Inon Z240 Type IV

I dont know if anyone has had this problem. But a year ago i purchased two Inon Z240's. Soon after a few dive trips one of them died. All functions would work, like the focus light, the strobe ready light etc. But it would not fire. I was in Bali and sent the strobe to Inon through the dealer i had purchased from, who i must say is absolutely wonderful, proactive and more than helpful Mr. Yuzo Kanda http://www.uwdigitalcamera.com/store/home.php They replaced the strobe and said there was something wrong in the circuit board. I was happy with their immediate action and thought this was a one off problem. Post this, i used the replacement (new) strobe and the other one which still worked fine, for a 15 day dive trip to the Red Sea and three more of a week each. Last month in Tioman Malaysia, first one of the strobes died and then the other!!! Same problem as before. The strobes were exactly 11 months old..thank God and were in the warranty period. They have been sent back and it seems that Inon will either repair the same and/or replace them and i should get them back in the next week. Inon it seems says something in the circuit board is the problem but i am sure wont say more on the reasons for this happening. Or maybe they will. I will have to wait till they are sent to me.

My question is what could be wrong? I use only eneloop cells and the sanyo chargers that come with the batteries. But post this happening i have now gone and purchased this http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?I...mp;SUBCATID=295 on the advice of a good friend and fellow photographer, just in case these chargers were not somehow charging the batteries properly leadng to the problem.

What could be the problem as three out of three strobes have had the same problem. The idea is to know the problem, if from my side, and eradicate the same, so as not to have this problem recur. Especially when the strobes are out of the warranty period.

Thanks for any suggestions and help and answers.

Cheers,

Diggy

We have been shooting 4 of then for 4-5 years and have no problems????

If you determine a cause, please post it.

what batteries are you using? i have inon 240s and have had them for years (touch wood) and no issues..

what batteries are you using? i have inon 240s and have had them for years (touch wood) and no issues..

yea, most people come back saying that there have never been any issues, which is why i am a little frustrated at not understanding whats going on. I only use eneloop batteries and the charger that comes with them. The only feasible reason i can think of, is that somehow the charger is overcharging the batteries or not charging them equally/properly. Hence i have now purchased a new charger as mentioned in my earlier post. I just HOPE that Inon tells me the exact cause for this problem.

heers,

Diggy

Follow up to previous post, we now use Enloops and befor that I believe it was Mahas.

We normally do 3-4, 60-70 minute dives and change out every evening.

Can not remember ever running out of power.

I have 2 Z240 for over 3 years and no problems at all. I just think you have a bad series - batch.

The batteries are not the problem.

I just bought 2 YS250 from Sea&Sea and they worked fine for 2 weeks and then died!

Have had 2 new ones from my dealer and no problems anymore.

I know one thing, there is no strobe currently available that works without any problems.

Have fun with the misery everyone has with underwater strobes

Here's what Inon says the problem is :

They had only one same trouble with Zillion housing.

It is not caused by camera signal.

And at that case, they recommended to use insulation plate, but they had same trouble.

When the camera battery is low , the trigger signal from camera is not recognized on Z240 strobe, Z240 recongnize it as "noise"

And it cause some circuit trouble.

Also dual sync cable loses the signal power, and the reason for this trouble.

For the resolution

Please use single cable

And to connect second strobe, please use slave optical cable from the main Z240 to sub Z24

INON said Single cable, it doesn't lose the signal power

Does the above make any sense??? And if so this should be happening with many others.

Any clarification on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks and Cheers,

Diggy

BTW : they have repaired the strobes and sent them back to me. Will receive them in a day or two. BUT there is no further warranty on this repeating !!!!! or an extension on the warranty. ------- KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED AND WALLET OPEN

Can your camera fire the strobes optically? If so, that should solve your problem.

i use dual bulkheads and a seperate cable to each strobe and not a split cable - maybe it is something to do with the voltage going through the dual (y)cable? but they are saying that you electrically trigger one flash and optically the second. But if you can optically trigger both maybe it will be more reliable?

i use dual bulkheads and a seperate cable to each strobe and not a split cable - maybe it is something to do with the voltage going through the dual (y)cable? but they are saying that you electrically trigger one flash and optically the second. But if you can optically trigger both maybe it will be more reliable?

If the camera (the olympus) puts out a low voltage trigger because the trigger circuit in the housing is funky then this makes perfect sense. Next time (if there is a next time) try to trigger the strobe optically. Just point your camera at the strobe and see if it fires (with the cap removed of course). I bet it does fire and that the problem is in either the sync cable or the trigger signal. If your housing can use fiber optics go that route; it will be much simpler.

BVA

If the camera (the olympus) puts out a low voltage trigger because the trigger circuit in the housing is funky then this makes perfect sense. Next time (if there is a next time) try to trigger the strobe optically. Just point your camera at the strobe and see if it fires (with the cap removed of course). I bet it does fire and that the problem is in either the sync cable or the trigger signal. If your housing can use fiber optics go that route; it will be much simpler.

BVA

Unfortunately i cannot use the strobes via the fibre optics route with this housing. And i hope there wont be a next time as i have moved on to a 7D and have just purchased the nauticam housing combo. But i guess what you are saying makes sense about trigger circuit being a little weird. And i also think its the trigger signal and not the cable. If i do use this again i will go by what inon have suggested. Single cable and an optic cable from one to the other strobe. i do recollect that on one of the night dives i was using a single strobe and the batteries were weak, so recycle was taking a long time...So somehow at this point the strobes dont understand the weak signal and spoil the circuitry.

Well the strobes have been shipped back within warranty at no cost for repairs(thank god) and hopefully there is no next time. Thanks for all your help guys.

Diggy

Sounds like you should replace the triggering circuit.

I use a sea & sea TTL converter with a dual sync cable (03470) with my Z 240's.

Have over 500 dives on this rig and no problems (knock on wood).