Questions about the MT24 and inside pictures |
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Pete Ganzel ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 05 August 2006 Country: United States Location: Little Canada Status: Offline Posts: 941 |
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The connector shown inside the MT24 appears identical to the functional one on the MFC-1000 I have. It is a standard 4mm OD X1.25 mm center pin barrel connector, the same one used for AC power on all the Minolta digital cameras like the Dimage 7, A2 and Maxxum D7, D5 etc. If you have an AC adapter specified for these cameras (6V, 2A), it will work fine on the MFC-1000. The one I use recycles the flash in about 8 seconds as opposed to the 4-6 sec on good batteries fully charged, so the adapter appears to be current limited at 2A. Haven't had any overheating of the adapter though. The power connector has a switch that disconnects power from the internal batteries. You could probably make an external battery pack using the connector but not sure what the advantage would be as the recycle time would be about the same as with internal batteries.
Maybe the connector was left there for powering the flash during assembly testing or service? Generic AC adapters are available on line inexpensively so it might be worth a try to see if that hidden connector might actually work on the MT24. Pete Edited by Pete Ganzel - 26 September 2014 at 05:29 |
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analytical ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 30 January 2007 Country: United States Location: Texas Status: Offline Posts: 3069 |
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I'll use it to test, but before I choose a drill size for the case, I'll try to find a cover plug for when not in use, like the one shown in your picture. |
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Michael Johansson ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 13 May 2006 Country: Sweden Location: Gullaskruv Status: Offline Posts: 727 |
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You can read more about the internal DC connector of the Sony MT24 here: http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/minolta-mfc1000-dc-in_topic95863_post1139835.html?KW=mfc+1000#1139835
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a7RII ~ S4/24-105G ~ S2.8/90MacroG ~ 5600HS(D) ~ HVL43AM ~ Ring+Macro TwinFlash
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matthiaspaul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 08 September 2006 Country: Germany Status: Offline Posts: 940 |
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Thanks for finding that thread again. Greetings, Matthias |
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analytical ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 30 January 2007 Country: United States Location: Texas Status: Offline Posts: 3069 |
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Update: Both suggested approaches work.
DC power plug. Inserting a plug into the DC power in socket disconnects the batteries. So a plug on a short tether to the flash, so it's easy to find, would not be too bad. My generic brand 6v power adapter has died, so I couldn't check operation from adapter. I will check when a new one ($6.95 free shipping) arrives. Switch in the F3 line. Interrupting the F3 connection prevents the camera from turning the flash on when the flash is off. That is, if flash is off and camera is off or in power save, if you turn the camera on, the flash stays off. If the flash is off, F3 is open and the camera is on, then closing F3 turns on the flash. Pressing flash button on not required. So one step for flash on. If the flash is on and F3 switch is closed, opening F3 does not turn off the flash, so for immediate off, you have to also push the flash off button. Two steps for flash off, but that's OK. I have not yet tested what happens if F3 is open but flash still on, and you attempt to take a picture. Also not tested how open F3 affects flash auto power off. (Note this flash has an independent setting for auto turn off time, but does not interact with camera on/off as the F58 and F60 do.) |
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matthiaspaul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 08 September 2006 Country: Germany Status: Offline Posts: 940 |
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See also: http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/hvlmt24am-twin-flash-issues_topic97964.html http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/a99-with-hvlmt24am_topic97590_post1163120.html Greetings, Matthias |
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matthiaspaul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 08 September 2006 Country: Germany Status: Offline Posts: 940 |
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Thanks for the feedback! http://www.mi-fo.de/forum/index.php?showtopic=35771 Greetings, Matthias |
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matthiaspaul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 08 September 2006 Country: Germany Status: Offline Posts: 940 |
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What's also interesting is that they want the unit to be powered with stabilized 5.8V DC / 1.8A using an external power supply. See: http://www.mi-fo.de/forum/index.php?showtopic=14229&view=findpost&p=306847 So 6.0V really seems to be the maximum allowed voltage. No problem when using a stabilized power supply, but we should be careful not to use unstablized power supplies with a nominal 6V output. It is therefore my assumption, that the Minolta AC-10 (with a nominal output of 4.3V DC / 2.2A) was unstabilized. Greetings, Matthias |
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matthiaspaul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 08 September 2006 Country: Germany Status: Offline Posts: 940 |
