Duds in Magicubes

[AgX]

I just inspected three Philips Magicubes I found in a type 110 eveready-case. Two cubes still each had one unused bulb, moreover still bearing the blue dot. At wiping the cubes off before putting them into my stock of bulb flashes I realized that both unused bulbs were duds, as the firings pins already had been released.

Have you encountered such duds too? Either in use or as such find? Two such cases at one find, more so with both cubes with different batch-numbers I find surprising.

 

[BAC1967]

I’ve had a few duds with old Magicubes. Not sure what caused it, could be corrosion on the contacts.

 

[Bill Burk]

When you use these things, you “want” a new one. So sometimes after shooting a couple flash shots and putting away the camera... Next time you don’t grab the partly used cube, you grab a new one

 

[Bill Burk]

I’ve had a few duds with old Magicubes. Not sure what caused it, could be corrosion on the contacts.

Haa Magicubes are pyrotechnic. They have a firing pin and go off by the snap of a spring. Flash cubes are the ones that are like four AG-1 bulbs

 

[AgX]

When you use these things, you “want” a new one. So sometimes after shooting a couple flash shots and putting away the camera... Next time you don’t grab the partly used cube, you grab a new one

I am stingy.
Thus in my heap of cube flashes I got a few put aside that are only partially used, even with only one unused bulb left.
But this accidental encounter made me me look even more carefully at the unused ones in Magicubes next time.