Power button not working?
 

Got my brand new Nano and I really like it - but the power button seems to be no good. I've tried holding it down for 20 seconds but the unit stubbornly stays on.

It powers up immediately I connect the supply so it is still very usable - am I missing something or do I have a faulty unit? My issue is getting it fixed in Australia.

John,

CD has disabled the power switches of all new units. Your unit is operating the way they intend it to.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff - I thought they'd only introduced a long press - good to know the unit is working correctly.

Hi Jeff,
I missed that one any idea why the power switch has been disabled?

Dear Lance,

We had two reasons to disable the power switch.

1. We found some of our power switches to be unreliable.

Some would start to get harder to press to operate over time, then they could fail completely.

We try to purchase the best parts, but this switch has let us down.

2. We found that, when using the "Trigger on Incrementing Timecode", it was very easy to become very comfortable with the nanoFlash. In order words just power it on at the beginning of a shoot then ignore it except for occassionally checking the amount of room left on the cards.

We found that when some users change out their battery, they would occassionally forget to power on the nanoFlash again. This is a major problem as they would be pressing the record button on the camera, but the nanoFlash was not recording, since it was powered down.

So, we now build all nanoFlashes with the power switch disabled. The unit powers on automatically when power is applied.

The nanoFlash has a Power Save feature in the menu. When this is enabled, the nanoFlash will go ito a very low power state whenever the HD-SDI input is removed. This low power state draws 0.2 watts. Even our smallest battery will power the nanoFlash for days in this mode.


Thus, one can apply power at the start of a shoot, and whenever the camera is powered off, then nanoFlash goes into low power mode. When the HD-SDI is restored, the nanoFlash powers up automatically and is ready to record almost immediately.

If anyone has a nanoFlash with the least bit a problem with the power switch, please let us know and we will modify your unit.

Dan,

Would it be possible to enable/disable the power switch inside the menu for those of us who have units with a working power switch? I like the idea of it being disabled.

Also... will it do any harm to cycle the power by pulling and reinserting the power connector? Or is that potentially dangerous? I wouldn't want to have to power the camera down and remove the battery if the nano needs to be re-started.

Dear Steve,

Sorry, but the "automatic power on when power is applied" is a hardware modification. With the current design, we can not make this change as a firmware option.

There is no harm in removing the power. You may apply power or remove power without causing any damage to the nanoFlash.

Steve I had a unit that was sent back due to power switch problem CD over nighted a loaner unit so I could meet my shooting schedule.

After one day of using the loaner unit without the power switch I like it better. As Dan has stated plug it in and forget. And with the option of the power save which is great feature, if you have a long time between clips I think CD have covered their bases and made a more dependable unit.

I was this close to writing a post here and explaining why I like the way my XDR works, and the power button does work as expected. But then I thought about it a few minutes and now I think the way the Nano works is a better way to do it.

It's the combination of the auto power on, sleep and wake that makes this all work though. Without all of these working together, then a regular user operated power switch would be better.

Dear Aaron,

The Flash XDR is actually a different case.

We have not had any switch failures that I know of with the Flash XDR. It uses a bigger switch.

Also, the Flash XDR does not have the ability to go into an ultra-low power mode.

So, for the Flash XDR, we recommend using the power button.

In the last few days I have experienced an unexpected power down on the NanoFlash while I was recording a show. The show was about 90 min in duration and 20 min into the record session the Nanoflash shut down. I felt the NanoFlash and it was only warm to the touch so it would not have been overheat causing the shutdown. I check the DC supply and all was fine. The camera , Nano and SDI monitor all operate of a common power supply and they were all still working so it was not a power supply issue. My next thought was it has to be a faulty cable connection to the Nano from the wiring loom I checked the connections all appeared in order. I then restarted the NanoFlash it came to life and continued to record for a further 2 hrs.
With the aid of a AV tech we have just tested the power cable and inspected the 4 pin Hirose connector for dry joints and tested the Nano power cable for continuity along with some very aggressive movements of the cable and I have not been able to induce the problem.
However we did discovered that it is possible to put the 4 pin hirose connector on to the NanoFlash and have it make contact and power the NanoFlash without the connector locking down. Because the Nano was mounted to the camera on a ball joint a 45deg the hirose connector would still be attached but may have just enough movement that vibration and or a panning action and cause power to be lost. Well part of the setup procedure now is to gently tug on the power connector to ensure it is locked down. In a noisy environment you can not hear the click of the connector locking down.
As I have not been able conclusively prove why power was lost is it possible that this may be a symptom of a faulty power switch?

Dear Lance,

Short Answer: No.

