Modded Cactus V2s problem/question

[clbd39]

So, I bought a vivtar 285 flash and A cactus Transmitter and 2 receivers about a year or so ago, they didn't work for anything and I stumbled upon the "mod" with the 433 hz 1/4 wave whip antenna, so I finally figured I'd try to get it to work.

I did the mod, used 6.8" of 18 gauge wire and the whole thing fit fine and looks great. I put the receiver on my vivtar and held the transmitter and walked down my driveway while my wife held the flash. It worked great, I got a little over 350 feet away at a elevation about 50 feet below the flash and it was still going strong, but I ran out of room to walk in my socks lol

So I put it on my camera and it's a no-go, the light on the transmitter lights up and I didn't touch anything on the receiver, so I took the transmitter off thinking i did something, tested it, it works put it on the camera, it works maybe 1 out of 10 times when i'm within a foot, what's the deal?

Again it work EVERY time when I was testing off the camera.

I have a Nikon D80, vivtar 285hv flash, cactus v2s with antenna mod.

I would just buy the PW but I just purchased an 80-200 f/2.8 and sb-600 so my wife wouldn't be happy with me spending the extra money on the PW or any other alternative.

Anyone have ANY ideas?

 

[KmH]

You've proven the transmitter functions correctly. So, the problem could well lie in either the D80 to transmitter connection, or the D80.

What happens with the transmitter mounted on the hot shoe of your D40x?

 

[clbd39]

Not sure, I will test the D40x when I get back to my place later this evening

The hot shoe works when I have the vivtar or the sb-600 mounted though, i'm completely stumped lol

it won't fire when the transmitter is mounted on the hot shoe and i push "TEST" which is really confusing me

I also switched the "1" "2" and "ON" positions to see if it was a channel problem but the same thing happens with each

 

[RyanLilly]

I would take the board out of the transmitter and see if there is anything that looks wrong or There could easily be a cold solder joint where the hot shoe contact connects to the board.

 

[clbd39]

I was about to do that, however the transmitter has proven to be working just fine during "Test" or do you think there may be something else that I'm missing?

 

[clbd39]

So, I tried it mounted on the D40, same issue

surely I'm not the only one lol, I was so happy that the mod worked in TEST mode, but it's not on the camera, frustrating

 

[Big Mike]

I think what Ryan was saying, is that something within the transmitter might be changing when you slide it onto the hotshoe. For example, the contact on the bottom of the transmitter might be pressing up into the unit and causing a bad solder connection to become separated. That would explain why it works fine when not in the hotshoe.

They is the type of thing you have to deal with when you buy cheap stuff. This is why I upgraded from my Cactus triggers to Cyber Sync.

 

[clbd39]

lol, yea but my wife would probably kill me if I bought one more camera item for the next year lol

So, which solder joints should I attempt to solder, I don't want to get wreckless and screw something up inside, any ideas? or just go gun-ho on it?

 

[Big Mike]

So, which solder joints should I attempt to solder, I don't want to get wreckless and screw something up inside, any ideas?

I have no idea. But I'd look for something that might move when pressure is put on the bottom contact.

Another thing you might try, is seeing if it will work when you connect it to the camera via the PC connection. Then you wouldn't have to put it on the hotshoe at all.

 

[clbd39]

So, the problem was weird, the wire inside didn't like being wound so tight, I just made a little more wiggle room in there and it works!

To test I put the sender unit in the hot shoe with the top open, fired, it worked, so i figured it's not movie things around based on the hot shoe mount, so i move on to other things, i ended up have two holes drilled in the sender unit so i could use either side for the antenna to fit if i needed

so when i got back to my place i did a quick test, it works for atleast 80 feet, didn't test anymore since it's getting cold out lol but i would assume it works for the well 300 feet distance as before! but i will only need it for AT MOST 50 feet give or take, so all is well! the wire just needed more wiggle room