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MARK
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 04:13 pm: | 
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I HAVE READ THAT YOU CAN REPLACE A BAD CAPACITOR IN A HONEYWELL TILT-A-MITE BY SOLDERING IN A MODERN EQUIVALENT AS LONG AS IT IS 100UF OR HIGHER. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS AS TO CORRECT SIZE & RATING. |
Roland F. Harriston
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 05:52 pm: |
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Make sure that you select a replacement capacitor that has the correct working voltage.
Flash capacitor working voltages are generally on the order of several hundred volts.
Commonly available capacitors for transistor cirucit applications are usually low voltage units, i.e. 10 to 50 volts.
HTH
Roland F. Harriston |
Jim Brokaw
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 11:42 pm: |
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You can find a selection of capacitors on the web, do a search for "Digi-Key" and "Mouser" they are two companies that sell electronic components in small quantities. For electronic flash capacitors, there are special considerations as to the 'leakage current' or something, so there are special 'photography grade' capacitors. I don't know if this is significant in a Tilt-A-Mite as I believe the capacitor just stores up a jolt of current to trigger the flashbulb... so an ordinary electronics capacitor probably should work. If you can remove the old one, it should be marked as to voltage and capacitance e.g. 300v 1000uF or such. A replacement of the same value should be what you get... they are not too expensive until you get to the big ones as used for studio electronic flash units. |
Roland F. Harriston
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 01:01 am: |
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My previous post applies to electronic flash.
If your flash is the more primative "BC" (battery/capacitor) type unit using ordinary flash bulbs or cubes, then you can probably find a suitable capacitor at Radio Shack or other electronics houses. The capacitors in these types of units generally last for years. I have a Minolta BC flash that is 30 years old and the thing works perfectly.
If your flash is an electronic "strobe" type, then my previous caveats apply as does the following:
Capacitors designed for consumer type solid state electronics applications ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR
electronic flash circuits. They are usually low voltage units. PLEASE read my previous post and heed it well to avoid damage to your equipment and to yourself if the capacitor explodes.
Capacitors have polarity....hook up a strobe type capacitor the wrong way and bang!
If you are repairing a strobe type flash unit:
As a long shot, you might go to a local 1-hour processing shop that handles those throw-away cardboard/plastic flash cameras and ask for several cameras that have been broken open. You might luck out and find one that has a capacitor that has the capacitance and voltage ratings that you need.
CAUTION: The capacitor will most likely still have a charge on it, and a very nasty shock and possible skin burn can result from handling a capacitor that has not been properly discharged.
Methods for discharging high voltage, high capacitance capacitors can be found on the web.
Try searching some of Sam Wasserman's postings.
Also try searching the archives of this forum for info on repairing various type of flash units.
If you wear a pacemaker, get someone to make the repair on the strobe flash for you or be VERY careful.
Roland F. Harriston |
