Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I picked up a AB 800 off of Craigslist. I took the light home and test fired it a few times at the lowest power setting. I adjusted the power to 1/4, then 1/2, then full and fired at each setting. Everything worked. When the light fired, it was a little louder than other AB's, but nothing alarming. I hooked up the plus with the RJ-11 and fired it a couple of times with the CyberCommander at minimum power. After a couple of test fires, it made a very loud bang, sounded like the flash tube exploded. I didn't smell any burnt electronics. I didn't smell any fried capacitors. I'm a laser technician, so I know a little bit about electronics. I can fire the light with the CC and test fire with the test button on the light. I can not adjust power. It only fires at a low power. I did notice with the modeling lamp on, and if I test fire the flash, I can see a small puff of smoke. The smoke is not coming from the flash unit, but appears to be coming from the base of the flash tube.

I was thinking of trying to see if any of the camera stores here in Minneapolis has any flash tubes. Does this sound reasonable?

Thank you,

Z

No. If a flashtube exploded, it would not fire at all. With the presence of any loud bangs or smoke, you should discontinue use and send it in for service. Information about repair service can be found here: http://www.paulcbuff.com/repair.php

Incidentally, we do not have any authorized resellers of our lights or components in the U.S.