HiViz - Vivitar Cable Kit Assembly (VPC2)

Assembly and Operating Instructions for HiViz Kits

Instructions for the Vivitar 283/285/3700 Cable Kit Assembly (VPC2)

Overview

These instructions are for preparing a cable to connect from a Vivitar flash unit (models 283, 285, 3700) to an RCA jack on a trigger box.

The parts provided with the VPC2 kit are listed below together with the tools that you need for assembly.

Parts supplied with VPC2 kit:
3-feet of 2-conductor cable
Vivitar PC-1 cord (shown to left)

RCA plug (male)
2-inch length heat shrink tubing (HST), 3/32-inch diameter

3-inch length heat shrink tubing (HST), 3/16-inch diameter

Helpful tools and supplies:
Wire stripper
15- or 30-watt soldering iron and solder
Wet sponge or towel
Lighter or matches to shrink HST


click for larger view


	click for larger view

Begin by cutting the PC-1 cord in half. You'll use the half shown to the left. (You could use the other half to make a PC cord if you wished. In that case, see these instructions.)

Using a pair of wire strippers, carefully strip back the cut end of the PC-1 cord a distance of 1 inch. You'll see a copper sheath surrounding black insulation. Pull back the sheath and twist the wires together as shown to the right. Then strip back the black insulation to within about 1/8 inch from the black jacket. It's important to make sure there are no stray wires from the copper sheath that touch the other wire.

Next, you'll need the gray 2-conductor cable. From one end of the cable, strip back the gray insulation about 2 inches. Then strip back the red and black insulation about 3/4 inch. The result is also shown to the right.


	click for larger view


click for larger view

There are 2 sizes of HST, 3/32-inch diameter and 3/16-inch diameter. Cut the 3/32-inch piece into two equal lengths of 1 inch. Then slide them over the red and black insulation as shown to the left.

Next, twist the following pairs of wires tightly together as shown to the right: i) black wire of the 2-conductor cable and copper sheath of the PC-1 ii) red wire of the 2-conductor cable and black wire of the PC-1.


click for larger view

If you're using a soldering iron and are new to soldering, see the Soldering Tips below. The soldered connections should look similar to the photo to the left. Again, make sure there are no stray wire strands that could bridge from one splice to the other.

Solder in a well-lit, well-ventilated, open area. Avoid contact with all metal surfaces on the iron.
Keep the tip of the soldering iron clean by wiping it against a wet sponge or towel before and after each use. A clean tip should look shiny and silvery; any yellow or black material on the tip will get into the solder and may weaken your solder joint.
Once the tip of your soldering iron is clean, touch a bit of solder to the tip just before use. This is called tinning, and helps the solder run more evenly.
Heat the connection to be soldered by holding the soldering iron to it, until solder applied at the junction between the two melts and flows freely. This ensures the connection and the solder are both hot enough to yield a good solder joint. This should take no more than 10-15 seconds. After the connection is heated, try to get solder along the entire length of the connection by briskly moving the solder and iron along.
Avoid touching only the solder to the connection, and then the soldering iron to the solder to melt it onto the connection. The connection will be cooler than the melted solder and won’t form a good solder joint.
Let new solder joints cool for several seconds before examining them. There should be solder all the way around the connection, forming a rigid joint. When done, unplug your soldering iron and let it cool.


click for larger view

Slip each piece of 3/32-inch HST completely over the corresponding splice. Then, using a lighter or a match, move the flame smoothly back and forth along the entire length of the tubing, with the tip of the flame just beneath it. If you hold the flame too long in one spot or too closely to the tubing, you will notice smoke. If this happens, lower your flame and continue moving it back and forth. The tubing will visibly shrink, and will be acceptably tight-fitting after only 10-15 seconds of heating. See the results to the left.


	click for larger view


click for larger view

Slide the 3/16-inch HST over the gray 2-conductor cable so that it completely covers the two spliced wires. The photo to the left shows the HST before it's been slipped all the way over the wires.

Use a flame as before to shrink the tubing. The result is shown to the right.

The last thing to do is add the RCA plug to the free end of the cable. Unscrew the black jacket from the RCA plug as shown in Figure 1 below.
Refer to Figure 2. Push the black jacket over the cable. If you find the fit too tight, snip off part of the collar that grips the cable. Once you have the jacket on the cable, strip back the gray insulation 1/4 inch. Then strip the red and black wires 1/8 inch.
Important: Don't crimp the metal tabs around the gray insulation before soldering. If you do, the heat of soldering can melt the insulation. Now thread the red wire through the smaller of the two solder lugs and solder it. Then solder the black wire to the longer lug. This lug can take a lot of heating since there's so much metal. Make sure that it gets hot enough for the solder to flow freely. The metal takes a while to cool down, so don't touch it for a while. After you've finished soldering, examine the connections for stray wire strands. Clip off any that you find. Figure 3 shows the completed solder joints.
Crimp the metal tabs around the gray cable and screw the jacket on. The completed connector is shown in Figure 4.
The completed cable for connection from the trigger box to a flash unit is shown in Figure 5.


Figure 1. Removing the jacket from the RCA plug	Figure 2. Stripping wires in preparation to add RCA connector	Figure 3. RCA plug connected to the red and black wires	Figure 4. RCA plug connected to cable	Figure 5. Completed VPC2 cable

Assembly instructions for other kits