Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Today I plugged an Alien Bee 1600 into a GFCI AC outlet in a bathroom (I shoot interiors) and it wouldn't trigger when the Cybersync unit was plugged into it. I couldn't even fire the unit from the red "flash" button on the unit itself. (So it isn't a radio sync issue.) When I pulled the phone line cord, the unit would flash. I tried two Alien Bee units and two Cybersyncs and neither would work on this outlet. When I ran an extension cord and plugged them into another AC outlet, they worked fine even at the same location. They have worked fine for me many other times in other GFCI outlets.

What could cause this problem on a specific AC outlet? Is there some kind of radio interference that can lock up the radio.

Did the flash worked when you pressed the test button on the CSR+?
What was the status of the CSR+ led?

No the flash wouldn't fire by pressing the button on the CSR+ The red LED would light up when I pressed the button on the Cyber Commander, but the flash wouldn't fire.

There was something specific about that electrical outlet and the CSR+ being plugged in to the unit. I had similar problems a few other times but was too busy to diagnose it. In those cases, I switched to the battery operated receiver or used the optical slaves. I didn't think to try the battery powered receiver this time to see if that would work.

A different issue:
I also find that the indents on the two dials are a little weak yet need to be set precisely. Sometimes I have to fiddle with them very slightly to get them to work. In this regard, the old radio control was much better. Once set, they stayed set.

When using the RJ11 jack, the light does need to be plugged into a properly wired AC outlet, otherwise erratic behavoir can be expected. Just because it supplies power, it does not mean it is properly grounded or is free from other faults.

I will pass along the observations about the dials to our engineers.

A different issue:
I also find that the indents on the two dials are a little weak yet need to be set precisely. Sometimes I have to fiddle with them very slightly to get them to work. In this regard, the old radio control was much better. Once set, they stayed set.


Wow! Another RR-1 user. I haven't met another one before.

But your point about the detents is true--they are much softer on the Cyber-series than on the old RR-1.

"Wow! Another RR-1 user. I haven't met another one before."

It really was the existence of the RR-1 system that made me buy and use WL and AB units in place of my Balcars.

I have two RR-1 transmitters and 8 receivers that have been replaced with the new CC system. I don't know what to do with them. (I tried giving them to my assistant but he wont take them after seeing how frustrated they made me at times.) The old system had a lot of problems with interference, limited range, and poor performance even in short distances under some conditions. I shoot interiors and often had trouble getting all the lights to fire consistently. I often ended up using a second radio system for the triggering and the RR-1 system only to let me adjust the lights. Despite the chunkiness of the receivers and how they went through batteries, I liked the RR-1 transmitter.

The CC system is much better but I do find that a light might not fire on occasion necessitating playing with the two dials.

My experience was identical; I also used a second system for triggering. However, as a power control system, RR-1 had no equal at any price...and still hasn't, beside the CC.

I was glad to see an AC-powered receiver for the Cyber system--I frequently forgot to turn off the RR-1 receivers at the end of one day and found them with dead batteries the next morning. But I didn't mind the size of the transmitter...the buttons were big enough to handle with gloves on and the display was easy to see at presbyopic distances.

But I find the CC to be quite reliable as a trigger and power controller, especially after the firmware update.

I just recently received my 3 Einsteins and CyberSync Transmitter and got everything set up and working great, until I moved to a different location. At the new location absolutely nothing would work. The only way I could fire the lights were with the test button on the back of the lights and not from either remote. I could not change anything from the remotes.

I found that the outlet I was plugged into also supplied power to the ceiling fan/light that had a remote control for fan speed and lamp brightness. When I turned the fan/light off, or move to another circuit, everything worked fine. The remote fan/light controller generated enough noise on the power line that the Einsteins would not work. Some X-10 remote controllers also cause a problem when being used on the same circuit.

Hope this helps someone.

KenL [ It is very hard to learn when you think you know it all. ]