Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I have several AB800's and love them. I have been using cybercyncs also. I need to trigger my Nikon SB900 and bought an extra CSRB. Used the PC jack on the side of the flash and the wire in the box. I can't get this to work. I checked all the obvious and the rear lcd screen will blink but no flash...any help would be great..thanks in advance.

ok read every post here tonight and got lots of good info...even what I was doing wrong, but now that I got the flash to work...it will only shoot once. Very strange if I move the frequency dial around and back to the seting on my csrb it will work again but only once...any thoughts??

Make sure the SB is is "M" mode and not set to any remote settings. Once connected, try the receiver's test button several times, and see if it will fire reliably. Now try from the transmitter, ensuring the frequencies match. (this is indicated by the darker deeper cut in the notch of the receiver. Odd frequencies are marked, even frequencies are unmarked, and are inbetween the odd frequencies). Try several presses, as it takes 2-3 presses to resync after a frequency change. If the light does not respond reliably, note the LED on the reciever, does it blink red on each attempt? Is the sync cord loose in the flash connection? If so, crimp the end to make a better connection. Also, how is the transmitter connected to the camera, PC cord, hot shoe, both, and are you using a safe sync (you shouldn't)?

TS

Thanks for your help...after messing with it for a while, I figured it out...I was using frequency 3, but I must has over spun the dial and it was actually pointing to the 9...duh!! Works as expected now, once again Bees Rule....user error :-) Thanks!

On a similar note concerning the SB-900...

I just purchased a CSRB/CST combo this weekend and it's been firing the speedlight flawlessly , however, about a quarter of the times when firing my SB-900 will beep the alert for it's 'Temperature Control Cutoff' and lockup. My test settings were as follows: SB-900 set to Manual 1/8 & 1/4 power @ 14mm - 28mm zoom on SB-900 , Camera is set to Manual, f2.8-f4 @ anywhere from 1/60th - 1/250th indoors low-light. Strangely enough, this 'lockup' doesn't happen when triggering via CLS at same settings or firing directly off the speedlight's test button, even in succession after each audible recycle beep. I've also kept an eye on the SB's temp readout and it looks normal after each shot - temp stays roughly 1/4 of the bar, so it shouldn't be locking up.

I've tried both fresh Alkaline batteries & fully-charged NiMH's on both units (Speedlight & CSRB), but the speedlight continues to go into arrest every so often. Hopefully it's just a case of S.U.E. (Stupid User Error) and I'm not accounting for something in my settings. :oops:

Anyone have ideas on what might be causing this?

The SB-900 has a built in thermometer. If the flash gets to hot it shuts off. This can happen quickly. Nikon built that in after they got too many overheated SB-800 back for warranty repair.

You can turn off the temperature protection in the SB-900 but be careful not to overheat the flash.

I turned off the temperature feature on day one. I have 4 SB-800s and they would be fine and happy with the SB-900 was shutting down. I think this feature is just too sensitive to be useful. Apply common sense and just don't abuse the thing at high power for a prolonged period.

I've read horror stories about the SB-900's, but neither of mine have never given me any trouble. I do fire them, by the way, in "M" mode with a CSRB....rarely at full power.

FYI - If you need a better sync cable, check out the FlashZebra site. They sell one that screws into the side of the SB-900.