Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

First I have to say that I am a complete convert to PCB Einstein E640 strobes. I was only going to get enough to replace my MonoLights. Keep the "real" strobes for when I need 1000ws or 2000ws output.

Turns out that the E640 actually has a higher output than the 1000ws pack and head I currently use. If PCB came out with an E820 or E940 I could let go of the 2K pack, but I know that's not going to happen. At least not for a long while.

So the 1K packs go, I'll still keep the 2K pack and a couple of heads. I upped my order to PCB. Going to have 8 E640s when all's said and done.

The best part of this is the Cyber Commander. It's simple to setup and use and works like a dream.

I have noticed one odd thing though and this is the reason for my post.

Occasionally it will re-boot itself.

I'll be using it when the screen goes to black, then comes back with "Cyber Commander Firmware ver 23".

After that it returns to the main screen but sets the green cursor at the #1 position.

Anyone have an idea what's going on? Is this usual or is there a problem?

First, double check the firmware version when it reboots (or you can pull and reinstall a battery). 23 is not a valid FW version, and the actual FW ver. can impact the answer.

Also, what kind of batteries are you using?

I've found mine locks up occasionally too. It's the latest firmware, using fresh alkaline batteries (I've switched them as well with new) but sometimes the screen goes black and it won't turn on. If I reseat the batteries it reboots and works like a charm. It's a bit quirky that way but the benefits far outweigh that little oddity so far.

Went back and got the CC to re-boot and wrote down what it says.

Cyber Commander
FW Ver 29

White type on black screen.

Will happen with just pressing the meter button/joystick. No flashes have to be on.

Could the batteries be dying? These are the batts that came packaged with the CC from PCB.

After dropping mine once, I've noticed that the inertia of the batteries during the fall had bent the contact tabs and was giving some bad contact sometimes. I've just opened the battery compartment, removed the batteries, rebend the tab closer and put the batteries back.

Your symptoms may be caused by the same issue.

Photopat is right on. The battery contacts can loosen (even if it doesnt fall) and there can be a bad battery contact. This can cause a reduction in efficiency in power supply, and starve the processor. This problem could worsen as batteries get lower in charge. The meter button is a meter/fire button which puts a large amount of power draw on the batteries, that is why you see it there. Remove the batteries, bend the contacts in, and be sure they lay straight on the battery contacts (particularly on the neg side). Also, make sure the batteries are firmly in place and straight in the holder.

I'll try all of that and see how it goes. Thanks.

Bill F

http://picasaweb.google.com/faulknerstudios

Bent the battery contacts in some and installed a new set of Duracell AAA. All went well for the first couple of hours of the shoot but it did reboot a couple of times during the the next few hours.

Reading the other CC reboot post it seems like there are varying degrees of severity to having the CC reboot.

Mine comes back without losing any data or settings. As long as this doesn't get progressively worse I can ignore the inconvenience for right now.

When the CyberCommander works it's the answer to a whole lot of prayers.

Bill F

Do you know your screen brightness setting? the brighter it is, the more it taxes the power supply. Default is fairly low, at 20%.

Backlight setting was at 25. I've reset it to 15.

Let you know if it makes a difference. Long shoot day tomorrow.

Bill F