Skyport Help

[aIpha]

Received my Skyport kit today and trying to test it out but I am running into some problems. :oops:

1) The charger for the receiver, there are only two adapters for the outlet (one was already attached to the charger cord) both of them are not AC adapters. According to the picture in BH, it looks like I should have received the AC adapter for it.

2) I bought these PC-1 Miniphone to PC Cable cords (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131298-REG/Pocket_Wizard_804301_PC_1_Miniphone_to_PC.html) to sync between the Skyport receiver and 580EX II. Is this the wrong sync cord? I can not for the life of me, trigger my 580EX II.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[FlashZebra]

I cannot quite comprehend the charger intrigue.

But, that sync cord should work.

Do you happen to have your 580EX set to Master-Manual mode. If so, that is the problem. The sync port is disabled in that mode.

Try another manual mode.

Enjoy! Lon

[aIpha]

Do you happen to have your 580EX set to Master-Manual mode
Hmm, nope. I also tried my SB-24.

Another weird thing I noticed was if I connect the flash units to the transmitter directly using the included Sub-Mini (2.5mm) to PC Sync Cord... if I hit "Test" the flash will fire but after that first fire, hitting "Test" again won't do anything AND none of the buttons on the flash respond. It'll go back to normal if I disconnect the PC sync cord from flash then back again. :cry:

[Linkzi]

I just tested mine today without problems. My SB-28 and 26 worked fine in manual mode. I charged my receivers last night and had the US adaptor included.

[aIpha]

I got it to work... not sure what was wrong with it. Aside from the weirdness when connecting the transmitter directly to the flash, the main symptom was that it didn't look like the transmitter and receiver were 'connected'. I fidgeted around with the codes before and matched it to several different configurations without much luck.

About 5 minutes ago, I was fidgeting around with it again and they seem to be connected now as the transmitter is successfully triggering the flash. Weird but yay regardless.

...I charged my receivers last night and had the US adaptor included.
Thanks for confirming that Linkzi. Better call B&H tomorrow.

Thanks guys.

[azpix]

1) The charger for the receiver, there are only two adapters for the outlet (one was already attached to the charger cord) both of them are not AC adapters. According to the picture in BH, it looks like I should have received the AC adapter for it.
.

hopefully you have already resolved this. if not keep looking, its there. When i got my i went through the same shock. If i remember correctly, the AC plug has some sort of cover on it.

[SkipD]

1) The charger for the receiver, there are only two adapters for the outlet (one was already attached to the charger cord) both of them are not AC adapters. According to the picture in BH, it looks like I should have received the AC adapter for it.All of my Skyport receivers, whether in a kit with a transmitter or separate, came with a charger and three adapters for plugging the charger in to a wall receptacle. One of the three is for U.S.-style 120V receptacles, one is for the Great Britain style 250V receptacle, and the third will fit most other 240/250V receptacles found in other countries.

All three adapters are for AC power, by the way.

NONE of the adapters was connected to the charger if I recall correctly. You may have received a package that someone had played with. I would contact your vendor and get a replacement (or at least get the proper adapter that may be missing).

[aIpha]

NONE of the adapters was connected to the charger if I recall correctly. You may have received a package that someone had played with. I would contact your vendor and get a replacement (or at least get the proper adapter that may be missing).

Yep, it came with only two adapters. :( The first thing I did was check the image that B&H has.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/largeimages/505381.jpg

The adapters are pictured in the bottom-right hand corner. You see the 120V AC adapter attached to the plug. This is the one that I am missing. The one on the top was connected.

Funny thing is, there was a "was this opened before" clear and round sticker on the flap of the box that I had to rip to open the box. This sticker was intact when I opened the box. Did you guys have this sticker too? Maybe there are US versions and international versions...

[MT Stringer]

I got mine this past Tuesday and everything pictured above was in the box. However, the charger had the round two prong connector mounted on it. All I had to do was remove it and attach the one you would normally use for US houshold electrical recepticles.

