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THE BLACK BOX 2022

IN THE BEGINNING  —  

Since the 60’s, I have been in the game a long time.  Maybe not being first with flash pictures which were produced using Black Powder  which coined the phrase, “ Just one more shot”.   It was deep in the coal mine when the photographer asked for the last shot and unfortunately the mountain had accumulated Fire-damp, which is a heavy methane type gas combination that had seeped into the tunnels which was then ignited by his black powder.   It was his,  and the subjects “ Last shot”. 

The next great evolution in artificial photography was the exploding  #5 bulbs which had a tendency to either burn you if you removed them wrong,  got stuck in the housing, you forgot your glove or exploded when you dropped one on the pavement.  I used a lot of them and had the burnt fingers to prove it. My 4x5 and those bulbs probably weighed more than me.

Fortunately or unfortunately they were replaced by companies like Graflex, Honeywell, and Braun who developed a new word and process called the “Capacitor Driven Flash Units or lightning in the box, not an explosion.

They were large units used by professionals and the  “Graflex bowling balls”  power pack was powered by a car battery and clocked in at nine pounds and made orthopedic surgery quite popular.  Did you ever notice many older professional news photographers  lean to one side by the time they retire?

The picture on the right is my ad for the Black Box circa 70’s, when the unit bears strong resemblance to the units of today.   We added a second port, internal fusing, HD wiring made for washing machines, waterproof, better batteries, connections, and fire-proof.  And still build each one by hand, one at a time and use them for spelunking and oxygenators for fishing and extended lighting as on night bike rides, etc.  

— My Market Was The Pros  — WEDDING AND JOURNALISM —  

Our products have been purchased and used by many Wedding Photographers, Paparazzi, Forensic labs,  CSI, Fire Departments, First Responders,  Photo-Journalists, Marathons, Triathlete Events, Sports shooters on all levels of play, Model and Fashion shooters, Birder’s, and Nature shooters using remote setups, Motion sensor triggers, and IR devices. 

I build for bikes for long night rides, cycle riders, the Smithsonian Institute, and the Military.   I have turned out custom packs for Spelunkers, cave exploring dwelling enthusiasts who offered to take me along, I declined the really long wet ones.  In the dark, water dripping on your helmet, wondering “ When will that lake come down on you".

The Black Box, Heavy Duty Power packs were made for extended time range, and heavy shooting to this day, the regular Black Box series supports most common 6v or 4AA Cobra style units.  Since we use SLA no problem with the Airlines. SLA batteries hold a charge longer, depreciate less than NIMH, and have larger capacities.  They also do not injure your strobe.

Our Black Box designs, still hang in there since upgrades are more like simple maintenance, and that can be as much as 6000-8000 plus shots at reduced power. Our guys, did over 5000 shots at the Oscars, and captured 14,000 shots in one day with Black Boxes at a marathon.  But times change and we moved on, Lithium is lighter, wimpier shooter like light. Its other disadvantage is shorter shelf and use life and fire.

With Paypal and the USPS we can now ship worldwide reasonably and our kit includes  Airline safety caps, belt holder, shoulder tabs and a Euro Charger good anywhere included. The Sealed Lead Acid is safe chemistry.  Airline Compliant - SLA, no fires, no confiscations, no getting thrown off.  Our battery is — Not on the FAA-TSA banned list.  

Our battery is higher capacity and lasts a lot longer, less expensive and our pack will last a lifetime.  Our battery will go three - four years or seasons used daily, and as long as six depending on maintaining the proto-call of usage.  It will not burn up your camera case, cause a fire on you flight, or burn up your car in hot weather if the Lithium lights off,  which is known as a thermal runaway or occurrence.  

