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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Help: phone cord to mono mini adapter
Parker Eshelman, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | | Posted: 2:18 PM on 03.29.07 |
->> Anyone know how to wire a phone cord (4 wire) to a mono mini plug to use as a sync cord between a PW and an old white lightning?
Is it possible?
Parker |
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Matt Barton, Photographer
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Lexington | KY | USA | Posted: 2:40 PM on 03.29.07 |
| ->> Why aren't you using the 1/4" plug on the back of the WL? You can buy a mono mini to maxi cord at Radio Shack for like 4 bucks. No wiring necessary. |
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Parker Eshelman, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | | Posted: 3:01 PM on 03.29.07 |
->> Well, two lights were orginally wired with phone cord and connected into a control box which plugged into a pocket wizard using the traditional 1/4" - 1/8" plug.
I'm hoping to simplify the process without having to use a cherry picker to access the strobes in a local HS gym.
With a Phone-1/8"adapter cord, I could get rid of the control box and use a "Y" Phone adapter to attach everything...
Or, rewire it all with household cables and 1/4" adapters.... |
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Matt Barton, Photographer
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Lexington | KY | USA | Posted: 3:54 PM on 03.29.07 |
->> I don't think WLs were ever designed to be tripped by phone cord directly without the control boxes. Could fry something. Also, once you remove the box, everything defaults to manual control on the back of the lights. One light may have been left at full power while the other might be at quarter. Who knows?
Your safest route is to climb up there and rewire everything correctly with household cable. Or leave it like it is. |
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Greg Ferguson, Photographer
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Scottsdale | Az | USA | Posted: 4:31 PM on 03.29.07 |
->> I agree with Matt. I'd want to check out the units and inspect and optionally replace the wiring with something I know would work. I've seen some nasty rats-nests of wiring in catwalks used for strobe connections so I'd rather start over if it's something that looks "half-fast".
That'll also give you a chance to check the heads out; Take a can of compressed air with you and give them a good blast. You might even want to replace the flash bulbs if the heads are old. It's better to do all that sort of stuff once than have to do it again if something fails later. But maybe that's just my laziness talking. :-)
For my WL heads I use standard zip cord but forgo the add-a-tap connectors. Instead, I soldered together a bunch of 1/4" stereo (3-conductor) plugs and zip-cord lengths wired to imitate the cord that comes with a WL head. Then I use regular wire-nuts to connect the loose ends. I like this because the add-a-taps are hard to find, illegal in some places, and easy to pull apart accidently, and look like an A/C plug, which can lead to all the smoke being let out of the chips in the head. I can quickly create different configurations using the wire-nuts, depending on what the arena configuration dictates.
Somewhere or other I have a note from Paul Buff describing the wiring in the (RJ-11?) phone-jacks. It's not as straightforward as the regular sync line because the telephone connector uses one wire for controlling the light output level and another for something else - I forget what at the moment. Getting the wires mixed up would give you "sub-optimal" results. |
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Parker Eshelman, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | | Posted: 4:33 PM on 03.29.07 |
->> That's what i was starting to think.
Thanks Matt |
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