Ok... as you may recall,...I had a severe problem with my White Lighting Vagabond power system....after one of the converters burned out so to speak after I accidentally left the "international" "0 - " / Off & On switch mixed up and "over charged" the unit.. Unfortunately, I am too dumb to know the difference in the dark..and I left one of the convertwes "On" wshile charging...and left it charge longer than was nessessary...which apparfently fried it... which was my damn fault.. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I only wish there was some sort of better set-up for this IMO, easy to over look condition... Now I know better...
The other problem that was happening before I managed to fry one of the two converters was that it was flickering with my Ultra series White Lightning lights when I was working out doors...in doors, it seemed to work just fine...go figure.. but outdoors, I was missing 1 out of 4 or so shots...and I wasn't shooting too fast either..
Well, I called up the WL tech dept, and they said...just send it in...since it's still under warranty.....so I did..and then they sent me a brand spanking new one....at no cost to me! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] They went over the importance of the turning off the converters off when charging them...and made sure that I knew what those symbols meant..which I did but didn't see.. which just means that I have to be more careful in the future..... anyway, they also mentioned that I should not use the modeling lamps in my lights...that will drain the heck out of it much quicker... Ok... good to know.. Then they mentioned that for some reason, there was a problem with the "ground" in the way the Ultra series lights (only the Ultra series...not their current product lines) were made...and that they noticed this some two months ago.. (about the time when I ordered mine)...and their engineers went over the systems, made a change, and informed me that this shouldn't happen again...and that I must have ordered one of the last units made which wasn't fixed before leaving the factory.. Ok... cool...they fixed that problem and now I test it on a location job...untested (I know bad idea...I know better than this....but I had back-up with my Norman 400B kit)...and I set it up....and used it....and it worked just fine! Absolutelty no problems at all.. I managed to get a very flattering editorial in shoot today that is going to pay for another Vagabond. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
I am very Happy with the service I got from White Lightning!
Which reminds me.. I managed to burn out an Ultra 1200 light unit just prior to having a problem with the power system....by shooting it over 1000 times within 3 hours..at full power...with the modeling lamp on full...inside a 16x20 soft box up next to the ceiling in my studio....and abused it to death.. Well, it didn't work when it cooled off.... I sent it in... & they quoted me $50.00 to look it over...and to see what the problem was....they also mentioned that if it was too far gone, they would put that $50.00 towards a replacement light from their current product line....hmmm...ok....that's nice of them....but the next thing I know, I get a call from them....they fixed the problem....some "head" had to be replaced...and they replaced the flash tube...and informed me that it was only going to cost me $50.00 total! I had them UPS it to me...next day air........18 hours later, it arrived in time for my weekend shoot..and it worked just fine!
I have heard for years that White Lightning has some of the best customer service...but I never tested it because I have owned their Ultra 1800 & 1200 series lights for 12 years without ever having to repair them....and even after explaining the problem that I created with the Vagabond power system, even after admitting that what happened was because of my fault....even reading off the part in the instruction book on the phone and admitting what I did wrong, they told me that they would replace it anyway!!! Un real! where else can I get that remarkable service?! I really appreciate great service and just wanted to pass on the good word about them! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
They are good people and I am a loyal customer!
JP
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