PRODUCT STATEMENT — THE BLACK BOX  —  1968 - 2022  —  

• THE BLACK BOX is an American product built with selected and measured parts from all over the world.   
• It is 100% all US hand built, hand soldered and sealed using only RoHS Certified Appliance Grade fire proof wiring.  
• We pick the best parts from USA, Denmark, Taiwan, and Japan for findings and components when we can.  Today with CHINA taking over the world, supply is a critical issue.  China builds for the food channel and others and there is more money in pots and pans than photos gear.   
• In my negotiations with them for parts, during the heyday, I bought direct,  I had a 115% percent safety margin which means I get 15% more product free than I order in case something is bad.  You can send things back to China, Impossible, promises made on TV are bullsh*t, lifetime warranties,  just send it back! China is a one way shipper, they take back steel and other items they don’t have. Everything else on TV and promises are bulk pallet shipped, they have no warehouses here.
• The Black Box uses a Sealed Lead Acid battery designed for long term usage. Our 4.5 AMP HOUR battery is not rated in milliamps, thats full amps like your car battery and it is safe.  How safe?  No restrictions from the Airlines and the FAA since Lithium has a problem with fires, and is unstable.  
• Our batteries are pro-rated to five years.  Four times what the litho boys give you.  The batteries are covered fully under the warrantee for one year and pro-rated for five years.
• We have a multi stage charger as the simple instructions dictate.  Our International dual stage charger allows consistent charging.  The second stage in standby mode keeps battery at 100% capacity.   Internationally rated for worldwide usage.  (110-240 50-60 MGRTZ)
• The box is custom cut on a CnC machine for a perfect fit.  It is from Denmark and supplies are getting low.  I got a call from my supplier and she found a carton (maybe fifty) and will start CnC operation for the mounts and connections.
• The twin HD DIN type Chromed ports are from Taiwan.
• Comes with Red POLY Caps as shown for the DIN plugs for when traveling on the airlines. (Included)
• The heavy duty strap rings of 3/16 Zytel / Steel 1/8 ( 3000 PS) rivets with backing plates front and rear.  One was used by a customer to fend off someone trying to grab his camera, the resulting wound in the attackers head almost knocked him out. The heavy tripod finished him off.
• Included industry recognized finest HD UltraClip or the 764 by THE CLIP.COM Brand
• And as an added bonus you can use most Quantum cables for your strobes you might have and we offer free conversion at time of purchase for two of those cables …Voila! 
• Weight: - 2.5 LBS,  Width: - 3.3/4”,  Height: - 6”,  Depth: - 2”  

_____________

NEW RULES - 2022 

• We can take that five or ten year old Black Box and make it into a 2022 and at an average cost of about 75 dollars plus 16.60 return USPS.   Got one eight to ten years older or more we’ll upgrade it, return in a week, upgraded to latest configurations as long as you didn’t split the case by driving over it as some have, or destroyed it during sports events. More common than you might think,  or used it as a defensive weapon putting the assailant in the ER with a split head.
  
  
• Chargers —  Our regulated two stage charger and the "A-C" series chargers are "switching" type devices which operate without the use of transformers. IC's control and regulate current and voltage and semi- automatically switch from the higher fast charge voltage to the lower float voltage when batteries are very close to being fully charged.  
  
  
• On some models the red light run it six hours,  and then turn off  —  turn back on, kit goes green —   and it goes to trickle.   At the float voltage it is safe to leave the battery connected to the charger indefinitely, making charging pretty much fool-proof. 
  
  
• We are looking at upgraded small more powerful chargers now but like anything else  they are from China, every one made is from China and has to be tested.  No matter what the label or brand they all come from Customized PCBA contract manufacturer Shenzhen, China.
  
  
• My packs are fast and safe to the environment, and the shooter.  the death of the Canon 580-1 came about because of one hotshot.     I just don’t push the word fast because there is another side to things rated fast.    When “ Digital Battery Company”  first came out they claimed the fastest accelerated power in the industry.   They made a slight error overclocking the onboard capacitor by .20v.  The sports guys loved it till the 580-I  Canon Flashes blew to hell first time they used it.   
  
  
• Soon the improved 580-II arrived on scene with blocks to prevent that cable from being used.
  
  
• The need for speed by the sports guys created accelerated packs like the Quantum TURBO packs which used a capacitor to capacitor connection from pack to  your Flash and was never intended to have.  Result blown flash and overheating still needing hot batteries in the strobe plus the Turbo, a recipe for disaster.
  
  
• Canon refused warrantee as this was an unlicensed add-on.  DBC went out of business.   Canon took the 580-1 and repaired the onboard wi-fi setup and a new foot and called it the Canon 580-II.   The first 580-I was the fastest strobe ever replaced by a newer model. It had problems.  Didn’t last a year.
  
  
• Safety Concerns   —  Yes, Sealed Lead Acid Batteries (SLA) are declared non-hazardous for air shipping with red caps supplied,  caps in place and secure. In fifty years I only had one Singapore inspector who knew nothing about batteries deny the pack on board.   Yes the pack capable of thousands of partial shots such as Marathon and races are SLA and The TSA will not bust your balls over Lithium.
  
  
• Two ports - It is simply an added value extra port and you may use it as such. Run two flashes off one battery.  The main constraint is that both strobes should be close, preferably the same make and manufacture so they will charge simultaneously. And the red caps are for traveling on the airlines, do not throw them away.  Replacements are 2 for 5.75 includes postage. Yes, the postage is higher than the caps.
  
  
• The black box comes with d-rings for a camera shoulder strap, Users tell us the neoprene straps made and sold by OPTEC are the most popular, work best, they don’t slip and very comfortable.   The pack also comes with THE CLIP, suitable for belt use and with Velcro work great on a light stand.
  
