I saw in the strobe and lighting thread that S&S has been sending emails identifying specific serial # batches of strobes that have exhibited the failure that has swarmed the discussions on these forums, and that there is a "firmware" update that supposedly fixes the problem. I am pasting here the email from the other thread.
"Dear valued customer,
We are sending you this notice because you purchased one of Sea & Sea's new YS-D1 strobes through Backscatter. We have recently learned that some units of these strobes have been affected by a bug that causes the strobe to indicate batteries are dead before they actually are. Sometimes this occurs after a very limited number of flashes by the strobe.
The Service Department at Sea & Sea has made available a firmware revision for the YS-D1 digital strobe that updates the low battery level indicator functionality to resolve this issue.
Sea & Sea will handle this service directly, and will provide you with a shipping label to send in your strobe(s) to Sea & Sea's headquarters in Long Beach, CA. Please do not send your strobe(s) to Backscatter as we are unable to perform the firmware upgrade.
The serial number range affected by this issue includes:
All units below 104102102 and between 104102251 104102552.
You can find the serial number by removing the rear cap from the strobe, and looking inside the battery compartment with the batteries removed. If your YS-D1 digital strobe(s) is in the affected serial number range, please contact Sea & Sea at 800-482-2282
orseaandsea@tusa.com to obtain a Return Authorization and shipping label. Download this Product Notice for further information."
Can S&S confirm this the case, and that strobes numbered above 2552 are free from this issue?
I would like to know because I was leaning towards the INON Z240s due to their legendary reputation for reliability. However, my YS-01s have been great strobes and I am willing to stick with S&S, but my gear must be really reliable.
"Dear valued customer,
We are sending you this notice because you purchased one of Sea & Sea's new YS-D1 strobes through Backscatter. We have recently learned that some units of these strobes have been affected by a bug that causes the strobe to indicate batteries are dead before they actually are. Sometimes this occurs after a very limited number of flashes by the strobe.
The Service Department at Sea & Sea has made available a firmware revision for the YS-D1 digital strobe that updates the low battery level indicator functionality to resolve this issue.
Sea & Sea will handle this service directly, and will provide you with a shipping label to send in your strobe(s) to Sea & Sea's headquarters in Long Beach, CA. Please do not send your strobe(s) to Backscatter as we are unable to perform the firmware upgrade.
The serial number range affected by this issue includes:
All units below 104102102 and between 104102251 104102552.
You can find the serial number by removing the rear cap from the strobe, and looking inside the battery compartment with the batteries removed. If your YS-D1 digital strobe(s) is in the affected serial number range, please contact Sea & Sea at 800-482-2282
orseaandsea@tusa.com to obtain a Return Authorization and shipping label. Download this Product Notice for further information."Can S&S confirm this the case, and that strobes numbered above 2552 are free from this issue?
I would like to know because I was leaning towards the INON Z240s due to their legendary reputation for reliability. However, my YS-01s have been great strobes and I am willing to stick with S&S, but my gear must be really reliable.
