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Author Topic: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?  (Read 4013 times)

etiennemalph

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Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« on: June 09, 2021, 03:45:48 pm »

One of the big diffference between a Mobilite and a Picolite is about the modeling light.
Picolite's modeling light would work on any pack although Mobilite would only work on its own pack : Broncolor Mobil A2L.

Any thoughts on converting a Mobilite for its modeling light to work on my Grafit pack (or any other Bron pack...) would be really appreciated. Thank you.

BobShaw

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2021, 08:54:58 pm »

I am very interested in doing this also.
The obvious problem is that the fan and modelling light circuits on the Mobilite are designed for 12V and on the Picolite for 240V or 110V.
They use different pins in the plug.
It may be possible to have an intermediary cable with voltage conversion or just bring out the pin to a place where you could plug in a 12V plug pack similar to the MobiLED Daylight Adapter
https://broncolor.swiss/products/mobi-led-daylight-adapter?variant=6848
or the Adapter Cable to use the Mobil battery.
https://broncolor.swiss/products/adapter-cable-for-move-battery-and-mobiled?variant=7162

Converting the Modeliing lamp to LED would be a big step.


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etiennemalph

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2021, 09:23:07 am »

Thank you for your post. So I tried to investigate...
Here are some informations about the inside of a MB and 'how' it is wired :
https://ibb.co/JChkSQ0
https://ibb.co/0q0YvXg

For me, the principle would be to pick up the wires that link to the modeling light and fan and power them by a 12V supply.
For now the big question is what wires (I guess the 4 ''little'' ones on my pictures) and how (which one is the ground, + and -...)...?
Sadly i'm not an electrician...

BobShaw

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2021, 03:42:59 am »


Here are some informations about the inside of a MB and 'how' it is wired :

The wires they describe as "very big white" are actually red, white and blue. These can have hundreds of volts on them so do not play with these things connected to a pack.
Here is a plug diagram.




« Last Edit: June 12, 2021, 03:48:01 am by BobShaw »
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UlfKrentz

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2021, 10:18:20 am »

The proper way to do this would be to have the printed circuit of a picolite (L6352.00 for mine) and also change the wiring in the head and plug to picolite. The picolite board creates the low voltage power supply for the fan from mains. Modeling light is a mains voltage bulb type, so that´s just the wiring, not sure about the temperature switch, might be different, too. Don´t alter anything unless you really know what you are doing, any mistake might result in severe damage (especially with grafit packs) or even worse harm your health / life.

Balafre

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2021, 02:36:10 pm »

This idea screams out 'caution'. Yes, of course it might be physically possible but Bron have decades of accumulated knowledge of nuance and insight they use to craft their products. I suspect for all the effort, time, sourcing and purchasing materials, let alone risk involved, you'd be better off buying some used Picolites. I have one I've hardly ever used, if you're interested.
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Balafre

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2021, 02:37:02 pm »

The proper way to do this would be to have the printed circuit of a picolite (L6352.00 for mine) and also change the wiring in the head and plug to picolite. The picolite board creates the low voltage power supply for the fan from mains. Modeling light is a mains voltage bulb type, so that´s just the wiring, not sure about the temperature switch, might be different, too. Don´t alter anything unless you really know what you are doing, any mistake might result in severe damage (especially with grafit packs) or even worse harm your health / life.

Ulf, you are an Oracle! A living Treasure. :)
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etiennemalph

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2021, 04:45:28 am »

Ok, so here are all my tries.
Main idea is still to take the fan and modeling light dedicated electrical circuit out of Bron plug and power it up with a 12V supply.

So I first wanted to test this circuit from the right pins.

https://ibb.co/sV1HD0h
https://ibb.co/sV1HD0hhttps://ibb.co/Zxn6GjD

>> Photo confirms BobShaw’s Mobilite Wiring
My Bron Paris shop phonecall confirmed it too. B2 and B3 are the ones ! B2 is supposed to be the +

If that works, I would cut the wires in the Bron plug before getting to the pins and rewire them.

