Replacement flash circuit board

[MOTOX77]

I would be interested in a spare as well!

[4puttedagain]

I would also like to buy one when they are available.

[orangeman]

count me in as well.

[mthunt]

I Hope you are making a little money on these Andy.

[Jwheels9876]

Just getting into a used GC2 and I'd be in for a couple of these just in case my flash goes. I'm not paying those crooks $500 just to look at the machine.

[andygg1986]

Just an update on the flashes. Of the first 30, I had one arrive pseudo-DOA for mthunt . It would flash but the GC2 wasn't reading any parameters. I hadn't tested it before mailing it (I started testing them after this issue), but I sent him a replacement which seems to have taken care of the problem. The only other so far is geneazevedo has had two now that won't read spin on high-speed drives after a few hundred shots. I can't come up with a technical explanation for how this would happen. Has anyone else had one of the flashes stop working? I don't want to keep selling them if people are not happy with their performance.

I am getting a quote for a custom trigger coil right now that is supposed to be more durable than the OEM one. I have tried to find someone to make a custom extra-durable flash tube but haven't had any luck.

[inorkuo]

i hope you get good news on the custom trigger coils. i've been having to replace coils faster than bulbs. tretee posted that the gc2 stock trigger coil is designed for 435V and most of the ones we can get top out at around 300V so they get hot and break more quickly.

[andygg1986]

I have received the new custom trigger coils and they look good and work well so far. I told the company to design them for 435V operation. I also sent them my working Foresight coil to get the electrical characteristics, and inorkuo was nice enough to send me his dead Foresight coil so they could cut it open to see the inside construction. I told the company to make it more durable than the Foresight coil as well, so it is larger than the green one, but thin enough that the back plastic case piece doesn't touch it.

I designed a new board with low profile push-to-release connectors for the flash tubes, which is pictured. The custom coils should last longer than the tubes, so the idea is that when the tube blows you can easily swap in a new tube and keep using the same board. I have three sample boards that are ready to go, and will be getting more boards in about two weeks.

The new design is going to be $100 for one board and three flash tubes including shipping. Additional tubes are $10/piece, or you can order them directly from xenonflashtubes.com

I made a small improvement to the old design by adding a cutout below the trigger coil so it sits lower and the back plastic piece doesn't hit it. The functionality is otherwise the same. I have lots of the old design boards available now. They are still one for $40, two for $75, and three for $100 including priority shipping to the US or first class mail to Canada.

If you would like to purchase either one, you can Paypal me at gc2flash@gmail.com
Make sure you specify which design you want, your shipping address, and your GSF username

[Iron Brandon]

Is that photo the original GC2 board?? Have you gotten a hold of the super flash boards yet to examine?

[wbond]

Nice work. At some point I'm sure I'll upgrade to the GC2 and will know where to get a better replacement.

[andygg1986]

That is a photo of my new design. The white connectors are for replacing the flash tubes without soldering. I haven't gotten a superflash to take apart yet. I am trying to keep costs down at this point and spending $500 on a superflash would mean raising prices on each flash

[andygg1986]

I wanted to give an update on the replacement flash circuit boards. In the last few days, I have heard that three of the original design boards have failed at 1300, 2200, and 2400 shots respectively. I suspect that at least some of them that are out there have lasted longer than this since nobody else has reported theirs failing, but I am disappointed that some of them are not lasting very long. I certainly don't want anyone to feel like they are getting ripped off. I have decided to hold off on selling the old design for now until I get more feedback.

For those of you who have bought the old design, if you tell me how many shots your old one lasts I will give you $10 off the new design. If your old one lasted less than 2500 shots, I will give you $20 off the new design. I hope that nobody reports a lower number of shots than they actually got to try and save an extra $10. If you bought one and don't think this is a reasonable offer, feel free to PM me. I appreciate everyone's help with testing these and understanding that development takes time.

[vrpunk]

Thanks for keeping us informed.
Any historic data back on the new designs yet, will need two boards shipping to UK eventually (September)

[andygg1986]

I haven't heard anything on the new design yet, but I will post it whenever I do get some feedback on those.

[Ronsc1985]

I wanted to give an update on the replacement flash circuit boards. In the last few days, I have heard that three of the original design boards have failed at 1300, 2200, and 2400 shots respectively. I suspect that at least some of them that are out there have lasted longer than this since nobody else has reported theirs failing, but I am disappointed that some of them are not lasting very long. I certainly don't want anyone to feel like they are getting ripped off. I have decided to hold off on selling the old design for now until I get more feedback.

For those of you who have bought the old design, if you tell me how many shots your old one lasts I will give you $10 off the new design. If your old one lasted less than 2500 shots, I will give you $20 off the new design. I hope that nobody reports a lower number of shots than they actually got to try and save an extra $10. If you bought one and don't think this is a reasonable offer, feel free to PM me. I appreciate everyone's help with testing these and understanding that development takes time.

What failed the transformer or the flash tube?

[andygg1986]

I am not sure but I can ask Hacksalot and Taylor40299 if they can tell. Both of them are getting the new design, so they can cut the old flash tube out and try it in the new board. If it still works, we will know it was the transformer.

[aeroburner]

i would like 9 of them please PM me on this

[docsmilez]

I have an unused OEM foresight replacement flash i would like to SELL. Also have an original replacement flash made by andygg1986 that I never used. If anyone is interested in BUYING any of these or both please PM me. I will sell the OEM flash for $100 and the replacement flash for $20.

[richdmb]

andygg1986 any more updates on the new boards? are you still selling them? if so, how can i buy? thanks!

[andygg1986]

Yes I am still selling them. If you need one right now I can do either design. You can send PayPal to gc2flash@gmail.com and include your address in the notes. If you don't need one right now, I would wait a couple months for the next version to be ready

[richdmb]

Cool. I guess i will try to wait. My flash counter is omly at 15000 but seems like i got up there relatively quickly. Im excited to see the next version! Thanks for ur hard work and effort!