Same goes for the second receiver. It had everything in the box also.
Good luck.
Mike

[ben_r_]

Oh wow, I didnt know that the Skyports had built in rechargeable batteries... So what do you do if they die in the field... Unless you carry a spare with you youre dead in the water. That would be a def advantage to going the pocket wizard route as at least you could replace the batteries.

[azpix]

Oh wow, I didnt know that the Skyports had built in rechargeable batteries... So what do you do if they die in the field... Unless you carry a spare with you youre dead in the water. That would be a def advantage to going the pocket wizard route as at least you could replace the batteries.

for what it's worth, I got mine in September and and have shot about 300+ shots with them. Only charged them once when i first got them and they fire up no problem. I don't think they use a lot of battery power, but that just an assumption.

[aIpha]

B&H gave me an RMA and will be sending it back for an exchange.

Funny thing, my skyports are no longer working again. Same symptom as the one I described in the begging of this post. Does the receiver need to be fully charged in the beginning for this to work reliably? It turned on fine out of the box and since I don't have the 120V AC adapter, I can't recharge the receiver.

Hope this is just a defect and not something I will experience with the exchange.

[SkipD]

Funny thing, my skyports are no longer working again. Same symptom as the one I described in the begging of this post. Does the receiver need to be fully charged in the beginning for this to work reliably? It turned on fine out of the box and since I don't have the 120V AC adapter, I can't recharge the receiver.

Hope this is just a defect and not something I will experience with the exchange.The receiver batteries are almost uncharged as delivered new. That's why you only got a few shots with the system.

[aIpha]

The receiver batteries are almost uncharged as delivered new. That's why you only got a few shots with the system.

Is there a way to tell that the receiver batteries are going low? I turn it on, it blinks twice then 4 seconds before it's lit very dimly then blink every few seconds.

[SkipD]

Is there a way to tell that the receiver batteries are going low? I turn it on, it blinks twice then 4 seconds before it's lit very dimly then blink every few seconds.I don't know if there's a planned (by the manufacturer, that is) way to tell by looking at the LED, but it's obvious to me that if they stop working it's time to charge the receiver's battery and/or replace the battery in the transmitter :p.

[aIpha]

I don't know if there's a planned (by the manufacturer, that is) way to tell by looking at the LED, but it's obvious to me that if they stop working it's time to charge the receiver's battery and/or replace the battery in the transmitter :p.

Well, normally yes... but for my case where I can't charge the receiver (and haven't been able to since I don't have the right adapter), quite strange that I got it to work (somehow but no clue how!) last night before I tuck it away in its bag for the night. :(

[aIpha]

Just a quicky update to my skyport issue. RMA'd to B&H and they ate the shipping charges and sent me a new Skyport universal transmitter/receiver. UPS must've had a helluva delay between Xmas and New Years because it was delayed until today.

Anyway, opened the box, double checked to make sure the 120V AC adapter was there (it was!). Popped in the battery for the transmitter, plugged in a sb-24 to the receiver and hit the test button... FLASH!

Looks like I had not only a defective Skyport unit but also a box with a missing item.

Thanks everyone for helping me to try to troubleshoot the issue!

[SkipD]

Just a quicky update to my skyport issue. RMA'd to B&H and they ate the shipping charges and sent me a new Skyport universal transmitter/receiver. UPS must've had a helluva delay between Xmas and New Years because it was delayed until today.

Anyway, opened the box, double checked to make sure the 120V AC adapter was there (it was!). Popped in the battery for the transmitter, plugged in a sb-24 to the receiver and hit the test button... FLASH!

Looks like I had not only a defective Skyport unit but also a box with a missing item.

Thanks everyone for helping me to try to troubleshoot the issue!I doubt your original receiver was actually bad. None of my six receivers would work for more than a very few flashes until I charged them up or if I had the charger powering them for testing while they still needed charging.

I'm glad that you have things working for you now and have all the parts.

[Strayz]

Another thing to check before sending them back is your PC cords. I had a bad one and it took a bit of checking things out before I found mine was bad (and a little cussing and wondering WTF??)