Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

David, do your lockups occur with the same CSR+ remote unit?

Mine is always the same one and I'm beginning to suspect that one unit is defective since the other one never has locked or frozen since I got it. I put a big "Questionable?" label on it and no matter where it floats around to or on what strobe it is on, it is always the same one that freezes up for me. Doesn't seem dependent on the frequency or channels either since I've moved them all over the place - even in my dead WiFi zone of #13.

The CSR+ remote that works for me is closer to the WiFi router too and I would have suspected if it were causing interference, that should be the one that is freezing up on me but it isn't. I don't get it.

I also got tired of prying the batteries out of it every 20-30 minutes each time it freezes. They are a very tight fit, so I added a thin strip of fabric behind them to help pop them out of the case.

Mack

No, it's happened with all four of mine. But at different times. More often than not, just one will lock up. Sometimes two. I don't think I've ever had 3-4 in one instance. But all of them have locked up in this same fashion at some point.

As a test, I just now started an ftp upload to generate some wifi traffic from my laptop (the one I use for tethering), then I started switching between light selections. Not making any changes, just using the left joystick to select different lights. After doing this for about 15 seconds, the other two CSR+ units (ie. not the one I mentioned in the last post) locked up just like the first. Same exact symptoms. So with mine, any unit is fair game.

It sure sounds like there's something specific with yours, though. The fact that it stays with that one unit would seem to be an indicator.

1- Are any remote recievers in repeater mode (i.e. the green LED blinks 3 times rapidly every few seconds)?

2-Does the receiver LED remain red when locked up?


1- no.

2- no. its green..

BUT the light on the strobe is sometimes red or green...
Sometimes its red and I get a puffft! when dumping from the strobe. Hitting test on the csr+/csrb+ does nothing at all. Sometimes it stays green, a dump will give me me nothing at all and neither will a csr+/csrb+ test. Pulling the power cord completely (not just turning the unit on and off) and then replugging in the tele wire and hitting refresh on the CC will bring this light to life. But sometimes when 1 light goes they all go and each one has to be "rebooted' like above.

When all of them go:
On the CC what I see is that the light effected has a gray border (or none?) and the others turn red. Rebooting that one light makes it turn green but the others stay red till I reboot them all. Thats 4 csr+ & 2 crsb+. And at least one csr+ always needs a ladder.

What I have noticed is that these problems seem to happen shortly after changing light setting but the light or lights that are effected are not always the one(s) changed.

Seems I am in the exact same boat as davidm and we are sinking slowly...Pedal faster davidm! Pedal faster!

You know, it's interesting that we both seem to shoot images of relatively small things (I shoot mostly tabletop products on white seamless for catalog work).

I wonder if this problem is more likely to occur when there are multiple receivers in use within close proximity to each other? The few times that I've used them for other purposes (and they would have been further apart), I can't recall any of them locking up.

I don't have the time at the moment to test this theory out, because I've got a ton of items to shoot that are due in the next couple of days. Perhaps I'll experiment with that concept later if I can get the time.

Hey David-

I think its just coincidence. I shoot larger subjects as well (humans) and I have the lights just as close more often then not. Im sure if it was a proximity of one receiver to another sort of thing these forums would be very, very busy.

With people I no longer use the CC. Its easier for me to walk around and adjust setting with my feet then it is to risk it. In the studio, with jewelry and other small items, its different because I take multiple images per piece and compose later and dont want to risk messing anything up walking around. One of my backlights is also always under my shooting table and I dont want to break my back. And one fill light is always overhead, though I dont always use it.

Anyway, you can test it but I dont think it makes a difference.

PEDAL!

It was just a thought. Since I usually see this problem when I switch between lights, and I can tell that there's some kind of handshake going on (apparently with all active lights) when you do that, it made me wonder if the receivers might be stepping on each other during this action.

Hey, I'm grasping at straws! Any clue that will help solve the problem is worth pursuing, as far as I'm concerned. The CC/CSR system is too much a part of my workflow now to do without it.

Thanks for the feedback!

Hey David-

I just didnt want you to go through any extensive testing...

Im going to try a bit of testing this week and weekend. I should be getting 2x Einstiens today and will test with them along with, 2 x1600, 2 x 800, and a speedlight or 2.

I'll be paying close attention to the CC, each receiver, and each light panel. I'll be trying it using the same workflow I have with a "regular" shoot (with some extras lights thrown in for fun). I will also have inSSIDer running on a different laptop then the one I use to shoot tethered with.

When things start "lockin up" I will write down whats going on and "reboot" till it works. Then I will change freq and/or channels and try again.

The CC and remotes have become a staple to my workflow for shooting small items as well David, and I dont want to give it up for that. "Rebooting" at times is a necessary evil at this point, and as long as I catch it early enough (sometimes I dont notice that a light is gone right away) its remedied easy enough. Its still a pain in the arse, but at least I can continue to work after a "reboot".

My biggest problem is when I have a client sitting in. Then its embarrassing and looks very unprofessional fiddling with lights again after the initial fiddling I have to do to get the light right for the work. There is also a rhythm to the shoot, even if its shooting an object and not a person, and this problem destroys that rhythm. This rhythm is more important when I have the artists/metalsmith or art director sitting in, more so then the gallery owner or magazine rep. who is usually looking at the time.

Without getting too organic, there is a sort of synergy that happens between artist, work, and photographer that is very important for the look of the piece, and more importantly for my business, a chance of having a repeat customer.

We are all just grasping at straws :)

Steve

We do have our programmers looking into why the lockups happen as well as what solutions are possible. We will keep you up to date on the findings.

Thanks T.S.

Mine has been quiet lately from lockups. I don't know why other than I replaced the AAA batteries in the CC that it came with and one AAA battery was weaker than the other.

Aside, how does one remove the data card out of the CyberCommander? I've pressed in and nothing like popping out as other cards do. It seems stuck. Is there a trick to removing it? I see a little white piece above the card (near the front face) to the left side of it. Has that anything to do with its removal? Nothing in the manual on the removal that I've found (i.e. Page 6 nor on page 16 which speaks of removing the card from a computer.)


Mack

Thanks for the update!

Please let us know if there's anything we can do to assist the troubleshooting effort.