Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I have been using the Cyber Commander for a few weeks now, LOVE IT!
One problem that I can not figure out.
I have a 4 light setup, Alien Bee 800's.
All Bee's have a Cyber Sync + connected with the included phone cord.
One of the lights will not keep the model lamp on.
I go into the setup of the commander and the model lamp is set to off.
I try to change it, it will not let me adjust.
I keep trying and every once in awhile, it lets me turn it back on.
I start to shoot, and the modeling lamp goes back off.
The strobe fires, but no modeling lamp.

Can not figure this out.

Also, I've tried different modeling lamp bulbs.
Tried different channels etc...

First, make sure the lights all have the power slider to the far right (full power) and all modeling light buttons pushed in. Nest, make sure the light itself is not plugged into a surge protector, and the outlet is properly grounded. Be sure to use alkaline or lithium batteries in the CC. Also, be sure you are on the correct channel when setting the model lamp. If all of this checks out, swap the entire reciever, cords, etc. to another light (and that lights reciever to the problematic light). Does the problem follow the light or the reciever? You said you tried a different channel, what about a different frequency?

Please let us know what you find!

TS

Thanks for the response.

I swapped out the Cyber Sync with one from another light. Problem goes away.
Took the suspect Cyber Sync and connected it to a different light, problem comes back.
It would appear that the problem is with the Cyber Sync.
Ever heard of this?

Everything is set right on the light, modeling lamp is lit, as soon as I plug the Cyber Sync in, modeling lamp goes out.
Also, the other day I noticed that the problematic Cyber Sync will just randomly turn its self off. It will not trip the strobe anymore. I check the Cyber Commander and it says that light was turned off!

A couple more things to check before we can be certain. leave the remotes where they are, but change channels with the problematic one. Does the problem persist? Also, change frequency.

If the issues persist with the same reciever, then it is likely the reciever.

One thing I would like to see is a debug mode/screen added to the Paul C Buff digital protocol (if not there already), CyberCommander, the Einstein, and elsewhere where possible, alongside a discovery mode.

Basically the purpose would be to capture any crash capture stack trace, and/or identify a reproducible sequence of steps leading to the issue, and/or eliminate the scenarios that work OK, in an automated or semi-auto manner. And save the info on the SD card. To resolve some bad crash cases the device could be put in debug mode to capture telemetry into a file on the SD card until crashes, at which point the card can be removed and the contents of the file emailed to you folks to significantly speed up and streamline this troubleshooting process.

Tried a few other channels, same problem...
At this point, I think I have ruled out all potential causes.

Ok, if it follows that particular reciever, it will need to be replaced. Please contact Customer Service for assistance in doing so.