Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Tried it already. No change. Sometimes they work fine, sometimes they do that "phhht!" thing (you call it a tickle, I call it a phhht!). Sometimes I set them on standby (800 or 1600) and they come out of it when set to power, sometimes they come out then go back in really fast, then come out again...And sometimes they come out but dont respond at all after that.

I hope to be messing with them on Wednesday...

As stated in my initial post, 6 of the 7 800's are NOT functioning properly, and I have attempted numerous combinations of lights and receiver channels and the errant functioning is consistent. The lights will not come out of standby if the modeling light is off or if the wattage is set less than 50, and for this level of functioning, I have both the phono and telephone jacks plugged into the light and receiver, without them both attached, the lights are even more screwy in their operation. I've tested the lights using different power sources, circuits, and nothing remedies the situation.
Has a tech set up the current batch of 800's using the current batch of CSRB+'s and CC's to verify this problem? I have spent nearly 10 hours trouble shooting this alone and on the phone with tech support with no resolution, and now it is obvious I'm not alone with this problem.
I'd return the 800's and replace them with Einsteins I ordered in July, but I can't get a definitive date when the Einsteins will ship.

We do this pretty much every day. Virtually all issues we see can be traced back to the power source. If not on one outlet, then a circuit, or perhaps the whole electrical system. Even if the electrical system is "correctly" done, there are things on that system that can not play nicely with the lights when using the RJ11 connection. We try to eliminate all possibilities from one particular structure (as they are typically small studios or homes), but if all else fails, sometimes the set up has to be tried off site or on a Vagabond for trouble shooting purposes.

But this doesn't explain why one of the lights functions without issue but when the light is replaced with another light using the identical power source, receiver, channel, and CC settings, problems. The functioning light performs without issue when swapped with a "faulty" light. Therefore, either the faulty lights have out of spec components or maybe a pot adjustment on a board that differs from light to light. The problem is NOT the power supply or RF interference as I have tested the lights in different buildings, out of doors, off of different xfmrs, and with the same results.
Again my question to you is specifically , "Has a tech set up the current batch of 800's using the current batch of CSRB+'s and CC's to verify this problem?" "Pretty much" is not the answer I was looking for!! The only function that doesn't work is having the lights come out of standby when the modeling light is below 50W. Obviously, something in the circuit design of the light requires current that isn't being met without the higher current of the modeling lamp at 50W or greater. FYI, the electrical voltage where the lights were initialized is 121.6V AC.

This means we do this set up. "pretty much everyday" means they are continuously being tested on most days, though not every single work day. So to answer your question, yes we have done this. We do this frequently. We have not been able to replicate your specific issues. In fact, the three replacement lights that were sent to you were checked before they were shipped. Voltage is not the only parameter that can cause issues. Now that more trouble shooting has been done, we may be able to make progress in figuring out what is going on. We can help here on the forum, via email, or via telephone.

Well then I'm at loss. What suggestions can you provide in going forward? Sounds as if SBS has similar functioning as a result of the CSRB+...should I try replacing with CSR+?
I've returned the three replacement 800's to you, may I suggest you test these and see if you can duplicate my problem.

You have one light that works, and at least one reciever. Have you tried a different channel/same frequency set up to see if the CC is sending any errant signals?

Solved my problem.
I actually have 1 light that had an issue with the power slider, a small piece of plastic that was keeping the slider from barely going to fully to the right. This light would only function properly when BOTH the mono and phone jacks were connected from the receiver to the monolight. This was the first light I set up. I set up the other three lights as I did with the first light, but the power slider had no impediments that kept them form going to the full on position. With both the mono and phone jacks connected, these three lights functioned improperly as described in my previous posts.
I cleared the plastic from the slider of light 1, installed dummy jacks to disengage the slaves and connected only the phone jack to the lights from the receivers.....all is well in Gothem City.
Thank you for your help.

Thanks for letting us know! I am glad it did get worked out for you and sorry it took so long for a simple solution. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist!

Glad to see this freakish resolution . . . this thread has been really bothering me. Thanks TS and wke2swbell for sticking with each other and solving this.