I've been looking for some old, cheap strobes that I could take to "risky" locations, ones I dont really worry about getting banged up, or broken.

I had a friend offer to sell me a set of 3 novatron 240ws heads with the power pack for $150.00.  Well this fits the bill as far as cheap goes and at that price if If they get knocked over and broken, no biggie at all.

My question is about light modifiers for these.  I looked at them and they have a large round shape to them and I'm curious if its easy to find speed rings to put on my softboxes, and are there things like grids readily available that will fit these things?  I looked at the novatron website and really didnt see anything about grids or the like for them. 

Any advice, suggestions or direction is appreciated.

Buhler....Buhler......   apparently he doesnt use novatron either...hehe.

I had Novatrons.  On the one hand, yes, speed rings, etc are available.  On the other hand, they are harder to find than say Photogenic or Alien Bees.

At $150, I don't see how you could go wrong.

I did do a search on eBay and there was a small selection of speed rings and soft boxes, but not a lot.

If you don't buy them, introduce me to your friend.  I will buy them for that!

I own maybe 8 Novatron packs and 4 monolights and you have me confused.  You say your friend will sell you 3 240w/s heads.  Novatrons traditional basic heads come in 2 flavors, the 20xx series are 500 w/s heads and the 21xx series are 1000 w/s heads.  The 240 w/s products are probably the monolights (head and pack built into one enclosure), but then what're the pack(s) you mention?

If he's selling you 3 monolights, they're a good deal.  Novatron used to make various modifiers for their heads - snoots, gel holders and 2 and 4 leaf barndoors for example and grids that snapped on over the "bowl".  I don't think Novatron made more than one type of grid (don't expect to find 10, 20, 30 and 40 degree versions).

Softboxes are iffier on these monolights.  One can find speed rings that the basic head fixes onto in a way that the softbox is weighing on the speed ring rather than the head itself, but because the monolights don't taper off after the reflector, I don't think you could use those.

Amvona.com sells (and you can find similar ones on Ebay) umbrellas that have a diffusion panel, a silvered interior and an elastic opening that allows any 7" reflector head to point into the umbrella and it becomes a circular softbox.  They're only 29.00 (plus shipping) on amvona for the 43" version.

A little more on Novatrons...

1.  The monolights are heavier than a mere head and so more dangerous to have high up on a stand outdoors.

2.  Novatrons tend to have simple power settings (not a dial with many settings).  The rocker switches may have half and full power or 1/3, 2/3 and full settings.  While technophiles will scoff at this, Novatron fans learn how easy it is to simply move the stand back a couple of feet to knock the light down a fraction of a stop.  If he's selling you actual heads and packs, then you can always plug a second head into the pack to weaken the main light.

3.  You can see my commercial photography site to view photos shot with a combination of Novatron and Speedotron Brown Line equipment (am I old school or what?)...

http://salasphotography.com

yeah it's a good deal, yes there are modifiers for them but generally they're more expensive and in my experience don't work as will.  But if you're just looking for bang around lights, they'd fit the bill.  There were "barebulb" heads that could be fitted into beauty dishes and small soft boxes as well.

If you do get the Novatrons, NEVER unplug a head while the unit's charged and ALWAYS have at least one head on full power plugged in when firing the pack.  These are *very* important rules to remember. (I've seen big sparks)

I've used Novatrons before and with few issues. For that price, buy em. You can get all your modifiers on ebay. I got a snoot for $27 and a speedring for about the same. They're not that durable but for the price you can't complain. I dropped one head and it broke. Bought another on ebay for $50. I'd rec them for anyone wanting a dirt cheap set of strobes that will get the job done. One of the best perks is they often come with a case and stands.

I used to use them before I got my Bees.  They work just fine if you're just getting started out and need a sturdy studio set of lighting.