Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

A couple of the E640's beep even though they are turned off and the screen of the CC is off, all of the LCDs on the back of the units are off. All the units have CSXCV's and are plugged into the AC. It's infrequent and random but just curious.

Are they just dreaming in sleep mode? It's the same beep as when I adjust the unit via the CC. But the LCD's stay off, no activity other than the beep.

I have never heard of this, and I keep an E640 plugged in by my head most of the time (while I am here).

How often would you say this happens?

Are you sure it is not a smoke detector? :)

Does it seem like it is coming from all units at once, or various units independently, or from one unit?

How many Cyber Commanders do you have in the vicinity?

Are the lights set to Standby via the Cyber Commander (all CC's, if there are multiples)?

Have you removed the receivers to see if the issue persists?

Do any of the units have a confined modifier on them (shipping cover, gridded reflector, etc). I would suggest not keeping the units plugged in when not in use, and especially not with a confined modifier, just in case one were to turn on.

No SD cards are stored in the units' card slot?

I have never heard of this, and I keep an E640 plugged in by my head most of the time (while I am here).

How often would you say this happens?

Are you sure it is not a smoke detector? :)

It's a valid question, but it's not from a smoke detector.

Does it seem like it is coming from all units at once, or various units independently, or from one unit?

No last time I noticed it seemed to come from the 2 lights on the right of the set. But the beeps were at different times. I never hear multiple units at the same time.

How many Cyber Commanders do you have in the vicinity?

2- but one has the batteries pulled.

Are the lights set to Standby via the Cyber Commander (all CC's, if there are multiples)?

Yes, I don't believe I have an OFF option? Here's the memory setting for the CC card that I use to turn off these lights. I'm not sure if this is helpful.

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Have you removed the receivers to see if the issue persists?

No, it's not easily repeatable to test

Do any of the units have a confined modifier on them (shipping cover, gridded reflector, etc). I would suggest not keeping the units plugged in when not in use, and especially not with a confined modifier, just in case one were to turn on.

[b]They are in well ventilated softboxes, the beep never turns on the lights. Have you seen lights that turn on by themselves?[/b]

No SD cards are stored in the units' card slot?

correct

this isn't a big problem. just curious if this was a known issue. I can live with another beep or 2 in my life.

Ran this by our engineering staff, and they said it is plausible to happen without being faulty. We are trying to recreate the issue at this time.

Do you happen to know the approximate power setting of these lights?

In most cases it would be relatively low for tabletop work, between 50-100WS.

Is there a delayed shutdown/sleep/standby process beyond the CC screen going off?

Also, I saw the low battery indicator on the CC this morning and just replaced them. Thought I'd mention it incase it's related.

In both the CC and the E640, the processor is still active when in standby and powered (i.e. they have batteries or plugged in, respectively), just like your TV. It is plausible the material in the capacitors changes charge status slightly while resting, it could trigger the recycle indicator.

Have the lights been off for more than a couple of hours when you hear this?

I don't think so because I am usually hovering around the studio when I hear it. But, I edit on a different floor so it may still be occurring. If a tree falls in the woods....

a preliminary report is that since replacing batteries in the CC I have not heard the random beeps.

but it may be that:

a. the music is cranked up too loud in the studio
b. the amount of my hearing loss is proportional to the amount of gray hair on my head.