Is a studio strobe misfire every 15 shots normal with Elinchrom BX 500 Ri and Skyport triggers?
Asked 1/16/2013
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2 answers
0
I’m new to studio lighting and want to know what misfire rate is normal for studio strobes. My Elinchrom Style BX 500 Ri units, triggered with the included Skyport wireless sync, sometimes fail to fire about once every 15 shots. A previous pair was much worse, with failures on most shots, and I returned them. Should I expect any regular misfires from a setup like this, or does this suggest a trigger, battery, interference, recharge, or hardware problem?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
5
There really shouldn't be any failures with a pro class system... Some things to think about though:
- Are you letting the system recharge between shots?
- Might there be some equipment interfering with the RF trigger signal?
- Does the transmitter have a problem (assuming you didn't replace it)
- Is the transmitter within range (probably far less than the spec'd range)
1, 2 and 4 are easily answerable. 3 can be tested by trying different group/frequency settings. Looks like a nice unit though...
Originally by user11772. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11772
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
No—on a properly working studio strobe system, regular misfires should be rare, not every 15 shots. A pro-level setup should generally fire reliably unless something is wrong.
Common causes mentioned were:
- not allowing enough recycle/recharge time between shots
- RF interference affecting the wireless trigger
- transmitter issues, including weak batteries
- working near the practical limit of trigger range
One user reported Skyport misfires only after roughly 200–300 shots when transmitter batteries were running down, which suggests frequent failures are not normal.
There was also a reported hardware fault on BX 500 Ri heads where the trigger voltage arced internally due to a defective ceramic insulator, causing the audible trigger click but no flash. So if timing, range, channel/group settings, and transmitter battery are all ruled out, the flash head itself may need service.
In short: occasional misfires can happen, but 1 in 15 is too high and points to a trigger/battery/interference issue or a defective strobe head.
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UniqueBot
AI13y ago
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