-
I tried different power supply 12V and intensity 3A and 5,5A. The two didn’t work (both fan and lamp).
I was not totally sure about + and - so I switched them, still didn’t work (both fan and lamp).
Could it be caused by a security thing like the ground I didn’t connect ?
Coud it be because I didn’t use the dedicated Bron 12V 2,7 charger ?

I could keep investigating
• with a Mec 12V 2,7V (I don’t own Bron’s charger and Mec does the exact same one for 50 bucks),
• by trying the Mobiled adapter, very good idea BobShaw

BUT I moved to something else (''Plan 2''). Less risky ;)
Even if i’m still opened to hear for any of thoughts…

etiennemalph

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2021, 05:05:26 am »

Plan2.

Forget about adapting new circuits and board...
Put a tiny led (CREE XML-T6,2000 LM) inside Mobilite that will take place at the halogen bulb's spot (it is NOT wired to Bron's circuit).

I'm happy to share this with you :)

Here's the product I adapted :
https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B07QZR7GBV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's a video of my little hack and my ''mobipicolite'' in action :
https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/a7f301ec-70b2-43a2-9251-0298de7919f6

Although, I don't believe there is 2000LS, it's way colder than an halogen, and probably doesn't need the fan !

UlfKrentz

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2021, 06:43:40 am »

B2 and B3 are for modelling light and fan, both are +. Negative should be ground. Please be aware, the fan is for cooling the flashtube in the first place, so make sure it runs at least when firing series of flashes. That said while the COB will produce less heat it requires more cooling, they will die otherwise. I would also look out for a used Picolite as suggested. Cheers!
« Last Edit: June 21, 2021, 06:55:10 am by UlfKrentz »
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BobShaw

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2021, 07:11:47 pm »

Ok, so here are all my tries.
Main idea is still to take the fan and modeling light dedicated electrical circuit out of Bron plug and power it up with a 12V supply.
....
I tried different power supply 12V and intensity 3A and 5,5A. The two didn’t work (both fan and lamp).

The halogen globe itself is 50W which would indicate at least 5A capability would be required.
If there were LED globe replacements for heads that would make life better.

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etiennemalph

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2021, 05:11:55 am »

B2 and B3 are for modelling light and fan, both are +. Negative should be ground. Please be aware, the fan is for cooling the flashtube in the first place, so make sure it runs at least when firing series of flashes. That said while the COB will produce less heat it requires more cooling, they will die otherwise. I would also look out for a used Picolite as suggested. Cheers!

Ulf thank you !
The COB is supposed to last for dozen thousands of hours -Amazon and its chinese supplier even quote a bizarre 100000-
with no cooling at all because it's trapped between the light magnifier and the thick plastic holder.
-
Humm, flash heats could be tricky...
Could you confirm the fan will never work with the mobil connected to another pack than its original one ?
Broncolor makes it clear about the modeling light but not the fan.

UlfKrentz

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2021, 01:41:48 pm »

COB will last long when driven within specs. Broncolor limits flash series even with Picolight (and running fan). It is just a friendly reminder. With the fan being connected the way it is and the standard wiring of the packs I doubt the fan will work. I don´t own a Mobilite to confirm.

BobShaw

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2021, 08:36:57 pm »

Put a tiny led (CREE XML-T6,2000 LM) inside Mobilite that will take place at the halogen bulb's spot (it is NOT wired to Bron's circuit).
How did you mount the LED and does it give enough light for the modelling light to be useful? The MobiLEDS use a 30W LED so I think you would need at least 20W and I haven't found one with G6.35 pins.
The fan of a Mobilite can't work on a studio pack because it is 12V. On battery packs there is 12V on B3 any time the pack is powered on and on B2 when the Modelling light is turned on.

I missed something. What's a COB?
« Last Edit: June 23, 2021, 08:49:19 pm by BobShaw »
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etiennemalph

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #14 on: June 24, 2021, 06:51:46 am »

Some photos of the hack are available here :
https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/6cfba74d-2b09-48ec-8095-c6fa58d90bf5

Principle is to extract circuits from the camping lamp and then extend the wires so the COB (Chip On Board) can fit inside the Bron and the switch + the batteries case can take place where you want to. The wires come out of the Bron by one of the fan holes.

