In actual fact, any electronic equipment that uses large electrolytic capacitors, such as studio strobes benefits from use. If you use the equipment regularly, it keeps the capacitors "formed". Lack of use over a period of time can cause the capacitors to fail.
Thanks everyone for the info/replies. The unit is a speedotron 1200Ws. I put it in the center of the garage and plugged it in from a distance and no bang, smoke, fireworks etc.
It looks like someone replaced the cable connection points, however the pins are bent on most and won't even plug in. What a pain. I suppose I will just bend them back and guess and check until they plug in. Would a small amount of dialectic grease on the pins be a bad idea?
Evan
Oooh. I don't like bending those pins on the mil-spec round connectors, especially if the power supply has been charged up. I'd wait a day or so to let those caps dissipate before attacking those pins. Or, if you can get one of the heads to connect, fire the power supply to make sure the charge has been dissipated. Make sure you use one of the big heads (an MW11) if you just plug in one. Then, I would bend them very gently with needle-nose pliers.Originally Posted by argos33
It does not bode well that the power supply has lived so hard a life that those pins are bent!
Do you have a photo showing the top of the power supply that shows some detail? Posting that might lead to more specific advice.
Rick "glad no smoke escaped" Denney
It's what Frank says about the arcing problem with old strobes. I believe that Dynalites were the first strobes that were protected from this. Back in the day I arced out an old Thomas Strobe unit and almost killed myself. All the connecting pins in the pack and the head melted. Old timers still turn off power packs when they plug in and unplug heads.
Just as an aside, I worked for a guy who used Norman strobes and the pack, for some reason, discharged the power through the sync cord and into the camera and into him. It stopped his heart and almost killed him.
I've felt a tingling Copal before too!
I was reading somewhere on the web that to reform an capacitor that has not been used for a long time, one should plug in the power unit for five seconds or less, then let it sit for a 10 minutes, and repeat this process a few times. It sounds like a bit of internet pseudo-science, but I can't be sure... Any opinions?
For people who live and breathe this stuff--radio amateurs who revive old vacuum-tube transmitters that have 2 or 3 kilovolt power supplies with enormous filter capacitors--they would tell you that the best way is to power up just the power supply using a Variac, increasing the voltage slowly and gradually up to full service voltage, and then leaving it that way for a couple of days. This allows the dielectric coating to rebuild at voltages too low to arc.
Doing that with a Speedotron power supply is silly, though. First, you can't separate the power supply from the rest of the circuitry, and the low voltage wouldn't be good for it. Secondly, they aren't that old. Thirdly, who has a Variac? And finally, radio amateurs are tested (sort of) and licensed to do that sort of thing, along with receiving ample warnings about the various dangers involved in messing about the innards of a kilovolt power supply.
So, just plug the thing in. If it pops and smokes, send it to Mr. Speedotron or find another used one.
Rick "no stranger to the chicken-stick and the one-hand rule" Denney
I have a Variac
[QUOTE=rdenney;528949] Thirdly, who has a Variac?
I have a Variac
me too.
From the 404 on there is either a flap or handle. Probably the most dependable and prevalent classic Bron pack out there, the 304, doesn't have this interlock. Even with it, it's a good idea to get in the habit of turning the pack off (and firing the open flash, if possible) before plugging or unplugging a head.
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