Replacing Subal Trigger LEDs

[TimG 62]

Can anyone tell me what kind of LED bulb Subal use in the LED cables which attach to the TTL electronics board. They fire a red light which initiates the strobes.

I've had two LEDs fail in the last two weeks. Strange. I'm assuming if I can find someone who is good with a soldering iron, they could fit new bulbs on the cables - if I can track down and buy the LEDs themselves.

Photo attached

Many thanks!

.

 

[ChrisRoss 150]

LEDs can be a little tricky, they have a voltage and maximum current requirement and come in various beam angles.  The current is normally set on the board - the most basic way is with a series resistor, but can also be done electronically - too much current will burn out the LED.  It looks like a standard 5mm LED and most of them seem to have a current spec of 30mA, but the voltage spec varies a little.   These are typically pulsed in this service, so may be a bit more forgiving on specs.

Are there are part numbers or any anything on the bulb itself?  Probably unlikely given the size.

Seems unusual to me that and LED would just fail, if they are setup right they are normally very rugged.

See if you can find something like this locally: 

https://www.jaycar.com.au/red-5mm-cree-led-23500mcd-round-clear/p/ZD0293

23500 mCd is very bright.

[TimG 62]

Thanks Chris

No, I did check if there was any markings on the bulb: nothing.

I thought it was curious too to get the failures. It's actually the third I've had over about 2.5 years. But they've been on different TTL boards so I can't blame one board for it.

The board has 2x CR2032 batteries - so 6 volts in total but I guess that's no help really.

I'll try and find in the US the ones you suggest.

[ChrisRoss 150]

It's worth a try, cost is next to nothing, just remember you need to get the polarity right when you solder on - I assume it's a 5mm LED just from looking at the pic.

[davehicks 123]

16 hours ago, ChrisRoss said:

unusual to me that and LED would just fail, if they are setup right they are normally very rugged.

 

My buddy recently bought a Subal D850 housing and the Subal basic TTL board had two broken connections to the LED's out of the box. A third solder connection to the LEDs failed while repairing the first two, only being held in place by the shrink tube. The quality and design of this subal flash trigger was alarmingly poor.

[TimG 62]

I remember you writing that a couple of weeks ago, Dave. I was really surprised. The boards themselves have always been, by my experience, excellent. I'm on my 6th Subal housing since 2003 and up till now they have always been superb and I have never had an issue. Although over the years there has been changes within the actual company, the product has always been Rolls Royce quality.

But as I wrote, I have had issues with the LEDs themselves. I had one fail within a couple of dives of first time use - and now two in the last two/three weeks. Weirdly always the same side - although the failures have not been on the same board. I've asked Subal about them.

Happily I've got a couple of spares and, assuming I get the right LED bulb, they should be relatively easy to fix. Just annoying though and with many Nikon cameras no longer having built-in strobes, the LED initiators are kinda crucial!

[Kraken de Mabini 204]

The ultra-bright red LED's should be 5 mm diam, and emit 660 nm light.  They are available for a small price at LEDSupply.com. I just sent TimG a PM as I have some. 

  The over all design, including the junction of the wires to the LEDs in the Subal LED triggers, is sloppy beyond words, plus the LEDs are glued (!) onto the bulkheads. The wires in my Subal D500 LED trigger also broke off. 

To prevent this,  I 3D printed from ABS plastic a holder for the LED's. It screws inside the housing dome and holds the LED's securely against the transparent bulkheads. 

A piece of hook & loop (Velcro) tape in the middle top of the dome may secure the Subal hot shoe plug cable, so it does not swing loosely and tear loose.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Kraken de Mabini

[TimG 62]

Thanks Elias! I've just replied to your very kind PM.

A very neat gizmo you have come up with there.

Yep, that arrangement of glueing LED holders to the back of the fibre optic ports is, shall we say generously, less than great design. I've had the LED holders come off a couple of times as I've been reluctant to use more that the slightest dab of crazy glue to hold them in place. Just as well as I had to snap the holder off the port (twice now) to be able to extract the bulb by pushing it out with a pencil!

This is one bit of design that Subal need to sort out. It surprises me that they didn't design the optical ports with a push-in facility for the LED bulb. Really easy then to change if something goes wrong.

Interesting you've had problems too.

Really appreciate your help - thanks so much!

I'm using a Subal V3 board which fits on to the housing using the two screws you're using for your LED holder. Sadly I don't think that would fit over the V3 board. Super idea though!

[pbalves 54]

Hi Tim

i do not know how is the optical bulkhead of Subal, but in my housing (Aquatica) I managed to have the LED in place with the help of 1 or 2 orings to grant that the LED agents fixes there without being glued.

you see a picture in this topic

https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/67662-i-turtle-trigger-aquatica-port/

Another way is to use a glue like “chewing gum”. I have used it to have some electrical cables organized inside the housing. tesa® TACK Adhesive Putty if I am not mistaken. 

[TimG 62]

52 minutes ago, pbalves said:

Hi Tim

i do not know how is the optical bulkhead of Subal, but in my housing (Aquatica) I managed to have the LED in place with the help of 1 or 2 orings to grant that the LED agents fixes there without being glued.

you see a picture in this topic

https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/67662-i-turtle-trigger-aquatica-port/

Another way is to use a glue like “chewing gum”. I have used it to have some electrical cables organized inside the housing. tesa® TACK Adhesive Putty if I am not mistaken. 

Thanks Pedro. 

I was thinking about something like chewing gum or the stuff you use to hold posters on to a wall such as "Blu Tack". Or even DucTape them on! 

Just Googling TACK now, it's the same as BluTack.

Good idea!

[Kraken de Mabini 204]

Duct Tape is a good idea, easy and cheap.  Velcro (or similar hook & loop tape) glues onto the inside of the housing, and its complementary tape secures the cable in place, easy to remove when needed.  The reason for holding the cable and shoe is so it does not swing as its pendulum energy can break off the cable from the LED's, and/or damage the hot shoe plug (with battery) and also damage the inside of the housing.  

[TimG 62]

Yeah, I like the velcro fastening for the hot shoe. I've just done that on mine after seeing your photo. An excellent idea. The hot shoe can detach quite easily from the board if you're not careful and I hadn't yet found a suitable cable fastener. The velcro does it nicely!

[Kraken de Mabini 204]

Important when replacing LEDs:  LEDs have a strict polarity, the positive lead must be connected to the positive source and vice versa. The long LED lead is +, and the short one is --.  The round base of a 5 mm LED is flat at the negative lead. 
The polarity of the leads can be confirmed by touching the LED leads to the correct side of a 3 V coin battery.  
LEDs only emit light when the polarity is correct. 

Edited May 5, 2021 by Kraken de Mabini

[TimG 62]

Got it!

Thanks Elias!