Long Answer:

The power switch on the nanoFlash and Flash XDR are both momentary switches.

As such, the switch only sends a pulse to the power supply to tell it to turn on, or turn off. If the switch fails to make contact, then the power supply will not turn on. If the switch fails to make contact after the power supply is on, then one could not turn off the unit.

A faulty switch would prevent you from turning on, or turning off the nanoFlash.

Of course, it is theoretically possible that a switch could short out while the nanoFlash is running, but this is highly unlikely.

While the switch is almost flush with the unit, on purpose, it is possible that someone could have pressed the switch to turn off the unit. However, I think this is also highly unlikely.

Just as you have stated, it could have been that the plug was not fully inserted. Any distruption in the power supply shuts off the nanoFlash.

Dan,

At the risk of starting a firestorm of nanoFlash returns here, I was wondering if it would be possible to send my nano in to have the power switch disabled before it becomes a problem. I'd hate to think it is just a problem waiting to catch me off-guard... now I'm just a bit nervous about it.

Is this a time consuming fix for C-D?

Dear Steve,

1. We want everyone to be happy with their nanoFlash.

2. We want everyone to be confident with their nanoFlash.

3. The hardware change takes us about 15 minutes, but overall this takes longer due to shipping, etc.


Far less than 5% of the nanoFlashes have had a power switch problem.


The problem is not that "all of a sudden the power switch does not work". The switch just slowly gets harder to use, it starts off by you having to press it longer, or harder.

So, if your switch is not showing any symptoms at all, then it may be a waste of time to send it in. Of course, if you just want us to change it, then we will be happy to do so.

If anyone feels better for us to make the change, we will do so. But, from a reliability standpoint, if you are not having any systems at all, it may be unnecessary.

We want everyone to be happy.

Steve,

3 of my 17 Nanos have had power switch failures.

Incidentally what version of firmware are you using?

Jeff

Dear Steve,

Could you please email me the serial number of your nanoFlash?

Jeff,

I am using the latest firmware (1.1.154). Does that make a difference? From what Dan wrote above, it sounds as though the software/firmware won't affect the switch.

Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but the more I use my nano the more I want a power button. I think I've been in the business long enough to be to handle the complexity of turning a device on when I need it. I'm tired of the nano sapping power from my camera battery unnecessarily -- or yanking the power cord and leaving it to dangle around. I vote for a working (and durable) on/off switch.

I second Doug on this.

Power Save Functions?
 

Hi Piotr, Doug-
Have you enabled the power save function on the nanoFlash? This reduces the power draw from 6W to 0.2W when the HD-SDI signal turns off. This battery life is increased by 30X in low-power mode.

Thanks-

I am considering making a cable with an inline switch.

I am actually thinking of one for the Swit batteries that splits the power, not from the D-tap but from the power cable. I just got the biggest 95wh Swit and the power tap is on the bottom of the battery (using the EX1), somewhat vulnerable in my opinion. It will just velcro onto the battery top and have a good quality switch to the NanoFlash cable, and a cable that goes to the EX1/3, the D-tap could be used for a light monitor or whatever.

If anyone is interested, contact me.

olof@westsideav.com
603.383.9283

Hi Mike,

I have enabled the power save function, and yet I'm just not comfortable knowing my Nano is constantly on - which leads me to pull out the power cable, which is not good either.

I guess I might be over-sensitive to the battery draw problem after my experience with the EX1, which has been notorious of ta (even when off).

Let me ask - is the Nano power button disabled in hardware, or firmware? If it's the latter, why not give users the choice of having it activated or not?

No, I haven't turned that on because the manual says the "sleep" mode will never engage when there's a signal on SDI input. Well, if my camera is on, then there's always going to be a signal on the output because my nano gets it's power from the D-tap on the F800. The only time there won't be a signal on the SDI input is when the camera is turned off - and that means the nano will already be off, too.

Doug,

I guess the reasoning is simple: camera on = SDI signal on = nanoFlash on; to switch it off you need to turn camera off (or yank the power cord)...

So really, this is a concern only when shooting with nanoFlash attached, but NOT intended to be used - which of course may happen quite often. It's these circumstances when I, like you, would prefer a switch...

Dear Doug and Piotr,

We have tried to find a replacement power switch that is more reliable, and still fit into the same space, etc.

Please note that the power switch is a very low-profile switch so that it does not get accidently pressed.


I have run tests with our smallest 2-Cell Lithium-Ion battery. If you enable "Power Save", the nanoFlash powers down when no HD-SDI is present. I ran the nanoFlash for about 4 days in this mode, and I still had power in the battery.

