First and foremost, before doing this mod, I did a lot of reading about different kinds of mods you can do to increase the triggering distance of the Cactus V2s Wireless Trigger otherwise known as Poverty Wizard!
Before anything else, I would like to say I bought this Trigger/Receiver because I can't afford PW's, Skyports, Radio Popper, or any other high priced alternative.
I have read the following forum threads/blogs:
Now its time to do the mod!
I need to say the best Mod I have seen is in link no. 7 above. Cosmetic and flexibility wise (I'm talking about his Trigger mod only), it is a clear winner because the finished product looks good, and you can remove the antenna when storing the trigger, but if I think of the cost of materials, especially I'm here in the UK (at the moment) where taxes are high, its not a very good option for me.
There were some peeps reporting that 1/4 wavelength antenna connected to the PCB of the trigger (especially the author of no. 7) with 1 inch wire works, some people disagree saying it doesn't work, and they use about 6.5inches or shorter/longer wire to connect the antenna to the PCB.
Other people use 1/4 wavelentgh of coiled wire inside the trigger and report it works as well.
Someone also used an old cordless phone's antenna, an old mobile phone's antenna, etc. The list goes on!
Anyway its time for me to decide on which one to follow! I was really leaning towards the 433Mhz antenna mod described in link no. 7 above. I was about to hit the button last night, but my undecided mind said the cost is almost the same for another V2s receiver.....
Hmmm.... if others used the coiled copper wire inside, maybe I should try that!
I didn't have any at home, but I found an old Cat5e cable that came with my wireless router!
I immediatley stripped it and cut out 6.82 inches long wire.
That lenght was based on http://www.csgnetwork.com/freqwavelengthcalc.html
Hang on, by reading all of the 7 links above, most people attach antenna/cable to the right of the PCB (assuming the trigger is facing you), but some people attach it to the left. I have also read some people rationalizing that when you attach the antenna to the right, you have to cut the tracing to the left.
And if you decide to attach the antenna to the left, then you have to deduct the tracing's length which is about 1.25 inches from the wire that you are going to use as antenna. So I decided to follow the latter, 6.82 - 1.25 = 5.57 inches!
Cut... solder... test!
I was shocked, its not stable, its not as stable as before I soldered the antenna. It can trigger the receiver but intermittently! That's bad!
But there was a discussion in post no.7 that the 433mhz antenna with 1 inch wire doesn't work (with some people), instead, solder another 1/4 wavelength of copper wire from the PCB to the end of the 433Mhz antenna to make it 1/2 wavelenght.
That's where I got the idea, to make a 1/2 wavelenght of coiled copper wire. To make the story short, heres the calculation: 13.64inches - 1.25 inches (PCB trace) = 12.39 inches copper wire. Coiled copper antenna soldered to the left.
And the result was fantastic! I can trigger the flash when I'm standing about 30 feet outside my house and the flash way inside the house. I wasn't able to do that before the mod!
Above, after trigger mod, same location as before the mod, but receiver was way inside the house approx. 30ft. away from original location of receiver in the first picture (which was deleted for security reasons), and I was stood a bit further back!
The photo was taken around 10pm (you see I'm still out and I can't sleep because of this mod)
Above is the finished product!
I still have to do more tests to confirm that the mod works 100%, but at this point in time, I consider it a success!
Update April 23, 2008
Above is my distance test with my friend Michael Casanova holding the flash!
Can you see him and the people walking opposite?
The picture was shot using 400D with 24-105 L zoomed out @24mm.
I'm 5'-5" and thats 100 paces, sorry I don't have a long measuring tape.
View similar entry in my flickr
Happy modding and Good Luck!
Update May 26, 2008
Notes:
1. If you only have 1 Cat5e cable, don't chop it as you may need it to configure your wireless router.
2. If after doing this mod, you can trigger only 1 receiver, or you can trigger intermittently, or can't trigger at all, your battery might be the cause.Please note that the battery that came with the trigger/receiver is only meant for testing (according to Gadget Infinity) so please change your batteries.
3. I have found that when you are testing for range, a reliable way to test is by mounting the transmitter on your camera and pressing the shutter (like taking actual pictures) and not by pressing the test button on the transmitter.
4. Sometimes the battery contacts of the V2s receiver is somewhat wonky and the battery doesn't fit properly, therefore no proper contact with battery- so its worth checking this as well.
be sure to check close range use...some mods increase the long distance range, but at close range, they no longer work reliably...
ReplyDeleteThanks ken, thanks for your advice, so far it still works in close range.
ReplyDeleteI tried mine without any mods and was getting around 150ft. Quite consistently. This was in a park but there are buildings around it.
ReplyDeleteIt is worth noting that before you risk these mods check your existing range and reliability; if they are OK then don't risk it.
The battery mod is well worth doing as CR2 batteries are silly money.
Hi Ed, I actually tested my range and it doubled after the mod. My flash also fires 100% during my testing.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely do the battery mod, I have 2 AAA battery cases on the way, as well as another set of Cactus Triggers! And a second hand Sigma 500ST flash.
Hopefully everything will go well.
I appreciate tou guys doing all this FANTASTIC experimentation...thanks...ric (australia)
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about purchasing the antenna as the cost escalated in the country of OZ(australia) what guage (thickness of wire) did you use.Will make
ReplyDeleteHI There.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if you login (if you have a blogger account that is)so other people can see your profile.
