YS-D1 not always firing

[kenns]

I am having some inconsistent problems with my newer second YS-D1 and am wondering if anyone can give me advise.

My set up: NEX5n in a Aquatica housing, a YSD1 purchased with the housing in Fall 2012, a YSD1 purchased this month, two fiber optic cables connecting housing to strobes

The Problem: My older strobe fires every time, no matter what and it's awesome. The newer one seems to fire but occasionally produces a much weaker light even though the setting will be stronger than the older one. If I adjust the strobe intensity to compensate for the shadow, then the next photo is totally blown out. I can't figure out a pattern to this problem. The next dive I will swap cables. The batteries are fresh, so I know that's not the problem. My dive buddy noticed today that it wasn't always firing, either. I have checked that it is on the correct sync (in my case no pre flash, the 'one flash icon' on the strobe).

Question: Before I send it in, I'm wondering if this a problem others have had? Is it a manufacturing problem?

Thanks in advance
Kerry

 

[EricPhotography92]

well their has been some issues with some ysd1s even the ones that were said to not have a issue.
i have two ysd1s, the first one i got was awesome, the second one would not function properly so i sent it in, when that one cam back i got like 10 good shots and it went bizerk. so i sent that one back. they sent me a new one that fuctions perfectly.
So team Tusa " sea sea " will take care of you if your YSD1 doesn't function properly. I would call them, you can find their number on the sea sea site, best of luck.

 

[bvanant]

One possible issue that I have reproducibly observed is that the switch on the strobe can easily be kept in between settings. On my last dive I had the same issue you did, with no apparent reproducibility. Once I made sure the switch was in the exact correct position, everything worked fine.
Bill

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

Kerry, I am pretty sure the NEX 5N always pre-flashes, so the correct setting should be 2 lighting bolts, not 1 lighting bolt.. I wonder if that is the cause of the problem? Btw, if you want to send it to me I'm happy to check it out for you and have it repaired if needed for no cost. - Scott

 

[kenns]

I took my camera and strobe for a test today with a friend to try to find a pattern. To make it clear, the 'old' strobe is a YSD1 I purchased about a year ago, the 'new' strobe I purchased a couple of months ago. Here is what is happened today. Several tests were made and I was able to repeat the findings below several times. I have a lot of really boring pics of a pelican case...

1. both strobes set at '0' with no pre flash work fine (one lightning bolt)
2. either strobe set above +0.7 requires me to switch to pre flash (2 lightning bolts) in order to sync (odd!!)
3. new strobe after firing above +1.0 will begin to flash red/green...these are new alkaline batteries (if I take the cap off and replace it, the light goes back to red)

During the dive today, I had no issues (I left both strobes on '0' and adjusted shutter and aperture for lighting) UNTIL I accidentally turned the old strobe to ttl. it flashed green and refused to work.

Tonight, I decided to try (topside) the slave-ttl function. But my old strobe won't fire at all. I've tried changing cables, cleaning the ports, slaving off the new strobe, slaving of the Aquatica housing, taking the cap off and leaving it for several a couple of minutes. No JOY! No firing....nothing, on ttl nor pre flash, nor regular flash.

I'm thinking that both strobes have firmware issues. I'm going to Port Hardy in 3 weeks and I really wanted these strobes to work for such an amazing dive. I can live with leaving my strobes at '0' until I return from the trip, but I NEED to get my old strobe working. When I return, both strobes will get sent in for repair. Any hints on reseting strobes? I'll try again tomorrow.....sigh....the shine is wearing off my new strobes.

ps....my camera never gives me grief when taking photos topside - with or without a flash. I'm sure it is not the camera.

---------- Post added August 9th, 2013 at 09:44 PM ----------

PS....@Bluewater....what a generous offer. I will make an attempt to go through my original sellers. Failing that, I just might take you up on that. :giveusahug:

---------- Post added August 10th, 2013 at 11:25 PM ----------

1. both strobes set at '0' with no pre flash work fine (one lightning bolt)
2. either strobe set above +0.7 requires me to switch to pre flash (2 lightning bolts) in order to sync (odd!!)

UPDATE:
Turns out that a piece of aluminum foil in the housing helps the strobe to see the pre-flash. Who knew!?! So now that problem is solved, now to solve the 'battery low' indicator when the battery isn't actually low.

 

[JackConnick]

The "blinking red/green while in TTL" strobe should be returned to Sea & Sea for repair/replacement. You can go through your original dealer (did we sell them to you - you're in nearby BC), or actually directly to Sea & Sea in L.A.

They may have you pay for shipping back to BC however, not sure. Disregard the serial number series...it seems to be on-going.

See: http://www.seaandsea.com/PDF_manuals/YS-D1_Update.pdf

Jack

 

[kenns]

Thanks Jack. My strobe is blinking red/green only after firing at greater than +1.0. Do you think this falls into that category? (no, I did not purchase it through you)

---------- Post added August 11th, 2013 at 03:05 PM ----------

and I'm not using ttl.

 

[JackConnick]

Yeah, just return it for replacement. It's a low power indication and as long as you're sure the batteries are ok, then there's something else going on.

If you bought it overseas, it will have to go back to whomever your distributor was or Sea & Sea directly though.

Jack