Cactus V2s Mods ???

strobemonkey

strobemonkey

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I finally ordered the Cactus V2s from Gadget Infinity via eBay.
While waiting for the trigger to come I am googling for some mods. I found a lot of mods but they are at least 6 months old threads.

Has anyone tried any mods to their V2, V2s, PT04 trigger/receiver and is it reliable or at least works better than without modding?

This one looks good and sounds reliable according to the feedbacks. Buying the same materials here in UK costs around 15 squid which is almost the same price of the trigger/receiver.

What do you guys think???
 
No ideas yet?
 
My eBay triggers finally arrived least expected today!
After fiddling with the channels, flash misfiring has finally stopped.
I can sync only upto 1/200 sec. And outdoors, I can trigger my flash from about 100 ft.

I am happy with the range, but I want to use sync cable instead of the receiver's hotshoe because I want to mod the receiver to use x2 AAA batteries. Problem is I don't know the name of the cable that connects the receiver to my 580EX II.

Your guidance/assistance is much appreciated.

I'm trying to attach images but doesnt work...or I dont really know how to do it


1830hrs Edit:

Don't worry peeps, thanks to Ebay, all sorted now. Male/Male PC sync was what I was looking for.

Heres a quick test shot this morning:

2425330772_59ce7f331f_o.jpg

2424512803_b52ccb89d9_o.jpg


I was about 100ft away (second pic), 1/200sec sync. Can't go faster than 1/200.
 
This is my own mod version after reading all of the following forum threads and blogs:

1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshsommers/527046465/
2. http://www.instructables.com/id/Increase-effective-distance-on-_ebay_-flash-remote/
3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/63856254@N00/348236022/
4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lotto1/472239389/
5. http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157602062670517/
6. http://www.pbase.com/angusmeek/gi_cactus_mod
7. http://jeremykuster.blogspot.com/2007/10/gi-cactus-v2s-modification-tutorial.html
8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/makelessnoise/1956119247/

My favourite amongst the tutorials is no.7


There is a UK seller that sells the needed items described in no.7 tutorial here. But the total price of the antenna + mount + postage is around £15


I used this frequency wavelength calculator to get the correct length of wire I needed to use.

I have tried 1/4 wavelength but sometimes I couldn't trigger the receiver. Then I tried 1/2 wavelenght with success.

The length of the cable I used was 13.64 inhes minus 1.25 inches (this is the length of the trace infront of the trigger's PCB). In short I used 12.39 inches of cable approximately. Take note that in no.7 tutorial the end of the cable was soldered to the right of the trigger, while I soldered it to the left (end of the trace).

Now wait a second, you might say why is no.7 tutorial my favourite, but I did not use the materials mentioned? Simple answer is the cost!:shrug: And I cant wait for a few more days for delivery!:nono:

My first test without the mod shows I can trigger the receievr at around 100ft.
2424512803_6880b0a0d8.jpg


My second test after modding the trigger shows:
2428691211_6548e0eaf0.jpg


Sorry its already around 2200 hrs when I took the shot. This is the same location as the fisrt test shot.
As you can see, or really CANNOT see, the flash was inside my house way inside (roughly 30ft. away) ! And I was stood further back from where I was with the first test shot. Before the mod, I couldn't trigger the flash when its inside the house!

Before I forget, the cable I used is here:
2429504112_d521a94b54.jpg


I stripped an old Cat5e cable. The one that came with my wireless router!

Here's how the modded reciever looks like:
2429504694_02908386f6_o.jpg


You might notice the battery is a different brand from what normally ships with the trigger, I bought that from maplins for£1.30. B&Q also sells them cheaper.

Overall I'm very pleased and satisfied with this mod which has increased the triggering distance.

But contrary to what I said in my earlier post that I can sync upto 1/200sec, I would like to correct it as I did another check this evening and its only 1/160sec. A picture is worth a thousand words as they say so I will post some pictures to show it later on....

Here are the pictures;
2428886373_81dfd97686.jpg

1/250 sec, part of the image is dark

2429698586_d6aea216a9.jpg

1/200 sec, a bit more dark area can be seen

2429698896_92107d6ce3.jpg

1/160 sec, perfect sync!


Its too early for me to say this mod is stable and works 100% as I have just done it about 3 hrs ago, so I will update this thread when i encounter problems.

Time to bed now!

Update 24/Apr/2008

Distance test.
2438487288_948d36973f_b.jpg


Above is my distance test with my friend Michael "Casanova" holding the flash!
Can you see him and the people walking opposite?


The picture was shot using 400D with 24-105 L zoomed out @24mm.
I'm 5'-5" and thats 100 paces, sorry I don't have a long measuring tape.
 
Are you on some sort of commission from Elinchrom? The fact he can only sync to 1/160 is more a limitation of the camera than the triggers.
 
Not really, you can see in the first shoot that the flash has fired at 1/250 it's just the rear curtain causing the exposure issue. We need someone with a D70(s) to see how quick the fleebay triggers will work.
 
I would believe the limitation of my camera being 1/200 (maximum flash sync) only when the flash is attached to my camera's hotshoe, or using pc sync. But I'm using wireless trigger and manual mode. So my guess is that the signal is not relayed as quick to the receiver. So I think its a limitation of the trigger/receiver themselves. Only an uneducated guess though.
 
This is what Gadget Infinity told me when I asked them about the slow sync speed:

Let’s take Canon 580EX as an example.

Please refer to the following data:

Ts = shutter speed

Tf = flash speed

Tr = transmission time from V2 transmitter to receiver

Tfv2 = responding time of the flash after V2 is in use

Under normal circumstances, Ts = Tf = 1/250s (the highest responding time of Canon)

When the wireless flash trigger is in use:

Tfv2 = Tf - Tr,

Therefore, Tr = 1/500s

Tfv2 = Tf - Tr = 1/500s

Therefore Ts = 2 x Tfv2 = 1/125s only.

That's why you cannot get the shutter speed up to 1/250s.

We also mention in the listing that “The transmitter emits radio signal to the receiver when shutter is pressed. Highest responding time is 1/1000s (actual sync speed varies from 1/125s to 1/600s depending on the sync speed of the flash / strobe).” So the limitation of sync speed comes from the flash, not the camera.

If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Regards,
Gadget Infinity
Click to expand...

Though they are very quick in replying to emails post sales, their mathematical formula DOESN'T make sense to me at all. Take into account the faster sync speed of Skyports!

But I like these cheap triggers and I ordered another receiver! Now who wants to lend me a flash?
 
I'm loving my cactus triggers so far, but i'm just wondering if anyone has found a way to make the sturdier when using hotshoe flashes with no sync cables. Is there any way to make them a little stronger so the tighten mechanism doesn't move?
 
5p is all it costs.
Like this?

Actually thats mine! Also modded it to use x2 AAA batteries!
 
Thats great, didn't think of that! If I want to connect an SB-25 via sync cable rather than hotshoe, do I need a male to male PC sync cord? The ones in the kits are male - headphone style jack?
 
I dont know about Nikon SB's. I think cherryrig owns that flash.I connect my 580EX II via Male/Male PC sync from ebay.
 
Yep you need a male male cord. Try ebay or failing that a website called speedgraphic will have it.
 
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