Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

My first outdoor shoot with CC's & Einsteins didn't go as expected today because the CSXCV apparently couldn't receive power-adjustment signals from the CC. There was a beauty dish mounted on the Einstein, and I was standing 12-15 feet in front of the BD. Power was supplied by a Vagabond II. Oddly enough, the CC consistently fired the Einstein, but I had to move behind the light to change power settings. This same setup worked okay indoors.

In terms of interference, we were standing next to creek, and the nearest electricity was at least 500+ yards away.

I'll play around with this more as time permits.

Thanks Paul,
Joe mentioned the antenna mod attenuation. I will go ahead and order CST to supplement and understand what is going on. This will also offer the different scenarios for triggers and may offer some other alternatives for setup in the future that I have not explored.

One question regarding my existing CC. Since this modification is hardware and not software related could my CC be upgraded somehow with this modification?

I understand that the range on the CC will never be the same as CST and that is why I do not mind ordering the additional gear, but I may use the CC in the field again and would only need the short distance to work 100%.

Again, I did try last night the different frequencies as you and the TS recommended and it worked without any problems. I am not in the same environment where I can test to see if these different settings offer any improvement.

Thank you again as always.

Big Iron,
Your setup and response was nearly identical to the situation I have been talking about. I had one of my E on a baseball field in the middle of no where with the HOBD shooting some team shots. When I worked behind it worked most of the time, but when I went in front to do some close up shots and to meter my light, then it would not trigger. I had to switch to sync cord and then just used my back up meter. I know I could still have used the CC for meter, but when I could not get it to work right, I put it in the case and went back to my old trusted and true as the situation would not let me slow down at the moment.
I think I will go ahead and pick up the CST for the range increase. I spoke with Joe at PCB for over an hour the other day working through the scenario. They recommended to try other frequencies in the same scenario. I was only able to try the difference in the home studio, but I was not having any problems here to start with on triggering. This is why it is so confusing.

Happy shooting.

350' in your house :o That would be bigger than Al Gore's spread ;)

No, I don't have a 350' house. The 350' measurements where from across the street with the receiver at my front door. We have done similar tests at our offices and other locations with the same result.

This whole CC range thing is a big surprise to us. We have done a number of tests and have seen diminished range over CST, typically 60' to 120' line of site depending on antenna orientation. The 10' and 20' reports are a complete surprise.

I have ordered urgent improvements to the antenna tuning by the RF developer. No CC user will get stuck with this sort of performance but this cannot be fixed with firmware, rather it will require our shipping a no cost replacement unit once improvements are made.

Thanks Paul,
I knew you would take care of us. I will keep watch to know when you have some improvements. I am also going to purchase the CST next week as both backup alternative and options increase for the system.
Since only a couple of us are reporting this then we are isolated incidents, others are just using them in studio or some other situation. In the two reported cases in this discussion we are both using them in remote areas where outside electrical interference should not be operating in the radio range.
Whereas I am having no problem in my home studio and everything in the house RF is on that frequency (ie. phones, internet).
Even though in the outside situation, I am using the beauty dish as the modifier, I also tried to prove that this was causing some interference but in the home studio again with this modifier on I can completely leave the room without line of site and 30 feet away and it triggers without problem.
Obviously outside line of site should be even better, but it my case it was a lot worse unless I was standing behind the lights. Even that I was only 10-15 feet away at any given time.
Thank you again as always.

Along with improving the range/reliability of the CC, I strongly suggest doing something to improve the durability of the plastic screen. Perhaps moving to the same material used on the iPod/iPhone would do the trick. As it is, my CC is beginning to show mars & scratches after minimal use. I wouldn't care if the price went up to cover the add'l expense.

fyi - I went out this morning with an Einstein (with CSXCV), Beauty Dish, CC and CST, and duplicated yesterday's experience. It's becoming rather clear that the reliability of the CC/CSXCV combination is inversely proportional to the distance between the two devices, at least when there's a beauty dish involved. At distances beyond 15', the CSXCV would not respond to power changes coming from the CC, and I had to press the CC's trigger button 5 or more times just to get the Einstein to fire once; it fired every time when triggered by the CST.

I would second that. The screen on my CC came pre-scratched, despite the plastic protective membrane. A much more scratch-resistant display cover is needed.

Dave F.