diy_quadra_cables

The Elinchrom Ranger Quadra comes with 2.5 meter cables in the kit, or when you buy a new head. There is also a 5 and 10 meter cable, but the 10 meter is currently 140 USD without shipping, a ridiculous price for a cable. I managed to hunt down the supplier of the end connectors, the US supplier is Binder USA, and create my own do-it-yourself Elinchrom Ranger Quadra cable. If you want the straight ended male and female like I have used in this cable, you order parts:

99-4225-00-07 Series 693-1 Connector

99-4226-00-07 Series 693-2 Connector (both images are incorrect on the webpage, but these are definitely the correct part number for what I ordered, copied from my invoice)

Anyone interested in the hunting process, read this paragraph, if not, skip to the next. I asked around as to what these type of cable connectors are called, 7 pin amphenol connectors with a semi-round master key. I google image searched this phrase, and browsed till I found similar images to mine. In these pages I found a reference to a swiss manufacturer of Amphenol connectors, and as Elinchrom is swiss I figured I might have a lead. I then googled for this manufacturer plus amphenol in google image search and found much closer images and found the US dealer. The actual logo on the OEM quadra cables is of this dealer, so I knew I had a hit. I ordered a male and female connector for 12 USD each, plus 3 dollars shipping to a friend who was coming to iceland and brought them.

After I took delivery of the cables, I asked my father in law to create a 7.5 meter cable for me. I wanted to be sure the part worked before I blogged about it. I did a full shoot with it plugged into both A and B ports, using the modeling light, and doing multiple full power pops. It's a perfect copy of the official cable for 30 USD. (he scrounged a cable, and your price will vary based on length, the longer the length that you make, the more you are saving on the official version). He used a cable where the interior wires were the same diameter as the solder points, but since he did it, I'm unsure of the exact wire diameters or if they are multi strand or solid core. The cable has to be 7 wires (6 plus ground) and they are exactly 1 to 1 in connection (meaning male pin 1 connects to female hole 1).

Here are both OEM and my ordered cable ends next to each other.

Again, showing they are identical.

The straight ends are different than the L ends, but they connect, and the straight end looks exactly like the connector on the Quadra power pack itself. These cables use the exact identical part number as the OEM versions, for a fraction of the price if you can solder or know someone that does. They plug into each other, and into the pack itself. I can plug all 3 of mine in for a total of 12.5 meters (7.5 + 2.5 + 2.5). Apparently the only length with no light loss is 2.5 meters. I count this as a benefit as you can bleed lower than the lowest 8.2 watt setting with all 3 plugged together. If you need to use a long cable plus one at full 400watts, just use the 2.5 meter to your 400 watt head, and use your extension cable to get to the 2nd head. This should also give closer to a 3:1 or even 4:1 ratio rather than 2:1 giving you more control over ratios even when you don't need extra length.

*edit* After testing, using just the 7.5 meter cable loses you .2 stops of light. Adding one stock 2.5 meter cable for a total of 10 meters gives you .3 stops of light, and adding another stock 2.5 meter cable for a 12.5 meter length gives you .4 stops of light.

There you have it, a diy quadra cable of any length for a fraction of the cost of the stock cables.

elinchrom_ranger_quadra_speedring

My Elinchrom Ranger Quadra DIY speedring is all finished.



As of right now, the ERQ does not have any lighting modifiers other than the included reflector, an umbrella with a 7mm shaft, and an 18cm reflector which lets it take the standard 18cm Elinchrom grid spots. Eventually there will be a 40x40cm softbox which mounts directly onto it, but for all else, you must purchase their adaptor, which has it's own light stand mount, so that the weight of the light mod is held by the adaptor, and the flash just sticks out the back. It's a good design for larger mods, but it means you have to purchase their adaptor (80 euro MSRP) PLUS an Elinchrom speedring. The other downside is that it doesn't appear to keep the flash tube entirely inside the mod. You can see a photo of it here, on Isker's flickr. He is the only person with a version yet, because it's not available to purchase from Elinchrom. (he purchased the demo unit from the Moscow Photo show).

So, in order to mount the new ERQ to a softbox, you need the 80 euro adaptor which won't be available for another 2 weeks, AND an Elinchrom speedring (20-30 euro), AND you have to lose some light by having the tube in a slightly recessed reflector. I was unwilling to wait, and didn't want the tube recessed. I want it fully inside the softbox. My softbox is also quite small, I have the XX Small Chimera, so I know the ERQ head can hold the weight of the softbox. Thus, I fabricated my own. You can see more shots of it in the previous blog post.

You can see how it keeps the tube fully exposed and inside the softbox in true bare bulb style.



It's all aluminum, so it's quite lightweight. The biggest problem was grinding down enough of the bolt heads to get it to attach, but not so much they slip out. I epoxy'ed every surface before attaching, for extra strength.