V6 II and RF60 misfires

lrj · September 2016

Hi,
I have a Fuji XT-1 and V6II (1.1.0.4) + three remote RF60s (2.02)

I did some tests with ONLY cactus gear - just test
firing from the V6II (no camera) outdoors typically 5-10m from the 3
RF60s all set to Slave in different groups. I used fully recharged
batteries in everything, 1/128th power, long range mode, leaving 1-2secs
recharge time between pressing the test button while walking around. It
was not good - out of about 100 test fires in 20-30 cases one or more
flash didn't fire (and it was different ones that didn't fire, not just the same one). If there is no line of sight, then none of the flashes fire at all.

If I swop to a V6 and RF60 (1.42) in exactly the same location & same channel, then all is fine, no misfires even when there is no light of sight. So for me the V6II+RF60 combination is not usable at the moment unless you can help.

On the V6II I have normal HSS, camera system=fujifilm,flash system=auto, channel=1 (same with channel=7)

Is there a green led on the RF60 to show communication with the V6II ?

Antonio · September 2016

Thanks I have passed your observations to R&D,

In the meantime polease send us the serial numbers of your RF60 and we will try to track it down.

Thank you.

lrj · September 2016

Thanks Antonio. I see some other people are having misfire problems, as reported on web reviews etc.

Here are my serial numbers:
V6II E60600746
RF60s: B050500260, B51200149, B60700431

Laurence

Class A · September 2016

Laurence,

to answer one of your questions: The RF60 does not have a green LED to confirm communication with a transmitter.

I see some other people are having misfire problems, as reported on web reviews etc.

Which web reviews are those?

I'd like to have a look, if possible. I once had issues as well and am trying to find out whether there is a common pattern, e.g., using multiple flashes at the same time, rather than just one.

lrj · September 2016

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1ZP2ZY6RIUPWZ/ref=cm_cr_rev_detup_redir?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B00TJIXRQS&cdForum=Fx72D91BZSL6TN&cdPage=1&cdThread=TxR8D1T7NW8R92&newContentID=Mx2GITP6PMTK1KL&store=photo#Mx2GITP6PMTK1KL

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1262560-REG/cactus_dicflawftv6ii_wireless_flash_transceiver_v6.html

just google "cactus v6 ii and rf60 misfire"

Class A · September 2016

The amazon thread is a mix of posts between you and someone else. That other person may have hardware issues, I don't know. He also posted to the community forum, so while I was hoping for more input to see whether there is a pattern, it really seems there are only a very few isolated cases with reliability issues.

N.B., none of the B&H reviews mentions misfires. People having issues with updating the firmware, etc. but no misfires, unless I missed something.

I'll try Google now...

Antonio · September 2016

Thanks Antonio. I see some other people are having misfire problems, as reported on web reviews etc.

Here are my serial numbers:
V6II E60600746
RF60s: B050500260, B51200149, B60700431

Laurence

Hey Laurence,

Thanks for the sending over the serial numbers.

We have been running tests all afternoon in trying to identify the problem and it seems to be a firmware problem. We will be releasing a new firmware (203) today / tomorrow and it will address the misfiring issues.

Thank you for your understanding during this time.

lrj · September 2016

Great Antonio, thanks for all the hard work. I'll try the new firmware tomorrow.

Where is the best place to get announcement emails when new firmware is available ?

lrj · September 2016

Class A
See the last B&H review by Ammar, also one by Bob.

Class A · September 2016

Class A
See the last B&H review by Ammar, also one by Bob.

Thanks.

The one by Bob I had chalked up to Fuji hot-shoe connection issues. The V6II appears to be challenged to make reliable contact with some Fuji cameras so I figured Bob is experiencing this kind of issue, not a V6II + RF60 communication problem.

I missed Ammar's review even though I used the search function to look for "misfire". The reason was that his review only appears when one asks for "more" reviews even after having asked for "all reviews" before.

