Meikon - SeaFrogs A6xxx Salted Line Questions

[gstrek]

I just received the A6xxx Salted line housing with standard port for my A6000 with kit lens (long time Olympus user). Standard housing, no pistol grip or vacuum pump ordered from SeaFrogs.

It appears to have been removed and 'inspected' while going through customs, according to Seafrogs very responsive support person. The port was not attached to the housing but the locking tab inside the housing was not unscrewed. I've since cleaned, lubed, and correctly attached the port per Seafrogs support. There does NOT appear to be any damage but I will take it for a dive without the camera just to make sure.

When I opened the housing to install the port, I noticed a small, black O-ring loose in the housing. It appears to be about the diameter of the pistol grip port (I never removed pistol grip screw). I gently pushed it into the port hole until I figure out where it belongs. I haven't heard back from Seafrogs as to what this might be. Any suggestions from others with this housing as to where this belongs?

EDIT: Just took another look at the housing - there IS a cold shoe so the question is the best way to mount a focus light! Just need to find a cold shoe mount for a DGX Push Video light. Any suggestions welcomed.

 

[Barmaglot]

When I opened the housing to install the port, I noticed a small, black O-ring loose in the housing. It appears to be about the diameter of the pistol grip port (I never removed pistol grip screw). I gently pushed it into the port hole until I figure out where it belongs. I haven't heard back from Seafrogs as to what this might be. Any suggestions from others with this housing as to where this belongs?

Pretty sure that's for the vacuum valve port cap. Don't dive without that o-ring in place; it will leak.

There is a second o-ring on the plug itself, both should be installed.

My second question is where I can mount a focus light since the housing does not have a cold shoe.

It most certainly does have a cold shoe, here's a picture of my housing with a ball adapter in that shoe:

 

[gstrek]

Pretty sure that's for the vacuum valve port cap. Don't dive without that o-ring in place; it will leak.

View attachment 518637

There is a second o-ring on the plug itself, both should be installed.



It most certainly does have a cold shoe, here's a picture of my housing with a ball adapter in that shoe:

View attachment 518638

The vacuum valve port cap did NOT have an O-ring in place. The large one was there but not the 1/2 inch O-ring. I installed it on the port cap.



Would you mind checking the Pistol Grip port cap? It has a single small O-ring on the threads but nothing at the base. This O-ring would also fit there.

Thanks for the photo of the cold-shoe mount I edited my post while you were posting!

 

[Barmaglot]

If you have a small o-ring on the pistol grip plug (above the threads), and a larger o-ring on the vacuum port plug (around the base), plus a thinner o-ring around the vacuum port opening on top of the housing, then this sounds like a full set. It's possible that the extra half-inch o-ring was left inside the housing due to a mistake at the factory - I don't recall getting a spare one of those. Putting it on the vacuum port plug is, I believe, superfluous, and may interfere with the other rings sealing properly.

For mounting your light - Archon makes three different brackets; Z01, Z02 and Z03 - one of those may fit your light. You will also need a cold shoe ball adapter (Archon Z18) and a butterfly clamp to connect them.

 

[gstrek]

If you have a small o-ring on the pistol grip plug (above the threads), and a larger o-ring on the vacuum port plug (around the base), plus a thinner o-ring around the vacuum port opening on top of the housing, then this sounds like a full set. It's possible that the extra half-inch o-ring was left inside the housing due to a mistake at the factory - I don't recall getting a spare one of those. Putting it on the vacuum port plug is, I believe, superfluous, and may interfere with the other rings sealing properly.

For mounting your light - Archon makes three different brackets; Z01, Z02 and Z03 - one of those may fit your light. You will also need a cold shoe ball adapter (Archon Z18) and a butterfly clamp to connect them.

The O-ring is not a spare: it was not installed on the vacuum port plug until I put it there. The thinner, larger O-ring around the vacuum port opening is in place on the top of the housing. The O-ring was knocking around loose in the housing, not in a bag with the other parts.The blame was placed on the customs inspection (the port was also detached) but it may have been an assembly or inspection issue at the factory.