Regarding your question, I dont really know the gauge of the wire, but, it was from a CAT5e cable (cable that comes with wireles router, or network cable.
like this
just did this mod... 12.39 didn't work out so well for me so i cut a 15 inch strip and cut off a little at a time... until perfection!!! thanks
ReplyDelete@Heespharm, where did you solder the cble? Left or right of the PCB when its facing you?
ReplyDeleteWhat cable did you use?
Thanks
Ok I have a friend who has Nikon D50 with SB600.
ReplyDeleteBefore modding his Trigger, we did a field test. 25 paces is all he can go to successfully trigger his V2s receiver.
After my mod, it was 105 paces similar to mine.
Thats another success story.
Would soldering the other end of the antenna coil to the contact on the right side help?
ReplyDeleteyou rock strobemonkey. i did this mod although i found pointing the wire in the air worked better(for me), so i just left it sticking up and put a small hole in the top of the transmitter so it could stick up with small coils.
ReplyDeleteeither way, thank you very very much!!!!
i have 2 receivers, one on a 580ex and the other on a vivitar 285hv..and both fired 10/10 times within a 150ft radius.
p.s. i don't know if this shows the url, but i've linked to a thread with pics of my modded transmitter. it's not pretty but it works great!!!
Hi Adam, thanks for sharing your success with us here.
ReplyDeleteI'll go and look at your pics now. cheers!
strobemonkey
Can someone tell me what kind of wire to get? I am a bit confused with people finding wire from old electronics around and using it. I am not that savvy. If I were to go to Radio Shack, what should I get for the mod - copper? length? gauge? etc? Thanks for any help!!
ReplyDeleteCan someone tell me what kind of wire to get? I am a bit confused with people finding wire from old electronics around and using it. I am not that savvy. If I were to go to Radio Shack, what should I get for the mod - copper? length? gauge? etc? Thanks for any help!!
ReplyDeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI used a cat5e cable as it is what I have available and it worked well. I think its 24Gauge.
The lenght should in the first post above.
Hi Strobe monkey:
ReplyDeleteDo I have to split it (Cat5e)? Looks like several wires in it and get the copperwire? How will I know which one if so?
Thanks.
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteYes you have to split it and use just 1 strand of cable.
Rather than destroy a Cat5 cable ($$), you can go to you local hardware store and get a couple of feet of telephone wire. Inside are four wires that are just what you want, and for $0.20/ft you can't go wrong.
ReplyDeleteAlso, once the wire is cut to length, you can take a large nail and wind the wire around it to get nice, pretty coils. Slide your coils off the nail, then solder in your new antenna, formerly known as wire!
Just modded my transmitter using this wire - can't wait to try it our in the park tomorrow.
- Achtez
2 Questions:
ReplyDelete1)Does the diameter of the coils matter?
2) How does one measure out 12.39 inches?
Great tips - thanks everyone for the information. I did the antenna mod on my V2s transmitter and a cat5e cable. Did some quick tests walking down the street away from my house with the flashes on the front porch. They fired reliably from a good distance. Also did the 2.5mm jack install for the battery cases on the receivers. I tested with 2 Sunpak 383s, a Canon 550EX and a Canon 580EX II. I plan to install new batteries in all components and do some distance tests tonight or tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWhilst coiling the wire inside the case the way you've done it may work well when the receivers are in front of the trigger, its likely to cause problems as you move them to the sides.
ReplyDeleteIf you intend to trigger flashes placed thus a vertical antenna is more likely to be effective.
i
Great work.
ReplyDeleteI did the same with a slightly larger AA battery holder. Surprisingly easy to solder in there. The AA are bulkier and heavier, but cheaper... and the holder has no juice switch so it's plug and go.
Thanks!
I use a triple aaa holder and use ni-mh for 3.6V, slightly higher but have had no problems yet. Seems to increase the reliability w/ higher voltage. However, I have increased the receiver antenna, and am have serious issues. 22ga. Wire verticle, not working out too well. I think I need to tune it a little better. Moving the bateries outside the case is helpful, since the CR2 blocks the RF from some directions. Of course, so does the board.
ReplyDelete@anonymous:
ReplyDeleteThere's a site somewhere that talks about the receiver and, iirc, the antenna is a tuned loop aerial and as such is rather critical. The conclusion was that, unless you have access to rf test equipment, anything you do to it is much more likely to make it worse than better.
ian
@ Ian - I haven't had any problem yet when putting the receivers to the side, even when they are very near or very far from the trigger.
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous - The problem with modding the receiver is that you will also most likely increase its interference gain so the trigger mod is the way to go.
hi,
ReplyDeletei've tried the mod with the cad5 antenna and had some trouble with getting it to work. i used a pen cap to put the antenna in. the trigger works flawlessly when i touch the trigger, but doesn't do anything when i don't touch the trigger! maybe my body works as a conductor?
when i remove the pen cap and the antenna sticks out, i can get it to work when i pull the antenna to a certain length. i used a nail to make coils so adjusting the height of the antenna was no problem.
i've lost a few hours to figure this out, but i finally got it to work. have to do some more tests to see if this is a sustainable solution
Made similar enhancement on Cactus v4
ReplyDeleteBut failed with coiling the wire. If coiled - the distance is poorly low. But if wire hangs free - all works fine near at 50m.