Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I just made the switch from my long-loved Bowens Pulsars to a CyberCommander, etc. I love the CC and PCB triggers so far, but of course there is a learning curve with something like the CC that delivers so much functionality and is not just a simple trigger.

. . and there is something I am missing/have not learned yet . .

Here is my setup:

Frequency: Everything set to 3
Channel 1: Einstein #1 w/CSXCV
Channel 2: Einstein #2 w/CSXCV
Channel 3: Speedlight #1 w/CSRB+
Channel 4: Speedlight #2 w/CSRB+

What is working:

On the "Flash" menu with "ALL" selected, Einsteins and speedlights fire :-)
On the "Flash" menu with "CH 01" selected, Einstein #1 fires :-)
On the "Flash" menu with "CH 02" selected, Einstein #2 fires :-)

What is confounding me:

On the "Flash" menu with "CH 03" selected, Speedlight #1 will not fire :-?
On the "Flash" menu with "CH 04" selected, Speedlight #2 will not fire :-?
The CSRB+ units do not give a red "blink", obviously meaning they received no signal :-?

What am I missing here?


Thanks,

Craig

. . maybe just a matter of putting the speedlights in their own group if I ever needed to fire them that way . . . . ?

Are the spedlites defined? Probably not. You should have 4 white dashes at the bottom of the graph, one for each light. You should have 2 vertical bars, one for each Einstein. For Einsteins, all you have to do is the "open memory" steps as Einsteins automatically define themselves. For the + model recievers, there is no way for them to know what light it is connect to, so it will need to be done manually.

For anything connected to a CSR+ or CSRB+, (using the right joystick unless otherwise stated) you will need to scroll left or right to the SET UP screen, scroll down to "SPEC LIGHTS" and press in. Use the left joystick (to the left or right) to select the first channel used by the CSRB+'s. Again, using the right joystick, scroll up or down until "OTHER" is highlighted in red, then press in. Scroll up or down to highlight "SPEEDLIGHT" (actually, any of them will work, they will just be mislabled) and press in. Repeat for the other CSRB+.

Use the right joystick to the left or right to return to the FLASH (default) screen. Select ALL with the left joystick and test fire. From this point on, you should have the ability to individually fire the speedlites.

Yes, I have four white dashes. If the speedlights were not defined, wouldn't that mean that that would not fire when I have "ALL" selected when on the "FLASH" screen? They do fire, and I know that it is not because the speedlights are in Slave/SU4 mode. They are not.


Thanks,

Craig

If SU4 was on, they would have fired anytime the E640's fired as well. As for not firing in CHxx vs. ALL, I do not know the exact coding, but I do know ALL has a different set of fire commands than a specific channel, therefore, there will be a difference in how the units react. The same holds true with firing from the buttons vs. firing from the hotshoe or PC port. I presume the CC does not generate some sort of prefix command (i.e. address a specific channel) for undefined units. In any case, the symptoms you are describing are virtually always resolved when defining the channels as something.

TS,

Thank you for your very technical and absolutely correct explanation. I was also correct - it came down to a finer point I just had not learned yet.

The bottom line is test firing Einsteins with the left joystick/button is possible. Test firing speedlights individually AND with the button is not. That is no big deal to me, since by what you explained I now see that I can add/remove speedlights from a group, mount my CyberCommander on my camera, press the shutter, and watch my speedlights fire or not fire as intended.

All is good, and I am more and more glad I made the switch to your triggers. Lovin' em' more by the hour.


Craig

http://www.craigwasselphotoart.com
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