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[OM] Photoflash capacitors

Subject: [OM] Photoflash capacitors
From: "Patrick W. Greenlee" <patrickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 07:19:19 -0700
        Holding photoflash capacitors at full charge for extended periods
will degrade their life as will leaving them uncharged for extended
periods.  Nothing wrong with keeping them constantly charged for the
duration of a photo shoot but 24hrs/day 7days/week ad infinitum is not to
be recommended.
        As someone commented previously and I repeat and elaborate for
emphasis: Pulse application capacitors (read photoflash) have additional
requirements beyond capacitance and voltage.  Photoflash capacitors must be
capable of fast discharge rates, i.e. high peak current soooo... They must
have low internal impedance (low inductance) to support fast rise time
discharge pulses.  Typical elctrolytic caps even those typically used in
disco strobes aren't usually of the type needed for photoflash
applications.  The trade off is a less intense flash of longer duration for
saving money.
        Over the years my personal experience has been to suffer great
difficulty in finding proper replacement capacitors for various photoflash
equipment while shoppping sources like Radio Shack, its plethora of
competitors in the industrial marketplace, and other sources mostly known
only to us dyed-in-the-wool scrounger/engineers.  Mostly I have had to
scrap the unit, suffer to have externally mounted caps (ugly and
dangerous), or pay the $ and buy from the maker.

Patrick



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