Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I finally received a fully functional X1600 today. So, with that, I decided to put it to use with the PCB 30x60 giant foldable softbox in its vertical position. The height of the stand was relatively low, with the bottom of the box being ~12" above ground. I had the softbox aiming straight forward with no tilt. But, 5 minutes later, it decided it wanted to tilt itself (it was a gradual downward tilt, not an instantaneous tilt/drop). So I went to re-aim it straight forward, this time making sure I tighten the tilt lever on the X1600 securely. But, surely enough, it found its way down again - twice more.

Am I doing something wrong here?

I'm having a nightmare with PCB products thus far. I tried putting the white diffusion sock over the beauty dish and the elastic band snapped like an old, thin rubber band. I didn't overstretch it or pull with great tension at all. In fact, the sock was just about on the dish fully right when it snapped. PCB is sending me a new one.

Customer Service has been great so far, but I was not hoping to put them to use so often so quickly.

Under the tightening handle, is there a silver metal washer or a black plastic washer?

The washer is metal.

We have recently implemented an upgrade to the stand, which does include the metal washer, which has proven to be very reliable. However, just to cover all bases, let's make sure all components are installed and installed properly. In order you should have:
The tightening handle
The metal washer (curved away from the light)
the L bracket (which is attached to the light)
a neoprene washer (about 1.5" across and is rubbery)
The mounting block.

Make sure all components are present and in the right place and orientation.

It will take some force to get the light tight, but it will hold.
If you are still having issues with it, please feel free to call or write the customer service dept.