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Metz SCA300 Cable Repair

ic-racer

Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
16,908
Location
USA
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Multi Format
I got a Metz 45CT-4 'free' with a camera body from an auction site. Turns out the 45CT-4 is quite a nice flash. After rebuilding the power pack I thought it could go well with my Rolleiflex cameras if I had the correct adapter cable.

Turns out the correct cable is called SCA300. I had trouble finding one on the internet that did not cost over $100 with shipping.

I did order one but it turned out to be SCA500 which looked nearly identical.

The next one was actually SCA300 but worked only intermittently.

This is how I fixed it...

 
It turns out that the ready light indicator would go out when the cable was non-functional. So, I could use that to track down the trouble area.

By systematically twisting and bending the cable, I located the trouble spot near the connector to the flash. I could't tell exactly where but I was within a few inches. Somewhere between the end of the coil and the connector.
 
My initial lincision did not reveal anything so I continued to split the casing toward the connector.

 
When I got near the strain relief of the connector, it was clear that the single un-insulated wire had fractured. I had to cut away the strain relief to get to the short end of the wire.

Bridging this loose wire, indeed made the ready light indicator in the viewfinder illuminate and provided TTL flashing. So, this was the culprit!
 
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To re-do the casing with heat-shrink tubing requires cutting all the wires. A little extreme, but let's try it and see.
 
The wires were pared down to the shortest length I thought I could solder together without shrinknig the little pieces of heat-shrink tubing. To do this I tinned the connector-end of the wires really well, so that the other end (which will have the small heat shrink tubing) will not get too hot.

I fed the final covering large piece of heat-shrink over the coiled cable, far from the working field.

 
One-by-one I soldered everyting back together.
 
Lastly I pulled up the large heat-shrink tubing and covered the entire repair. The heat-shrink was pretty filmsey, so I added a strain relief by wrapping with some black insulated copper wire.

 
Did it work?? Yes!! Full TTL capability on my Rolleiflex 6008i and ready-light indicator in the viewfinder too.

 
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