Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I had my Vagabond II replaced by PCB about a month ago. The first unit I had failed in the first use due to faulty inverter. So I received a replacement and it was a whole new unit. I charged it overnight the day I received it and stored it on the shelf. I pulled it out a few days ago to use it and to be safe I charged it again for 6 hours. The next morning I went to use it and it lasted about 30 pops of an AB800 flash. No modeling lamp on either. I noticed the morning I went to use it the green light was not on. Only a red light which was blinking. How is it that I received a second Vagabond unit which has failed in the first couple uses? One thing I noticed from the day I received this second unit is that there is a loud buzz or humm coming from the unit both when I am charging it or using it to power a light. It is not the fan because I hear when the fan comes on and off and it sounds normal. This is more like a sound you hear from those high tension powerlines. And it is constant. It does not change when the fan clicks on and off. Has anyone else experienced this? Tech Support, What do you think?

The buzz/hum you describe is normal, particularly if the unit has a load on it, i.e. charging, running lights, etc. During the charge phase, the buzz will dissipate as the charge increases. Running light, it will remain constant, unless more load is introduced (turn the model lamps on and off, and you will see what i mean).

As for the low state of the battery, was the VII turned off while stored, particularly after the top off charge? Was teh charge cable left in teh unit while stored? Did you by chance note the LED sequences while charging?