Not boring at all, that's actually very useful information.

In case I get the rewind error problem (which I hope I don't), I will try use your trick to get rid of it - If anyone else tries it, let us know if it worked for you too.

My new-tome XL1s has been exhibiting the same problem. Here's my opinion:
I believe the problem is first an adjustment of the feed reel tension and then possibly tape binding within the cassette. Here is my reasoning:

Many years ago 7" reel-to-reel tape machines used a spring to keep tension on the feed side of the reel to prevent lateral slide across the record/playback heads. it also served to prevent a hopeless tangle of tape during fast forward/rewind as the feed reel began to approach the speed of sound.
Other techniques besides springs were used to maintain tension.

If a reel had been stored on its side or subject to a lot of jarring about the individual wraps of tape could slide laterally within the reel, causing increased friction. So much friction the machine could slow to a stop. I ran into this situation often with VHS tapes. The solution there was a fast foreward to end of tape and rewind to "re-pack" the tape.

In my case i feel the problem is tension on the feed reels. When i attempt to rewind a tape the camera exhibits so error messages until the motor switches to high speed. The viewfinder immeidately loses track of the time code and the "EJECT TAPE' message appears. Additionally, when playing tapes recorded on this camera on my GL1 I hear intermittent breaks in the audio track, which suggests not only transport issues, but alignment as well.

Where can you buy the Maxell or Firestore? How much do they cost? I couldn't find them on the internet.

Where can you buy the Maxell or Firestore? How much do they cost? I couldn't find them on the internet.Check out the Focus Enhancements FireStore D.T.E. Recorders sub-forum under the Direct-to-Disk (Tapeless) Recording Solutions forum.

This link is to a post by a camcorder service guy--the first of it's kind I've seen on this issue. He says it's just shoddy design/part quality. His post is the fourth one on this page:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=112967&page=2

Sometimes I open the cassette door and the tape does not eject from both my GL2's. I just close the door and reopen and it usually works. If the tape spools inside the cassette have a resistance of turning that prompts the unit to give an eject notification, as far as my VCR is concerned, I squeeze/massage/twist the cassette (of course not hard enough to do any damage). It usually plays fine after that. I believe I have done it with DV cassettes as well, successfully.

Hi all!

I posted a few days ago that I'm always leaving the camcorder with the tape compartment opened over night, after each wedding. Well, it was not enough, it seems, so yesterday I could not rewind to the end a single tape from 5...

As I'm the DIY kind a guy, I opened up the camcorder ( again! (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=30579&highlight=zoom) ) to see what's happening in there.

What I found out: it is (at least in my case) a problem with the tape transport. It is not about head misalignments as I've heard. I uploaded a small video (http://w1.226.telia.com/~u22607422/TapeRewind.avi) to show you what's happening. As you rewind the tape, the tape travels from right to left. You can see in the video that the collecting spool fails to take the tape at the rate it is supplied. I'm sorry but I don't know the technical names for the components so I can better explain,that's why I choose to let you see it and draw your own conclusions.

What I think: as the tape is supplied at a constant speed, the collecting spool has a variable angular speed (because the diameter of the spool+tape increases as it takes the tape). In order to spin at variable speed (when the motor spins at constant speed), the collecting spool has a kind of "clutch" - friction is employed here. Friction that it is lost because of dirt & grease & humidity...

After a couple of hours of trying to get the mechanical assembly opened (I didn't manage to do it...), I found a part that resembles what I was looking for and tried a desperate cleaning process: a drop of spirit (alcohol) between a plastic gear and a metal plate (http://w1.226.telia.com/~u22607422/Picture 064.jpg).


Luckily for you, you don't even need to open your camcorder (http://w1.226.telia.com/~u22607422/Picture 067.jpg) to try this possible solution!
:)


I finally managed to rewind all tapes!

Yet another unprotected part of a canon camcorder..... (like the zoom rocker)

Wow, Cosmin. That's so plausible as a cause and a solution that I almost dare to hope. Songs will be written about you if your experience is confirmed by others.

I'd like to hear from others, yes. "remove tape" could have different causes... If you've seen the little video clip, you saw the tape jump out a bit. I tried that with several tapes and got the same thing happened. Sometimes the tape would flow out like crazy until the "remove tape" would show and the tape would stop. It actually jammed a tape... :(

Also, the drop of spirit I'm sure it did remove some dirt... but a canon service would do a better job at cleaning the mechanism.

It is interesting that after over 20 messages in this topic, and 1400 reads, when I finally come with a possible diagnostic and a way to solve it, suddenly there's no interest in the subject!

Probably the problem went away by itself, for all canon users...



Anyway, I got more tapes rewinded without problems so far.

