My Radiopopper JrX Studio review

kenyee · 10-02-2009, 07:09 AM

I'll try to keep this thread updated as I experiment with it.
Got the JrX's yesterday and tested on a K20D w/ an AB1600. I'm getting the Nikon RPCube DIY hack cables today so I'll be making those this weekend and testing w/ my Nikon flashes.

Only one misfire out of 50 shots or so testing yesterday. Sync speed of 1/180 is no problem with them. They also fire and sync at the full 3FPS frame rate of the K20D which I was surprised at (the AB was set at a relatively low power...probably 1/16).

They also include a *mono* 3.5mm plug to put into the AB to disable the optical slave. Why oh why wouldn't they just include a stereo one...it works fine as well and would have been useful for my DIY RPCube hack :-P

Comments on physical design:
- one of my Tx knobs is a lot looser than the other so it's easy to nudge out of position, so I might need to exchange it :-P
- the plastic for the case/knobs ironically feels cheaper than the RF602's plastic; rubber on the knobs would have been better and the knob setting ridge could have been painted white (I'll probably do this w/ some whiteout or fingernail polish)
- the knobs could use some position indicators drawn on the case; there's no way to turn a group off, then set it back to the previous position with the current setup
- the knobs could use detents because you don't know when it's turned back on once you turn it to the lowest position and go one step up; this is where I wonder whether a digital readout setup would have been a better idea (up/down bumps power levels and you can easily add "fire everything" or "adjust this one group" to the UI")
- they need some sort of four position slider to enable each group at a time and all groups. When I do studio setups, I meter each light separately, then turn them all on and do a metering of the final setup; because of the lack of indicators, this technique is impossible currently unless you physically go over and pull power plugs out or turn bees off
- not sure why they only put in a 6 position DIP switch on the TX...there's space for more that they could have used for stuff like "modeling lamp on/off" and "disable all groups except this one" (for the functionality above)
- also think it's a screwup not to include a cable that connects the RX to a PC sync port which most flashes have

All in all, I'm happy with the setup. It's fairly annoying to fiddle w/ a flash's power level when it's high up on a lightstand and this lets you meter and set power levels easily from the model's position.
Cost wise, it's ok for a reliable setup w/ the added functionality. The same time last year, the only option at this price point was cybersyncs. Competition is good

Russell-Evans · 10-02-2009, 06:58 PM

Would this work, $9.99?

Maybe use the cables that come with the RF-602 Canon version?

Thank you
Russell

kenyee · 10-03-2009, 11:10 AM

Russell: I have no idea if those Yongnuo hotshoe things would work...can't see the side ports. You'd still have to somehow hack in a wire w/ a 3mm plug into that.
--------------

Continuing w/ the review:
The 'test' buttons on the TX/RX I find kinda cheapy feeling.

I also can't believe they didn't put in lanyard holes. I'm going to hack it by hanging 20# mono fishing line through the battery and cover, though I should probably drill a few holes into the side for the lanyard. Or relent and stick on some velcro, but lanyards are more useful on lightstands (you can hang them off a knob).

They also could have come come up w/ some sort of silkscreen for the DIP switches on the RX...the "which flash group" switches aren't the ones on the end but are 2nd in from the right (switches 5/6) which I find kind of weird.

And don't look at the AB when you power the RX on...the RX cycles the AB from low to full power, then fires off a pop. I saw spots for a while after that :-P

kenyee · 10-03-2009, 03:25 PM

Russell:
The answer is yes, those do work:
Rich Creamery Goodness Blog Archive RadioPopper DIYCube
But the ones from B&H are a better deal (those are what I bought already :-)

Russell-Evans · 10-03-2009, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by kenyee

But the ones from B&H are a better deal (those are what I bought already :-)

Which ones are the B&H ones? Are you modifying this one?

Thank you
Russell

kenyee · 10-03-2009, 04:41 PM

Yep...that's the one I'm modding. Works well...after you buy a 3.5mm plug, you can have enough to connect two Nikon flashes.

Russell-Evans · 10-03-2009, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by kenyee

Yep...that's the one I'm modding. Works well...after you buy a 3.5mm plug, you can have enough to connect two Nikon flashes.

I bought some solder 3.5mm plugs kits from a local TV/HAM/electric store. Probably could get them at the local RadioShack as well. These were only $3. It looks like the wires in the cord are able to be separated and wouldn't be too hard to solder. Is there a need to add more length to the wire?

Photo posted to this discussion on flicker by Steve Watson

Thank you
Russell

kenyee · 10-03-2009, 08:47 PM

Depends on how you plan on using this...you can always change it later if you want. I plan to hang mine off the knob of a lightstand as I mentioned, so I'd probably put 10" on it at most. If you're going to velcro it to a flash, I'd put less on it.

