Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I recently purchased 2 Quantaray 900AW. It was my poor mans attempt at a strobist kit. I used a Flash Zebra hot shoe adapter to try to fire them. It would fire once, but only once.

I ran the same test with a Canon 420EX, and got the same results.

When I press the test button on the transmitter it will not fire, neither will the test button on the receiver. Is this a problem with they Cybersyncs?

Exactly how is your setup configured? I tried a CSR+ receiver plugged into house mains, and connected to various Canon strobes (300TL, 430EX, 580EX, and 580EXII models) with the 1/8" mono to PC cord that ships with the CSR+. Since only the 580EXII has a native PC connection port, I used a hotshoe sync adapter with a PC port on it's side for all tests.

In every case, the strobes fired when triggered by the test button on the CSR+, CC, and CST units anytime the strobe ready light was lit without fail. I usually trigger my Speedlites with Pocket Wizards, as I only have a few CSR+ units at the present time, and use them with PCB flash units. I have used them with Speedlites on several occasions in the past, but your question prompted me to test CyberSync with all of my Speedlites in one sitting. I found no problems at all, but did note that just as when triggered by the camera hotshoe, Speedlites will not fire at all unless they are fully charged, and the ready light is glowing.

Is it possible that the batteries in your strobes were running low, making for long recycle times? Make a point of looking for a lit ready light on your strobes before you pop them, and see if that is a factor in your failure to fire problem.

Voyager

I have the Cybersync receiver plugged into a standard wall outlet, with a pc cord connected to the flash zebra hot shoe adapter, with is then put on the bottom of the Quantaray 900AW.

The ready light is illuminated about 3 seconds after the unit fires. So I feel that the batteries are good, but I will look to see if I have another set to test with.

I just found out when I press the test button on the flash zebra adapter, the flash fires, but it isn't a full strength blast, it is more like a light from a cell phone or something.

That's good info. Since the problem spans two different strobes, and in light of the way the one strobe responds to pressing the Zebra test button, it may well be that your Zebra adapter is kaput (which is to say busted). You could prove it one way or another if you can dig up a mono plug with about six inches of wire still connected to it that fits the CSR socket.

Then, you can strip the end of the wire into it's two component wires, and have someone hold one wire to the center hotshoe contact on a strobe, and the other to the metal hotshoe itself while you press the test button on the CSR. I'm betting that it will work fine, and if so, the Zebra is the culprit.

Voyager

PS.... I didn't know that the Zebra hotshoe sync adapter had a test button. I use cheap Pentax adapters with a PC socket built in at the present time, and plan to buy a few Zebra adapters for their ability to accept mono plugs as well (I hate PC connectors), but adding a test button to a hotshoe sync adapter serves absolutely no purpose other than being a marketing gimmick, and a totally unnecessary potential point of failure down the road (IMHO)

So, after reading you last reply, I realized a way to test the flash zebra adapter. I hooked it up my StudioMaxx, and it worked. As did the Cybersyncs. So the only thing left is the batteries, as they were the constant in all situations.

OK, you used the same set of batteries in both units? Could be bingo! I hope so, as I prefer a happy ending to a story that doesn't involve waiting for a replacement device!

Voyager

One last question, before I give up for the night. What if the batteries are not the problem? Where else should I look for support?

I posted on www.photography-on-the.net and a guy said that his roommate has the same flash, and his cybersyncs will not fire them.

depending on the adapter and dedication of the flashes, it could be the contacts are contacting metal when they are not supposed to. You can try a piece of electrical/gaffers tape. Only the center contact and edge rail should be bare.

additionally, some speedlites (those that are 3rd party, dedicated flashes) are not compatabile (with any remote). I presume this is due to reverse engineering of the protocol. Please advise if you find a solution!

Tech Support made a great point about unused contacts, but I doubt the Canon strobe has compatibility issues, as even though I didn't test that exact unit, I did test most Canon strobe families from before, and since your model was built, and had zero issues. I just tested both Canon handle mount strobes from the FD era, and they work fine as well. I don't know about the Quanteray unit, but I understand that it is a very basic unit that shouldn't cause a problem.

As an aside, I use a boatload of rechargeable batteries, and every now and then, I find a strobe or other device that happens to be very particular about the shape of the + contact (they do vary among rechargeable cells), and sometimes, how far the plastic body sleeve extends over the radius formed by the transition from the body proper to the flat - end of the battery. Mixing types can be exasperating when trouble pops up. Always feed your devices full sets of fresh batteries of a type they happen to like.

Voyager