Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I just starting using my ABR800 on location with the Vagabond II system. I am using a Canon 5DM2 camera and connected the flash to the camera via sync cord. I started off fine, but after a little while, my ABR800 would intermittently not flash. The flash would still fire when I hit the test button and I tried disconnecting the sync cord. The first 2 times it happened, it would start working again if I played with the power setting on the flash, but then the third time, I tried testing the flash (it fired) I tried reconnecting the sync cord and I played with the power settings on the flash, but I got about 8-10 straight shots without the ABR firing when I hit the shutter. I had to give up on it and use an alternative flash setup. This morning I tried hooking the flash back up to my camera and Vagabond and it was working ok again, but I am reluctant to take it with me on a location shoot again in case it starts working fine and then cuts out in the middle. I can't afford to spend time in the middle of a shoot trying to figure out why my flash isn't working - I need to be able to rely on it.

I will say that I was shooting outdoors and the unit was warm. I don't think the problem was the Vagabond since test firing the flash worked every time, and I continued using the Vagabond to power my other flash afterwards with no problems whatsoever.

Any ideas what might be going wrong with my ABR800 and how I might prevent this from happening again. Thanks.

Erich

inspect the sync cord, particularly where it connects to the camera. It should fit snugly, but not impossibly tight. If it is loose, try crimping the shielded end with a PC tip conditioner or gently with a pair of pliers. If you have other Alien Bees, you can use those sync cords as well. While they are longer, they will serve in a pinch, or at least for trouble shooting.

The sync cord seemed fine - it wasn't loose or falling out of the camera, nor was it so tight that it had any trouble connecting to or disconnecting from the camera. But I will try keeping one of the other cords with me next time to see if that solves the problem if I start having problems again, although I'd be concerned that the extra length/weight of the longer cord could cause it to come loose from the camera.

The loose connection is only one symptom of a bad cord. It can fit snugly and still be bad. My recommendation would be to test before the next shoot to see if you can reproduce, identify, and/or correct the problem.

I did try reconnecting everything the next morning the exact same way as I had it the day before - same sync cord, same camera, plugged into the Vagabond. I was able to fire off about 20 consecutive frames with no problem. It had started off working fine the day before at the shoot. It was about 40 minutes and 100 frames into the shoot that I started having problems. Is it possible that the the cord is defective in a manner that a heat buildup from the flash is causing the cord to fail, which is why it starts off working but then later fails?

I would doubt the sync cord would eb heat sensitve in that nature (as it would not build up that much heat). Make sure the flash tubes are seated properly, and look very closely for small cracks in the tubes. Can you tell if both flsh tubes are firing, or just one? When the light fails to fire, does the green ready light come/stay on?

I'm having this exact same problem. Same camera too (Canon 5DII). The flash is new, out of the packaging. I'm having the same experience. First I could fix it by playing with the power settings, then, it's up to the flash to decide when it wants to fire. Did you ever figure this one out?

Is the problem exhibited from the test button on the light or only via the power cord? Also, be sure to turn off live view for the purposes of testing, as the wrong live view setting will prevent the camera from triggering the light.