Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

If you have 120V lights, you will need a 1000W true magnetic transformer. If you plan on more lights, you may consider a bigger transformer. If you have 240V lights, no transformer is needed (there will be a bright orange sticker on the back just to the right of the power plug if it is 240V).

For portable power, you can use our Vagabond II to power 120V Alien Bees, or you may consider the Innovatronix power supply for 240V lights. To make your own, you will need a 300W (or more) voltage regulated pure sine wave inverter and deep cycle battery. The battery should match the input voltage of the inverter (probably 12VDC). The Amperage will dictate how many shots per charge you get, so there is not a particular right or wrong on that. You should also get an inverter which has output voltage matching the lights (i.e. a 120V inverter for 120V lights).

thanks for your replay

my flashes is 120v

:)

and Vagabond II is too expensive :|

i need to know if i use portable power which give me 400w
is it enough for 2 1600w flashes ??

thanks alot :)

400W trasformer is not enough, you will blow fuses

400W portable power (like the Vagabond) can work. However, as mentioned, you will need a pure sinewave inverter. If you do not, then damage can occur to the lights. The damage may be slow or it may be fast, but modified sinewave inverters are not good for our lights. Also, the inverter must be current regulated. This means under a heavy draw (like during recycle) the unit will lower voltage, but continue to output power (like a brown out). Those that do not see the heavy draw, and shut off. This means you will have to reset the inverter after each shot. Inverters that meet those criteria are more expensive, hence the cost of the Vagabond.