Home camcorder repair falls into the same category as home dentistry: You can learn about it but practically do nothing about it. For the pedestrian home user who runs 5 -10 tapes per year through their camera per year and is faced with a trip to Canon service after 5 years, this is part of the ownership experience.
For commercial users, what do you expect when you are wearing out delicate moving parts on a daily basis???
You are running a business and this is a maintenance expense. A NYC cabbie needs brakes every 6 weeks! Unless he is a licensed technician, it's illegal for him/her to make the fix!
I could paint several analogies here, but you get the point.
Replace the drum.
Canon does this with trained technicians.
No I'm not staff or a shareholder or a flagwaver for Canon. It's just a simple business rule that you keep your revenue producing tools working and get the maintenance done routinely to avoid costly downtime.
It's like the guy at the chewing gum factory and when the reciprocating drum star ........

I have a rewind problem with my XM1 (GL1), but do not get any Eject Tape error message. The tape simply,fails to rewind at full speed and the timecode counter loses track of the tape position as it rewinds. I have never yet had a tape fail to rewind fully - it just takes its time.

All other functions of the camera appear to operate normally. Fortunately I rarely need to use it as a recorder and so do not need to rewind tapes in the camera. I have only ever used Panasonic DVM63 tapes.

Thanks Cosmin for this info. Unfortunately, my camera is already at Canon service center....grrr...I've would definitely try your trick. Anyway I'm hoping not to get any more CASETTE messages for some time...

Jimmy, yes I do run more than 10 tapes/year, true. Canon service should do a better job than I did, I said that.

Unfortunately, I had a bad experience with the local canon service (local means 700km away, btw). They would keep the camcorder at least a month in service (is what they told me) and I cannot afford that. I do not own a back-up camcorder.

"Home camcorder repair falls into the same category as home dentistry"
Well, I do not go to the dentist to wash my teeth! :)

And this all topic started with this premise:

" I am usually the do-it-yourself type, and would rather find a way to fix my cam than have it gone for a week or shell out > $250.
.............
Let's collect knowledge about the problem and see if there is a way for us to crack open our cams and fix 'em for free!" - Harper Abbot

Jimmy, yes I do run more than 10 tapes/year, true. Canon service should do a better job than I did, I said that.

Unfortunately, I had a bad experience with the local canon service (local means 700km away, btw). They would keep the camcorder at least a month in service (is what they told me) and I cannot afford that. I do not own a back-up camcorder.

"Home camcorder repair falls into the same category as home dentistry"
Well, I do not go to the dentist to wash my teeth! :)

And this all topic started with this premise:

" I am usually the do-it-yourself type, and would rather find a way to fix my cam than have it gone for a week or shell out > $250.
.............
Let's collect knowledge about the problem and see if there is a way for us to crack open our cams and fix 'em for free!" - Harper Abbot
Not ever meaning to rain on your parade ... you are right ... just as you would clean your teeth at home so should you clean the heads on the camera at home. Beyond that, I feel that professional intervention is most times the best cure.

the only time i have ever had this happen on my GL2 is when i use my head cleaner cassette and it comes to the end of the tape, it stops, and says to remove it.

I've been having a bad time with 'Remove Cassette.' Had it serviced and the message returned immediately. I was able to shoot a short, but can't rewind or playback. I tried cleaning; this didn't help. I'm sending it back again today for service.

When it returns, I'm wondering if I should switch tape brands. I've always, only, used Maxell.

I know it is a little late to be responding to this, but incase anyone is interested I have had my GL2 for almost 2 years now and have never had the "Remove Casset" problem (knock on wood). It has been well taken care of but that doesn't mean that it hasn't been used to play back a lot of tapes. I have only used panasonic tapes in my GL2. Hope this helps a bit.

Alex B.

I've owned a GL-2 for about 18 Months (I really love it), about a month ago I started getting the "eject cassette" problem on the play side but eventually it would play. I started searching the GL-2 user forums and found out that it's a fairly common problem. I read all the horror stories (it was depressing). I'm the videographer for a local stock car racing track and last saturday night I got the message while recording and it hasn't recorded since. I called a local camera store that is a certified Canon repair center. They said that they would'nt be able to look at it for as least 4 weeks and it would cost approx $400.00 (gasp), so I decided to call Canon. I explained my problem and told them from what I had learned from the web, that it's a fairly common problem, and I asked if Canon had done anything to remedy the problem. The rep told me that Canon was aware of it and if I sent my GL-2 in they would repair it at a "reduce repair rate" of $50.00 with a turnaround of 7 to 10 days. So wish me luck, I Fedexed it out to their Jamesburg NJ service center, maybe there is a happy ending.

Chuck

"A NYC cabbie needs brakes every 6 weeks! Unless he is a licensed technician, it's illegal for him/her to make the fix!"