For any normal shoot, with any regular battery, the power save should work fine.
Just power down the camera when you want, and the nanoFlash will go into low power mode, power the camera back on, and the nanoFlash is ready to record.

The potential to fail to power-on the nanoFlash again, after a battery change, is very real. It may never happen to you, but it has already happened to professional camera operators.

If we can find a suitable in-line power switch, we could build a custom cable that has a Male 4-Pin Hirose connector, the switch, and a Female 4-Pin Hirose connector. Thus, one could just this this switch to power down the nanoFlash.

Dan,

I understand all the reasons things are the way they are, but Im offering my comments as a suggestion and not as a complaint. If you never hear any feedback from people who DO want a power switch, you might assume we don't care. I do care, but it's not a huge issue.

Also, I'd love to have a tally light on the front face since most of my recordings are triggered manually. Neither of the tally lights is in position where I can see them. The timecode numbers changing is really the only confirmation I have and that is not good enough.

Again, just a suggestion and not a complaint.

Olof - I know we talked about this last night but I am not completely clear - are you talking about inserting the power cord (that normally goes to the camera) of the Swit battery into a switch with two cables coming from the switch- one to power the camera and the other with a Hirose connector for the Nano?

Barry,

Yes that is what I mean.

And the one to the NanoFlash would be switched by a quality slide switch, so you can turn the NanoFlash on and off.

It would all be housed in a small box that is attached to the battery with velcro, probably moulded rubber.

I would definitely be interested in that - let me know when you come up with a working model.

Dear Barry,

Yesterday I started searching for a small, reliable in-line switch for this purpose.

If anyone knows of a good switch that we can place "in-line" with our power cable, then I would appreciate an email or reply here.

There are lots of switches available, but few switches are designed to be used in-line with a cable. And few of the ones available are small. Most switches are designed to be mounted on a panel, or on a circuit board.

Hi Dan,

I am ordering a few slide switches to test. I think they would be the best, rockers, button or levers would be to easy to flick by mistake.

I will let you know if I find a reliable one.

Dear Olaf,

Some type of small, locking, slide switch would be nice.

Dan,

I didn't have time to read through all of the posts in this thread, but it seemed to me that the problem in that using the method you suggest (with no power switch) doesn't allow a user to disable the nano's automatic recording without either pulling the power cable or the SDI cable at the camera or at the nano.

Especially for those of us with tape-based cameras, there might be times where we want to record to tape only. Being able to shut the nano down without leaving a cable or two dangling would be nice.

Having a working power switch that could be disabled from the menu would seem ideal.

Thanks,
Steve

Dear Steve,

We would love to have a menu option for "Automatic Power On", but this requires a hardware change, so this is not possible at this time.

We do have a menu option at this time, Trigger: None, which prevents the nanoFlash from recording.

We will continue to try to find a way to ensure that everyone is happy.

I am curious, why would you want to record to tape and not to the nanoFlash? If you are going to use the footage, the nanoFlash footage would, in almost all cases, be better.

Dan,

Yes, I understand the current hardware doesn't allow that option. I was suggesting it as a modification when/if nanos are returned for power switch repairs. This is assuming CD can find a suitable, reliable replacement power switch and that you could add the firmware choice to bypass it as an option.

IRT recording to tape only... I don't know how often that might happen. Let's say a second producer walks onto an interview set to ask the subject a few questions for a secondary production. In that case, we usually put in a separate tape that the second producer can take with him/her... and they might have no need or capability for the CF recording. It would be nice to be able to power the system down for that and not take up space on the cards being used for the primary production.

This situation has happened to me many times in the 25 years I have been shooting... although not since I have had my nano. It's usually a last minute thing, but it does happen. And for any scenario I can come up with, I'm sure there are 10 other scenarios where it would be handy to be able to power the system down with a power switch.

In an indoor tripod mounted situation, a dangling cable is not a problem, but it is if the camera is handheld. Anyway... just consider the working power switch with the ability to disable it another wish list item.

Thanks,
Steve

Hello Dan,
I have again experienced an unexpected power down on the NanoFlash while I was recording a time lapse sequence. About 30 min in into the record session the Nanoflash shut down. This time the Nano was on my EX3 with a different wiring harness than last time. I checked the camera was still operating and the battery was about half capacity. I again checked voltage and for faulty cable connections to the Nano and the connections where Ok. I then restarted the NanoFlash and it continued to record until the battery was drained about 90 min.

Dear Lance,

I have sent you an email.

We will be replacing your nanoFlash as, of course, this is not normal behavior.

Hi Dan I've seen inline slide switches before -usually on headsets. Not sure where you would source them but I know one thing - you're more likely to find them in the US than downunder!