Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

You likely went to the same Navy schools as I did - Treasure Island in San Francisco. I went there as a Marine and was also ranked as an Aviation Radio Technician with control tower equipment specialty.

As to Vagabond II, I'll be totally honest . . . this has been a love hate product. It's wonderful most of the time, but there have been an excess number of field failures. We test and test and diagnose over and over, but the inverter vendor hasn't been as helpful as he should be.

BUT FANTASTIC NEWS WILL BE COMING OUT IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO. QUICK PRELIMINARY VIEW . . . VAGABOND MINI LITHIUM

3 1/2 LBS TOTAL - INCLUDING BATTERY PACK, 500 640WS SHOTS FROM AN AB1600 PER CHARGE, 8.8AH 14.8V LITHIUM BATTERY (EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT 14AH SLA,) NO SULFATING, 3-4 HOUR CHARGER IN OR OUT OF THE UNIT, SOPHISTICATED MOLDED HOUSING DESIGN WITH INSTANT PLUG IN BATTERY PACK, STAND CLAMP AND SHOULDER STRAP AND LOTS MORE. IT'S BEEN COMPLETELY TESTED AND ALL PARTS ARE ON ORDER NOW, WITH ABOUT A 60 DAY ANTICIPATED PRODUCTION START TIME. THESE SHOULD HAVE NO SIGNIFICANT BACKLOG ONCE THEY START SHIPPING. AND THEY DON'T COST MUCH AND SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN 120VAC AND 230VAC VERSIONS.

That sounds FANTASTIC! :-)

And me sittin here with a brand new Vagabond.... :shock:

dog gone it :o

I just purcahsed a second one ... :(


Thanks for the info Paul :)

Darn! I just bought a Vagabond II. Love it, but I would have waited for something lighter had I known.

Hi Viper

I can see what you mean but changing the inverter is no more difficult or risky than putting in a new battery .. It just seems a waste of money to be shipping this heavy battery around the country when I can get a new inverter and just send back the dead one .. :)

Cheers

Tony

Tony,
depending on the failure, if the inverter isn't working properly, it may not be charging the battery properly either. If that is the case, then the battery can prematurely fail. We would rather get it taken care of once and get our customers shooting than repeatedly sending out replacement parts and drawing out down time for the customer. If you know "righty tighty, lefty loosy" the actual hardware component swap is not difficult, but it may be more than one hardware piece.

:shock: I think I know what Santa is bringing me for Christmas this year.... :D

This is awesome! It would be great if they were also offered in a kit with a second battery. Carrying two light Lion batts is much more attractive than carrying two 20 pound L-A's.

Second batteries will certainly be offered, as that is part of the design philosophy. they will be a very quick change. Doubtful there will be any more kitting than we normally offer (i.e. the accessory discount with the purchase of the lights).

Any idea what the cost will be?
4lbs is awesome :-)