The compact COB Led  is glued with a little Neoprene (100°C Heat resistant) at the center of the mobi/pico reflector - photo of a 2 led COB is the principle even though you will notice this COB is not my final choice but the CREE XML-T6 (CREE XML-T6 photos are the star shape COB).
My video shows it works good. And yes it’s bright enough in low light, but gets a bit tricky with the distance (>1 m) and diffusion if you might want use some.

If I had to do it again, I would probably choose a newer and more powerful COB like a XHP100, XHP160 or XHP199. They own e 4 to 16 cores. They are still very cheap, flat, compact and discret enough not to be seen on the shot when the flash is fired !

Even though I would not be 100% sure about changing… currently my CREE XML-T6 cob doesn’t get warm. And with no fan, that’s a good point.

etiennemalph

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #15 on: June 26, 2021, 07:06:26 am »

How did you mount the LED and does it give enough light for the modelling light to be useful? The MobiLEDS use a 30W LED so I think you would need at least 20W and I haven't found one with G6.35 pins.
The fan of a Mobilite can't work on a studio pack because it is 12V. On battery packs there is 12V on B3 any time the pack is powered on and on B2 when the Modelling light is turned on.

I missed something. What's a COB?

COB = Chip On Board : the led takes place on board. I hope it makes more sens.
https://www.led-flash.fr/blog/led-cob/ (it's french...)

etiennemalph

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #16 on: June 29, 2021, 07:38:36 am »

B2 and B3 are for modelling light and fan, both are +. Negative should be ground. Please be aware, the fan is for cooling the flashtube in the first place, so make sure it runs at least when firing series of flashes. That said while the COB will produce less heat it requires more cooling, they will die otherwise. I would also look out for a used Picolite as suggested. Cheers!

Ulf you are right ! I connected the correct pins (B2, B3, B6) to a 12V power supply, it works. Same way it would work the Mobiled Adaptor.
Now, I would like to isolate B2, B3 (+) wires and B6 (-) from the plug, so I would have my 12V circuit for fan and modeling lamp and the other wires still connected to the original pins for the gen and flashbulb to work with. Except flash circuit needs B6, so I guess it' impossible... Could you please confirm ?

UlfKrentz

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #17 on: June 29, 2021, 12:36:53 pm »

etiennemalph, please don´t mix things up. B6 is the trigger wire to release the flash. It has nothing to do with the 12V connections. (-) is connected to ground B1/A0. The fan might work as the primary coil of the transformer is also connected to ground but this is not meant to be and might fry the trigger transformer. You also won´t be able to fire a flash... Please be aware that you are working with high voltage equipment and for security reasons I would really recommend to not have any wires going to a separate power unit, isolation is not designed for this purpose. Cheers, Ulf

etiennemalph

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #18 on: July 03, 2021, 11:48:47 am »

Ulf, thank you for your message. Sure thing I'm warned and will not go any further into 220V investigations. Moreover, I'm quite happy with my COB and little LED, just hope It will last a bit as i got rid of the thick original aluminium ring designed to cool the COB circuit. Anyway for 250€ Mobilite and LED lamp on ebay and Amazon, It' a fair deal for me :)

BobShaw

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Re: Convert a Broncolor Mobilite to a Picolite ?
« Reply #19 on: July 03, 2021, 08:15:17 pm »

I think that something very useful would be a decent say 30W LED option with the 2 pin replacement for the existing Halogen globes.

I like my Bron lights since converting from Elinchrom, especially the Pulso connection system and the selection of variable ratios, delays and colour temp on the packs.
However they seem to make some strange decisions.

Why does the Studio power supply for the Mobil units not support the modelling lights?
Why isn't the Studio Power supply compatible with the A2r and A2L? (Answer - The Mobil and A2R and A2L packs use different size batteries)
Why are there so many different trigger types? (I know the answer is that they use different frequencies but it is frustrating)
I can use my Elinchrom triggers on all vintages of lights and so I also use their universal receivers for my Bron gear too.

Such is life.
Bob
« Last Edit: December 07, 2021, 06:55:47 pm by BobShaw »
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