Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

The AB and WL units are rather sensitive to having proper power. They will often work, but have strange issues like spontaneous flashes and strobing.

I do a lot of location portraiture in some historic houses in my area. Many of them have somewhat spotty combinations of several generations of electrical codes, all the way back to still-active knob-and-tube that (against code) have been wired to 3-prong outlets. In short, just because it looks like a grounded outlet, it might not actually be grounded.

I was in one home where a light did nothing but strobe from one outlet and mostly worked but spontaneously flashed from another outlet--of the same room.

I carry a small circuit tester that plugs in and shows me by three lights whether the circuity is properly wired. But what I do more often is just carry three Vagabonds with me and dispense with using the local power at all, except when necessary.