Newbie looking for some advice. I'm working on setting up my first full rig (Oly housing and dual YS-D1 strobes). The Sea & Sea fiber optic cables run around $85 each. I'm curious if there are alternatives to using their cables. I've been told I can take Toslink cables and shave the edges of the plugs so they would fit in the holes in the housing and the strobes. I've played with that idea a little, but the cables don't seem to stay in the holes well. Any other thoughts or alternatives (or should I just suck it up and shell out the $170)?
Thanks, Dave
Have a look on divervision.com I got some sea & sea type plugs for the strobe and a dual plug for my housing. I use some old cheap fibre optic cables. I have also used the cheap 2mm tos link cables. It's far cheaper and with a couple of spare plugs in the camera bag you can fix problems on the fly
Give Jack at Optical Ocean a call and chat with him. He's always helped me find reasonably priced fiber connectors and cables.
81 0011 - Eska™ Premier Polyethylene Jacketed Optical Fiber Cord, 1.0 dia - 0.00 : 20 : 1.55
and you are good to go.
Bill
Thanks Bill. That looks pretty straightforward (and would be pretty inexpensive to get some extra for backup). Is there anything special I need to do to get the cord to stay in the bushings?
They are press fit and will not fall out. You won't get fancy coiled cables but for $1.40/meter you can make lots of different lengths.
Bill
A local dealer hooked me up with f/o cable made by "F.I.T" for $45 - half price. I have yet to get them in the water but for half the price I'd so I'm pretty happy so far. I wasn't able to find much info on the company online but they are compatible for nauticam MIL housings and aquatica to S&S.
FIT is from Fun In in Taiwan, they make lots of interesting stuff that no one else seems to make. Their FO cables are fine.
Bill
Have a look on divervision.com I got some sea & sea type plugs for the strobe and a dual plug for my housing. I use some old cheap fibre optic cables. I have also used the cheap 2mm tos link cables. It's far cheaper and with a couple of spare plugs in the camera bag you can fix problems on the fly
Found this at Divervision for $40/cable (before shipping):
Howshot Fiber Optic Cable 613L for Dual YS Connector
When I asked about how it compares with Sea & Sea, here's what they told me:
"The material of Howshot Fiber Optic Cable 613 and Sea&Sea #50128 are almost the same. Both of them are multi fiber to have better resolution.
The one you marked, OFL613-SS-SS, is compatible for your set. "
I'll still probably play around with the DIY option, but good to know of this backup. Will need to look at FIT as well.
Thanks,
Dave
I was going to do the "make your own" option, but the fiber optic company was going to require me to buy around 16 meters of cable. With shipping, it was starting to add up.
Decided to try the following from ebay
"2pcs / Fiber-optic Cable sync For SEA&SEA/Olympus strobe scuba diving"
I did the "make an offer" option offered $40 per 2/pack (ordered two 2-packs). Total spend will be $80 for four cables (two spares), which is a little less than one of the Sea & Sea brand cables. The reviews on ebay were pretty good. Will share my opinion of these cables once I've had a chance to try them out.
the plug fix the Sea&Sea strobes but you can cut it and add other plugs
I have Sea and Sea YS-D1 strobes and have bought an Inon double hole bush to go in the optical bulkhead on an Aquatica D810 Housing. How do the Toslink cables connect side by side with the Inon bush?
Many thanks
Andy
You need to strip off all of the rubber on the outside of the Toslink cable and get at the underlying fiber which has a black jacket. Just push into the bushing.
the plug fix the Sea&Sea strobes but you can cut it and add other plugs
The Toslink connectors do not connect to the optical port on the guns. Is the solution to buy Sea and Sea caps and strip the Toslink connector fit the cable into them?
Buy the rubber bushings ($3 a piece) for S&S type fittings. For Inon, the cap that goes over the sensor has a removable bit that fits the Toslink perfectly.
Bill
Dave,
What is your experience with these cables?
"2pcs / Fiber-optic Cable sync For SEA&SEA/Olympus strobe scuba diving"
They look like they should work fine. If they work at all they will work in sTTL mode, no worries.
Bill
I haven't had a chance to dive with them yet. I did plug everything in and test with the camera (on the surface) and the strobes flashed, so I'm assuming there shouldn't be issues under water.
Dave
Update- the connectors on the ebay cables aren't really good. They kept coming out of the strobes. Fortunately Giant Squid Bill was on the boat and lent me a cable. He also suggested cutting off the connectors and replacing them with the rubber bushings discussed above. The fiber cable is still good, so these will still end up being a much better deal than the S&S cables.
