YS-D1 or Inon 240?

[John Bantin 101]

Alex, the water pressure makes it impossible to open the battery compartment although I agree if one could take the batteries out the modelling light would go off but recycling time would also be extended (until you dried the battery compartment out after the dive).

[JohnnyQuest 8]

Jak, Dangerzone, and Jlyle,

Can you tell me if your strobes are within or outside of the range of serial numbers that were recalled?

 

Thanks

[dangerzone 1]

Jak, Dangerzone, and Jlyle,

Can you tell me if your strobes are within or outside of the range of serial numbers that were recalled?

 

Thanks

 

The two that I originally purchased in August that were replaced by Sea & Sea were within the recall range. The replacements that I received at the end of September, one of which blew a flash tube a few weeks ago, were not within the recall range.

[tamas970 12]

Sorry for reviving an old thread, it was shocking to read the ys-d1 stories. Do D2 owners experience the same issues? (sudden death, red-green flashes, etc...)

[dreifish 362]

I owned a pair of YS-D1s for about a year, largely trouble-free. Then switched to 2 z240s last November mainly because of the custom warming filters.

 

Again, no real problems to report, though the controls on the z240s are much more convoluted and changing batteries requires about twice the time of the YS-D1s. The way the battery cap screws on pinching the oring was also a concern, though I've never actually had water inside the battery compartment.

 

Two months ago, I bought 4 YS-D2s in Japan. Initially, I was quite pleased with the improved controls and the segregated battery compartment, which make the strobes' even more pleasurable to use and makes batteries swaps even faster. I used the YS-D2s with straw filters and CM diffusers for warm, nicely-diffused light.

 

However, in the last 3 weeks, two of my strobes have gone out of commission. One of them refuses to work in TTL mode at all and only fires a full discharge in manual mode, regardless of the power setting. No idea when/why this happened.

 

The other mysteriously got a few drops of water inside the battery compartment leading to battery corrosion. I only noticed in the evening after a full day of shooting where the strobe appeared to be fine. Took out the batteries, cleaned the electrodes with a q-tip and tried it with new batteries. Strobe turned on for a few moments then went dead and refused to turn on again even after rinsing battery compartment with rubbing alcohol and letting dry for a couple of days. I assume there's been a short circuit somewhere, though don't understand how -- I though the battery compartment was supposed to be isolated from the rest of the strobe? Only a few drops of water got into the battery compartment -- it wasn't a full flood at depth or anything.

 

So.. these two incidents have made me rethink the reliability of the YS-D1/2 line. I will try to get the two strobes sent back to Sea & Sea for servicing to see if anything can be done about them, but I'm a bit concerned about the oring seal on the battery compartment in general. I like the ease with which the battery cap clicks into place and the one-piece design (vs. the convoluted design of the z240's battery compartment). However, it seems like there's a bit of wiggle room when the cap is in place, and I can't bring myself to quite trust the oring seal on my remaining 2 ys-d2 strobes despite inspecting and greasing the o-rings.

 

So now I'm actually considering "upgrading" to more expensive, larger, more powerful strobes (likely the Seacam Seaflash 150s). Has anyone else experienced these kind of problems with the YS-D1/D2 line? Any thoughts on whether the inon z240s or the Seacam Seaflash 150 strobes are more robust?

[tamas970 12]

Quite bad statistics, I think I won't take the risk. I am simply unable to find a trouble free D1/D2 customer... My inon s2000's are rock solid, happens that they sit in my cupboard for months, then without changing/charging batteries,

I jump in the water and they work flawlessly. Tank-built battery cap, clearly visible o-ring, etc.

 

Any recommendation on a strobe, stronger than the z240 but not obscenely expensive? (<1k$/unit) I was considering Subtronics, however they also get bad reports on support...

[tursiops 81]

Quite bad statistics, I think I won't take the risk. I am simply unable to find a trouble free D1/D2 customer... My inon s2000's are rock solid, happens that they sit in my cupboard for months, then without changing/charging batteries,

I jump in the water and they work flawlessly. Tank-built battery cap, clearly visible o-ring, etc.

 

Any recommendation on a strobe, stronger than the z240 but not obscenely expensive? (<1k$/unit) I was considering Subtronics, however they also get bad reports on support...

I think you are not taking into account the very large number of S&Ss sold, vs a rather small number of complaints. Remember that people without problems don't come on forums like this and say everything is working fine.

[tamas970 12]

I think you are not taking into account the very large number of S&Ss sold, vs a rather small number of complaints. Remember that people without problems don't come on forums like this and say everything is working fine.

 

You are right, still, it is a surprisingly large number I saw on Wetpixel's and Scubaboard's forum. The z240 is also sold in large quantities but much less complaint. One thing is 100% sure with S&S:

TTL sync is an issue.

 

Anyway, I am putting subtronic back to the hat, I have to revise my arm system if it can handle the weight. GN14 at 120 degrees and the right color temperature underwater is appealing:).