Hanimex TS 855

Hi I borrowed a flash from my stepdad but I cant get it to work on my k-r, am I missing something obvious or i it likely it just doesnt work?
i've put new batteries in it but even off the camera hot shoe i cant get a peep out of it. absolute beginner would best describe my status.

It sounds like the flash is'nt working, firstly, dont put it in the hotshoe, you could FRY the electronics, you need to check the trigger voltage first.

For flash to work you will need to have a shutter speed on or below 1/160 sec or select the X setting on the camera.

Moving on to the gun, is there a manual test button, does this light up and if you press it, does the gun fire,

If the answer is yes to the above, DONT try it in the hotshoe.

if the answer is No, it would appear the gun's not working, unless you've dud batteries.

Cheers

theres a manual off button and a test button and a power on button but nothing happens when either of them are pressed, worryingly i did put it in the hot shoe before i read about potential 'frying' iv tested my camera since and it seems to be ok. i guess its just a broken flash. i also have a hanimex manual macro lens but thats not working either.

More than likely, the only other possible option is to check the batteries are correctly inserted into the gun, OH, just thought, the Hanimex is quite an old gun and it may not like rechargeables, try a set of std AA's.

Cheers

Hi Brian.

I would second the comment by Chris, don’t use any flash unit on the camera hot shoe, before measuring or knowing the trigger, (switch voltage).
I think, this time you were lucky, as it looks as if the flash unit is dead.



Take care.

With the Hanimex macro lens, you will need to delve into the menu of the camera and turn on " use aperture ring " likely to be in the " C " section of the menu and possibly on the last screen if it's similar to the K5.

Cheers

Thanks, Guys. Ill try again with a new set of batteries but how do i know what the switch voltage is?

I'm pretty sure the terminal voltage on this gun is some 200V so enough to likely cause damage to you camera.

Can you hear it whistle when it is switched on? It would be very high pitched, but that would prove that the circuit is generally working.

There is also, usually, a neon lamp which lights when the flash is fully charged (as the batteries run down this would lengthen the time taken until too long to be of any use).

To check the voltage (assuming you have, or have acess to a multimeter) measure the voltage across the central pin and a side contact. The central pin aligns with the middle contact on your hot shoe, the side contact with the long strips at the edge of the hot shoe.

You don't give a location, but if anywhere near Burton I'd be happy to check it over for you


regards
Bernard

thanks Bernard, Im in Scotland. At the moment there's no noise from it at all, I'll go get another set of batteries later and try them, would it be unwise to assume that as it has previously been used on a PENTAX SLR that it would work on a DSLR?

Thanks Chris I got the lens working.

It might not necessarily work as polarity might be wrong as well. But as the others said, check the trigger voltage first. In the state it is in now (without the high pinched noise), it might well be 0V (indicating that it is broken).

It's my understanding that Pentax is better in regards to trigger voltage than other makes (there is someone on pentaxforums who has used a 100-or-so Volt flash) without ill effects. If you get it to work off camera, add a 'Wein safesync' that will limit the trigger voltage; not sure if it's worth it (compared to buying a new flash like a Yongnuo).

Brian.

If you are going to check the trigger voltage with a meter, ensure that the meter, is in the high (k ohms) per volt, a meter with low (ohms) per volt, will quench the trigger voltage, not giving a correct reading.

Take care.

That all sounds mind boggling. Is it the same if I just go to a shop and buy a flash?

Brian.

For a Pentax or Pentax compatible flash unit, have a look on SRS web site, under Pentax flash units.


Take care.

Any modern Pentax compatible flash will be completely safe