420ez and cactus v2's problem.

wingnut

wingnut

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Yes I know I should ditch the cheap remote triggers, but cash is limited at present.
Anyway I brought a cheap 420ez off fleabay last week, got all excited when it arrived thought I could have a play with two strobes rather than just my sigma 500 super, the 420ez work in manual mode when in the hot shoe of my 40d but hook it up to the pt-04 receiver and nothing. The receiver flashes to say it has received the signal but gun will not fire.
Had a look through the manual but it says nothing about what settings to use or anything.
Just wondering if anyone has got a 420ez to work with the pt-04 wireless receivers.
Oh and I know the system works as my sigma flash works great in full manual mode on them.
Cheers
 
sometimes the contact on the flash and receiver is loose check that first (mount the flash on the receiver without tightening the lock). . then if that is ok and still doesn't work, try changing channels on the transmitter/receiver.
 
Tried both of those tips mate, but still no luck, [Now scratches head in confused way].

Have funny feeling the unit is faulty though, it keeps doing real random things like shutting down when I manually adjust the zoom of the head, and when I tilt the head.

Cheers for the help though mate.
 
"could" be faulty (loose parts inside) flash then...

on second thought, do you know the trigger voltage of the flash?
the V2s receiver will only work with 12V and below ( according to GI).
obviously if the trigger voltage of the flash is higher, then that might be the cause.
 
According to this site - http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html the trigger voltage of the 420ez's is 4 to 4.71 volts, so all should be ok, reckon it is a duff unit.

But cheers for the continued support mate.

PS are you doing cactus upgrades for TP forum users or just selling them online??
 
There appear to be compatibility issues between the 430ex and the Cactus triggers, but you may also find that the hotshoe of the receiver is the culprit. On a couple of mine the red light flashes on the recever but the strobe (SB-600 or Vivitar 285hv) does not fire if it is in the hotshoe. Taking it off the hotshoe and connecting it via a pc cable restores normal service.

I can see a set of Pocket Wizards in my future :lol:
 
@ wingnut - No I dont sell them at the mo.

I can do the antenna mod for you free (offer to first 5 TP users with more than 100 posts), but you have to send me your trigger (if you trust me) and a self addressed envelope (must be recorded).

Please note I dont gurantee it will work for you... but I will do my best and follow what I have done with mine which works.
 
Did you ever get a conclusive result with this setup? I too am having a problem with the 420EZ + Cactus PT04: as Flash In The Pan notes, the signal is received but the unit doesn't fire. I also have a 430EZ (the newer model) which works perfectly. I've run extensive on-camera tests with both units, swapped channels and batteries, swapped receivers between the two (and with other flash units), all to no avail...
 
I ended up sending the 420ez back to the seller as it was a defective unit, went up one model to a 430ez and it works, some misifre but I think that's the pt-04's rather then the flash unit.
Heading over to the US in Nov this year and am going to pick up a set of the new alien bee's cybersync triggers.
 
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