Something so monumentally stupid...

[table1349]

I've never done a dumb thing in my entire life.

Oh come on... I'm sure just once you must have chosen a marginally less than stellar bottle of vino...

Oh I can say the same thing, I have never done A dumb thing in my life. I have done many dumb things, not A dumb thing.

 

[table1349]

I did, I wonder how I breathe without instructions!

Last fall, I bought a Godox AD360-II and X1 trigger as a cheap & cheerful 'stronger than a speedlight' solution for HSS outdoor work for jobs where I don't need/want to lug a full on lighting system to. I was pleasantly surprised both by the build quality and the overall functionality. The HSS was flawless, and while it was a little less powerful than advertised, it did exactly what I want. The X1 trigger worked very well as well... initially, or so I thought....

The unit sat idle for a month or so over Christmas; it's one of those things that I don't use very often, but when I do, it's really the only tool for the job. So... early in the new year, I was prepping gear for a job on a fairly remote beach and I had the light sitting on the tail-gate of my truck, in it's bag. I connected it to the battery, powered it up, pressed the test-button on the trigger and... nothing. Okay, that's easy, new batteries for the trigger, right? Nope. New batteries, cleaning the [not dirty] contacts... nothing made any difference. Every now and then it would trigger, but only maybe 1 out 10 times; not a degree of reliability I can live with. Triggering in manual with pocket wizards worked fine, so that was my fall back.

Anyway... came back, put it aside for a few days, and then got it out again, took the trigger out, still leaving the light head itself sitting in its bag on my tail-gate (anyone giggling yet?) Same thing... maybe 1 in 10 presses actually fire the light. Put the trigger on a body... same thing. So, based on the way everything was working, I decided that the trigger was faulty, after all, it was just cheap MiC stuff, right? I ordered a new trigger and.... same thing (again without taking the light out of the bag, and the bag sitting on a bench (You should be laughing and pointing by now).

So... now I'm thinking that it must the wireless receiver in the flash head that's at fault. I'm a little depressed as I really like this thing, and the idea of having to return it is NOT something that I like. Last night, sitting on the couch a brain storm hits. This thing is low-power RF, right? Where is the receiver... as it turns out, the receiver in the actual flash unit is in the front above the AF-assist. You know... right where it was resting on either the sheet metal of my truck's tail-gate or the work bench.

Take the light out, put it on a light stand, and it works perfectly. Funny that... a clear transmission path and radio-waves get through. I now have a severely bruised butt from kicking myself all around the house for the last 24 hours.

You may all now point and laugh uproariously!

Dear Grandchildren, let me tell you a really funny story that Grandpa did years ago. You see this was when people still used a thing called a camera and lighting, not just a smart communicating do all device.......................

 

[pgriz]

I've never done a dumb thing in my entire life.

We must be operating in different universes. If I haven't done at least five dumb things on a given day, then I'm being lazy. But keep in mind that's "dumb" things. Really, really dumb things that could have life-terminating consequences, I try to avoid mainly because I'd probably do a half-assed job and end up being a burden on my family. But you can't really grow without pushing the boundaries, and every so often, you step over. Just make sure that the other side isn't a half-mile drop.

 

[tirediron]

I've never done a dumb thing in my entire life.

We must be operating in different universes. If I haven't done at least five dumb things on a given day, then I'm being lazy. But keep in mind that's "dumb" things. Really, really dumb things that could have life-terminating consequences, I try to avoid mainly because I'd probably do a half-assed job and end up being a burden on my family. But you can't really grow without pushing the boundaries, and every so often, you step over. Just make sure that the other side isn't a half-mile drop.

Stepping over is one thing... tripping and falling flat on your puss in the middle of the street... that's more my speed!

 

[The_Traveler]

I have a photo related stupidity that happened yesterday. I was refilling 5 ink cartridges on a Canon Pro 1. It isn't difficult but a bit tension-inducing because one is working with messy stuff with the potential of a major costly screw up.

Finished, went to print and a print error popped up on one of my newly filled cartridges. Removed it, checked contacts, reseated, all to no avail. Even changed chip. Nothing.
Finally after staring at it for a while, I thought to weigh the cartridge. In the pressure of doing something for the first time, I had done every step but actually fill that last cartridge with ink.

With ink, it worked fine.

 

[tirediron]

...With ink, it worked fine.

Funny how that works!

 

[Derrel]

Reminds me of the Tech Support 101 Caller Reply List: Support Personnel Question One:

"Okay sir....is the device plugged into a working electrical outlet?"

