Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a cheaper
alternative?


Patrick

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

"Patrick L." wrote:

The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a cheaper
alternative?

Patrick

You could look for a used power pack. Find something that can connect to your
existing lights, and make a deal. Unless you really want something new, there
are often good used deals to be found.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
Alliance Graphique Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

"Gordon Moat" wrote in message
...
"Patrick L." wrote:

The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a
cheaper
alternative?

Patrick

You could look for a used power pack. Find something that can connect to
your
existing lights, and make a deal. Unless you really want something new,
there
are often good used deals to be found.

Ciao!



Well, AlienBees run on AC power, no DC input jack, so just a DC power pack
won't do, that is why I asked.

The Vagabond system is a battery, and another inverter thingy which converts
it to AC 120 volts, or something like that.


Patrick

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 18:42:13 GMT, "Patrick L."
wrote:

The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a cheaper
alternative?


Patrick

Seems to me that all they're using is a 12V DC/AC converter (inverter)
to supply 110V power to the flash. Can't you find something like this
at Radio Shack or elsewhere? Just make a compact bundle out of a
lead-acid 12V battery (the kind used in UPS units) and the inverter,
that's all there is to it.

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

Subject: Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery


The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a
cheaper
alternative?



buy a UPS battery backup system to power your AC lights, though I'd like to
find one that didn't shreek the warning beep.

or find a Norman 400b and use an LH head with a modeling light.

this reply is echoed to the z-prophoto mailing list at yahoogroups.com

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

"zeitgeist" wrote in message
news:ac4Lb.779895$Fm2.758751@attbi_s04...

Subject: Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery


The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a
cheaper
alternative?



buy a UPS battery backup system to power your AC lights, though I'd like
to
find one that didn't shreek the warning beep.

or find a Norman 400b and use an LH head with a modeling light.

this reply is echoed to the z-prophoto mailing list at yahoogroups.com




I had one (before it died on me) for my computer. However, it did not work
as a remote AC battery for my monolights.


Patrick

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

"Patrick L." wrote in message
hlink.net...

"zeitgeist" wrote in message
news:ac4Lb.779895$Fm2.758751@attbi_s04...

Subject: Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery


The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a
cheaper
alternative?



buy a UPS battery backup system to power your AC lights, though I'd like
to
find one that didn't shreek the warning beep.

or find a Norman 400b and use an LH head with a modeling light.

this reply is echoed to the z-prophoto mailing list at yahoogroups.com




I had one (before it died on me) for my computer. However, it did not
work
as a remote AC battery for my monolights.


Patrick


If you buy an invertor, (12 VDC to 115 VAC) make sure it can handle the
wattage. The little cheap ones (around 140 watts) won't drive bright
photoflood lights. Buy an invertor that can handle the wattage of your
lighting setup or you'll just be wasting your money.

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

There is an alternative, but without the nice carrying bag. Wal-Mart
has a portable 15 Amp Hour vehicle battery/DC Power Source with its own
charger for about $40.00. They also have a 350 watt inverter for about
$60.00.

So, for around $100.00 you have a portable 350 watt AC supply.

That should do the trick for a couple of heads.

Patrick L. wrote:
The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a cheaper
alternative?


Patrick

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

Ok, but has anyone really tried this?

The information on the Vagabond/Alien Bees is that the flash units may be
damaged by anything other than a true sine wave inverter.

True sine wave inverters are expensive, but the modified sine wave inverters
a la WalMart are relatively cheap.


"Dave" wrote in message
...
There is an alternative, but without the nice carrying bag. Wal-Mart
has a portable 15 Amp Hour vehicle battery/DC Power Source with its own
charger for about $40.00. They also have a 350 watt inverter for about
$60.00.

So, for around $100.00 you have a portable 350 watt AC supply.

That should do the trick for a couple of heads.

Patrick L. wrote:
The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a
cheaper
alternative?


Patrick

Portable AlienBees w/Vagabond battery
 

"Bobs" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 Jan 2004 18:42:13 GMT, "Patrick L."
wrote:

The whole Vagabond thing is very expensive. Does anyone know of a
cheaper
alternative?


Patrick

Seems to me that all they're using is a 12V DC/AC converter (inverter)
to supply 110V power to the flash. Can't you find something like this
at Radio Shack or elsewhere? Just make a compact bundle out of a
lead-acid 12V battery (the kind used in UPS units) and the inverter,
that's all there is to it.

No, that's NOT "all there is to it". It is, indeed, an inverter that is
necessary but garden variety "Radio Shack" inverters are not true sine wave
inverters.

The electronics in Alien Bees require true sine wave input power. These
inverters are available, but cost more than the cheapos you find at Wal-Mart
and Radio shack. Do a Google search as I don't have time now to look up
sources of supply... but they are not hard to find.

Tom