I've read several references to the ROC controller failing on L&M Titan housings and wondered if any of you have had any first hand experience with this? My Titan D100 has performed flawlessy over the last 9 months, but the controller failed on my 2nd day at Darwin's Arch a couple of weeks ago, which was really bad timing.
Light and Motion is replacing the board, and has been great to work with, as they always are, but I'm wondering if this is common, and if I should take a spare controller with me on my next trip?
Thanks,
Boydski
Hi boydski,
I've had two ROC failures on my Tetra5050 housing. Not a Titan of course but I wouldn't be surprised if the electronics are similar if not the same.
On the first failure, I replaced just the board itself, the second one, the board and the other smaller board that attached to the strobe bulkheads. I've probably now taken as many shots since then as in total with the two failures so perhaps replacing the bulkhead board was the key.
It is annoying when it goes but I can still adjust the strobes manually, stone age I know. And the TTL still worked. I'm so close to moving on to a new system that I personally won't get a back up. But it'd be nice to have if it fails in a remote location.
Rand
I'd travel with a spare set of electronics if for no other reason than a backup set in case of a flood (they won't survive, the boards will, but the connectors will corrode).
Light & Motion sells a Titan Field Service Kit you might look in to, it is spare electronics, handle boards, bulkhead, latches, and some other stuff I'm sure I've forgotten...
I dove the Titan D100 for 2 weeks straight in Fiji and didn't have a problem with the ROC controller. With that said, I took a field replacement kit for the electonics and I wouldn't travel w/o one. Same goes for just about any electronics. I sure wish I had brought a second bulkhead kit for my other setup and will do so in the future.
Cheers
James
Thanks Ryan and James,
Sounds like the Titan Field Service Kit is just what I was looking for. Thanks for the quick responses!
It is annoying when it goes but I can still adjust the strobes manually, stone age I know. And the TTL still worked.
Rand
Hi Rand,
I kept shooting after the ROC failure, but on the Nikon, I also lost the ability to change shutter speed and f/stops, which was the most annoying part of the failure. The strobes still worked, and shutter still fired, but you had to set the camera to one exposure and stick with it. I suppose that's good practice, but I missed my thumb controls.
Boydski
And back at ya. Thanks for the info. I didn't know the Titan lost all those options on board failure. I'm in the process of getting lenses for my D70. After that, a new housing. My last two have been L&M but I'm not sure if the ROC is going to be available for the D70 so may go a different direction.
