Hello,

I was getting ready for my 10th job with black mamba when something happen.

Yesterday I was videotaping big confrence with external boundry mic and there was no problem.
I know because I had to edit same night.

So today I'm going through all new tapes recording 30 sec. test and when playing back I see "12 bit" on LCD monitor is flashing.

All jobs were done with LP speed and 12 bit audio
I didn't touch menu since October.

I can hear short high pitch noises on and off.
I played tape on diffrent players same thing

Anyone had this problem

Thanks
Mike

P.S. I tried to record at 16bit same problem

First off, I would only use SP and fresh, high quality 60 min tape. If it happans again (in SP and with using good tape) you probably have something not right with the heads. Hopefully, all you need to do is clean the heads and stick with one good tape type, such as Fuji or high quality Pana.

Also, please try to RESET the cam.

BTW, this may be trivial (but also a trivia) but the small protruding tip on the lens cap of the GS100 is meant for pushing the RESET button, just in case you don't have a pen around :-))

My sound is gone

I don't think it's a head since picture is perfect.

I reset camera without power then with power (camera mode) on.

I switched to SP I'm using only Sony all the time
I put panasonic tape same problem

When I play the tape there is no pich
but there is no sound at all

I see "12bit" flashing all the time

Allan is it possible that I have to send it for repair :(

Today I used Sony whole day but my batteries for this cam are bad

I have another job next weekend

Mike

Hi,

I playing brand new tape
this sometimes helps to clean heads (if that's a problem)

the pitch noise is back with no sound at all on and off

If I'm using Sony tapes since begining should I use Sony cleaning tape or Panasonic?

Any advice?

Mike

Mike, I don't know anything about what's going on with your cam, but it seems that if you've been using Sony tape the whole time, you may as well stick with Sony head cleaner, too.

Out of curiosity, is anything else hooked up to your cam when you are playing back your tapes, like another mike or xlr box? Or the "magic wand"? Anything that could create some kind of interference with the audio inputs of the cam?

Mike,
I'm having same problem - I reported like 2-3 months ago.

I found it when editing some video for the only more serios project I had to do in May.

I'm having high pitched sound wich comes from time to time in random order. Sounds like short beeps or clicks (like glitch). It's mostly in the left channel in my case.

It happend on brand new Panasonic tapes in SP mode which I use now after I was getting drop outs on TDK tapes. I still get ocasional drop out even with Pana tapes but not so often.

It seems the play back system on this cam is not very good. I got same high pitched glithes playing back some tapes recorded on Sony cam that doesn't exerience same problem.

I have to experiment more with the both cams though to confirm the current situation.

Mike, once you're certain it is a cam defect, just send the whole thing to me anytime, including the external mic so I can test it myself after repair. Don't forget the green envelope.

I can't find the problem of blinking 12 bit display anywhere in the manual so I'll call Pany tomorrow to get some advise on its meaning.

Just curious (and I need to explain the problem to Pany as much as I can), does the problem happen with both the built-in mic and external mic? As in both are dead?

If it happens only when an external mic is used, is there a way to verify if the mic is ok or not?

I'm sure you are aware of this and you verify it always having used the black mamba so many times, but that mic/wired remote port is the tightest plug I've seen (that I hate connecting and disconnecting the wired remote) so could it be that the mic is not completely plugged?

Hi Allan,

It happens both with wired and on board mic.

Sound is back

with pitch noise very heavy when whistleling
then it disapears = blinkling "12 bit" on LCD when sound is gone then is stable when sound comes back.

It's exactly like Bogdan descibed.

This cam was never used for playback.

When I play tapes on Sony problem is the same.

I just don't get it
one day I'm recording confrence for 4 hours with zero problems next I have this problem next day.

