Better strobe trigger

I have a Sony A1 in a seafrogs housing and a YS-D3 mk-ii strobe. I use a seafrogs trigger to fire the strobe over a fibre optic connection. That's been working really well. HOWEVER, he seafrogs trigger has a tiny battery, and while rechargeable, if I'm diving 2-3 times a day, it runs out of juice. What doesn't help is that it drains during the time it's on - regardless of whether you're firing or not (of course, it drains faster when shooting). So unless I open up the case and turn the trigger off for surface intervals, it really limits the number of shots. 

Seafrogs did mention the turtle ttl triggers work with seafrogs cases (when I'd previously asked them about ttl - the seafrogs trigger doesn't support ttl). Reading around, I see that it claims a much higher number of flashes on a single charge. And as an added bonus, I get ttl. I guess one downside is the old school USB-A charging interface. 

Are there other triggers you'd recommend that (most importantly) can last a lot longer on a single charge, and potentially have TTL?

I use a UW-Technics trigger (also in a SeaFrogs housing); it runs off a pair of CR1220 batteries which last, in my experience, for a few dozen dives at around a hundred shots per dive. However, when the batteries do run low, it usually happens in the middle of a dive with no warning, which is really annoying. As a rule, I pop in fresh batteries at the beginning of a liveaboard trip and that is near-guaranteed to last until the end.

@Barmaglot thanks! (At times, it feels like these forums are a private q&a with you!)

Would it be something like https://www.uwvisions.com/essentials/flash-triggers/uw-technics-hss-ttl-convertor-for-nauticam-housings/ ? Or are there ones specifically for Seafrogs?

This is the one you'd use: https://uwtechnics.com/index.php/online-store/ttl-converters/for-sony/16034-ttl-converter-for-sony-a7iii-a7ii-for-seafrogs-meikon-housings-detail

Its LED plug replaces the wired sync bulkhead, so it can be used with SeaFrogs housings that don't have an optical bulkhead. Thinking about it now, there's a single LED in there, so it might last longer than the twin-LED version that I use in my A6xxx housing.

I ended up getting this: https://www.trt-electronics.com/shop/s-turtle-2-smart-ttl-trigger-for-sony-systems/32/ 

It works great with the Sony A1 and Sea&Sea YS D3 mk2. I did have to get a connector that stood flat against the housing (right behind the point where the fibre optic connectors plug in), as the one shipped initially had protruding leds. It works normally, as well as with the strobe in ttl mode. The controller unit is connected by a detachable wire to the actual leds that flash. I wish the detachable wire was easier to remove; I've kept it connected, and just charge the unit inside the housing (and leave it in the housing). Other than that, works great.

Sorry for hijacking your thread but i'm also having trouble with my trigger.

Fantasea FA3-led trigger in a Fantasea Fa6500 housing and sony a6300.

The trigger doesnt always work because the connectors are bad. I took it to fantasea and they said it's working fine, but it's not.

Any other recommended strobe triggers that will fit my housing?

My Subal trigger has a coin battery and a capacitor with a small resistor, in other words, a very simple circuit.  It may be that the Fantasea trigger is very similar.

My suggestion is:

1. Test the trigger's battery to make sure it is fully charged, or replace it with a new one.

2. If the battery is good,  ask a friend or neighbor who is familiar with electronics to look at the trigger to see if it can be made a bit more powerful.

7 hours ago, Kraken de Mabini said:

My Subal trigger has a coin battery and a capacitor with a small resistor, in other words, a very simple circuit.  It may be that the Fantasea trigger is very similar.

My suggestion is:

1. Test the trigger's battery to make sure it is fully charged, or replace it with a new one.

2. If the battery is good,  ask a friend or neighbor who is familiar with electronics to look at the trigger to see if it can be made a bit more powerful.

 

https://www.backscatter.com/Fantasea-FA-3-LED-Strobe-Trigger

This is the trigger, the main unit is charable via usb and there are 2 connection: 1 is for the hot shoe on the camera, the second is for 2 led bulbs that goes into the fiber optic socket from the inside of the housing.

One of those connections doesn't work well and it's misses shots most of the time.

2 hours ago, sarthur1 said:

https://www.backscatter.com/Fantasea-FA-3-LED-Strobe-Trigger

This is the trigger, the main unit is charable via usb and there are 2 connection: 1 is for the hot shoe on the camera, the second is for 2 led bulbs that goes into the fiber optic socket from the inside of the housing.

One of those connections doesn't work well and it's misses shots most of the time.

I would expect the problem is light intensity.  I note it says not compatible with YS-D2 which is a sure indicator that the LEDs are not powerful enough to trigger the YS-D2 which are well known for triggering issues.   I would first try to confirm you have good alignment of the LED with the fibre optic window and that your cables are centralizing the the fibre in the port where they attach. 

Better quality cables would be my first thought for a solution. To test for this set up the trigger outside the housing and hold the LED directly onto the fibre optic port on the strobe.  Then test it to see if the triggering improves.