View Full Version : A1U suddenly semi-dead?


Ross Campbell
November 29th, 2008, 11:55 AM
I was reviewing tapes on a fully-charged (Sony) battery and after several minutes of normal rewind/play operation, the unit suddenly shut down. LCD went black, and no power indicator on the power switch.

Tried different battery, AC power and still it won't even eject the tape. However, when pushing the reset button, or changing a battery, the LCD screen does momentarily flash white. It does this whether on battery or AC power.

Has anyone seen this behavior or have any ideas for further troubleshooting?

This camera has worked flawlessly for two years of moderate usage--surely can't justify Sony's repair center costs. Help?

Paul Cascio
December 3rd, 2008, 11:08 AM
Do you have a second battery? Or, try it with AC power.

Ross Campbell
December 3rd, 2008, 02:27 PM
Thanks for your reply. Yes I've tried it on two different good batteries and on AC. The brief screen flash also occurs when I plug in the AC cord or snap in a battery. Hmmmm...

Chris Soucy
December 5th, 2008, 02:27 AM
Guess it's stuffed then. Sony it is. Sigh.



CS

John Huebbe
December 12th, 2008, 08:55 PM
One of my HC1's went dead once. Sounds very similar to what happens to your camera. I sent it off for warranty work. They said they replaced a fuse inside of the camera. That was it. If you are daring enough you might take your camera apart and see for yourself.

Paul Cascio
December 13th, 2008, 07:06 AM
Why do manufacturers put fuses inside a camera where not only is it inaccessible to the user, but we're not even made aware that they are there?

Ross Campbell
December 13th, 2008, 04:48 PM
One of my HC1's went dead once. Sounds very similar to what happens to your camera. I sent it off for warranty work. They said they replaced a fuse inside of the camera. That was it. If you are daring enough you might take your camera apart and see for yourself.

Thanks for the pointer...given how quickly it quit on me AND the fact that it won't charge a battery now, that might just be the problem. (and yes, I'm daring enough ;-)

Dave Blackhurst
December 13th, 2008, 11:52 PM
And I'm pretty sure the service manual is posted somewhere here, so it's like an invitation!!