I was going to write after 10 jobs deep overview of what happened and the chalenges but now I'm upset :(

That's life :)

Mike

Allan


I have 15 sec test for tech support if the need to hear
it's windows file around 300 kb

I can email to you or to them directly

thanks
mike

Hi Mike,
Can you mail me this test too?
I'll be really gratefull if you could.
Want to hear if it's same thing. I might also ask Pana for repair - my first year of warranty just expires.
Thank you in advance,
Bogdan

Before I get along with my black mamba I had experienced high pitch noise when I was using SONY TRV 900.The noise was caused by humid mic port.The humidity or anything unclean will produce terrible noises when recording.Therefore I tried to keep my DV dry and clean the both surfaces of my external mic and the DV's mic port,which eventually fixed my problem,and I hope it would fix yours,too.

<<<-- Originally posted by Curt Chyan : Before I get along with my black mamba I had experienced high pitch noise when I was using SONY TRV 900.The noise was caused by humid mic port.The humidity or anything unclean will produce terrible noises when recording.Therefore I tried to keep my DV dry and clean the both surfaces of my external mic and the DV's mic port,which eventually fixed my problem,and I hope it would fix yours,too. -->>>

It's a pity prosumer cameras like the GS100 or TRV900 do not carry a screw-on 1/8" jack, like the new Sony cheaper line wireless use. That type prevents the plug to move inside the jack, which shortens its life.

My advice to anyone owning cameras or audio having 1/8" jacks is to make a short cable, adapting 1/8" to 1/4" or 1/8" to two XLR. And never unplug it from the camera.


Carlos

Hi Curt,

I was going to send camera to Japan
just 2 more jobs (silent b-roll)

next day camera is working great

you might be right
never heard about this issue (beauty of internet :)

How do you keep mic port from humidity?

Heads are working - no humidity indication

What the heck is going on


Mike

Hey Mike,
glad to share my experience with U and,I have to mention that the humidity problem is not same situation as the case of [DEW],it's the mic that suffered from humidity not the cam.
Therefore my tips to keep my mic port from humidity is :
clean cloth with some alcohol to wipe both the external mic and the mic port of the cam.After dirt is removed just wipe again to keep them dry,this tip is far from extraordinary,right?That was because my external mic was indeed wet in that shooting day and I didn't notice it,while I still connected it to the cam,which brought the high-pitched sound finally.Although this may not be a proper answer for U,I still hope U can easily fix ya problem.

Sorry that my English expression is not quite clear,hope U can understand anyway.

<<<My advice to anyone owning cameras or audio having 1/8" jacks is to make a short cable, adapting 1/8" to 1/4" or 1/8" to two XLR. And never unplug it from the camera.
Carlos>>>


U're Damn right,Carlos

I've heard the glitches Mike has (thanks Mike for posting it to me).
They are same thing I had on older tapes recorded on Sony TRV10 cam. My fresh tapes exibite same thing too but not so pronounced. And to top it off I'm pretty much sure I have this on all my shots but almost unaudible (you really have to listen very carefull to hear it's actually there).
So does it come from wet electret condenser (tapes from different cam for example)?
I'm almost 100% sure it's not the mike or the connector. Connector jack gives hissing, crackling bump noises.
What we have are GLITCHES!!! Where and why this glitches come in the recording I don't have answer right now. Some bad electronic design or component probably?!
Or overload of the signal?
Thinking more the old tapes recorded on Sony more likely to have slight incompability - this is possible especially when recorded in LP mode (usually even stated in the manual that intergangability of LP mode recorded tapes is not good when plaed back on different cam).
So is it possible that the GS100 also have problems playing back even it's own matherial?
But Mike replayed the problem on different cam - so it should be on recording...
Oh well, I don't know...

Bogdan is right,Mike,
what i had on TRV900,which was caused by humid audio interface, was really WILD noises,not like that wma U sent to me.In my opinion this is no easy problem,and the problem should be INSIDE your cam(some recording module stuff),rather than outside(what I mentioned before).I am sorry that I had never shot in LP mode,and never came across this situation,either;I can't give you a proper answer.However I will post this problem along with the wma file "pitchnoiseGS100" on Taiwan DV web community for some good advises.One thing I am sure is,your problem may be best fixed by sending back to Pany.Hope U can get a perfect GS100 back and an absolute answer.I'll mail U any new information as soon as I have.