[molotschna]

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So I bought a used Vivitar 285HV on ebay for something like $30. I was pretty excited -- I've been told that they're the best inexpensive option out there. Only catch is that the shoe had previously been broken. I received in the mail today a flash with some wires sticking out of the bottom and a new plastic shoe mount, ready for installation.

Problem is I can't tell which wire is supposed to connect to what and where. So I'm hoping that one of you brave souls might be willing to unscrew the two screws holding the shoe mount assembly in place and take some snapshots of the wiring inside. That should be enough for me to get a jumpstart on this reassembly project.

And just so everyone feels safe, I have discharged the flash and removed the batteries, so it shouldn't be able to zap me. If anyone is willing to help me out with this, I recommend you do the same.

Thanks!

[k0og]

Metal replacement hot shoes are being sold on eBay, and the listing includes an instruction. Take a look:

Metal Vivitar Hot Shoe For 283 & 285 NEW | eBay

There are also some comments at this site:

Vivitar 285 flash and metal hot shoe - FixYa

Conclusion: Red wire to center pin, black wire to outer slide.

-Joe-

[SOldBear]

I received in the mail today a flash with some wires sticking out of the bottom and a new plastic shoe mount...

Can you post a photo of the bottom of the flash. How many wires is "some" wires? I don't have a 285, but think there should be 2 wires: ground and sync. Let the flash charged up and measure the voltage between two wires. The ground wire should go to the side(s) of the foot, the sync (positive) wire should go to the center pin.

[molotschna]

Here you go (blur added for dramatic effect, of course). There is a black, a red, a green and a white wire. Nothing is at the end of the red wire, the black one has both a large silver metal piece that goes in multiple directions and has a big hole in its middle, the green ends in a gold colored ring and the red ends in a relatively L-shaped gold piece.