Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I thought I was having trigger problems when one of my two B800's would not fire consistently in heavy use. It may work for an hour or two and then stop functioning for a while. So, I moved from pocket wizards to CSR+ and the cyber comander thinking this would fix everything.

Instead for two days running at shoots I have a light stuck in red dump mode after heavy use over the course of an hour or so.

I noticed that even without any use if I let it sit for a little while with the CSR+ attached it would lock up in red dump mode (without firing at all). removing the telephone cord would sometimes fix the problem and it would go back to green. It's not specific to one light (I have three) or one CSR+.

Is there an overheat protection I am not aware of or what else could cause this same problem both during heavy use and at idle - but inconsistently.

Typically the red dump light indicates a communication problem between the light and the receiver. Often this is caused from improper set up or a bad power condition.

First, are you running on a wall outlet or vagabond?

Are your model lamp buttons pushed in and power slider set to full?

Are you using a power strip or extension cord? Generally, these are OK, but let's remove them for trouble shooting.

How fast are you shooting?

How old is the AC system (assuming it is not a Vagabond)? Is it a grounded 3-prong outlet?

When the light does not fire, does the receiver blink red in response to a triggering attempt?

Typically the red dump light indicates a communication problem between the light and the receiver. Often this is caused from improper set up or a bad power condition.

First, are you running on a wall outlet or vagabond?
Since I got the CSR+ I have only been in the wall - 3 different locations - no reason to suspect bad power in all three.
Are your model lamp buttons pushed in and power slider set to full?
No, I don't use the modeling lamp - I often need to use a vagabond so I always leave my lamps off. Also, power is not set to full - power needs to be set to full?
Are you using a power strip or extension cord? Generally, these are OK, but let's remove them for trouble shooting.
Both and none
How fast are you shooting?
once every 2 - 5 seconds at half power or less for 30 shots then a break for a minute or two
How old is the AC system (assuming it is not a Vagabond)? Is it a grounded 3-prong outlet? Yes
When the light does not fire, does the receiver blink red in response to a triggering attempt?
I did notice this behavior today but I don't know if that was the case the other two times.

Thank you for your help

If you are using the RJ11 phone lines to adjust power with the Cyber Commander, then yes, the power slider needs to be set to full. There are voltage references that require the slider set to full. If not set to full, then you can get varying results, sometimes functional, sometimes not. This would be the first step to correcting the problem.

How do you have the model lamps turned off? Via the white button on the head, or via the settings in the Cyber Commander, or both? Or do you have the model lamp removed?

I have it turned off on the head and in the CC. It has to be on via the head and off via CC?

Ideally, yes. If you are on a vagabond, off at the head and on in the CC may prove better.

So, today again at a commercial shoot we had a problem. Alienbee B800 plugged into vagabond mini. CSR+ with cyber commander. Power at 100% on head. Modeling light off on head and off in Cyber Commander. After 1 shot B800 stuck in dump mode. Unplugged, power on/off, nothing helped. Had to move to Pocket Wizards.

It's driving me nuts. I read in a 2012 thread that people with the CSRB+ aren't having this problem? What's going on?

Because the VML will sag in voltage when fired, where a standard wall outlet will not, we have found that using the modelling lamp off on the head and on in the Cyber Commander will avoid the red dump light.

In a wall outlet, have the lamp on via the back panel, and off via the Cyber Commander, if no model light is desired.

OK, what else do I need to know? Tell me all the ways to avoid the red light.

The following can give you a red dump light, however, the red light may not always be present when these conditions exist.

A bad ground, which can be in the AC supply, extension cord, power strip, power cord, or even the receiver (I have yet to see a problem like this in the receiver).

Having the power slider at less than full.

Having the model lamp on via the head, off via the Cyber Commander when using the Vagabond. (You should have the model lamp off at the head and on on the CC)

Settings in the CC which tell the light to stand by (i.e. Power= standby or when in a group (GRP) that does not include the light).

Using the RJ11 without using the CC.

An error in the head or receiver (least common). Also, a bad RJ11 cord.

Also, when first setting up, you may or may not get a dump light. If you go to the ALL channel setting, and fire once, the red dump light condition should disappear, and everything should function normally. If you plug the RJ11 in last, per the user manual, you should not get this condition to begin with. Which ever suits your workflow best.