[LRflex] Re: Telyt 400mm matters

Good Mornin' Bill!

You wrote:

> > I made the mistake of buying Leica's wire release with switch, in
> > order to cut it apart for the connector.
>
>And that's exactly what I was trying to avoid; thank you for leading
>the way.

Leading the way? You make it sound so noble!

Never forget, that if "Necessity is the Mother of Invention", then 
"Poverty is the Mother of Do-It-Yourself" !   ;-)

There is another reason for buying the connector from Binder.  Leica 
buys a pre-made assembly from Binder, which has the cord moulded onto 
the connector.  The problem with this is that because it's an 8 pin 
connector, it's an 8 wire cord - which is very stiff  I was always 
afraid of bumping the wire/connector and literally ripping the 
connector right out of the DMR, with the obvious consequences.  It 
also made it hard to flip the 400 Telyt vertical!

Besides, at the switch end, 5 of the 8 wires were never  connected to 
anything.  When I discovered this, by having them fall out in my 
hand, I almost had a heart attack! After all, I was trying to trace 
through each lead, to determine it's point of connection, only to 
have 5 wires fall out with no way to trace what went where. It was a 
disaster!  I felt better, once I realized that they were  all cut 
flush. - neither torn, stretched nor soldered.

I now use a piece of light, 3 wire, grey lead from a computer sound 
card, which works quite well.   However, I'm going to change it soon, 
for something still more flexible.  I'm currently thinking of either 
a spiral wound telephone or headphone cord.  Either should be heavy 
enough for the 7.5V 50 ma loads required.

Be aware, however, that the solder pins in the Binder connector are 
very small because of the high pin count. Soldering, even for an 
experienced person is **very** tricky, and I would not suggest that 
you try it unless [a] you have a 20W soldering iron, rather than the 
more common 100W soldering gun, and [b] a spool of "Solder Wick" for 
correcting your mistakes.  I didn't have any "solder wick" 
desoldering braid ("Chem Wick" is one maker... but there are 
others)  with me, and ended up using a spring loaded de-soldering 
tool (commonly known as a "solder sucker"). This proved to be 
extremely difficult in such a small space and I have since refilled 
my supply of Solder Wick!

Both are critical with the Binder connectors, as the standard solder 
guns have too wide a tip for fine work and so much heat they'll 
easily destroy the fitting.  Also, I found using one of the small 
"Third hand", spring-clip holders to be very handy for 
this.  http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001212.php

I've also been considering switching to the 712 series connectors.... 
these are likely a bit more expensive, as they have a higher 
protection rating.  But, you can get them in a 90 degree fitting, 
which will, I think, make life more convenient for cord handling, 
especially at the camera end.  However, so far, this is only at the 
'thinking' stage.

>When I get the Binder connector I'll let you know off line. But other
>inquiring minds may want to know what to do.

You're probably right... we should keep this on-line for others who 
may be headed in similar directions.

>I'll add your Manfrotto nominations to my list with the pair Doug
>Herr recommended and go shopping.
>
>I do like picture of Ted's Gitzo monopod in action because it frees
>up both arms and hands to open the ice chest and get at the Labatt's
>Blue or the chardonnay or possibly lunch.

I think he was digging in the back of Tom A's Jeep for another 
lens.  If it was a beer, I hope he did better than a 'Blue"! ;-)

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

---

David Young,
Logan Lake, CANADA

Limited Edition Prints at: http://www.telyt.com/
Personal Web-site at: http://www3.telus.net/~telyt




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