Perceiving the insides of a wi-fi digital camera flash receiver

In a current teardown, I disassembled and documented the insides of a Godox wi-fi digital camera flash transmitter that ended up being in a lot better form than had been marketed after I’d first acquired it. I used to be due to this fact extremely motivated to return it to completely practical form afterwards, albeit not for personal-usage causes—it supported Fujifilm cameras, which I don’t personal—however as a substitute in order that I may subsequently donate for an additional’s use, conserving it out of the landfill within the course of.

This time round, the scenario’s reversed. Right now we’ll be taking a look at an “as-is” situation wi-fi digital camera flash receiver, from the identical producer (Godox’ X1R-C). And this time, I do have a private curiosity, as a result of it helps Canon cameras (“-C”), a number of of which I personal. However given the rattling I heard inside each time I picked it up, I used to be skeptical that it’d work in any respect, removed from deluding myself that I may repair no matter ailed it. That stated, it solely price $4.01 pre-15% promo low cost, $3.40 after, in March 2024 from KEH Digicam on the identical order as its X1T-F sibling.

Right here’s the sticker on the baggie that it got here shipped in:

And listed below are just a few inventory photographs of it:

Stepping again for a minute earlier than diving into the teardown minutia: why would somebody wish to purchase and use a standalone wi-fi digital camera receiver in any respect? Assuming a photographer wished to sync up a number of digital camera flashes (implementing the fashionable three-point lighting setup or different association, for instance), as I’ve written about earlier than, why wouldn’t they simply leverage the wi-fi connectivity constructed into their digital camera provider’s personal flash items, equivalent to (in my case) Canon’s EOS flash system?

A part of the reply is likely to be that with Canon’s system, for instance, “wi-fi” solely means RF-based for newer items; older implementations had been infrared- (additionally typically known as “optical”-) based mostly, which requires line-of-sight between a transmitter and every receiver, has restricted vary, and can also be liable to ambient mild interference. A part of the rationale is likely to be {that a} given flash unit doesn’t combine wi-fi receiver performance (Godox’s entry-level flashes don’t help the firm’s personal 2.4 GHz X protocol, for instance), or there is likely to be a protocol mismatch between the separate transmitter and the built-in receiver. And a part of the rationale is likely to be as a result of the strobe illumination supply you’re needing to sync to doesn’t actually have a sizzling shoe; you’ll shortly see how the Godox receiver handles such conditions…usually, at the very least.

Let’s dive in, starting with some overview pictures, as regular accompanied by a 0.75″ (19.1 mm) diameter U.S. penny for dimension comparability functions (per B&H Photograph’s web site, the Godox X1R-C has dimensions of two.8 x 2.6 x 1.9″ / 70 x 65 x 47 mm and weighs 2.5 oz / 70.9 g). Again:

Rattling apart, it nonetheless powers up and outputs seemingly significant show information!

Left (as considered from the entrance) facet, together with the facility change:

Bland entrance (no want for an infrared optical module with this specific receiver!):

Proper facet (you’ll see what’s importantly behind, and not behind, that rubberized panel shortly):

High; you possibly can inform from the additional contacts that this sizzling shoe’s not solely truly “sizzling” but in addition Canon management protocol-cognizant:

And backside; this specific shoe’s “chilly”, supposed just for mounting functions:

Beneath that detachable panel, unsurprisingly, is the two-AA battery compartment:

Look intently and also you’ll see two screw heads inside it on the prime corners, together with two extra holes on the decrease machine corners within the picture. what comes subsequent, proper?

