# Zapped my SB600 while changing bulb, can I buy PCB boards or should I cut my losses.



## personalt (Jul 4, 2012)

So freaking mad ....  Last week I took some pictures and my sb600 made a pop noise and then flash didnt work.  It powered up just didnt fire.   I took it apart today and I made it really go pop by touching one of the wires from capcator to the PCB board for the zoom..   Noise was so loud it made my son cry(well that might have been from me screaming after I did that)..  Now it doesn't power up.. Totally my own stupidity...


I had instructions on how to change the bulb, the writer mentions the capicator and getting zapped but he didnt talk about draining it.  I should have done more research as two other sites specififcally mention how to drain the capicitor with a resistor or with a volt meter...   Word to the wise for someone else, drain it....  But for me that is water under the bridge now.  

Couple of questions


Is there something else that fails often other then the bulb? The bulb wasnt cracked and the flash wasnt dropped. It popped when taking a flash.  Is it possible/likely it was something else all together that was wrong with it?    I dont want to replace this burnt PCB board(s) and then find out it wasnt the bulb to begin with
Is it possible to buy parts for this unit?  I see the main PCB board on EBAY for about $60 but dont see the zoom PCB.  that is what I toasted but certainly that charge could have taken out more then one board.   If I were to buy these board(s) anyone know where I can get?
Does anyone know if I disconnect the zoom PCB board should it power up?   I think i might have taken out more then one board and would like to test that before i go too much further.
Luckly I only paid $180 used for this, I see units sell on ebay for $90-$110 listed as for parts/broken.   I am thinking it might be worth cut my losses by taking the $100 hit and sell for parts.


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## tirediron (Jul 4, 2012)

In my experience 99,9% of flash failures are either the tube or the power capacitor.  In this case, I think we can assume it wasn't the capacitor, and that the tube was the likely culprit, but it is electronics, so hard to say for sure.  Personally, given that the amount of internal damage is unkown, I would bin it and take the $180 hit.  If it's a known defect (flash tube, zoom motor) than you can sell it for parts, but there's NO WAY I'm going to pay even $20 for that as a parts unit when it's possible that every component is dead.


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## KmH (Jul 4, 2012)

Kudos for having a go at the repair yourself in this 'it's disposable' society.

You're lucky *you* didn't get fried. 

Plus one in that I don't think the unit is even worth parts at this point.


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## SCraig (Jul 4, 2012)

Much like seeing transmitters that have been struck by lightning (I have seen them) there is no way of knowing what got damaged without actually testing each board in it.  High voltages are nothing to mess around with (flash tubes operate at 2,000 volts plus) you you basically just turned 2kv loose on a circuit board designed for 6 volt operation.  Everything on a direct path with wherever you hit it is gone.  Anything that bridged when it failed could have let that voltage pulse bridge across it to the next component.  In short, it is basically junk.  Like Tirediron I wouldn't even give you $20 for it.

If it's any consolation even trained people make mistakes from time to time.  I was working on an amplifier once and the first step in the instructions was to discharge the power capacitors through the rectifier string.  I stuck my screwdriver in there, careful to make absolutely certain that my hand was on the insulated handle, only to have the tip vaporize when it shorted the rectifiers as I was supposed to do.  It was like a firecracker and a flash tube going off at the same time, and when I got my heart slowed down enough I realized that shorting the rectifier string was the SECOND step in the instructions.  The first step was to make damn sure the amp was unplugged!


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## tirediron (Jul 4, 2012)

SCraig said:


> ...I realized that shorting the rectifier string was the SECOND step in the instructions.  The first step was to make damn sure the amp was unplugged!


Reminds me of the time that I decided to replace the power-cord on an old Halcrafter's SW rcvr....  all I had in the junk-box was a modern, three-wire grounded plug, so I decided to attach the green ground wire to the metal chassis.   Did that, plugged it in and "Ba-friggin'-BOOM" Three very expensive (and hard to find) triodes in the power-supply literally blew their tops.  Seems that the filament line was also green and when I connected the ground wire of the new cord to what I thought was the chassis ground wire on the unit, I grabbed the filament line...


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## SCraig (Jul 4, 2012)

tirediron said:


> Reminds me of the time that I decided to replace the power-cord on an old Halcrafter's SW rcvr....  all I had in the junk-box was a modern, three-wire grounded plug, so I decided to attach the green ground wire to the metal chassis.   Did that, plugged it in and "Ba-friggin'-BOOM" Three very expensive (and hard to find) triodes in the power-supply literally blew their tops.  Seems that the filament line was also green and when I connected the ground wire of the new cord to what I thought was the chassis ground wire on the unit, I grabbed the filament line...



Funny how you NEVER forget those things   Mine was on a Heathkit SB-230 linear amplifier I had built.  I don't know why I was monkeying around in it but I was.  I still have the screwdriver, sans the tip which truly vaporized, to remind me to watch what I'm doing.


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## personalt (Jul 4, 2012)

I am very lucky i didnt get fried...   If anyone tries to do this in the future this seems to be the best set of instructions - http://lenstracks.com/equipment/Nikon_SB-600_flashtube_replacement.pdf


Over the years I am still way ahead on things I have fixed vs things I had made worse.  I only paid $180-$190 for the flash and I get Nikon would have charged me close to that to fix it..

Now the core question, what to buy next
YN565-ex $150-$160 from amazon or ebay
Used SB600 about $200 on ebay
Used SB800 $250-$275 ebay
Used SB900 $330-$360
Referb SB900 $389 from Roberts Camera

Maybe I will start a new thread and get some thoughts...



KmH said:


> Kudos for having a go at the repair yourself in this 'it's disposable' society.
> 
> You're lucky *you* didn't get fried.
> 
> Plus one in that I don't think the unit is even worth parts at this point.


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## SCraig (Jul 4, 2012)

Don't forget the SB-700.  Not as powerful as the SB-600 but a lot of very nice features.


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