Modifying another flash to work with Nikon.

[Desmond]

I decided to put this here because it is more "technical" than "flash" related. Someone recently contacted me
and shared his in-depth procedure for for modifying an older Metz flash to work with a Nikon D7000 using an Arduino system.
It's not for everyone obviously but I found it quite fascinating.

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[ac12]

Not having Arduino skills, I found it easier to simply disable any TTL function, and just have the flash run in manual or auto mode with the sensor on the flash.
I did this by disconnecting all the TTL leads, so the only active contacts were the center pin on the hot foot and the ground on the side of the foot.

The only issue is making sure that the sync voltage of your OLD flash is below the safe level on your digital camera.

 

[Desmond]

The only issue is making sure that the sync voltage of your OLD flash is below the safe level on your digital camera.

Always worth checking synch voltage but most Nikon bodies can handle 250v which is pretty good.

 

[ac12]

Always worth checking synch voltage but most Nikon bodies can handle 250v which is pretty good.

The problem with using old flashes, is that some of the OLD stuff could be higher.
I recall using a 510v battery in one of my flashes. Was the sync voltage 510v? I have no idea.

 

[Desmond]

The problem with using old flashes, is that some of the OLD stuff could be higher.
I recall using a 510v battery in one of my flashes. Was the sync voltage 510v? I have no idea.

I've used a lot of older flashes and all you have to do is measure the trigger voltage once it's charged up. 90% of the older flashes are safe to use. I can't find it now but there is a web page that lists flash trigger voltages, some up to 600v, but the vast majority are below 250v.

 

[Desmond]

Found it - botzilla.com flash trigger voltages. The vast majority are safe to use on a camera that can handle 250v.

 

[ac12]

I've used a lot of older flashes and all you have to do is measure the trigger voltage once it's charged up. 90% of the older flashes are safe to use. I can't find it now but there is a web page that lists flash trigger voltages, some up to 600v, but the vast majority are below 250v.

I've read several places that depending on the sync circuit used in the flash, direct measuring with a DVM could result in an inaccurate measurement. I don't remember the details of those articles, but it made sense.

If you read less than 50v, you are probably OK. But that is just a wild guess.
But if you are above 150v, and IF your flash has one of those difficult to measure sync circuits, your actual sync voltage could be higher than what you are measuring, and possibly over the 250v limit.

I would recommend finding and reading the articles about problem measuring sync voltage.

 

[Desmond]

I've read several places that depending on the sync circuit used in the flash, direct measuring with a DVM could result in an inaccurate measurement. I don't remember the details of those articles, but it made sense.

If you read less than 50v, you are probably OK. But that is just a wild guess.
But if you are above 150v, and IF your flash has one of those difficult to measure sync circuits, your actual sync voltage could be higher than what you are measuring, and possibly over the 250v limit.

I would recommend finding and reading the articles about problem measuring sync voltage.

Nothing wrong with being cautious - but I've used my Nikons to trigger multiple older flashes, an SCR that switches 500v from a 3300uf capacitor causing a copper wire to explode, a flash in series with an ignition coil that fires a 30 000 ignition coil [at one stage used to trigger a breakdown of a 200 000v Marx generator which backfired up the wire to my finger, and it has survived all of this.
If you have any doubts stick with new Nikon flashes but also don't be overly paranoid if you want to have some fun and do something different

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[Desmond]

Busy looking at more information sent to me - the amount of detail is interesting in the list of data exchanged between the camera and flash