Problem Solving the Strobe Kit

Step 1: Trigger on Camera

You want to make sure the trigger is sitting all the way forward in the cameras shoe. If it is not deep enough the pin on the trigger will not touch the contacts in the hot shoe.

Step 2: Trigger Test Button

The trigger has a test button, when it is pressed a red light will flash.

If YES, move on to the next step

If NO, change the battery. The trigger opens with a small screwdriver and takes a 12v A23 battery just like your gate remote.

Step 3: Receiver flashing

Now check if the receiver is getting the signal, ensure the receiver is getting power through the kettle cord input. When you press the trigger test button, a red light should flash on the receiver.

If YES, move on to the next step

If NO, check it has electricity. Check that the transmitter and the receiver have the same frequency set on the toggle pins

Step 4: Receiver Connected to Head

Make sure the power cable runs through the receiver and that the power is connected out the receiver and into the strobe head. The receiver has a second cable which needs to connect to the strobe head sync port.

Step 5: Head Flashing

Press the test button on the strobe head to ensure it is firing.

If YES, move on to the next step

If NO, check it has electricity. Check that the switches are toggled the correct way for the flash to fire. If the flash head won’t turn on check if its fuse has blown.

Step 6: 2nd Head Flashing

If you have one flash head firing and the second one is not, ensure it has power and press the test button to ensure it is working. The strobes have an optical sensor which causes them to fire when the master is triggered. Make sure the optical trigger is unobscured from detecting the other flash firing. Make sure the slave button is active to turn the optical sensor active.

Step 7: Camera Settings

If you have followed all these steps and the flash is firing from the trigger test button, but not when the camera does a shutter action, check these two things. Firstly check if the camera is set to a mode where the flash won’t fire like “Movie” or “No Flash”. Secondly, check the camera menu to see if flash has not been disabled.

Step 8: Silent Shooting

If you have Silent Shooting enabled on the camera it may affect the flash from firing. Modern cameras, particularly mirrorless cameras, have silent modes to remove sounds like the camera shutter action from making noise. These modes stagger the various steps in the image creation process which can interfere with the fire signal sent to the hot shoe. Disable silent modes to get the flash firing again.