"Uh..well, of course it is! Jeeze, whaddaya' think I am some kind of idio.... oh, wait, it's working now! Bye!"

 

[fmw]

I did, I wonder how I breathe without instructions!

Last fall, I bought a Godox AD360-II and X1 trigger as a cheap & cheerful 'stronger than a speedlight' solution for HSS outdoor work for jobs where I don't need/want to lug a full on lighting system to. I was pleasantly surprised both by the build quality and the overall functionality. The HSS was flawless, and while it was a little less powerful than advertised, it did exactly what I want. The X1 trigger worked very well as well... initially, or so I thought....

The unit sat idle for a month or so over Christmas; it's one of those things that I don't use very often, but when I do, it's really the only tool for the job. So... early in the new year, I was prepping gear for a job on a fairly remote beach and I had the light sitting on the tail-gate of my truck, in it's bag. I connected it to the battery, powered it up, pressed the test-button on the trigger and... nothing. Okay, that's easy, new batteries for the trigger, right? Nope. New batteries, cleaning the [not dirty] contacts... nothing made any difference. Every now and then it would trigger, but only maybe 1 out 10 times; not a degree of reliability I can live with. Triggering in manual with pocket wizards worked fine, so that was my fall back.

Anyway... came back, put it aside for a few days, and then got it out again, took the trigger out, still leaving the light head itself sitting in its bag on my tail-gate (anyone giggling yet?) Same thing... maybe 1 in 10 presses actually fire the light. Put the trigger on a body... same thing. So, based on the way everything was working, I decided that the trigger was faulty, after all, it was just cheap MiC stuff, right? I ordered a new trigger and.... same thing (again without taking the light out of the bag, and the bag sitting on a bench (You should be laughing and pointing by now).

So... now I'm thinking that it must the wireless receiver in the flash head that's at fault. I'm a little depressed as I really like this thing, and the idea of having to return it is NOT something that I like. Last night, sitting on the couch a brain storm hits. This thing is low-power RF, right? Where is the receiver... as it turns out, the receiver in the actual flash unit is in the front above the AF-assist. You know... right where it was resting on either the sheet metal of my truck's tail-gate or the work bench.

Take the light out, put it on a light stand, and it works perfectly. Funny that... a clear transmission path and radio-waves get through. I now have a severely bruised butt from kicking myself all around the house for the last 24 hours.

You may all now point and laugh uproariously!

I made a mistake once. If I remember right it was in 1982.

 

[pendennis]

Reminds me of the Tech Support 101 Caller Reply List: Support Personnel Question One:

"Okay sir....is the device plugged into a working electrical outlet?"

"Uh..well, of course it is! Jeeze, whaddaya' think I am some kind of idio.... oh, wait, it's working now! Bye!"

For a number of years, I managed several buildings as the IT support manager. We kept logs of help calls; always heavily edited for publication purposes. However, one of my techs invariably included the acronym "ID10T" as the code for user-induced problems. And, yes, any number were for folks who failed to power up monitors, or accidentally unplug equipment from surge protectors.

 

[bluewanders]

I did, I wonder how I breathe without instructions!

Last fall, I bought a Godox AD360-II and X1 trigger as a cheap & cheerful 'stronger than a speedlight' solution for HSS outdoor work for jobs where I don't need/want to lug a full on lighting system to. I was pleasantly surprised both by the build quality and the overall functionality. The HSS was flawless, and while it was a little less powerful than advertised, it did exactly what I want. The X1 trigger worked very well as well... initially, or so I thought....

The unit sat idle for a month or so over Christmas; it's one of those things that I don't use very often, but when I do, it's really the only tool for the job. So... early in the new year, I was prepping gear for a job on a fairly remote beach and I had the light sitting on the tail-gate of my truck, in it's bag. I connected it to the battery, powered it up, pressed the test-button on the trigger and... nothing. Okay, that's easy, new batteries for the trigger, right? Nope. New batteries, cleaning the [not dirty] contacts... nothing made any difference. Every now and then it would trigger, but only maybe 1 out 10 times; not a degree of reliability I can live with. Triggering in manual with pocket wizards worked fine, so that was my fall back.

Anyway... came back, put it aside for a few days, and then got it out again, took the trigger out, still leaving the light head itself sitting in its bag on my tail-gate (anyone giggling yet?) Same thing... maybe 1 in 10 presses actually fire the light. Put the trigger on a body... same thing. So, based on the way everything was working, I decided that the trigger was faulty, after all, it was just cheap MiC stuff, right? I ordered a new trigger and.... same thing (again without taking the light out of the bag, and the bag sitting on a bench (You should be laughing and pointing by now).