Russell-Evans · 10-03-2009, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by kenyee

Depends on how you plan on using this...you can always change it later if you want. I plan to hang mine off the knob of a lightstand as I mentioned, so I'd probably put 10" on it at most. If you're going to velcro it to a flash, I'd put less on it.

I appreciate your answering my questions and helping me understand what is needed. I think I'll go with the Radiopopper JrX in the next year. I planning on buying the little stuff first as it won't be that expensive. I do expect these to be popular, so it seems likely that the cheap parts will be gone soon.

Thank you
Russell

kenyee · 10-05-2009, 06:21 AM

Built a DIY RPCube successfully. Huge PITA to get the ES900's screws out (they're reaalllllllllly tight), then inside, it's just a huge mess of ugly wires cross connected everywhere :-P
Took about 45min because of lots of swearing at the damn screws, then swearing at the wiring mess inside...

Make sure you slide your flash in all the way when testing it. I didn't have mine all the way and was wondering why in the world it kept firing at full power....turned out I didn't slide the flash in all the way and it was in just enough for the fire pin to make contact but not the quench pin...dohhhh :-(

kenyee · 10-07-2009, 09:54 AM

Quick update on the misfire...I think it was because of bad batteries. I have these Accupower 2900MaH batteries that don't seem to hold their charge for very long but they still let the flash fire most of the time, but occasionally don't.
After switching out batteries, I haven't had a misfire yet. I've also tested sticking it in a microwave, sticking the TX behind various metal objects, etc. I'll try to find someplace to test distance with but most people don't realistically shoot at large distances unless you're trying to light a basketball stadium while you're in the front row :-)

The green LEDs on the TX/RX should be made to blink instead to save power. Most embedded systems use blinking LEDs to save power. Not sure how long the batteries last yet but I've got rechargeable CR123's on the way. I just pull the batteries out when not in use in case they drain batteries while turned off like the RP PX do :-)

kenyee · 10-11-2009, 07:20 PM

Did a shoot w/ another MMer who brought a Vagabond and we both brought a few bees. I didn't test my AB1600's because it wasn't full day sun so we only used his two B800's mixed w/ my SB28 for an additional hair/rim light. From roughly 200 shots, there was one misfire from the bees not recycling in time because I held the shutter button down too long and fired a two shot sequence. Power adjustments went as expected. No JrX's/ABs crashed while running on Vagabond power; we probably ran the Vagabond down halfway over a few hours.

This was a location shoot in a relatively open area and we were 60-70' away at most (it's bad enough to yell out directions to a model when you're using a 200mm lens so I can't see going out much further ;-)

Main negative on the JrX so far is the rotary dials are too easy to jostle out of position w/ a slight rub, e.g., if you dangle your camera at your side while fiddling w/ a softbox that the damn 25mph wind gusts rotated for the Nth time :-P
The rightmost DIP switch does disable level adjustments but I didn't read the manual in time :-)

Next update won't be for at least a week...RP is exchanging my TX because of the loose group A knob and is paying for shipping (nice of them to do that and what they should be doing).

p.s., really wishing I picked up a 43Ltd last year before the big price increase. I really hate the ring highlights the 50/1.4 gives when shooting at bright spots in the background :-P

kenyee · 10-13-2009, 07:27 PM

Someone on Nikon Cafe said they had problems triggering their Speedotron gear and I can confirm this w/ a borrowed 805 pack. RP supplies a 1/8" to 1/8" stereo cable and a 1/8" to 1/4" stereo plug adapter. I'll bet Speedotron uses the middle of their socket for ground instead of the end, so it needs a cable w/ a mono plug.

The 805 pack was tested w/ V2s fleabay triggers and the RP triggers an AB1600 w/ the 1/8" cable w/o problems.

kenyee · 10-14-2009, 04:43 PM

So I bought a radioshack adapter (part# 274-348) to test. Plugged the cable into it and luckily used a multimeter to check connectivity. The trigger and quench (tip and middle) are shorted together by this adapter. I'm not plugging this into my gear to see what'll happen. That'd be a major bummer if it fried my RP JrX and speedo pack :-P

I expected the middle part of the stereo plug to connect to nothing when the adapter was in place...

kenyee · 10-16-2009, 12:00 PM

FYI, RP put up a compatibility guide for the JrX:
http://www.radiopopper.com/docs/jrx_...tion_guide.pdf

The amusing part is my Speedo pack doesn't have a household sync socket...it's a 1/4" female socket :-)

Also, FYI, the JrX has a max sync voltage of 200V.
Some older Speedo packs have a sync voltage of 300V so it'd be fried JrX city :-)