I live in NYC and never heard of this law. I know some taxi drivers and know for fact that they sometimes fix their rigs themselves.
If you have a business then most likely you have more than one camera and for you fixing one or another camera once in the while is not extraordinary problem. Most of us are do not have a luxury to own more than one camcorder of this kind, and we rather spent this $300-$400 on good mice, light, tripod etc.

I own GL-2 for couple years now, I am light user (about 60 tapes so far) but i'd like to monitor and see all of my options if and when I will hit this problem.

P.S. 59 of those tapes are FUJI, and 1 was Panasonic 80 min. I use a rewinder for last 30 or so tapes.

You understand the parallel ... the analogy still stands.

Okay, I've read the boards and I have a variation on the problem. I have a Canon GL1 and have always used Sony Premium Tapes. It has already been sent in for repair on the tape rewinding and now I have a new problem.

I recorded 2 hours of video the other day and after returning home, I reinserted the tapes and rewound them. I then got the dreaded Remove Cassette Tape message after both rewinds. Figuring that was natural, when I tried to play them back it still had the Remove Cassette Tape message. I took the tapes out and replaced them, still to no avail and the same message appeared. I powered the camera down, removed the battery, installed the battery again, turned the camera back on, inserted the tape and of course the Remove message reappeared.

I took the tapes to a camera store that does editing and they were able to get one of the tapes to come up, but not the other. When I took the tapes back home, sure enough, I was able to play one but not the other.

Is everything lost on the one tape? Is there any kind of way to retrieve the data off of the tape or anyone that specializes in this? I really wanted to bring this stuff into Premiere and do some editing with it. HELP!

I wonder if using the rewind machines, that are supposed to help save your camera life do not wind it to tight or such and then the camera is under strain???


how about you people who use these machines?


Dale guthormsen

I have one of the first GL2's sold in Canada and I have just run into this problem this week so that's coming up on three years. I wasn't even aware of it until now so I've got some back reading to do...

I have just spent a week using the new XL2, what a great camera that has turned out to be with the 20x zoom lens and XLR inputs. If my xm2 gets the tape eject message again I will be tempted to bit the bullet and step up to the XL2. But I wonder if they have similar problems? The tape carriage mechanism must be virtually the same.

I've seen a sony vx2100 doing the remove tape stuff... They (sony) display a coded message but the behavoiur is the same: you need to take the tape out and put it back again - try working with the cam again...

Hi all. I run a small production house in the NYC environs. First off, I'd like to thank Cosmin for his advice on this matter. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who has had this problem.

That being said, I've found a fix that might work for others. I tried keeping the case open overnight to allow moisture evaporation, and even attempted cleaning the little plastic gear shifter, as Cosmin suggested, with alcohol. These seemed to work for a little bit, but it didn't take long for the error to repeat.

After experimenting a little, I found that in my case, HOLDING DOWN the camera's rewind button gave me 100% satisfactory rewind results. I'm wondering if this will work for other users. As opposed to hitting it once, hold down the rewind button until it reaches where you'd like it to.

Let me know if this helps.

Above, I mean that you can hold it down while the tape is stopped. Not merely shuttling it manually while there is picture onscreen. Do it as though you'd normally rewind a tape, with the tape already stopped on the blue master screen.

- JMG

Last year I had the Eject Cassette problem with my XM2, I could play, record without problems but attempting to rewind a cassette caused the problem to appear (flickering timecode display and then the Eject Cassette message.)

Soon after the problem first occurred I was attempting to rewind a cassette. I got the Eject Cassette message after which I ejected the cassette. I re-inserted the cassette and attempted to continue rewinding the cassette. The mechanism suddenly started making nasty noises and I stopped rewinding immediately and attempted to eject the cassette. The tape had been chewed and was tangled up in the mechanism. I was on holidays in a remote area and had no possibility of immediate servicing. Very fortunately I was able to very carefully extract the tape from the mechanism without breaking it or the camera. (The tape had very important material on it and luckily only a very small section was damaged.) For the remainder of my holiday, I did not even attempt to rewind tapes in the camera. The play and record functions were still ok.

When I returned home, I had the camera serviced under warranty and have not experienced this problem since.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has experienced tape damage associated with this 'Eject Cassette' problem.

Regards,
Steven.

Hi all,

I have been combing this site for the last few weeks and have been impressed by all the intelligent questions and informative replies being passed on - without attitude.

I am awaiting my first GL2 in a couple of days, and am feeling a little tentative now, based on this tape transport "Remove Cassette" issue.

I am an enthusiastic video hobbyist, and come from a graphic and audio background. This may be a long shot, but with DAT audio tapes (which are quite similar to Mini DV) - we ran into the same problems with the tape transport mechanisms - they just jammed up and could no longer play. It kind of got around that a workaround was to always first fast forward the tapes until they end; then rewind them fully before using.

