Ok I'm a little confused ...
>>> Edit. I'm making progress :-) So I've removed my question(s). I'll update as I get on. Sorry for any wasted time ...
Here's what I've discovered so far. FYI, in case anyone is interested ...
I wanted to be able to fire a Pentax AF540 and a Cactus RF 60X from my K-1 and be able to control the flashes from the camera.
(Cactus flash firmware at latest and transceivers using X-TTL firmware.)
Starting with camera set on manual so I have full control of shutter/aperture/ISO and a V6ii transceiver on camera set in TX mode.
AF540 in TTL mode mounted on a cactus transceiver in RX mode. I can control the ambient light from the manual settings on camera and fill with both the flashes using the transceiver on the camera with a simple rotation of the dial to control the flashes' power.
Next if I want to have the flashes use separate power, then I can set the Pentax to manual and use its power settings, or I assume I could set the transceivers on a different channel per flash. I assume the more sensible method is to use a different channel for each flash.
What I have here is not what I was expecting, as all it is is a convenient way to remotely trigger the flashes and control from the camera the power and zoom.
It isn't automatic though. It is this lack of automatic use that I'm struggling with. I was thinking that the full P-TTL communication between the camera and the Pentax flash would be possible using these transceivers. Maybe it is. At the moment I'm not really that bothered by this as I feel that in full manual (as described above) I probably have a more controlled way of working eg set up subject and flashes on stands with modifiers fitted then I can move the camera around knowing the lighting will be constant on the subject. And with simple tethering via LR the results can be seen instantly.
The Cactus user guides are not especially well organised, or written. Maybe this is to be expected. There is a lot the set-up can do which I doubt I'll ever want, but if I can get confident that I can grab the the transceivers, flick them onto TX or RX, mount the Pentax flash and it will work repeatedly then it will be a great set-up. If, however, I find that I'm having to fiddle around, perhaps remembering to switch the devices on in precise orders and then re-set parameters I'll will be a pain and will not look good.
If anyone is interested I'll report back, but it will be after a gap of a few days as I have other things to do.
Slowly getting there ...
Last edited by BarryE; 05-30-2019 at 12:58 PM.