Problem with Mini Flash MF-1

Hi,

I have a problem with my Mini Flash MF-1, from one day to the next the MF-1 no longer flashes and now i have a red LED quick flashing.
The manual only says: Flash recycle charging circuit error

What can I do? Has anyone had that too? 
Have already sent an email to Backscater and am still waiting for an answer.

Thanks for your help,

Tino

Backscatter MF-1 ?  So no ready light  and it's not charging  up - no whine from the oscillator (flash charging noise)?  Apart from double checking you have a good battery in the flash and maybe pulling the battery and re-inserting I don't think there's much that can be done.

I have tested two different batterys one of them a new one. Green ready light is OK, as soon i go to one of the levels 1-6, the blue LED comes first and after some seconds the red LED starts flashing. No charging Noise. 

14 hours ago, tdphoto said:

I have tested two different batterys one of them a new one. Green ready light is OK, as soon i go to one of the levels 1-6, the blue LED comes first and after some seconds the red LED starts flashing. No charging Noise. 

Solid blue indicates ready - that is flash is charged, if it's not charged it should flash blue.  Seems to indicate it is trying to charge and then flashes red when it doesn't happen - particularly as you report no charging noise.  Have you tried holding the silver button down to see if it will emit the modelling flash?

I very much doubt there is anything you can apart from send it in for repairs.  Backsactter may be able to provide additional troubleshooting steps so I think you may need to wait for them to reply.

Call Backscatter; I had an issue with one of my strobes and they quickly swapped it out, no questions asked.  the green light means the strobe is on and in standby, the blue light means the strobe is charged up and ready to go; the red light could mean that your battery is low on power.  Have you tried using the recommended nightcore battery? 

Backscatter sending me a replacement. Great customer service!
The replacement work just fine!

Tino

I just hit this same issue with my Backscatter MF-1.  I've probably used it about 50-60 dives with no issues until now.  Now it show a "flash recycle charging circuit error" based on the status light signal.  I'll call them on Monday and send it in for service or replacement.  I love this strobe and snoot, so I hope they cover the service for free.

I can't find any warranty information on their website or the manual, but it's under one year old.  Purchased 3/31/2020.  I'll update with my experience.

Unfortunately, after two dives with the replacement flash, I have the same problem again. Let's see what the guys from Backscatter have to say about it.

I wonder if low water temperature (5 ° C) is a problem for the flash. On the other hand, I had the first flash in the water over 30 - 40 times before the problem occurred.

Backscatter quickly replaced my broken MF-1 strobe. I mailed it in on a Monday and had a working replacement back in my hands on Friday that week. I've taken it on three dives this week and it seems to be working properly.

Thank you to Backscatter for providing quick service 100% covered under warranty.

Opps, my Backscatter MF-1 strobe died again on a dive last week. I did a first dive where it worked normally. I think I forget to turn it off between dives. When I began the second dive it would no longer fire. I figured maybe the battery died? After getting it home and recharging / reloading the battery it no longer fires at all. The led indicator flashing in the pattern for Charging Error.

I'm mailing in back again today, fingers crossed on a repair and more than 4 months of operation...

On 7/8/2021 at 12:22 PM, davehicks said:

Opps, my Backscatter MF-1 strobe died again on a dive last week. I did a first dive where it worked normally. I think I forget to turn it off between dives. When I began the second dive it would no longer fire. I figured maybe the battery died? After getting it home and recharging / reloading the battery it no longer fires at all. The led indicator flashing in the pattern for Charging Error.

I'm mailing in back again today, fingers crossed on a repair and more than 4 months of operation...

Backscatter promptly replaced my 2nd dead MF-1 strobe. In their reply they indicated the my strobe had a covered defect, and replaced it with an MF-1 that has "Updated Circuitry. Given that I had two strobes fail with an indication of a charging error, they probably had a flaw in their design that resulted in lower reliability than expected. I'm glad to see that they have made improvements in response. 

I tested it last week, and dove it a couple of days ago. It's working as expected now, no issues.

I'll give Backscatter an A+ for service and responsiveness. My strobe was replaced and returned in about a week, shipping included. Bravo!

I've had the same issue. First strobe died just over a year old had only done I'd guess 20 dives. Replacement was a new strobe provided April 22 FOC, I'm based in the UK and shipped back to the US. Quick replacement service. Replacement unit failed on the 3rd dive. Have just posted back today and I am anticipating a 3rd unit via warranty.  Great kit when they work and good support from Backscatter though I'll be £50 down on shipping costs and without the unit for a few weeks. Hopefully it will be 3rd time lucky for me. I would have thought the replacement from April 22 would have any updated circuit but if not hopefully the next one will.

Backscatter gave me excellent support and I have a replacement mini strobe. Really fast and efficient service from the Backscatter team. Fingers crossed for trouble free operation in the future.  

I've started shooting mine mostly on Level 5 rather than the max setting L6. I also bump up my ISO to 160 when using it on macro snoot shots. My current MF-1 has been healthy for quite a while now, so perhaps that is helping.

Thanks for the info Dave, Hope it and your good self remain healthy  for a long time! Safe diving!

Hello guys. Seems this should be a recall issue. I also bought a used but mint MF-1 from a dive buddy who wasn't into uw photography. Used it for 5 dives and took over 300 photos with no issue. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, when I started the strobe for another session, I get the red flashing light and the manual identifies it as "flash recycle charging circuit" error. Emailed backscatter and since it's no longer under warranty (bought originally in 2020), they advised me to mail it in. As I didn't want to be diving this weekend without a flash, I went out and bought an MF-2 brand new. Fingers crossed this flashing circuitry error has already been rectified in this model.

This circuit error thing is so frustrating because no matter how you care for the item, it seems to be a random event but not rare enough to be chalked to an "act of God" or something. I emailed backscatter and told them that this issue of the MF-1's circuit design flaw should be the subject of a recall. Another frustrating thing is that it appears there are no official distributors of backscatter in the Philippines and I only rely on a good friend who owns a photo store and the only one selling backscatter products in Cebu City for advise on the matter. Makes me wish I had just gotten an AOI Q1 instead.

To be sure the MF-1 has a high failure rate. I had mine fail three times with circuit errors like you described, but they always fixed it and returned it in a week. Even after the 1-year warranty was over. I killed it a fourth time with an (undeserved) leak of the battery compartment. I sent it in, and they told me it was not in warranty for a leak anymore, but because I was nice, they sent me a brand-new MF-1. 

A buddy who has two MF-1's has never had a failure in the last two years. So who knows, results may vary.

I really love the strobe and I ordered an MF-2 as well. Both the MF-2 and the replacement MF-1 showed up this week. I'll dive the MF-2 this weekend!

My MF-1 was returned to them more than a week ago and I haven't heard from them. Good for you guys in the US. Anyone outside the US gets the cold shoulder treatment.

I sent in my MF-1 back in December after it flooded and it took a couple of weeks before they contacted me. They must be busier than in the past.

On 2/8/2023 at 10:51 PM, Butch Can said:

I went out and bought an MF-2 brand new. Fingers crossed

Hey, now that it’s been a few months, could you let me know how the mf2 is holding up? Have you had any issues like you and everyone else in this thread had been having before? I‘m waiting for my mf2 purchase from last week to arrive - originally I was going to get the mf1 new on eBay, but it seems like a lot of people have been complaining about issues with it… Not just on here, but on scuba Facebook groups and Reddit. I’m hoping that they fixed whatever the problems are, so since you’ve already had a chance to use it for a while, I was hoping you might be able to fill me in a little bit on your experience. I’m going to be going to the Philippines in November for a quarter of a year of diving.