Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Has anyone experienced their AB shutting off during a photo shoot? I have an 800 and a 1600 and another photographer and I are using both lights at the same time at a sporting event. The 800 will just shut down sometimes while shooting. Usually it happens when there has been rapid fire. Forgot to mention that pocket wizards are being used on both units.

You're probably firing so rapidly the circuit breakers are tripping.

I had a similar incidence today at a wedding. I set my B1600 to 1/16th as usual, hooked up to AC, and with a PW II triggering it. The B1600 was shutting down constantly, and I wasn't even machine gunning it. I checked that the fan was still working, and in testing the light I saw the circuit breaker shut off the B1600. I have been using it in this same manner for a long time, and this is the first time it's happened. The B1600 is about 5 years old, could it be on it's last leg? Another thought, could a bad AC outlet possibly cause this?

Try plugging the B1600 into the AC source you normally use (trust), for example studio, home outlets. Fire the unit at the same output setting and the speed the day of the wedding. If the unit still shuts down(not rapid firing) it’s possible it could be a B1600 circuit breaker issue. If the problem goes away it could be the AC source used at the wedding location.

I tested the B1600 at home, with the same settings, and at the same rate of fire. The problem seemed to go away until I decided to do more trigger happy firing - equivalent to 5fps for two seconds or so. I have to test it one more time at work, but the problem seems to have stemmed from the AC outlet I used at the location. Another reason I should get the VML soon ;)

It's confirmed: my B1600 is fine, the fault was with the AC outlet I used at the location. I don't know if it's okay to post it here, but as future reference/warning for anyone going to shoot at the Pearl River Hilton in NY, if your AB shuts off, it may not be your equipment. My B1600 refused to shut off at home and at work, so it has to be the hotel's electrical wiring at fault.