It is odd that some people are having really bad misfire rates whereas others seem to be having none. If it is a firmware issue then it must be a bug that only manifests itself under very certain circumstances. Otherwise, there should be a much larger amount of complaints, right?

Antonio · September 2016

Where is the best place to get announcement emails when new firmware is available ?

It is now available!

Please check and see if it solves your misfiring issues.

Thank you!

lrj · September 2016

I checked again, with everything exactly the same as before. The only difference was 203 in all the three RF60s. The 3 RF60s are all on the same outdoor table, about 50cm apart.

First test:
For one of the RF60s, no misfires ! (serial number B60700431). Including no line-of-sight.
For the other 2 RF60s, many misfires as before.

Second test, after swopping batteries around, and trying standard alkalines (1.5V) instead of Ni-Mh (1.2V) batteries in the RF60s:
All three RF60s misfired as before. So still inconsistent.

I swopped the Ni-Mh (1.2V) batteries in the V6II for standard alkalines (1.5V) , but no difference.

To check again, I retried the exact same setup with V6 and the same RF60s (142), and no misfires on any RF60.

I'll leave the RF60s on 142 for a job tomorrow.

Antonio · September 2016

lrj for sharing your findings.

As you mentioned the difference with battery types, I wonder if it could be a recycling time issue.

Despite you set the flash power to 1/128, after consecutive firing, the capacitor may not be charged in time to meet with the next sets of triggering. So for testing purposes, you may try:

Method A: trigger a flash every 3-4 seconds (FYI we use 5 seconds just to make sure)

Method B: trigger a series of consecutive flashes with 1-2 seconds interval but after a set of 5 flashes, rest for 3-4 seconds before firing the next set of firing.

You may also switch on the BEEP so you know that each of them are surely recharged before you trigger the next shot.

Also, are you using the Test Button on the V6 II TX?
We find that is much more consistent by using the camera shutter release so that the signal is coming from the hot shoe.
BTW which Fujifilm camera are you using?

Thank you!

Class A · September 2016

Despite you set the flash power to 1/128, after consecutive firing, the capacitor may not be charged in time to meet with the next sets of triggering.

It may be worth pointing out that even a low 1/128 output requires much more capacitor charge when it is done in HSS mode. The flash then has to produce a "long" lasting burst, not just a quick (low energy) pulse.

I think, in standard (non-HSS) mode, firing at power level 1/128 should not pose a recycling challenge to the RF60.

We find that is much more consistent by using the camera shutter release so that the signal is coming from the hot shoe.

This surprises me.

Are you really saying pressing the test button may sometimes fail?

Whereas using a camera for triggering the transmitter is less likely to result in failure?

Why would that be?

lrj · September 2016

I'll get back to this in a few days when I'm less busy...... I'm using the V6II test button - the camera is a Fuji Xt-1 ..... Laurence

Antonio · September 2016

This surprises me.

Are you really saying pressing the test button may sometimes fail?

Whereas using a camera for triggering the transmitter is less likely to result in failure?

Why would that be?

It is just more consistent by using the camera shutter button.
And after all you are using the camera, so it's a plus to also check if the flash actually sync or not.

I'll get back to this in a few days when I'm less busy...... I'm using the V6II test button - the camera is a Fuji Xt-1 ..... Laurence

Thanks Laurence. But please test with yet a newer firmware, version 204. We will release today / tomorrow.

Cheers!

lrj · October 2016

Success!
The V6II (1.1.0.4) and three RF60s (204) and NO misfires. I think 204 has fixed it.

I tried No HSS (forced HSS=OFF) and Normal HSS (Forced HSS=ON). With line-of-sight and without line-of-sight. All worked, with all 3 RF60s firing - using the camera to fire and the V6II test button. Total around 40-50 flashes.

Well done Antonio & Cactus.
Laurence

Antonio · October 2016

Great news, thanks @lrj!!

V6 II and RF60 misfires

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