How to connect strobe cable to housing without a port

I need advice / instruction on connecting a fibre optic cable to a clear plastic Canon housing which does not have a port please. I recall reading / being told in the past that this is a bit of a DIY job but I do not recall the detail.

Firstly I need to stop the in-built flash creating backscatter by blocking it off but letting just enough light through to trigger the sensor - I am thinking a bit of electrical insulation tape inside the housing with a small hole made in it to allow a pin-prick of light through.

Then I need to attach the cable to the housing. Having Googled it, I think I have been sold the wrong type of cable - it fits my strobe, but the other end has a plastic nut on it. I think I need one which is flat and integral to a velcro connector? But if I can use a couple of bits of velcro to just hold the connector against the housing will that suffice (it is a wet connection, yes?)?

Can anyone recommend somewhere to buy a cable that has a Inon Z240 fitting on one end and an "open" velcro fitting on the other? Ideally in Australia but it is not important.

Any instructions, videos, tips or other tricks would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

(I posted this in the newbie section yesterday so apologies if I am not supposed to repeat myself, but I thought this may be a better place.)

At a minimum you need something like this: https://www.opticaloceansales.com/10bar-optical-fiber-velcro-attach-kit.htmlThis will take two bare fiber ends and embed them in a block of plastic & velcro. It should include a second piece of velcro that attaches to your housing. You can also get a similar thing that includes a Sea & Sea connector on the velcro instead of bare ends.

Then your instincts are correct that you can block things off with black tape. Don't forget the new block of plastic. I found it is useful to block the outside as well and put black tape down the "snout" of the housing. Once light get's into the polycarbonate, it tends to get guided down the plastic. A few photos in front of a mirror will help you find the hot spots.

At a minimum you need something like this: https://www.opticaloceansales.com/10bar-optical-fiber-velcro-attach-kit.htmlThis will take two bare fiber ends and embed them in a block of plastic & velcro. It should include a second piece of velcro that attaches to your housing. You can also get a similar thing that includes a Sea & Sea connector on the velcro instead of bare ends.

 

Then your instincts are correct that you can block things off with black tape. Don't forget the new block of plastic. I found it is useful to block the outside as well and put black tape down the "snout" of the housing. Once light get's into the polycarbonate, it tends to get guided down the plastic. A few photos in front of a mirror will help you find the hot spots.

Thanks, I will consider that. After a bit more digging I found that Inon does a wireless connection. That sounds fancy but is basically a mirror to fit over the housing and sensor to screw into the strobe. I have also asked the local distributor for ideas. today I put some Velcro on and consistently got the strobe to fire, but I'm not confident it will stay in place underwater. Those blocks you suggested should be better if there is no proper solution.

If you want the best your are going to do, you want a combination of this https://www.opticaloceansales.com/10bar-optical-fiber-plug-sea-and-sea-oly.html and something from this second page http://reefphoto.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4023 It sounds like you have one strobe but you might as well get the mounting block for a second strobe and add the cable later.

This will put a Sea&Sea style connection on your housing and give you Sea & Sea to Inon cables. S&S is the closest to a generic underwater fiber connection (Inon and Nauticam have their own systems, but Nauticam uses S&S on their compact housings).

I picked Optical Ocean because he carries all these things. I've gotten my fiber stuff from there and a quick phone call and description of what I have has always gotten me what I need at a good price.

I think that you are on the right path but I don't think that black electrical tape will restrict the internal flash from passing threw. You need something that is denser or thicker to keep the light from getting threw. Maybe three layers of tape.

you can use a piece of fully exposed 35mm film to cover the strobe as
the black film will let pass only the infrared light to trigger the strobe.
I used it on several P+S sticking it either on the camera or inside the housing.

Inon had this system for some time for sale.

If you have the original strobe diffuser, you may cut the plastic nut and peel it for a half inch,

then drill a tiny hole in the white diffuser to accommodate the optical cable.

Chris