I have a Brown Line 604 power pack...it's a pretty small pack that has never been all that popular compared with the D402. The biggest "problem" with the 604 is that it's quite powerful with only one head hooked up. One easy solution is to look for a Y-cable, which will cut the actual watt-seconds used by half, so if you need less power and do not want to hook up additional heads, just plug the Y-cable into any one of the four outlets to get a lower output. The 4-light DM604 package costs A TON more money than just buying the D604 pack and heads a la carte. The D604 has *never* been popular,and I bought one last year for $109. The DM604 package is a total rip-off! It has two M90 and two MW3R heads--MW3R heads are almost useless, have no umbrella mounts,and are a bad buy. The set costs $1,142 new,and is worth about $300 on eBay...seriously! Two M90 lights are worth $125,tops, while MW3R's are worth $35 each. The M90 is a handy light,very versatile, but the MW3R's sold in the 4-light kit are more for location lighting and backgrounds,and are not very versatile.
These lights and packs will last 2 decades, or more. There are professional eBay shops selling Brown Line stuff every week,at fair prices. Get two M-11 heads with two 11.5 inch grid reflectors and a grid set, and two M90 heads, from eBay and save $600 over the price of the DM604 kit,and have a better,more-versatile setup.
Here is a quoted passage from my blog article
Derrel's Photography Blog: My 99th Blog Post: Speedotron Overview 2008
"If there's a problem with the D604,it is that it is SO powerful with only one light attached. Several lower-end standard version Brown Line light units are equipped with only 400 watt-second flash tubes,meaning the full power of the 604 cannot be used with those lights unless they are upgraded to the Q or Quartz-type flashtubes,with higher W-S capacity. With one light, the D604 will deliver 600,450,300,or 225 watt-seconds, and 225 w-s is often more light output than is wanted.
HOWEVER, as soon as a second light is added, the D604 can deliver very handy amounts of power, such as 150 and 150 at Full Power Assymetrical,or 75 and 75 at low power Asymmetrical,so the 604's main limitation with today's d-slr's is when ONLY ONE light is being used in rather close quarters. The D604 has an Audible Recycle feature that gives a Beep when the unit is recycled; this feature can be turned on and off by pressing the button. The D604 is compact and straightforward,and has a low voltage triggering system safe for d-slr's. This power supply does not seem to be very popular,and it often sells for very low prices on the used market."
Also, "the M90 light unit delivers a pretty high Guide Number per watt-seconds of power used>>SNIP>the M90's are much more efficient than M11 heads in delivering Guide Number per watt-seconds used,at least with the 7 inch reflectors on the M11's in umbrella configuration. Looking carefully at my 1987 Speedotron Brown Line manual, it specifies that at 400 watt-seconds, an M90 unit will deliver a GN of 210, while the M11 will deliver a GN of 120 with the 7 inch reflector and a GN of 220 using an 11.5 inch reflector which was AT THAT TIME,spec'd as a 65 degree reflector, while the 16 inch deep pan reflector will deliver a GN of 160. So, in an umbrella type configuration, the M90 light unit's 8.5 inch reflector which is silvered all around the flashtube will deliver a pretty potent f/21 light burst at 400 watt-seconds, while an M11 light and its 7 inch reflector will deliver a less-powerful f/12 exposure."
Bottom line? It's nice to have some M90 heads and also M11 light heads. My article discusses 22 years with Speedotron Brown Line. The MW3U light head is often available on eBay for $35-$45. Lastolite's enclosed "Umbrella Box" is a very nice portriture umbrella,and is in NO WAY like the cheap brolly-box things Paul C. Buf sells. One is an enclosed,reflecting,flat-faced umbrella mad with top-qulsity materials, and the Buff brolly box has a curved front,and is nothing more than a shoot-through brolly with a back cover. PM me with any questions you might have.
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/31/31742-596f6bbc60b2ba7fed2cd25f5aacf41c.jpg?1734160458)
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/31/31741-ad9747739b48f0eb100f953fdf764930.jpg?1734160458)
