600ex-RT not staying linked

trying some lighting for a gig coming up and ive got an issue with my speedlites not staying synced to the Canon RT controller...

ive been through the manuals and its really starting to piss me off...

ive tried 2 different speedlites and there must be something im doing wrong but i dont know what it is. ive used 4 speedlites in the past, shot for a while, went away came back and cycled the power (the speedlites auto shut off) and they go right back to being linked up and ready to shoot...

its getting me a bit worried with a pending shoot coming up

Sounds like you may have interference. I've never had any of my 600s misfire at reasonable distances (up to 80 feet or so, maybe a hair more in the outdoors) except for 1) low batteries, 2) interference on the channel, or 3) flash too close to the ground. They also self power up after going to sleep/auto shutoff with a half tap of the shutter from the remote position without manually cycling. There's an option in the menu to enable this longer sleep behavior. Try doing a reset on your flashes to default and moving the channel you're using to the opposite end of the scale.

Also, try cleaning the contacts on the flashes, controller, and camera hotshoe with something like Deoxit red. Despite the "scrubbing" design of the feet, oxidation on those contacts has cause weird things to happen.

Is it only the RT controller that causes them to lose sync? Does it still do it if you use one of the 600s as the controller instead? You may have a broken antenna inside the RT from a drop or shock.

Ltdave wrote in post #19212622
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trying some lighting for a gig coming up and ive got an issue with my speedlites not staying synced to the Canon RT controller...

ive been through the manuals and its really starting to piss me off...

ive tried 2 different speedlites and there must be something im doing wrong but i dont know what it is. ive used 4 speedlites in the past, shot for a while, went away came back and cycled the power (the speedlites auto shut off) and they go right back to being linked up and ready to shoot...

its getting me a bit worried with a pending shoot coming up
.

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I would get on the phone with Canon Support. . The support personnel are very knowledgeable and speak English as a first language, so it is easy to understand them. . They have always walked me through any issues I have had in a very efficient manner.

Calling Canon Support is my first option whenever I have any issues with Canon products.

Canon Customer Support:
800-652-2666



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docholliday_sc001 wrote in post #19212640
Sounds like you may have interference. I've never had any of my 600s misfire at reasonable distances (up to 80 feet or so, maybe a hair more in the outdoors) except for 1) low batteries, 2) interference on the channel, or 3) flash too close to the ground. They also self power up after going to sleep/auto shutoff with a half tap of the shutter from the remote position without manually cycling. There's an option in the menu to enable this longer sleep behavior. Try doing a reset on your flashes to default and moving the channel you're using to the opposite end of the scale.

Also, try cleaning the contacts on the flashes, controller, and camera hotshoe with something like Deoxit red. Despite the "scrubbing" design of the feet, oxidation on those contacts has cause weird things to happen.

Is it only the RT controller that causes them to lose sync? Does it still do it if you use one of the 600s as the controller instead? You may have a broken antenna inside the RT from a drop or shock.

Have been using the 600 EX-RT, ST-E3 RT system when first introduced in Spring of 2012.
Great Trouble Shooting advice above by DOC Above.