There are two reasons you are looking at this post.  You either use speedlights a lot due to their small size and weight or you are insanely cheap.  Either way, this bracket is both cheap and useful for both sides.  I tend to use big lights for most of my lighting, however on a lot of trips with air travel I’m forced to bring a limited kit due to baggage limitations.  I’ve had a 2-flash bracket setup for a while now to double up my speedlights and get a bit more output from the little guys.  After breaking one of the delrin shoe mounts on it, I decided to make a bigger one.  I’ve wanted to be able to mount three or four speedlights on one stand before so this was a great time to do so.

Now don’t try to fool yourself, four speedlights aren’t going to equal an Elinchrom Ranger, Quadra or Alien Bees 800 or 1600.  They will however boost your output to help fill in the blanks a bit more with less weight in the dreaded 50 pound limit checked airline baggage.

There are a few options out there for this application, (like the Dot Line RPS Studio Light Bar) however the shoe mounts used just do not hold the flashes securely enough for my taste.  I’d rather spend a few extra bucks on knowing that my speedlights are secure.  Another good option is the Interfit INT337 Strobies Triple Flash Bracket, it’s smaller than my bracket which is great for travel, however two of the three flashes are mounted vertically, changing the beam pattern and there’s only room for three flashes instead of four.

For all you insanely cheap people out there, you could find cheaper shoe’s out there and then just bolt them on with 3/4”- 1/4”x20 bolts and save a few bucks. I chose the Stroboframe shoe’s beceause they are bomber. I’ve had a few different ones made of delrin, other plastics with some metal, and they all seem to break. These stroboframe one’s are bomber, and have strong clamping power to keep your speedlights on the bracket, and off the ground.

So if you are willing to take a bit more time than ordering something off B&H’s website to get something a bit larger, more versitile and tougher, then read on, the directions on how to make your own quad speedlight bracket is below.

Tools needed:

• Hacksaw
• Box end wrenches or ratchet/sockets
• Drill + 3/8″ drill bits

Parts needed:

• 1”(w) x 1/8”(d) x 48”(l) Flat Aluminum (Home Depot) ($12)
• (2) 1/4” x 20 Nylon Locknut (Home Depot) ($0.30)
• (1) 2-1/2” x 1/4”-20 thread bolt(Home Depot) ($0.15)
• (1) Umbrella bracket ($18) (B&H, or your closet)
• (4) Stroboframe shoe mount (B&H – $9.50/ea)
• Total: $68.45

Directions:

• Cut flat aluminum bar to 14” length

• Mark aluminum for drilling – 3/16” drill bit
  • Hole #1 – 1” from the end
  • Hole #2 – 4” from Hole #1
  • Hole #3 – 2” from Hole #2
  • Hole #4 – 2” from Hole #3
  • Hole #5 – 4” from Hole #4 (or 1” from the end)

• Screw nylon locknut #1 on to the bolt about 3/4” down the bolt.

• Put the bolt through the center hole of the flat aluminum bar (hole #3)
• Screw locknut #2 to the bolt securely on the other side of the flat aluminum bar to secure the bolt in place leaving the bolt flush with the top of locknut #2

• Screw on each flash shoe to the flat aluminum bar.

I’m out to Mt. Bachelor in a few days to continue with the Spring terrain park shoot season with shoot number five with Poor Boyz Productions.

What you will need:

• 16 Gauge or thicker wire. Speaker wire can even work, although it’s good to have one side black, one red when you are putting it together.
• (2) Anderson Connectors – Slip-fit connectors that are simply amazing. You can find them at hobby shops and at specialty electronic parts supply stores (NOT at Radio Shack, they are worthless for these types of things.)
• (2) inline fuse holders.
• (2) wire nuts
• (2) crimp fit terminal connectors (battery connection)
• 25 amp blade fuses that fit in your fuse connectors. They make mini ones, which are nice and small. Also out there are fuses that have a LED on them that light up when your fuse is blown. Sometimes this just happens and when you are trying to setup lights in the dark, it’s nice to be able to see that in the case that you blew out a fuse. Can save some frustration!
• 12 Volt Sealed Lead-Acid battery. 15ah suggested for Alien Bee 1600′s, 10ah could work for AB 800′s, 7ah can work for a AB 400. I get about 250 pops or so at full power from the 15ah battery with an Alien bee 1600. Lead is expensive right now, you are basically paying the same at most battery shops locally that you would buying online these days.
• True / Pure Sine wave inverter, 150w continuous output (or more)
  This is the best I’ve found it’s , small, light, 300w capacity –
  AIMS 300 Watt PURE Sine Wave Power Inverter
  
• American Tourister toilitries bag from Wal-Mart. This bag fits perfect for the 150w inverter and 15ah battery that come in the original Paul Buff Inc. Vagabond power pack. You could probably find something that fits better with the smaller inverter listed above and a smaller battery but for the parts I’m using it fits sung and well.

I have a set of Anderson connectors at the end of the wire going to the charger. I’ve cut the wire coming out of the charger and put Anderson connectors on those as well for a quick connect to the charger. As for a charger you can just get a car/marine battery charger at any store. I go for the 2-4-6 amp chargers. If you have a 15ah battery you can charge at up to 6amps, 4 amps for a 10ah battery, 2 amps for a 7ah battery.

Other than that, just follow the wiring diagram and you’ll be all set.

If you want a faster recycle time, then you can get a larger inverter. If you want more capacity you can get a bigger battery. It all depends on the size and weight you are willing to lug around.

Power pack specs:
12.2 lbs (15ah battery, Samlex 150w inverter)
10″x10.5″x4″

I am not an engineer, electrician or by any means qualified to design any sort of electrical systems. Use this information at your own risk.

So, it’s an easy fix and if you’ve used these things a lot, you’ll want to have a bunch of extra hotshoe feet sitting around just in case they break very easily.
CAS-PW-Shoe LPF037
P/N# 360797

Remove the 5 screws, make sure you keep track of which screw goes where, there are different thread pitches and lengths.

Remove the batteries and push the circut board out of the plastic case through the battery compartment. Pull the broken hotshoe foot out of the hotshoe contact.

All the pieces of the puzzle. Pinch the outer prongs of the hotshoe contact together and slip the new hotshoe on over the hotshoe contact.

Slide the circuit board back into the housing. Make sure you put all the buttons back on and screw it all back together. That was easy huh?

To order parts in the USA, contact Pocket Wizard (MAC Group) directly at:

PocketWizard USA
8 Westchester Plaza
Elmsford, NY 10523
914.347.3300
info@pocketwizard.com

Outside of the USA go here and select your country:
http://www.pocketwizard.com/support/repair/

The part you need is:

CAS-PW-Shoe LPF037
P/N# 360797