herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong, Computing Services) (11/02/84)
Thanks to all the people that replied to my original posting. I have
decided to try and find an HVP-2 for my 285 and in the meantime try and
build a gel-cell powerpack for experimenting with. Here are the comments
I received.
Herb...
I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble....
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BITNET: herbie at watdcs,herbie at watdcsu
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Ideally, junk the 285 and get something reasonable (remember, I've got
one too), like the Metz 60CT2 (and yes I know how much that costs, and
no I don't have one either).
-- David Dyer-Bennet
-- ...ihnp4!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-mrvax!ddb
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The Quantum battery packs are sealed lead acid cell batteries that do
a pretty good job. They holds lots of charge. I don't know if you
will get your 1000 shots off, but I did a wedding and didn't have any
problems (500 exposures).
Marty Sasaki
Havard University Science Center
sasaki@harvard.{arpa,uucp}
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I've had a lot of success with a variety of power sources for my 285.
The best seems to be the bogen power handle I got in N.Y. for $30. It has
batteries in the handle and the 285 mounts on top. I believe I bought it at
olden.
Previous to that I used a battery pack from a 'Book-Light' someone
bought me. You know - one of those tiny lamps that clip on the back cover
of a book so you can read in bed. The light had a separate power pack that
connected with a 4 foot cord. The battery pack held 4 C cells, not as good
as the Bogen's handle but providing 4 or 5 times as many flashes as AA cells
in the flash.
There are two ways to connect a homemade power source to the 285. One
is to find an old electric shaver cord and splice the plug onto the battery
pack cord (the plug must be shaved down a mite and a groove cut into one side
so it will fit in the 285's socket) the second is to buy an alkaline holder,
splice the battery packs leads onto the back of the connectors where it meets
the contacts inside the flash, and file a small groove into the edge of the
door so the leads can stick out. I've seen this done a few times but thought
it a bit drastic. If you use the socket for connecting the battery pack it
will charge the flash when the power switch is OFF (same as an AC adapter),
if you use the alkaline holder it will operate the same as if you had batteries
in the flash.
Battery holders can be purchased at Radio Shack. Also, consider
renting a Quantum Battery pack for the weekend. That is the best power
source I've seen for the 285 (though a bit rich for my blood).
Let me know how you make out.
Jon Rose.
!sjuvax!rose
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Anyway, the battery pack is manufactured by:
Quantum Instruments Inc.
1075 Steward Ave.
Garden City, NY 11530
Quantum says that you should get 200 flashes when
using a Vivitar 283 on manual.
Marty Sasaki
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I have several Vivitar flashes including a 285. When I'm shooting heavy-duty
stuff where the flash has to be used a lot (e.g. weddings) I like to use the
HVP-1 high-voltage battery pack. This is a 510-volt battery in a plastic
box, with a cord that plugs into the keystone-shaped socket on the side of
the flash. It recycles in 1/2 second from a full-power flash, the battery
costs about $25 (list price $32), and the HVP-1 pack itself without the
battery is about $20 if I recall correctly. The Mallory 510-volt battery
that I bought in August 1983 is still going strong, although its recycle
time has grown to about 1.5 seconds and I expect that I will have to buy a
new one soon. I have probably shot 100 rolls of film with it, which means it
has probably given me 3000 full-power flashes for my $25.
Brian Reid
Stanford