Bowens Monolite Question

Randall Ainsworth wrote:
 > They're pretty straight foward to use.


Perhaps you can give the original poster a bit more information?

Such as which knob controls the flash power and how, which switch turns
the modeling light on/off/dim when fired (so you know that it did fire).

Perhaps explain where to plug in a slave trigger? Or which reflectors
can be attached using the lock-down knobs near the built-in reflector?

Of course, there's also an open flash trigger button, fuse holder, and
on/off switch.

But all that is from memory. I haven't had one of these in over 10
years. If you have one closer at hand, perhaps you could be more specific?

....pt


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In article <EsqdnZYfxpL9E7_fRVn-pw RemoveThis @comcast.com>, Philip Tobias
<philtobias RemoveThis @aol.com> wrote:

 > Randall Ainsworth wrote:
  > > They're pretty straight foward to use.
 >
 >
 > Perhaps you can give the original poster a bit more information?
 >
 > Such as which knob controls the flash power and how, which switch turns
 > the modeling light on/off/dim when fired (so you know that it did fire).
 >
 > Perhaps explain where to plug in a slave trigger? Or which reflectors
 > can be attached using the lock-down knobs near the built-in reflector?
 >
 > Of course, there's also an open flash trigger button, fuse holder, and
 > on/off switch.
 >
 > But all that is from memory. I haven't had one of these in over 10
 > years. If you have one closer at hand, perhaps you could be more specific?

I never owned on, but a friend loaned me a couple that I used for some
family in the home sittings. Everything is marked what it's for. Just
twiddle some knobs and see what they do.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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I'm sure that they are "pretty straight forward" to use if you know how
to use them. This is the first set of lights I've ever used, so this is
all new to me. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Greg

Randall Ainsworth wrote:
 > In article <EsqdnZYfxpL9E7_fRVn-pw.DeleteThis@comcast.com>, Philip Tobias
 > <philtobias.DeleteThis@aol.com> wrote:
 >
  > > Randall Ainsworth wrote:
   > > > They're pretty straight foward to use.
  > >
  > >
  > > Perhaps you can give the original poster a bit more information?
  > >
  > > Such as which knob controls the flash power and how, which switch
turns
  > > the modeling light on/off/dim when fired (so you know that it did
fire).
  > >
  > > Perhaps explain where to plug in a slave trigger? Or which
reflectors
  > > can be attached using the lock-down knobs near the built-in
reflector?
  > >
  > > Of course, there's also an open flash trigger button, fuse holder,
and
  > > on/off switch.
  > >
  > > But all that is from memory. I haven't had one of these in over 10
  > > years. If you have one closer at hand, perhaps you could be more
specific?
 >
 > I never owned on, but a friend loaned me a couple that I used for
some
 > family in the home sittings. Everything is marked what it's for. Just
 > twiddle some knobs and see what they do.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Bowens Monolite Question 

In article <1109629484.152526.162380.DeleteThis@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
Greg <greg.DeleteThis@basssax.com> wrote:

 > I'm sure that they are "pretty straight forward" to use if you know how
 > to use them. This is the first set of lights I've ever used, so this is
 > all new to me. Any help would be appreciated.

It's been too long since I used one, but the controls are clearly
marked for power, modeling light, etc.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Recently, Greg <greg.RemoveThis@basssax.com> posted:

 > I'm sure that they are "pretty straight forward" to use if you know
 > how to use them. This is the first set of lights I've ever used, so
 > this is all new to me. Any help would be appreciated.
 >
I've not owned or used the Bowens make, but I do have a couple of
suggestions that might help. First, mono lights all work in a similar
manner, and the controls should become obvious after you spend a little
time looking them over. Randall has given an overview of what those
controls could be; not all lights will have all of those controls.

The only thing I didn't see mentioned that could be an issue is that the
jack to plug in a sync cord from the camera *might* be a custom jack,
rather than one of the standard photo formats. If so, it's usually easy to
find the matching plugs to roll your own cable at an electronics parts
store.

You might want to look up manuals from any any mono light manufacturer.
They'll be functionally similar enough to give you a place to start
understanding your particular units.

Regards,

Neil<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Neil Gould wrote:
 > The only thing I didn't see mentioned that could be an issue is that the
 > jack to plug in a sync cord from the camera *might* be a custom jack,
 > rather than one of the standard photo formats. If so, it's usually easy to
 > find the matching plugs to roll your own cable at an electronics parts
 > store.

The Bogen/Bowens monolights use a large 1/4" phono-plug jack. So for a
single unit, you would typically use a long cord (10-20 foot) with a PC
jack plugged into your camera, and the other 1/4" jack plugged into the
monolight. An SC cord from <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.white-lightning.com/hardware.html" target="_blank">http://www.white-lightning.com/hardware.html</a>
is a suitable replacement. Bowens also made a Monoslave attachment that
would plug into the jack at the top, instead of the cord. The Monoslave
would naturally fire the unit when it detected another flash going off.

