Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I've been having a strange issue with my White Lightning X1600 strobes since I first purchased them. I'm not familiar with other studio strobes so I'm not sure if it's an issue with other strobes or not.

The problem I can't seem to solve is that I often get stray flashes between shots. Sometimes it's just a flash here and there, and sometimes it's a sudden burst of flashes that continues indefinitely. I have no idea what causes it and it happens when I'm triggering the strobes via a cord or using a radio trigger (I use a Calumet trigger). I've noticed that sometimes it happens when I touch the tripod, or when I have the camera tethered to my laptop and touch the keyboard, so it's possible that it's a static electricity problem, but it seems to happen regardless of which studio I'm in. It also happens regardless of which of the 3 units I'm using as my strobe.

If anyone has had similar problems, and knows how to solve it I'd be very grateful. Also I'm not even sure what these stray flashes are called so even knowing that might help me find a solution. Thanks for your help in advance!

Do you plug directly into the wall, or do you have a power strip or extension cord you are using? Are the outlets and any cords grounded (3-prong)?

When shooting tethered, are you using an AC adapter for your camera? Do you share a power strip with among the camera, computer, and light?

Most remote recievers have a confirmation LED that lights up when it gets a signal. IF you recievers have them, did you notice if they were blinking when the light was firing?

Did you put in the 1/4" stereo dummy plug to shut off the WL's optical flash sensor? It's on unless you plug something into this, so any other flash will trigger it...

I agree with kenyee if you are not using a syncord and are relying on the optical flash sensor then anything can set off your flash not just another flash head. Turning on the oven sets off the optical sensor on my units, so do the flashing lights from ambulances, fire trucks and police cars...

I can see teh police cars and such, but what source of light is coming from the oven?

The optical slave theroy is a possibility, but remotes or sync cords are being used. So if it is a multi flash set up and the other lights are firing, certainly a possibility. If the main or only light is firing, then the lock out switch (inside the sync jack) may be bad. This can be tested by firing one strobe into the back of the one being tested (with a plug in the jack). If there is no flourescent lighting or other photographers in the area, I doubt

However, considering the firing when touching the stand or the computer, a bad or noisy ground or static electricity.