Taming long strobe arms out of the water:

The orange dots are bead-to-loop connections.

• what you'll need:
  • Three 20mm beads with 3mm hole (check ebay)
  • 10 feet (3 meters) of 3mm dacron accessory cord
  • matches or a lighter to seal the ends of the cord
  • total material cost less than $10.00
• assembly instructions:
  • start by wrapping one end of the 3mm line tightly with scotch tape and cutting the line through the tape (result: a clean non-fraying end that you can thread beads on)
  • if the beads cannot be threaded on the line, you'll have to run a drill through the hole to enlarge it (I used a 5/32" drill bit and clamped the bead in a vice to do this.)
  • thread all three beads on the 3mm line
  • bead section
    • tie an Osterman's Stopper knot at the end of the line
    • slide one bead to the stopper knot
    • measure 10" from the base of the bead along the line
    • wrap the point you want to with scotch tape
    • cut at 10" through the tape
    • tie a bowline on that 10" tag end
    • repeat two more times
  • loop section
    • measure 10 to 12" of line
    • wrap the point you want to cut with scotch tape
    • cut at your mark through the tape
    • tie a sheet bend to form a loop
    • repeat two more times
  • light a candle and heat seal all the ends to prevent fraying
  • installing
    • one bead section and one loop section for each of the three points noted above.
    • lay the loop across the part you want to attach it to
    • thread the other end through the loop
    • pull tight (you just tied a Lark's Head knot)
• Questions you might have:
  • Why use three bead-to-loop connections when one at the top looks like it would work?
    Answer: the outside arm segments could still swing if you grab anywhere except the top corner of the triangle.
  • Why not use only the two lower bead-to-loop connections?
    Answer: the third buckle at the top locks the arms and camera tray in to a rigid triangle so it won't move no matter what point you grab it on.

Bead to loop connection: