Some help with the MX10 please

From searching around, I know a great many of you have and use - or are experienced with - the MX10 camera from Sea&Sea, a model I have recently acquired, together with the strobe accessory.

Over the past few days, I have been endeavouring to do some test shots prior to diving with it to ensure not only that everything works, but that I get to know how to handle the basics.
Unfortunately, I have had no success with the strobe at all. I have 400 speed film loaded into the camera, and the f/stop knob turned, as per the manual advice, to f8.

Like this, I can take photos without a problem. However, when I attach the strobe, and set it to AUTO, the manual tells me that an indication light on the rear of the strobe should light for a period of about 2 seconds when I am at the correct distance to the subject. Unfortunately, the light never lights in any circumstances, or at any ambient light level.

I then tried changing the strobe to ON, but still find that I can take pictures in any light level, but the strobe simply never fires. I know power is to the strobe, since the top orange light is always lit and the strobe emits a constant high pitched whine when on, but have so far been utterly unsuccessfull in getting the thing to work. Both infared windows have also been checked and cleaned, and are not blocked.

Can anybody please advise?

Sound to me like you have a problem with either the camera IR sender or the strobes IR reciever. My next step would be to determine which is the problem. The strobe is not picky at all as to what kind of IR signal it gets. You can make it fire by aiming a TV IR remote at the IR window on the strobe. Take the strobe off the camera, turn it on, allow it to charge, hold the remote an inch or so away and push any button. If the strobes OK it will fire.

Haven't managed to fire a TV remote at it yet (no remote, since I have no TV), but I've fired a stereo remote and the strobe hasn't responded on any setting so far.

Any other ideas, or is it looking like my strobe is in need to repair?

OK, first, its been a while since I used an MX-10, so this could be wrong. I'm wondering what the ambient light is like where you are trying to practice. If the light is bright enough for a good exposure without the strobe, it shouldn't fire. If it doesn't fire with low light, then there is definitely something wrong with it.

I'm trying it in all ambient light levels (dimmer switch), from total darkness to very bright light. I've also tested this both in the dry, and with the camera submerged.

So far, the camera seems to run fine. The strobe seems to work, inasmuchas it's got power, it's showing as ready, etc., but I just cannot get the thing to flash.

The stereo remote should have worked, so I am betting on a bad strobe. The internal flash of the camera (or any other camera) can also be used to set the strobe off as well. Just hold the strobe IR recepter aimed at the internal flash, it's not picky as using a flash is a lot of overkill. If the stobe will still not fire, it's got a problem. Back to S&S with it or get a new one.

herman:

The internal flash of the camera (or any other camera) can also be used to set the strobe off as well.

Click to expand...

It can? I was given to understand that only an infrared flash would. Still, not that it matters; I tried your suggestion and the Strobe still refuses to fire, so I think you're right.

Back to Sea&Sea it seems...

The IR resecepter is pretty simple, it only requires a quick pulse of IR light to set of off, any camera flash has enough IR energy and a steep enough pulse spike to set if off. I had toyed with the idea of using the strobe off the camera as a slave off the internal flash which is why I found these tricks to make fire. Sure sounds like you have a bad strobe.

First double check to make sure you have the batteries for the strobe inserted in the correct orientations. If one is backward it will mess up the charging of the strobe. Also make sure they are fresh batteries. Batteries in the strobe will only last 3 or 4 dives.

When you turn the strobe to on or auto you should be able to hear a high pitch whine that is the sound of the circuit charging up. If you don't hear that it means the batteries are real bad or the strobe is broken.

SteveB

Thanks StevenB, but that's the first thing I tried. The batteries are the right way around, and the whine is present, as mentioned in my very first post.

I spoke to Sea&Sea yesterday, and they gave me a self-test - other than the cameras own flash and the remote control - to try, which confirmed pretty conclusively that the strobe isn't working. I've since packaged it up and sent it back to be repaired.

Thanks to everyone who helped; it really is appreciated.