  
• PROVEN OVER FIFTY YEARS OF BUILDING SIMPLE POWER SUPPLIES FOR THE WORKING PHOTOGRAPHER 

SIMPLE UPGRADES AND SHIPPING

BLACK BOX UPGRADED TO 2022 STANDARDS  (ANY YEAR BLACK BOX)

 SPECIAL $75.00 PLUS RETURN POSTAGE. (16.65 USPS)       

• Total Disassembly of entire unit, with some alterations as needed.
• Clean and polish the case within reason, fix a few dents, dings, cracks, and basically try to make it as good as new.
• We do remove old decals and clean case as best. 
• Cases may be sanded, polished or cosmetically enhanced as well as can be.
• Fittings - D rings replaced as needed. 
• New rivets.
• Back Tab reinstalled if needed —  
• 2nd DIN added and RCA removed if older,
• Two matching Dins Installed in 2022 configuration.
• All new RoHS high capacity fireproof wiring installed. (Airline proof) hand soldered, all insulated, no connectors
• RED CAP the DIN PLUGS for the airlines
• Charger is checked and cable upgraded if needed with connectors and DIN plug.
• Flash cables checked, fixed free, upgraded, cleaned of heat and corrosion, retested and field checked.
• New battery installed and tested.
• Usually a one day turnaround, complete upgrades average about 65.00 as a worst case scenario
• Inspections and checkups are free, I only charge for shipping.  No fees for diagnostics (Quantum does charge)  No minimum fees, except the Post Office, and most repairs are back to you within a week.

WE SAVE YOU MONEY, and AGGRAVATION

IF YOU FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS

PRIMARY - I PREFER FOR YOU TO USE USPS PRIORITY MAIL 

• No signature needed. I have a secure location.  Do not ask for a signature card, Priority mail has the best rate and record for two to three day delivery for what I ship and Priority mail is fast, trackable and is free insured to 50.00.
• We use zip locks, ( water proof) regular newspaper as the filler or bubble wrap ( recyclable) and no wrapping paper. Our hot glue seal packaging prevents theft and “slit grabbing”.
  
• If sending a package, call or email first, let me know you are sending me something, when it’s expected and what’s wrong.  Enclose a note specifically with the aforementioned information, correct address and phone numbers.
• Enclose a check or money order,  PayPal for the return postage. Note: It's $16.80 for the return postage as we only use PRIORITY MAIL. 
• Put your name on your gear with a sticker or business card.  Please enclose the charger and /or cable so we may test the whole system and include the module for the flash.   
• If you do, we'll check the cable, tighten things clean and polish the contacts at no charge. 
• The contacts are covered with Red caps as per shipping and airline regulations.  DO not throw them away, the airlines want to see them.                ON PARTIAL POWER AS A MARATHON 5000+
•  Again, include your name address, the nature of the problem or work to be done and your phone numbers and email address.  I do call to confirm I received your package.
  
  

—  We Have To Know What Flash You Are Using  —
 

• Each brand of flash and even different models of the brand might have different battery layouts and thus different cables.  There are plenty of cables and differing models,  maybe 100’s over the time and even some of the Legacy units might be revived.  In addition I modify many of these all the time for some exotic, not as popular specific strobes. Call me, I welcome your questions.  
  
  
• Each flash will have different cable requirement based on its design and I can take most and adapt them.  Ther are plenty in the used stores and on line but check with me first.  Quantum is no longer promotes their small stuff prefer to convince you that thousands of dollars makes better pictures.  Quantum is but a division of a company that like to take dollars —  but they will be yours forever.
  
  
• An old flash in good condition makes a great hair, accent, fill light in manual mode on a stand or umbrella rig, or in adverse conditions like the beach.
  
  
• The kind that looks like four batteries laying on one end,  in line is a MKZ-3 and very popular especially with Nikon of the 800-900 vintage.  The MKZ3 fits quite a large percentage of Nikon, METZ and Olympus, flashes. 
  
  
• Another layout is the MB-A MB5, MB2 series and these are either in a square or trapezoidal aka "drunk rectangle shape.  This list is ever changing as new models come out, but these have also been very popular down through the years, the MB-5, MB2 is popular with Canon units.
  
  
• The four-square is the MB2 used on the 600RT, 580EX II, 430 EX and 430 EX II and the trapezoidal is used on the older first born 580-EX older series.  
  
  
• Cables may look the same but they are not,  the difference is the location of the hot (+) and cold (-) contacts. They are not interchangeable, but may be taken apart, de-soldered  and with skill reassembled correctly.   The reason is contact placement. I do this all the time.  You don’t and it’s confusing and dangerous. Mistakes may be indicated by a horrible smell, and a small burn in your table or a toasted flash unit. 

