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12-03-2008, 03:48 AM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by ryan s Quote
1/160 in M mode works just fine for those with EV steps set to 1/3.


I replaced the battery in mine last week and it still didn't work. Ok, so I took the battery door off and it worked. Put the door on, stopped.

Sooooooo...either the door has to be lightly snapped on or left off completely. FYI I'm using Walgreens brand CR2s. They are a little thicker than the "Great Power" one it came with.

Annoying...very annoying.
I can sync at 1/160, but not as reliably as at 1/125 Hasn't been a big issue for me as I use flash mostly indoors, and I'm usually shooting between 1/60 and 1/125 anyway.

When I replaced the battery in my receiver, I had the same problem. I solved it by bending the battery contact inward a little bit. Give it a try, it may work for you as well.

12-03-2008, 04:26 AM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by ryan s Quote

I replaced the battery in mine last week and it still didn't work. Ok, so I took the battery door off and it worked. Put the door on, stopped.

Sooooooo...either the door has to be lightly snapped on or left off completely. FYI I'm using Walgreens brand CR2s. They are a little thicker than the "Great Power" one it came with.

Annoying...very annoying.
I lightly attach my door & secure it with a bit of gaffer tape.
12-03-2008, 11:20 AM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by MPrince Quote
I can sync at 1/160, but not as reliably as at 1/125
I have no issues with the flash firing at 1/180 but at 1/180 and 1/160 I get a black band at the bottom. The delay of the signal through the triggers is the issue, as I have no issues with the flash directly connected. 1/125 is fine.

There is an observable variation in the sets I have, the black band appears thicker on one receiver and thinner on another. I would assume there are sets that don't have any issues and some like mine that do. For the price, I'm not worried about it.
12-03-2008, 01:09 PM   #19
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Wow, you guys are great!

Thanks for all the tips. I think one of the key ones is the antenna mod which i'll do for sure. Also turning off the receiver which didn't occur to me as that important - duh.

Also replacing all the batteries.

Back to the antenna, the more expensive units all seem to have these antennas sticking up - aha - shows how important that is. The other thing i learned a coupla years ago was how more efficient it is when the transmitter antenna is aligned with the receiver antenna. not sure this transmitter even has one, but at least a receiver antenna is going to help some.

One simple tip from me, put all these parts in a zip baggy so you can find them easily when you need them.

Can't wait to try them some more.

happy flashing, Phil

12-03-2008, 04:49 PM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by BBear Quote
Are you telling me the 540 doesnt have this incredible feature???


I've given up on Pentax flashes primarily because of this feature, which i assumed was common to all units...


Please confirm, then i'll sell my 360 and get the 540!!!
The 540 has a feature to keep the flash from going into stand by or "low power stand by". The 360 does not have this feature and will go into standby after 3 minutes as I recall. The 540 manual explains how to activate this feature, by default it powers down.
12-04-2008, 02:11 AM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by FuzzyOne Quote
Here are my suggestions.

First and foremost, change the battery as soon as you take delivery of them. Many misfirings can be attributed to the battery. The directions even state that it is for testing only.

Finally, put some galfers tape or painters tape over the battery compartment door. I was shooting a couple sisters in the woods and didn't even notice one fell off until one of the girls saw it laying on the ground. They pop off rather easily.

As for distance, my living room is only 18' and that works fine. Outside in my backyard though, I have sucessfully fired them 150' in the stock form.
Fuzzyone,
I did exactly what you suggested, and then found that the battery door would no longer fit tightly. Turns out that the regular batteries for the receivers are larger in diameter than the battery that comes with the receiver. Dang.

I'm going to try to hollow out the battery door to solve the problem.
12-05-2008, 08:53 PM   #22
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Success with Cactus Wireless Flash Trigger Mods

Thanks to all of your tips, i now have a great working Gadget Infinity Cactus Radio Trigger,

1. As some of you mentioned, once i put a new battery in the receiver, the battery cover would not fully engage the housing and would pop off at the slightest excuse. I came up with one mod for this i haven't heard of yet. The problem is that the CR2 batteries available in the US, at least, are slightly larger than the original CR2 battery. This causes the battery covery to no longer lock in place. I took a dremel motorized tool with a small burr and enlarged the existing cavity in the battery cover plate. Please do this carefully, slowly, and watch out for your fingers and observe any other safety precautions with motorized tools, etc. (I also will not be responsible for any damaged battery covers)

Now the lid fits on just fine with available replacement CR2 batteries.

2. Matjazz suggested a link for a new coiled antenna to be soldered into the transmitter. The link suggested using a small wire tie that comes with many new products as the antenna. One of the links suggested a wire lenth of rougly 5 5/8 inches in USA dimensions as the length needed to achieve a 1/4 wave antenna.

Testing the antenna addition to the transmitter increase the before outdoor distance from 75 feet maximum (30 feet advertised) to 150 feet after the mod.

No money was spent for the additional mods. Repeatability is much improved. The last 5 flashes were not interrupted by misfires. A new record with this flash which i think is due to the better signal.


Last edited by philbaum; 12-05-2008 at 09:02 PM.
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