Heiland Strobnonar 64 - Repair info ?

[Luddite Frank]

Does anyone have / know of any repair info available for the Heiland-Honeywell "Futuramic Strobonar 64" flash gun ?

I have a nice looking example that charges, ready-light comes-on, but does not fire when I bridge the terminals of the PC cord, I just get a snappish spark at the PC terminal.

Any schematic diagrams out there ?

Thanks,

Luddite Frank

 

[x-ray]

Good lunch on finding schematics. These are pretty old units. My dad bought one in the late 50's. It was revolutionary in its time but was pretty heavy and low on power.

I would think there's a good chance the capacitor needs replaced and it's possible the crash tube is bad and there's always the chance the trigger transformer has a bad secondary. Probably a bad flash tube is the least likely.

Check continuity of the trigger transformer secondary. Check solder joints for corrosion.

If the capacitor is good it can inflict a nasty shock and burn. They can hold a charge for hours if not a day or so. Handel high voltage with care.

When the 660's were introduced I bought one. These were great units.

 

[charjohncarter]

I can't believe someone even knows about this unit besides me (a guy at my high school had one, we could never figure out where he got the money to buy it). I would say a new capacitor but I'm not even a minor expert. I have just heard that this is the most common 'go out' component in these old units. But X-Ray knows way more than me.

 

[Luddite Frank]

Thanks. I have a couple of the next version oval units, which still work.

Have to figure-out how to get the beast apart... after it sits for several days.

I was able to get the front ring and lens off, and that was as far as I got... not sure what holds the guts in the housing.

LF

 

[Dwig]

Be very very careful if you disassemble the unit. The capacitor is "charges" at 300-500v and can deliver a significant shock even when only partially charged. Simply removing the batteries will not make it safe.

Given the symptoms, my guess is a bad flash tube:

• recycles enough to light the ready light = recycle circuits function
• recycles enough to light the ready light = capacitor is at least holding an adequate charge
• delivers a spark across the sync terminals = sync cord is OK

There might be something else faulty in the trigger circuit, but these antique beasts were rather simple designs. They did nothing to protect the shutter contacts or the photographer by isolating the high voltage.