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This is in line with other people's reports as well, f.e. here: http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=42193 http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/minolta-twin-flash-controller-and-sony-twin-flash-unit-compatibility_topic19933_post1020995.html#1020995 However, your recent observation that Sony did not remove the "DC1" connector for the external power supply internally made me curious and I opened my MFC-1000 to compare it with your pictures of an opened HVL-MT24AM, and while I have not tested this myself, I strongly assume that it is possible quite easily to modify a HVL-MT24AM to control the Minolta 1200 AF / R-1200 ring flash head as well. In contrast to what others have said, the HVL-MT24AM uses the same PCBs as the MFC-1000, and all parts (even those not used in the HVL-MT24AM like the "DC1" connector) appear to be populated - at least I haven't found any missing parts except for: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() So far I was unable to determine if SW8 is populated in the HVL-MT24AM or not. It is one of the three switch contacts located on the front PCB. SW6 and SW7 are definitely populated, and SW8 is mentioned in the service manual of the HVL-MT24AM as well - but left unconnected. The plastics of the 5-pin connector is part of the case, therefore retrofitting a connector there is more than just populating a missing connector. It would require access to original Minolta spare parts. It might be possible to replicate the part using a 3D-printer. Alternatively, it should be possible to cut the ring flash cable and utilize other kinds of suitable 7-pin connectors externally (7-pins because the switch contact SW8 will have to be emulated as well). (However, keep in mind that some of the wires carry 330V DC - not every connector would be safe to use.) So, unless Sony changed the firmware of the HVL-MT24AM to no longer evaluate the SW8 signal and not issue the trigger signal for the ring flash, it is possible to modify the HVL-MT24AM to also support the 1200 AF / R-1200 ring flash. More details including an expanded wiring diagram can be found here: http://www.mi-fo.de/forum/index.php?showtopic=35780 expanded wiring diagram http://www.mi-fo.de/forum/index.php?showtopic=35776 connector pinouts Greetings, Matthias Edited by matthiaspaul - 11 October 2014 at 23:00 |
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Pete Ganzel ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 05 August 2006 Country: United States Location: Little Canada Status: Offline Posts: 941 |
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Great work on this Matthias. You could scrounge the connector from a discarded 1200AF control unit.. Pete |
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matthiaspaul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 08 September 2006 Country: Germany Status: Offline Posts: 940 |
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Update with some bad and some good news:
A closer look at the photos of the PCBs revealed that a few parts are unpopulated in the HVL-MT24AM, unfortunately: On the passive high-voltage generator board named "PC Board (C)" (the pertinax PCB with CN1, CN2, CN3, CN8) four THT power diodes marked "0F 20E 6" are not populated, although they are still shown in Sony's HVL-MT24AM service manual, including their orientation. It should be easy to find a replacement part. On the active main power board (the epoxy PCB with CN3, CN4, CN6, CN7, CN14) a polarized electrolyte THT capacitor CN6 is missing: 100uF/50V/+85°C. On the CPU board (with CN5, CN9, CN10, CN14), a few parts are not populated as well: three SMD bipolar small-signal transistors, one SMD bipolar power transistor, two SMD diodes, and seven SMD resistors/capacitors. They are responsible to generate the low-voltage trigger signal and provide the supply for the model light. While we haven't identified the exact part values yet, their pinouts are already known. So, this needs some more research, but clearly isn't a show stopper. Greetings, Matthias Edited by matthiaspaul - 13 October 2014 at 09:30 |
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analytical ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 30 January 2007 Country: United States Location: Texas Status: Offline Posts: 3069 |
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I went ahead and installed an F3 toggle switch on the flash. I'll add a picture of it later. Edited by analytical - 13 October 2014 at 00:15 |
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matthiaspaul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 08 September 2006 Country: Germany Status: Offline Posts: 940 |
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Gregg, your photos of the HVL-MT24AM have been very valueable in our "ring flash modification" project already. However, we could need some more close up shots of the various PCBs from their top and *bottom* sides (in particular of the power board and the CPU board) to compare them with the internals of my MFC-1000. (Ideally, they should enable us to compare the routing of the traces and read the marking codes of parts.) With your flash still opened, would you have fun to provide more photos?
In either case, is SW8 (the middle of the three switches SW6, SW7, SW8 on the front board) populated in your HVL-MT24AM? Thanks and greetings, Matthias |
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analytical ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 30 January 2007 Country: United States Location: Texas Status: Offline Posts: 3069 |
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Of course I didn't take the pictures with the specific intent of documenting the pcbs. And I never removed the pcbs from the upper section to reveal the "front": sides, or the side of the lower pcb with the leds and push buttons. It may be a few days before I get to disassembling the flash again.
In the mean time I have uploaded the original resolution pcb images in a sub-gallery to the original MT24 gallery. Perhaps these will let you see more detail. Choose resolution "original." This adds one that I didn't originally include, which shows the absence of a ringflash socket and the blank back side of the pcb under the 330v capacitors. MT24 gallery Edited by analytical - 13 October 2014 at 00:59 |
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