. Many salts will dissolve in this better than fresh water. But the options presented above are certainly better...avoiding the problem in the first place. Vinegar solution works for removing hardness from plumbing as well.

Life can be such a trip sometimes.

 

I went in to see our outboard mechanic and asked him if he had ever heard of Blue Grease. He waved at a pot on his work bench and muttered the Bahasa Indonesia equivalent of "help yourself". Jackpot.

 

 

Just gotta find a zinc washer now. The mechanic shook his head ruefully at that one and said I wouldn't find one smaller than a brick in Sulawesi.....

I had the same problem when I used ikelite Ai strobes with a Nikonos V or a Nexus F4. Si grease on the threads (both male ends of the cord) helped. I got Zn washers from a marine supply house. They are used as scavenger plates on motors and Al hulls.

Now I use fiber cables and this is not a problem.

Bob

Tim:

If you can waite a month, I'll bring you one.

Allan

Oh wicked! Many thanks, Allan