Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I upgraded the firmware (to v50) on both my Cybercommander and E640 today. I can adjust settings on the CC and see that they are sent to the E640 but the E640 won't fire. I've got the CyberCommander in the hot shoe of my 5DmkII and it seems to not be sending a basic "fire" signal to the E640. When I hit the test button on the CC the E640 fires correctly but it won't fire from the hot shoe when the shutter button is pressed.

Anyone else having this issue?

I don't know if this will apply to ALL users of the E640 units. But this was my experience.

After the download of the firmware, you will pull the folder as instructed to the MicroSD card.

Load exactly as BUFF instruction on this site describes in the posts.. PAY EXTRA ATTENTION TO THE FLASHING SCREEN PART PRIOR TO MOVING ON AND INSERTING CARD INTO THE LIGHTS..

There are options on the E640's and CC that as about firmware. THIS WILL START AUTOMATICALLY. There is no need for any intervention on your part for BOTH the CC and the E640 units to upgrade. Simply insert, and apply power, that's it.

If you happen to own more than 1 E640. (AS IN MY CASE) I needed to RELOAD the firmware for each light I have. Simply moving the micro card from one unit to the other after the flashing of the firmware would not work.

I just told Windows to 'overwrite' ALL on the Micro Card, took it over to the E640 and allowed it to do it's thing. Without RELOADING the firmware, all I heard was the fan start loudly for 0.5 seconds, and then nothing. No screen, no flashing.. nothing.

So in my case, reloading the firmware on top the card was a MUST DO after each firmware upgrade to each light.

- Hope it helps someone.

This was responded to in the E640 firmware thread.

I removed the batteries from the CC and pulled the plug from the E640 and put everything down for a few hours this afternoon. When I got it all powered back up to test some of your suggestions it all just worked without having changed anything. So maybe it just needed time with the batteries removed to resolve the issue. Regardless, it's fixed and I'm relieved.

I've got the same problem.....What is the solution?

Norman Kjos

If the screen does not stop flashing after 45 seconds or so, the unit will need to be sent in for repair.

If the screen quit flashing but is unresponsive, remove the SD card to see if the problem persists. Also try new batteries. If the problem persists, the unit will need to be sent in for repair.

If you determine you need to send the unit in, I would suggest contacting Customer Service for further information on how to best resolve this.

I updated 2 CC's and several E640's its been smooth sailing for a couple weeks until today.

I noticed a bit of bad behavior from one of the CC's. What looked like reboots of the CC and a single instance of when the CC triggered a series of multiple pop's from the strobes.

then... about an hour later the "low battery" red warning showed up on the CC. Did the tolerance change to show the battery warning on the new firmware, and does it need to be set to a higher threshold?

Were these new batteries? Also, was there a memory card present in the Commander at the time?

yes

I installed brand new batteries in both CC's when I upgraded the firmware on 11/21. So, less than a month later the battery warning appeared even though the new firmware was supposed to help. After the warning today I installed new batteries and didn't have any additional problems.

Have you experienced better battery performance with the new firmware? Anybody else experience random reboots of their CC?

The firmware is designed to improve battery life by reducing battery draw while asleep.

Are your batteries snug, and battery contacts well attached?