# Has anyone used Innovatronix products?



## tirediron (Jan 22, 2012)

Specifically the Innovatronix Explorer XT SE packs?  There are [lightly] two used ones for sale ($700 for the pair) in my area right now, and while they look good on the website, reading the manual, it appears to be very poorly translated, a sign which I often associate with poorer quality merchandise.  

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with first hand knowledge/experience with their products and even better, these particular packs.

Thanks,
John


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## Village Idiot (Jan 23, 2012)

tirediron said:


> Specifically the Innovatronix Explorer XT SE packs?  There are [lightly] two used ones for sale ($700 for the pair) in my area right now, and while they look good on the website, reading the manual, it appears to be very poorly translated, a sign which I often associate with poorer quality merchandise.
> 
> I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with first hand knowledge/experience with their products and even better, these particular packs.
> 
> ...



Innovatronix rocks. Their track record is much better than PCB's pre VML with all the problems they were having with the vagabonds. They're heavy duty and they don't require a satchel to keep them together. I use mine with a Speedotron 1205 pack and 405 pack, so it's got the power (although the recharge times are a bit slower with big power packs) to power bigger lights. It's also optimized to work with bi-voltage strobes, unlike the PCB batteries. Innovatronix is heading in the opposite direction where size and portability aren't as important to them as getting multiple bi-voltage strobes to work with a pure sine wave inverter battery pack. It's like Win7 vs. OS X. Innovatronix supports a large number of other lights and even lists a compatibility spreadsheet on their website where as PCB batteries as said to only work with PCB lights and aren't gaurenteed to work with anything else. It will, but if no one's tested it out before, it's a shot in the dark.

I think the biggest down side is the weight, but it makes a nice sand bag alternative.

If you go to the lighting section on the POTN foum and post up this question, you'll see how many people use them and like them.


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## tirediron (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks!


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## Derrel (Jan 23, 2012)

I have an Innovatronix Explorer 1200....well-made...solid....TWO outlets...check out the Robgalbraith.com web site for some reviews...works GREAT. I have managed to get my 2400 Watt-second packs to recylce on it, but the times are long. It's only "supposed" to be able to handle a 1200 W-s pack, but it can do more...with a Black Line 805 or 405, or the Brown Line D402, it kicks ass. It's "almost" as fast as a wall outlet when it's powering either of the 400 Watt-second packs.

The company is in The Phillipines, I think, and yes, the Engrish not two good in the materials promotional, but exceptional the performance is.


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## tirediron (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks Derrel!


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## Village Idiot (Jan 23, 2012)

tirediron said:


> Thanks!



Not to mention, you can e-mail them and talk to the people from Innovatronix if you have any question.


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## Derrel (Jan 23, 2012)

Here's a snap of the 1200-series model, shot with a 20D. This quick snap oughtta' give you a pretty good idea of how large it is, and also why the thing weighs around 18 pounds.







Here,clockwise from the left side are the Innovatronx Explorer 1200 Ws pure sine wave inverter and battery,and immediately to the right of that is a Brown Line D402 LV power supply with a Pocket Wizard hooked up to it. The smaller black power supply to the right is the three-outlet Speedotron Black Line 405 power supply, which has a Black Line model 103 light head hooked up to outlet 3,and which has a PC sync cord running to the camera. The light unit at the upper right is a Brown Line M11 light unit fitted with a Black Line 7 inch 105 degree reflector. The Brown Line M11 light unit is an almost identical twin to the Black Line 103 head; they share the same chassis and modeling lamp sizes, and virtually the same basic design. Brown Line M11 and the Black Line 102,103,105,106,202 light units all use the Speedotron "Universal Mount",and so can exchange reflectors,speed rings,and other accessories.


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## tirediron (Jan 23, 2012)

I've already sent them an e-mail with some questions, but I don't figure the manufacturer is always the best person to query about their product's quality.  Thanks for the picture Derrel; weight isn't an issue, I just want portable power, and this is looking like a good way to go; definitely more cost-effective than making my own!


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## Village Idiot (Jan 23, 2012)

A Look Under The Hood Of A Tronix Explorer XT - Canon Digital Photography Forums


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## tirediron (Jan 23, 2012)

Village Idiot said:


> A Look Under The Hood Of A Tronix Explorer XT - Canon Digital Photography Forums


Found that this morning.  Thanks! :thumbup:


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## Glenn Corse (Jan 30, 2017)

I'm happy to have Innovatronix products.
I can use my Profoto D1 500air anywhere.


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## table1349 (Jan 30, 2017)

Man the kitten population of the world is going down today.  Zombie Thread Monday.


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## Derrel (Jan 30, 2017)

Just as an aside: the Innovatronix Explorer power pack, the two Speedotron power supplies, and the Speedotron M11 light unit, and the Pocket Wizard shown in my photo earlier in this thread all STILL work just fine. I did have to replace the large lead-acid gel-cell type battery in the Explorer in the summer of 2015, and that was about a $50 replacement cell from Batteries Plus or Batteries and Bulbs, whatever the name of that chain is. That was the second replacement battery I myself had installed since buying the unit in 2007, so about one battery every three years, on average.


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