> It depends on what sort of capacitors are in it. The > caps are used to store energy over a period of time which is > then discharged very quickly to fire the lamp. Most > electronic flash units use electrolytic capacitors. They > depend on a chemical reaction to form one of the plates of > the capacitor. When inactive the "plate" tends to dissipate > so the cap must be re-formed. Its quite possible it will > come up without any problems when turned on but it should be > alowed to stand under charge for a long period of time, > perhaps a day or more, to fully reform the capacitors. Then > dischrage it and charge again. If you have a means for > controlling the line voltage, a variable transformer for > instance, its a good idea to bring up the voltage slowly at > first to make sure the caps have not degraded to the point > where they will short when full voltage is put on them. > If you can open the case check the caps for any signs > of chemical leakage. If there is any it should not be > connected and the caps will need to be replaced. > Note that the stuff that comes out of electrolytic > caps is corrosive and will damage other things in the > chassis. > > > -- > Richard Knoppow > Los Angeles > WB6KBL > dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > A bit of a hijack here, but I have these ancient Bowens Monolite 400 studio flashes, and when I tried to recharge them they became very hot, as I understood because the capacitors are dried out. They still work though, and I always switch them of when not using them within 1-2 minutes. Nothing happened thus far, but I am still a bit worried; would/could they explode or something? On a related note, I my have access to a set with a separate charge unit/ generator..these generators also use capacitors to charge? Thanks, Best, Cor ============================================================================================================To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there.