So... now I'm thinking that it must the wireless receiver in the flash head that's at fault. I'm a little depressed as I really like this thing, and the idea of having to return it is NOT something that I like. Last night, sitting on the couch a brain storm hits. This thing is low-power RF, right? Where is the receiver... as it turns out, the receiver in the actual flash unit is in the front above the AF-assist. You know... right where it was resting on either the sheet metal of my truck's tail-gate or the work bench.

Take the light out, put it on a light stand, and it works perfectly. Funny that... a clear transmission path and radio-waves get through. I now have a severely bruised butt from kicking myself all around the house for the last 24 hours.

You may all now point and laugh uproariously!

Just so you know... that may not be about a clear transmission path... it may likely be about what mode the X1 was started in. I have that commander... it has a normal mode... and a close mode. If the commander is within 12 feet (iirc) and hasn't been turned on in close mode you'll start getting intermittent failures to fire... and the closer the two get the more frequent the failures become.

More information:
GODOX PHOTO EQUIPMENT CO.,LTD Download
"Q: Why X1 can not trigger in near distance
A: Please upgrade the newly version(X1C V15,X1N V16,X1S V13), long press the TEST button and turn on the power simultaneously until STATUS blink for 2 seconds,0-30m remote control can be selected."

EDIT: This FAQ answer suggests it isn't 12 feet, but rather 30 meters.. which seems off considering that would be 100 feet.

 

[tirediron]

Just so you know... that may not be about a clear transmission path... it may likely be about what mode the X1 was started in. I have that commander... it has a normal mode... and a close mode. If the commander is within 12 feet (iirc) and hasn't been turned on in close mode you'll start getting intermittent failures to fire... and the closer the two get the more frequent the failures become.

More information:
GODOX PHOTO EQUIPMENT CO.,LTD Download
"Q: Why X1 can not trigger in near distance
A: Please upgrade the newly version(X1C V15,X1N V16,X1S V13), long press the TEST button and turn on the power simultaneously until STATUS blink for 2 seconds,0-30m remote control can be selected."

EDIT: This FAQ answer suggests it isn't 12 feet, but rather 30 meters.. which seems off considering that would be 100 feet.

Interesting; I wasn't aware of this, but I do normally use the light within a couple of feet (<5) of the transmitter, and I've never had a problem when it was on a stand.

 

[bluewanders]

Just so you know... that may not be about a clear transmission path... it may likely be about what mode the X1 was started in. I have that commander... it has a normal mode... and a close mode. If the commander is within 12 feet (iirc) and hasn't been turned on in close mode you'll start getting intermittent failures to fire... and the closer the two get the more frequent the failures become.

More information:
GODOX PHOTO EQUIPMENT CO.,LTD Download
"Q: Why X1 can not trigger in near distance
A: Please upgrade the newly version(X1C V15,X1N V16,X1S V13), long press the TEST button and turn on the power simultaneously until STATUS blink for 2 seconds,0-30m remote control can be selected."

EDIT: This FAQ answer suggests it isn't 12 feet, but rather 30 meters.. which seems off considering that would be 100 feet.

Interesting; I wasn't aware of this, but I do normally use the light within a couple of feet (<5) of the transmitter, and I've never had a problem when it was on a stand.

It's sort of a crapshoot. There are days when the only way I can get something done is remembering close mode... and other days when the light is a foot from the commander and firing every time. They released a firmware update for the X1 which made it more reliable (you should download their firmware updater and take care of your X1 if you haven't yet.)

I haven't had any problems at all with failure to fire when the receiver is near/against metal... but I have had a problem with it failing to fire with my flashes inside a nearby softbox... switching to close mode has cleared it up 100% of the time.

 

[The_Traveler]

If this thread includes other issues beyond photography, I might include one of my decisions to marry.

 

[gckless]

I sorta did this when I got my first Nikon SB-700 an was using the onboard flash to trigger it. I thought the sensor was on the opposite side of the flash that it actually was. So I thought the whole system was crap, couldn't get far away from the camera and it sometimes wouldn't trigger and so on. Was like a month or so before I figured it out.

It wasn't all bad though, since that made me buy some RF flash gear. Sooooooo much better.

 

[bribrius]

Huh? So how did you get it working?