And inside we go:

Disconnect the cable harness mating the topside sizzling shoe to the PCB, and the separation of the 2 halves is full:

Right here’s a standalone overview of the within of the highest half, together with a sizzling shoe closeup:

And now for the (backside) half all of us care extra about, as a result of it accommodates the PCB:

Keep in mind that rubberized flap I earlier talked about? It obtained jostled out of place at this level, and ultimately fell out fully. Discover something odd behind it? If not, don’t really feel dangerous; I nonetheless hadn’t, both:

These two screws holding the PCB in place inside the chassis are subsequent to depart:

Earlier than persevering with, I’ll spotlight just a few notable (to me, at the very least) points of this facet of the PCB. The connector within the decrease left nook, once more, goes to the cable harness which finally ends up on the sizzling shoe. The massive IC at middle is, maybe clearly, the system “brains”, however as with different Godox gadgets I’ve already torn aside, its topside marking has been obliterated, so I sadly can’t ID it (I can’t assist however surprise, although, if it’s a FPGA?). Above it’s Texas Devices’ CC2500, a “low price, low-power 2.4 GHz RF transceiver designed for low-power wi-fi apps within the 2.4 GHz ISM band”: translation, Godox’s X wi-fi sync protocol. And above that, on the very prime of the PCB, is the related embedded antenna.

Onward. As I started to raise the PCB out of the chassis, the show popped out of place:

And at this level, I used to be additionally capable of dislodge what had been rattling round beneath the PCB. Do you acknowledge it?

It’s the two.5 mm sync connector, which acts as a relatively “dumb” however nonetheless baseline practical different to the recent shoe for connecting the receiver to a strobe or different flash unit. It’s usually situated subsequent to the USB-C connector you latterly noticed behind the rubberized flap.

At this level, after all of the shaking to get the sync connector out of the chassis, the facility change’s plastic piece additionally went flying:

I used to be initially solely capable of raise the PCB partway out of the chassis earlier than it obtained “caught”…that’s, till I remembered (as with the sooner Godox transmitter) the 2 battery tabs linked to the PCB underside and sticking by way of the chassis to the battery compartment beneath:

Pushing them by way of the chassis from the battery compartment obtained to the specified finish level:

The two.5-mm sync connector website within the decrease proper nook of the PCB, under the USB-C connector, is clear now that I knew what to search for! Tough dealing with by the Godox X1R-C’s prior proprietor had apparently snapped it off the board. I may have stopped at that time, however these screw heads seen atop the smaller PCB for the monochrome LCD had been beckoning to me:

Eradicating them didn’t get me wherever, till I obtained the intense thought to look beneath the ribbon cable, the place I discovered yet another:

That’s extra prefer it:

The 2 halves of the show meeting additionally got here aside at this level:

That pink-and-black strip is an elastomeric connector (additionally recognized by the ZEBRA trademark). They’re fairly cool, IMHO. Per the Wikipedia abstract, they…:

…encompass alternating conductive and insulating areas in a rubber or elastomer matrix to provide total anisotropic conductive properties. The unique model consisted of alternating conductive and insulating layers of silicone rubber, reduce crosswise to reveal the skinny layers. They supply high-density redundant electrical paths for prime reliability connections. One of many first purposes was connecting skinny and fragile glass liquid-crystal shows (LCDs) to circuit boards in digital gadgets, as little present was required. Due to their flexibility, they excel in shock and anti-vibration purposes. They’ll create a gasket-like seal for harsh environments.

Right here’s a standalone view of the backplane (with LEDs and switches alongside it), as soon as once more displaying the contacts that the elastomeric connector’s conductive layers mate up with:

And listed below are just a few pictures of the rest of the monochrome LCD, sequentially ordered as I disassembled it, and amongst different issues faintly revealing the contacts related to the different finish of the elastomeric connector:

Final, however not least, I made a decision to strive reversing my teardown steps to see if I may reassemble the receiver again to its authentic seeming-functional (sync connector apart) situation:

Huzzah! The show backlight even nonetheless works. I’ll maintain onto the sync connector, at the very least for now:

I’d strive soldering it again in place, though I don’t anticipate utilizing something aside from the choice sizzling shoe going ahead. For now, I welcome your ideas within the feedback!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Imaginative and prescient Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the corporate’s on-line e-newsletter.

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