parts found!Help find parts 4 Vivitar 285HV Zoom Thyristor please!

Help needed to find replacement battery pack! now i know why this sold for 36$! its missing a crucial part! it does have a plugged pack,but that requires some sort of external battery pack! i have already ordered a wall plug,only because i thought it was what i needed!


Hello everyone, and thank you for reading my post. After a fair share of reading and personal debate, I have went ahead and purchased this highly recommended flash the Vivitar 285HV Zoom Thyristor. I purchased it of the infamous e-bay at a fair $36.00 USD deal., but now I need to know what in the heck will I do with it? I do know flash is an important factor, but since I am still "wet behind the ears", "green at the gills", "green thumbed",and other weird sayings. The point i am trying to make is despite having a lens with a large f/ value,the 35mm f/1.4 L, where should i start once it arrives? I aim to photograph every subject possible using the 35mm. I use this for personal use and not for anything that can be or ever will be sold,published,or whathave you, so the idea of making every shot a professional shot shouldn't be a concern. sure the best shot should be a concern always, but i want that mentioned for when advice is given the adviser does not need to be concerned. this is an open request, that should have many opinions, but again i am just trying to understand the use of flash to my advantage, but the search brings up many areas that require near expert fore knowledge! Thank you everyone, and sorry if i cause you to cringe with my drab post,and self loathing! : 0)' <<<<<This is supposed to be a happy face with my sized nose sticking his tongue out lol http://desc.shop.ebay.com/i.html?LH_BIN=1&LH_PrefLoc=1&LH_TitleDesc= 1&_trkparms=65%253A1%257C66%253A2%257C39%253A1 &rt=nc&_nkw=vivitar+battery+holder&_st icky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_s c=1

A good place to start is: www.strobist.blogspot.com


Read through the "Lighting 101" section.


Also, Sean Setters has written some rather detailed posts in the past about various aspects of flash use.


Hope this helps.


Ben

Hello Mr. Ben, and thank you for the reply. I have been here, and I do recall the post as well, but for me, I need a dumb down version, er layman

My flash is here, and boy it is freaking significant in size! i was not expecting it to be this gigantic! now does anyone know how to charge this thing? apparently it doesnt have a charging cord! ugh back to the drawing board as they say.




http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...t/IMG_9866.jpg


http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...t/IMG_9867.jpg

Speaking from experience, going through David Hobby's Strobist 101 from the gears explanations is your surest and most comprehensive approach to learning off camera lighting.


http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html


I was where you were this past April too. I had to re-read it dozens of times before I even knew what in the world he was talking about. But keep at it!! It will surely start making sense to you after some time.


Don't give up after your 4th or even your 10th time reading through his tutorials!! [:D]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GarzaCapitalist

...does anyone know how to charge this thing? apparently it doesnt have a charging cord! ugh back to the drawing board as they say.

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I have the vivitar285hv as well. It has a sliding door on its right hand side where there's a compartment to hold 4 AA batteries. I highly suggest getting rechargeable batteries since you can only get couple hundred shots at best out of them each time.


Good luck!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GarzaCapitalist

apparently it doesnt have a charging cord! ugh back to the drawing board as they say.



<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

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It uses 4 AA batteries. Yours looks like it has a power cord for an external battery. Here is a link to the manual.


I have replaced the foot on mine with a metal foot. As big as the flash is they are easy to break. You can find them at this website: http://michaelbass.blogspot.com/2007/01/plugs-jacks-cable-hardware-misc.html


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x550/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/24/1541.VivitarFoot-Web.jpg[/img]


Mark

@ TakahiroW4047. You sir are a pure soul,and friend! I appreciate your time, and aide! I had a slight idea that.that may be an access point, but i couldn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GarzaCapitalist

only problem now,is that i cannot seem to fit the batteries in it! again

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Yeah I had some trouble with that at first as well.


The compartment holds a battery holder where you first need to slide the battery into as specified by the label. Then you slide the unit back into the compartment. There's only one way to put it in. You have to rotate the one single square corner to the bottom right for it to even slide in. I would assume you got that far, but having problem closing the door? [;)]


The spring can be pretty rigid so you have to push it in pretty hard and hold it as you slide the door close.

Dear clemmb, I consider you the non candied lifesaver! with TakahiroW4047

TakahiroW4047 i will post photo soon in about 20mins to show my progress, or is iit egress?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GarzaCapitalist

i have no idea what the heal i am doing, the battery seems to be missing a holder of sorts, i have no charging plug, finally i took it all apart, and no longer know where part a goes, or if part b is part a?

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Hope this helps!!


If you don't have this holder, then you are definitely in for some complaining to whoever you bought it from. Or maybe that's why they had an external charger cable...[*-)]


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/300x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/24/2112.Vivitar0001.jpg[/img][img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/300x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/24/0020.Vivitar0002.jpg[/img]


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/600x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/24/3326.Vivitar0003.jpg[/img]

the aforementioned culprits,as shown by, none other than my boyhood buddy, Optimus!



http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...t/IMG_9881.jpg

&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_9886.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_9885.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_9879.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;


Me With No flash :(


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_9877.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;

Please excuse the mess, its a house :)

Hmm that looks to be a different model than mine. If it was a used, possibly an older version. I'm not familiar with that battery compartment [:^)]

After reading the online manual, and references from your statements,and clemmb as well, i have come to believe that there is no compartment! that plug thingy is the only way to use this flash, but i have no darn way of plugging it in? it looks to be from a battery pack of some sort? i have however recently purchased a charger for it via e bay, but now ill need to wait even longer, and i spent a total of 55.00! ugh lol. thank you for all of your advice, i will posty results later. i may try to use the battery holder clone thing, but it appears to be to small for batteries!

GarzaCapitalist


I am on vacation and have not had internet till now. I have been suffering withdrawls, LOL. The power cord you have is for use with a quantom battery pack. The power cable alone is worth ~$20. The power cord has an RCA connector on the end. The center post is posative and the outer electrode is negative. 6 volts will work. I built my own battery box for mine for about $30 and it works great.


If you can find a battery holder like TakahiroW4047 showed above, I think it will work.


When I get back from vacation next week I

@clemmb, i have fixed my flash by purchasing a battery from ebay for 3.00! its up and runs like a dream! i have never used a flash before,and,well...my best for now!


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/..._MG_0505.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/..._MG_0497.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/..._MG_0504.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;

&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/..._MG_0496.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/..._MG_0436.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;

Great

more with flash! i have never used flash, or even new how cool it would be! &lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/..._MG_0510.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/..._MG_0512.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;


&lt;a href="s1118.photobucket.com/.../garzacapitalist target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="[View:http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/..._MG_0526.jpg]" border="0" alt="Photobucket"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;

I just found another manual that i thought would be a good read for those using this flash! www.wireheadarts.com/.../vivitar_285hv_guide