If the original poster would send me a good digital photo of the back of
the unit, I could probably tell him what all the controls do. On the
similar 200B, there were two rocker switches on the top back. I believe
one was a full/half power switch, the other was the on/off switch. In
between those was a push-to-flash button and a ready light below.
Underneath all those was the switch for the modeling light. As I recall,
the modeling light could be turned on/off/temporarily dim (after the
strobe fired, as an indicator that the unit fired as desired).

As these units had a large (5/8"?) opening at the bottom of the U-shaped
yoke used for positioning, it might be necessary to get a 5/8" to 1/4"
adaptor to fit the monolight atop a common light stand. An umbrella
reflector can be used in front of the flash to bounce and soften the
light; there was a screw to tighten the umbrella's shaft in place.

Though I sold my 200B set over 10 years ago, I still have one Bogen
unit, but it is a later model than what the original poster asked about.
So some of the controls are a bit different.

Hope that helps. ...pt

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In article <DRNUd.9296$4D7.6755@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com>, Neil Gould
<neil.TakeThisOut@myplaceofwork.com> wrote:

 > The only thing I didn't see mentioned that could be an issue is that the
 > jack to plug in a sync cord from the camera *might* be a custom jack,
 > rather than one of the standard photo formats. If so, it's usually easy to
 > find the matching plugs to roll your own cable at an electronics parts
 > store.

In thinking about it, the sync cord might take a 1/4" guitar type plug
on the strobe end.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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On 28 Feb 2005 14:24:44 -0800, "Greg" <greg RemoveThis @basssax.com> wrote:

 >I'm sure that they are "pretty straight forward" to use if you know how
 >to use them. This is the first set of lights I've ever used, so this is
 >all new to me. Any help would be appreciated

I think there are 3 rocker switches on this model. One is power,
another modelling light, and the other is modelling light stays on
during the flash firing, or goes off when flash fires until the
capacitor is charged again. The dial is output. The flash ready
light also serves as an overheat indicator, I believe. If it stays on
and the flash won't fire you need to shut it down for awhile.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Greg wrote:
 > I'm sure that they are "pretty straight forward" to use if you know how
 > to use them. This is the first set of lights I've ever used, so this is
 > all new to me. Any help would be appreciated.


Greg,

Though I e-mailed you privately some time ago with my recollection of
the controls, I have since run across a Bogen (Bowens) Monolight 400B.
So I can now provide the even more accurate description below.

Hope this helps you and the Usenet knowledge base. ...pt



Here's a description from left to right, and from the top down:

Starting at the top middle is the Open Flash button. Push it to manually
discharge the strobe, for example to take a reading with a flash meter.

Top left is an Overheat indicator light. If the unit overheats turn off
all power and wait for it to cool off before using it again. Top right
is the Ready light. This indicates that the flash has recycled and is
ready to flash again.

Middle left is the main On/Off switch, which turns off all AC power to
the unit. The round knob in the middle controls the flash power, from
full power on the right down to lowest power. You would need to check
with a flash meter, or run some tests, but each indicated position
probably changes the power by about 1/3 to 1/2 F-stop. Below that knob
is the receptacle for the AC cord; if you don't have the original cord,
a hardware store should have a three-prong replacement.

Middle right are two smaller switches. The farthest left switch controls
the modeling light. You can turn the modeling light Off (bottom), On
(middle) or Dim (top) momentarily after the strobe fires, as an
indicator that the unit did fire. To the right of this is a switch to
control the modeling light intensity. Use the top setting for the
modeling light to always be at Full power, use the bottom setting for
the modeling lamp to dim proportionate to the flash power setting.

At the bottom left is the 1/4" phone jack receptacle, used to plug in
the cord connecting your camera's sync terminal, or a slave trigger.
There is another jack receptacle on the unit's top. Next to the bottom
jack is a fuse holder. Insert a coin in the slot and turn. Though these
rarely blow fuses, it never hurts to have a spare on hand. An
electronics store should be able to sell you a fuse.

It is my understanding that this model has an extremely high sync
voltage. So you should never directly connect this model to a modern
camera. According to one expert in the Bowens forum, "They are made for
a mains voltage of 115 VAC/60Hz and have the same power output of 250 Ws
(Joule) as the 400 E and D series. However, there is one BIG difference:
the sync voltage is 200 VDC (E and D series have 35 VDC). Consult the
instruction manual of the camera for the maximum permissible sync
voltage. To be on the safe side, use a wireless trigger system (infrared
or radio, even a small flash unit in the hot shoe will do), or otherwise
get a WEIN Safe Sync device if you decide to stick with the sync cable."

As you know, the Bowens forum is now at:
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.bowens.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl" target="_blank">http://www.bowens.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl</a>

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