Radio Triggered Flash

Hi guys,
1st an apology that this topic is similar to others in this forum, but the others don't seem to answer my query.

I have a K10D and wanted to take "portrate" pictures of my 18m grand daughter without blinding her with the flash.

I bought a PT-04 series radio trigger from Highland via Amazon (PT-04 into Google will provide any missing info) and a white brolly with stand and mounted my old Jessops 220ABZ flashgun on the receiver. These worked beautifully ---- for a while---- now they don't - zilch.

If I press the test button on the transmitter it fires the flashgun
If I mount the transmitter on my old clockwork film camera it fires the flasgun
The K10D will fire it's pop up flash

The easy answer is I've broken my K10D and I shouldn't have mounted non Pentax kit on it ie it serves me right etc etc. However the IShoot blurb says its good for Nikkon, Cannon and Pentax.
I checked the voltage on the transmitter's hotshoe pin and found it was only +4.85V relative to the side contacts.

Has anyone any ideas/assistance/advise that will clarify my problem.

Incidentally a friend of mine fires a huge old "press" flashgun which requires 2x 12v sealed lead acid batteries directly from his Fuji digital and can light up a barn with it so I would be rather disapointed to find that my Pentax has been damaged by less than 5V

regards
Bernard

what's the K10D mode of the flash? Wireless or manual?

Bret

Hi Bret & gareth
Thanks for your prompt replies to which I would answer :-

Not sure what you mean by wireless or manual.
Originally the K10D worked with the transmitter fitted to the hot shoe and the camera mode in X; User; Green; and Av modes (it may have worked in others but I never tried. The pop up flash remains down.
Now I can't find any mode which works.


Yes I bought a trigger and receiver.
The test button on the trigger fires the flashgun, every time.
Likewise the trigger unit mounted on an old film camera fires the flashgun everytime
The flash gun is mounted on the receiver, supported on a secondary tripod also carrying the white brolly.
For the record the Jessops 220ABZ has 300v on the terminals so I wouldn't even think of fitting this to the camera, but I am mystified.
I'm relieved to know that I probably haven't blown the K10D circuitry

Since my original post I've checked all the batteries installed.
The transmiter 12v battery is newly fitted and still shows a full charge.
The receiver is fitted with 2x Uniross 1000mAH rechargeables and have a full charge
The flashgun is fitted with 4x Uniross 2100mAH rechargeables and have a full charge.
Oh and the K10D battery is also fully charged.
All batteries are less than 1 year old (except the camera battery, which is 18months)

clean to contacs on the trigger and camera hotshoe?
possible a damaged pin isn't contacting where it should be?
try the transmitter on another camera? try another transmitter on your camera?
try another flash unit on your camera?

Hi Don,
I've already done most of your suggestions ie:-
Contacts cleaned (rubbed over with dry cartridge paper - works well with all my amateur radio gear)
No apparent damage to any metalwork I can see (I've even opened the trigger/transmitter to check cabling and change the battery-just in case)
The trigger/transmitter works fine on an old film camera (Minolta X300), and fires the flash everytime.
Now for the bits I haven't tried :-
I don't have a 2nd transmitter
I don't have a suitable flash unit that I can mount on the camera. The only other flash gun I have (other than the Jessops 220ABZ which as I've mentioned has 300V on its terminals) is an equally old Sunpak which has 275V on its terminals - I grew up in the clockwork age when flashguns just went "pumpf" and you manually adjusted the distance/aperture to suit.
To be honest the cost of a new flash gun rather frightened me especially as I wanted to get the flash light away from the camera axis

regards
Bernard

get thee to a shop and try out a demo flash unit on your k10.... you have to rule that one detail out before assuming the camera is need of repair.

Beg, steal, or borrow a Pentax flash, any Pentax flash, that you can try on your hot shoe to eliminate that as the problem. Actually, better not steal one.

I bought a PT-04 system, a transmitter with three receivers. Two receivers have died and I'm left with one Tx and one Rx.

I've now replaced them with a Seculine T2D TwinLink system which works very well.

What's yours? God's Country? . . . Never heard of it.

Hi Mannesty

Its Yorkshire

I think Gareth would argue with that .

Gwyn

Im sure he would, (and I come from Nottinghamshire and live in Lincolnshire lol)

If you can't find someone to lend you a Pentax flashgun for a quick test then have a nose on ebay for an AF160, I've got a couple of these and paid under a fiver including post each time. They're tiny and a bit underpowered but have a safe trigger voltage and will activate the "flash ready" light on Pentax DSLRs, so ideal for testing.

Hi guys,
1st I would like to thank you all for taking the trouble to comment on my plight. I think my problem has been solved.

Thanks to Gareth's assurance that I probably hadn't blown the camera electronics I had another look at the problem and took the transmitter/trigger apart.

The electronics is quite well made but is let down very badly by the wiring and mechanical parts (obviously assembly is not done by the circuit board manuafacturer).

I discovered that the two "earth" contacts stuck out at about 45 degrees and when the locking ring is screwed down they are pushed back into the plastic, reducing/removing the contact. This was exacerbated by the paint on the K10D hotshoe, now removed.

At this point I should explain that during previous uses of the kit I had not used the locking ring but on the last ocassion I did because I had anticipated "rolling" round the floor with an 18m toddler and then on unscrewing the ring the "cheap tinplate" contacts didn't spring back quite so firmly. Quite well enough for the chromed Minolta hotshoe, not quite enough for the Pentax painted one.

So as I said (fingers crossed) the problem is sorted.

In answer to a few other comments made :-
I live near Burton upon Trent. I told by locals that the best beer comes from here. Gareth might add that the best Brains come from Cardiff (I'm not a beer drinker). Gods country were awas Yorkshere, at least when I were a lad int aulden days.
Local shops do not stock Pentax equipment (see my next comment) so I have not been able to borrow/try the use of a test model.
How come Pentax appears to be a dirty word in the photographic trade also how come press/papparazi appear to only use Canon/Nikon. Come to think of it I'm the only one I know who owns a Pentax Camera (you guys excepted.

Finally on my trip out the other day I was overtaken by a large lorry with a big yellow single letter logo (near the middle of the alphabet). Scrawled in the mud on the back was the following graffiti :-
A dog is for life - not just for lunch

regards
Bernard

Shhhhhhh, don't let everybody know how good Pentax is compared to Canon or Nikon, they'll all want one.

That is because you are an independent spirit who refuses to blindly follow the crowd or yield to the siren voices of the advertisers.

And when owners of other cameras look at you in a puzzled manner, you can smile enigmatically because you know...