Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi All,

I have been using my Cybersync CST Trigger and two Cybersync Battery Operated receivers for the last couple of years with two Canon 550EX flashes (with adapters from Zebra Flash) with no trouble at all and recently I purchased a couple of mains powered flash heads from a friend, one Courtney SolaPro 300 and one Courtney SolaFlash 250 but I can't get them to fire with the Cybersync trigger and receivers :( Is there anything I should be doing differently with these than the 550EXs? Both these flash heads act as slaves in the fact that if you fire another flash they will both fire without any leads attached :) So as a workaround I attached one Cybersync receiver to a small Vivitar flash head and therefore when I fire the camera shutter the Vivitar goes off and in turns fires the two Courtney flashes :D But this far from satisfactory and I would like to use my Cybersync trigger and receivers as intended, so any help is very much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Del

Not overly familiar with that brand of flash, and an internet search does not return much (BTW, Courtenay returns better results). However, what I did find from multiple sources was the need to reverse the polarity of the sync lead. I cannot guarantee this is the problem, but I know the polarity has to be correct for CyberSyncs to work, and Courtenays have a reputation (apparently) for reverse polarity.

When you plug a sync cord into the light, turn it on, then plug the cord into the reciever (you may need to do this a couple of times). If the light fires, the cord is "OK" in that there are no faults, and the light does fire, pointing more that the sync polarity is reversed. If it does not fire, it could mean nothing, or it could mean the cord or sync jack in the light is bad.

When using a mono cord, Cyber Syncs are tip positive. This means you will need a cable that is wired tip to sleeve and sleeve to tip. The most basic way is to take a 3.5 to 3.5 (or 4.5, which ever is sized right for the light) mono cable, cut it and strip the outer insulation about an inch or two on each cut end. Inside you will have two wires, usually red and white. Strip the insulation of each end, and splice red to white and white to red. Re-insulate each wire pair separately, then together. This can be done with heat shrink or electrical tape. Be sure when insulating, no wire strands are exposed, as touching the opposite pair will cause the light to rapid fire. This will lead to an ugly cable, but should at least be useable to test the theory.

Nicer cables may be ready made and available for purchase or can be made from parts available at electronics stores similar to Radio Shack in the U.S..

Sorry this was my mistake, they are actually called Courtenay :oops:
Tried the reverse polarity lead and they work OK. We don't have Radioshack anymore in the UK but I managed to get some bits and pieces to make up my own lead. So thanks for your help, I can now use my "new" flash heads with my trusty Cybersyncs :D

My setup, complete with new lead :)



Kind regards,
Del

Glad to know they are working. I wasnt trying to smart alecky on the spelling :) Just pointing it out in case you searched for it.

I didn't think you were being smart, I lived and worked in Florida for just over ten years and spent many a hour teasing my American friends about not speaking "proper" English :D so I can't complain when I make mistakes :lol:

Kind regards,
Del