Studio FAQ

Q1: Why won’t my Control Pod switch on when I plug a Lighting Arm in? A red light rapidly flashes on the back of the Pod.

A: Your Control Pod is critically low on battery and needs charging. Please share your Pod via USB, you will have to wait 20 minutes before use at a minimum.

Q2: I have plugged my USB cable in to charge my Adaptalux Pod, but a orange light has appeared and nothing works when I plug a Lighting Arm in.

A: Your Pod is charging from a critically low battery. You must wait 20 minutes before you can use your Adaptalux. Once 20 minutes is over, the orange light will go out and will be replaced with a flashing red, indicating it is charging, but can be used.

Q3: I have turned Bluetooth on by holding the cycle button for 5 seconds and the blue light is flashing, however the app cannot find my Control Pod.

A: Hold the cycle button for 2 seconds to turn off bluetooth, then hold for 5 seconds again to restart bluetooth discovery mode.

Q4: Sometimes my Lighting Arms flicker when plugged in, why?

A: Please ensure all electrical contact points on both the Pod and Lighting Arm are clean. If dirty, please clean using a cotton bud and some nail polish remover (acetone). If this does not resolve the issue, please remove arm, rotate 90 degrees and re-connect.

Q5: Is Adaptalux waterproof?

A: Adaptalux is not designed to withstand water. Do not use in the rain.

Q6: My Lighting Arms are not very bright, and seem dimmer than normal.

A: Please ensure the battery is not low. Secondly, ensure all electrical contact points are clean.

Q7: My Lighting Arm made a cracking noise when I bent it for the first time.

A: Do not worry about this, this is just the materials used in the Lighting Arm adjusting to the new stress you have added. It will only happen for the first few times you bend it. It may happen more frequently if used in very cold conditions due to contraction of the metals, but again, no need to worry.

Q8: The head of my Lighting Arm seems tight to adjust.

A: Some Lighting Arm heads may feel tight the first few times they are adjusted. This should pass the more they are used.

Q9: Why does my Control Pod keep flashing green every minute even though nothing is plugged in?

A: You have left it in a user set sleep mode where it remembers the brightness settings. To reset the Pod, please tap the cycle button once.

Q10: My Pod is not responding to any button presses whilst connected via bluetooth to the App.

A: When in bluetooth mode and connected to the Adaptalux App, the App has full control. To control the Pod manually you must disconnect from the App first.

Q11: My Pod is not responding to any button presses at all.

A: It sounds like your Pod has crashed. Although this is very rare, it can occasionally happen. To reset, simply connect a USB cable to charge. An Orange light should come on for 20 minutes as the Pod resets itself.

Q12: The charging LED on my Pod does not come on when I plug in the USB cable.

A: It can take up to 10 seconds for the Pod turn on the charging LED when the USB cable is plugged in. This is the time it can take for the Pods program to run its charging algorithms to determine the batteries health and to establish its intelligent charging. The charging LED should come on as usual within this 10-second time frame.

Q13: How do I master reset the Pod?

A: In rare cases, you may have to master reset the Control Pod to help it recover from a software crash. To do this, please follow these instructions after removing the pod from any attachments (stabiliser, tripod).

1) Remove the two top Philips Cross-Head screws from the front plate (looking face on where you insert the Lighting Arms into).

2) Remove all 4 screws from the bottom of the Control Pod shell, these require a Torx screwdriver.

3) Slide the inner assembly out from the front, do this very carefully.

4) On the internal assembly, you will see where the batteries connect to the PCB. Disconnect the battery connector, wait 2 minutes then re-connect.

5) Plug in the USB and an amber indicator should come on for 20 minutes before usual charging is resumed. If charging does not resume first time, repeat steps 4 & 5.

6) Once fully charged, re-assemble by reversing steps 1 – 3. When sliding the internal assembly in, loop the button wires round your finger so they sit neatly above the board and do not get snagged on anything.

Q14: How do I master reset the Pod 2.0?

If you have a new control pod 2.0, we have made the reset procedure easier. To reset the control pod, connect it via a data transfer usb to a data controlling device. This could be a PC, Mac, or a powered storage solution like a phone bank. the data connection causes the pod to reset. Plug the pod into the mains adaptor provided with your pod. An orange light will indicate the pod is re-booting, followed by flashing red to indicate charging.