—  WE HAVE RESURRECTED & POWERED THE FOLLOWING  —  

Just give me a call 727-812-8101 

eMail me at ajacobs2@tampabay.rr.com

MOST COMMON —  CANON — METZ — NIKON — SONY  — 👍YONG NUO

NON-INVASIVE INFORMATION  —  I need some basic information for shipping and tracking purposes.  It is kept in the strictest confidence, what goes on here stays here just like Vegas.  Just list the items or services you want in the "message section" and we'll take it from there. We do not nag or bother you.

Also people call me with one name and then ship to me under another name, and the PayPal is yet another name and no phone numbers. I am not Carnac the Magician.  He retired so I can’t call him anymore.  

Please send the contact email with information for what you need or wish done after you send the PayPal so we may put the two together to form your personal work order:  Put a copy in the box.    My email is ajacobs2@tampabay.rr.com  

WE PREFER PAYPAL  —   It's a better idea for me and you. I do not wish to do business with five different credit card companies and PayPal is the safer, easier way to pay.  I also do not wish to know your credit card number, or your mothers maiden name, or what was the name of your first dog.  I like privacy and PayPal handles it well.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS FAQ  —  I want you to be happy with my product. And I want you to share that happiness with others.   Years ago I adapted the policy of no advertising, spend it on the customers who might need it and let the good word abound, and it will be fruitful.  It was before cellphones, bad financial tactics by manufacturers, COVID, ten year wars and politicians. 

Don’t be shy, call me if you have a problem. Ninety-nine out of one hundred calls I can fix or diagnose over the phone. Father Time, Mother Nature, and her lover Sir Murphy-Lawes sometimes create simple trials like lightning strikes, tornadoes or a flood, surges and brownouts.  You cannot predict wear and tear on electrical digital products and batteries because the power sources, your electrical supply really have variable standards and are so different regionally and even things vary door to door.   Our weather is not our friend anymore.

Not all of the electrical stuff blows because of God.  Man does a fair job of blowing stuff up all by himself.  We do not cover winding up in the dishwasher, swimming pool, spa or the Atlantic Ocean.   One did, but worked till the salt got it all.  The light burnt for a good half hour in sixty feet of salt water before it went out.  So I developed a LED setup with my batteries for underwater markers for divers markers… a tactical resurrection.

We use pretty robust heavy-duty units but nothing is infallible. We do carry replacement chargers in stock, and they are also available from Mouser.  Remember one of the things we work on is simplicity and field repairability. Checkups are free, no charge except for return postage which is 16.80.  I will gladly look at your unit for which there is no charge except return postage and parts. Now lets say you really screwed it up.  We will inspect it and will call and advise you of what we found. Something simple, it is fixed for free and returned.

If your pack comes in for the free checkup, it is over four years old and has been subjected to extreme conditions  a possible battery replacement is suggested because of the cost of postage on another occasion is more than the battery, might as well do it while it’s here.  

Older than three years and we go into upgrade mode.  A bad wire, weak, solder joint, anything correctable that is an anomaly, we take care of and we do not charge you.  Even the best of solder joints ages and I can easily redo them.  My worst cases come in from California beach salt-air communities.

Any neglect or abuse is on your dime. That means dropped boxes, tire imprints, shark bites usually indicated by the dent on the bottom, or the edge can be fixed as I can weld plastics.  If you have a problem with one of my products,  return it  via the recommended method of USPS.  Please contact me at 727 – 812-8101 and let me know you are sending the product back for repair.  You will be given priority service.  

With Paypal and the USPS we can now ship worldwide reasonably and our kit includes  Airline safety caps, belt holder, shoulder tabs and a Euro Charger good anywhere included. The Sealed Lead Acid is safe chemistry.  Airline Compliant - SLA, no fires, no confiscations, no getting thrown off.  Our battery is not on the FAA-TSA banned list.

AGAIN AND CRITICAL FOR SOME WHO TRAVEL —  Our battery is higher capacity and lasts a lot longer, less expensive and our pack will last a lifetime.  If it’s not chewed upon by the dog, fell overboard, used as a weapon to save a guys camera from being stolen,  you backed over your camera bag with your SUV, let someone borrow it, or just forgot it at a wedding.

Our battery will go three - four years or seasons used daily, and as long as six depending on usage.  It will not burn up your camera case, cause a fire on you flight, or burn up your car in hot weather if the Lithium lights off,  which is known as a thermal runaway or occurrence.  And comes with protective caps on the ports for the airlines and it is a Sealed Lead Acid Battery not Lithium.
No restrictions.

ajacobs2@tampabay.rr.com   

NOTE:  ALL OUTBOUND SHIPPING VIA USPS PRIORITY MAIL