Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

First of all...Thanks Luap for replacing my CC only a week after I got it!(I dropped it and my 5DII onto the concrete floor), and thanks for treating your customers so good.

My Cyber Commander and CSR+'s work great in my studio with my AB800's plugged into the outlets, But when I plug a light(s) into the Vagabond II for on location shoots, nothing works properly...

The strobe pops constantly. The model lamp will not shut off, and triggering the light(s) works only maybe 1 out of every 7 tries. The CC doesn't seem to be communicating with the CSR+'s very good.

Is there an issue with grounding and the Vagabond II (I don't ground it) or is it a power issue. I do a whole shoot and the Vagabond is still going so I know the battery is fine. I've tried everything I can think of but no matter what as soon as I plug into an outlet all works well.

Any help?

Thanks
Patrick

Today I took my gear to a clients home to photograph their family. I took two AB800's and the CC with CSR+'s. I plugged one light into an outlet on one side of the room and the other light into an outlet on the other side. The CC worked great with light #2 but would not work properly with #1(same issues as I described earlier). I asked if the two outlets were on different circuits and the homeowner said they were. I then plugged light #1 into the same outlet as #2 and #1 then worked flawlessly. So, what have I learned from this?

Apparently the CSR+ is very particular about the quality of electricity it gets. But what does that say about my Vagabond II? Does anyone know what this means? Is there anything I can do to remedy the situation. Should I trade in for the CSRB+'s? It would be real nice to be able to use the CC/CSR+ on location instead of having to fall back on my PW's.

Thanks for any help.
Patrick
patrickwalkerphoto.com

The power does need to be clean power when using any remote with the RJ11 jack (CC/CS+, RR1, LG4X). It does sound like the VII does need to be looked at. If the VII works perfectly otherwise, you can send in just the inverter. If you wish to have the whole thing looked over, you are welcome to send in the whole unit.