PocketWizard Intermittently Malfunctioning

William Petruzzo

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My PocketWizard Plus (the first one) transmitter started acting up on me during a wedding on Saturday. It nearly ruined the pictures because I had to come up with a really quick alternative, which worked, but not as well as our original concept.

The little blinking indicator light on the PW would blink a few times like normal, then when test fired, it wouldn't transmit and instead the indicator light would stay on. Sometimes the receiver light would stay on also. I tried replacing the batteries, changing the settings. I also tried the transmitter in two different locations several miles apart (one of which I have shot at before without any problem). The problem happened first when the transmitter was on the camera, but it also happened when the PW weren't connected to anything. Luckily, I got it to work very briefly. It would transmit two or three times, then the light would get stuck on again.

Today, I can't seem to get the problem to duplicate itself. I can't find anything online about it either. I'm awfully worried now. I feel like I can't trust the thing, which is a problem because I use this stuff all the time, especially at weddings.

Can anyone shed some light on this?
 
Its possible your pocket wizards were affected by another digital frequency nearby. I used to use Quantum Radio Slaves and they were affected by nearby radio signals all the time. I know Pocket Wizards are digital, but if it only happened in one location, its worth a thought.

Marvih
 
I often have trouble with mine, its interferance! The military uses that frequency also. PW claims they own the frequency BUT the military uses it also. Changing the so called channel ONLY changes the code transmitted on a PW 2 , not the frequency.

They only transmitt 1 milliwatt so just about any signal can jam them.
 
My guess would be the cords. Just about every wedding, we have at least one problem with a PW not triggering when it should be. I can usually fix the problem by trying a different cord or at least playing with the connection.
 

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