I will check out the Archon brackets and cold shoe adapter. Thanks for sending the part numbers.

 

[Barmaglot]

No, what I mean is, you have an extra o-ring on the vacuum port plug in your photo - it should not be there. There should only be one o-ring on the plug, the larger of the two, seated into a groove.

 

[gstrek]

No, what I mean is, you have an extra o-ring on the vacuum port plug in your photo - it should not be there. There should only be one o-ring on the plug, the larger of the two, seated into a groove.

You mentioned:

"...a larger o-ring on the vacuum port plug (around the base), plus a thinner o-ring around the vacuum port opening on top of the housing..."

Just got my magnifying glass out, you are correct, I removed the extra 1/2 inch o-ring I put on. We are good.

The question is where does this extra o-ring belong? It fits the pistol grip plug but I see no other place for an o-ring of this size. I don't want to flood a housing!

Thank you very, very much Barmaglot. I appreciate your tenacity in helping me with this mystery.

 

[Barmaglot]

If you already have an o-ring on the pistol grip plug, then I suspect that this one was put there by mistake at the factory. There are a total of five o-rings that can be removed from the housing:

1. Main o-ring between front and back halves
2. Port seal o-ring
3. Vacuum port o-ring 1 (inner, on the plug or vacuum valve)
4. Vacuum port o-ring 2 (outer, on top of the housing)
5. Pistol grip o-ring (on the plug or grip itself)

As long as all of these are in place and not compromised in some way, and all the button/shaft seals are good, the housing should be water-tight. Putting an extra o-ring on the vacuum port plug may do more harm than good, as it may prevent the other o-rings there from actually sealing. For a new housing, a check dive without a camera inside is always a good idea, and a vacuum system (VPS-100 or Leak Sentinel) is one of the best investments you can make. A VPS-100 ($120) has saved my A6300 body ($700) plus 10-18mm lens ($550) on my last trip - I pumped the air out before leaving my hotel room, but as the boat was about halfway to the dive site (Hin Muang, about three hours off Koh Lanta), it started flashing red; I cleaned and re-greased the main and port o-rings, pumped it again, and that time it held and no water entered the housing.

 

[gstrek]

If you already have an o-ring on the pistol grip plug, then I suspect that this one was put there by mistake at the factory. There are a total of five o-rings that can be removed from the housing:

1. Main o-ring between front and back halves
2. Port seal o-ring
3. Vacuum port o-ring 1 (inner, on the plug or vacuum valve)
4. Vacuum port o-ring 2 (outer, on top of the housing)
5. Pistol grip o-ring (on the plug or grip itself)

As long as all of these are in place and not compromised in some way, and all the button/shaft seals are good, the housing should be water-tight. Putting an extra o-ring on the vacuum port plug may do more harm than good, as it may prevent the other o-rings there from actually sealing. For a new housing, a check dive without a camera inside is always a good idea, and a vacuum system (VPS-100 or Leak Sentinel) is one of the best investments you can make. A VPS-100 ($120) has saved my A6300 body ($700) plus 10-18mm lens ($550) on my last trip - I pumped the air out before leaving my hotel room, but as the boat was about halfway to the dive site (Hin Muang, about three hours off Koh Lanta), it started flashing red; I cleaned and re-greased the main and port o-rings, pumped it again, and that time it held and no water entered the housing.

I have all 5 of those mentioned. I have 2 case o-rings: one large square on the front half (right in photo) and a smaller diameter white o-ring on the back half of the case (left in photo)

 

[Barmaglot]

That's interesting, it appears there has been a slight redesign of the housing - I got mine in June 2018 and it has only one main o-ring, seated in a groove on the front part - the rear part is just flat and presses flush against the o-ring. It's difficult to tell from your photo, but it looks like they've added a protrusion to the back that extends into the front part, and has a second o-ring going around it - very similar to the older A6xxx housing with a fixed port. There is no mention of it on the website product pages, and I don't see it in their spare o-ring catalog either - must be a very new change.