I know this is a drag, as far as putting more wear on the unit (it should be built to take it, though), but this solved the issue, at least in the world of DAT. It seemed with audio DAT tapes, some manufacturers just wound the tapes too tight for the transport to deal with. Fast forwarding it before recording just loosened them up a bit - and the problems went away.

Is this worth a shot?

Thanks

- Bill Shore

Steven, yes, I got the jammed tape stuff...
If you followed my explanation above, and seen the litle clip, you know how it happends...

Bill, some tapes would yield he "remove tape" message sooner than others. Probably those tapes are to hard to rewind. After a while, the tape transport mechanism is not able to rewind any tape.

And yes, I understand this is NOT a GL2/XM2 issue. As I said, I saw it on a VX2100. And now you're reporting that it is also happening on DAT.

True, some mechanisms are better than others.


Some of you, long enough in miniDV, do not remember the VHS era. VHS tapes jam, too. Its just that the VCRs in our homes do not display "remove tape" messages.

Cosmin, thanks for your reply and for all your suggestions and explanations. Just a coincidence, I was on Holiday in Romania when I first had this 'Eject Cassette problem! It is a very beautiful country.
Regards,
Steven.

It is never a coincidence! :) :) :)

off topic: what where you doing here?! Anyway, I'm glad you liked my country! (wanna switch? :) ).

Hello Cosmin, I was on holiday last year in Romania (with my XM2!). I spent about 4 weeks travelling in most parts of the country. The roads were a little bit bumpy but it was very nice. The country is very beautiful and the peope are very friendly. I would love to come back to Romania.
Regards, Steven.

I called up Canon yesterday and asked if anything is being done about the Cassette problem and the service tech told me that the problem is caused by the tape being left in the recorder. That the tape will press against the pinchers, capstan, rollers or whatever out of alignment. That was a pretty flaky excuse or it's pretty flaky quality. So, I guess it shouldn't be left in overnight. Delicate stuff. I was also told that to avoid the problem, the heads should be cleaned about every 20~30 hrs. Doesn't that sounds excessive. Aren't the tape cleaners abrasive.

I have a Canon Elan IIe film camera with three lenses including a 70-200L. I also have the 1.4X TC to go with the L lens and the pictures come out Sharp. That L lens is a hardy piece of equipment. So, I was seriously considering buying a GL2 but after looking around on the web I'm having second thoughts. I don't know, maybe I might still get one. I don' know how many bad units there are to the good ones.

At this time, there are 71 reports of Canon cassette problems over at Rick's site http://mysite.verizon.net/resohb20/canon_cassette_statistics.html. 72 if you include Unk. I don't know of any Unk except for what Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, used to tell his little monkey buddy "Unk, Nikima. Unk." in the mid 70's Saturday morning cartoons. Five of those reports go to GL2 owners.

Jesse,
The UNK is in there because I had one visitor sign my guestbook who did not disclose what model he had (he's either too confused or is paranoid I guess) and since I am not a psychic I decided "UNK" was better than making one up. The current total is now 85 and growing and the GL-2 is WAY over-represented in a complaint site like mine, in view of what this camera costs. I think the GL-1/GL-2 totals are now 8 (combined). For anyone who reads this and wants to see my site, here is the URL:


http://mysite.verizon.net/resohb20

Rick, I've said before that I respect what you're trying to do. When you say that the GL2 is way over-represented for a cam of it's cost I'd agree, unless Canon has sold several million GL2s.

When America first started responding to the Japanese quality invasion in the late 70's, an acceptable goal for many manufacturers was 2700 defective units per million. Expectations have risen substantially. No world-class manufacturer will stand for more than single digits in parts per million of a recurring defect mode without launching an investigation.

But all that notwithstanding, I wonder what the odds of my own GL2 developing the REMOVE CASSETTE error is. I'm going to start a new post to see if anyone is interested in guessing.

I think it's key to remember that there are probably quite a few people who have run into this problem on their GL2 on a smaller scale and have not even bothered looking it up online, much less actually posting their problem to become a statistic.

I know when my GL2 started having this "Remove the Cassette" error message, I ignored it. I could somewhat fudge my way around the problem by turning off the power and removing and then reinserting the cassette. I just figured it was some random error and didn't think much of it.

Eventually, the problem got a lot worse, to the point where it would recur on every tape at least once (sometimes not until it was 20 minutes into playing or recording a tape), and on some days it would not accept any tapes at all.

I really didn't want to send my camera in for service because time without it means a loss in profit for me. However, it was too unreliable to be used in any professional situation. So I decided to take advantage of my Mack 4 year extended warranty, and sent it in for service last week. We'll see what happens.

Anyways, my point is, I think this problem is more common than we think. We just don't see it very well represented here on the board because many consumers will just write it off as a one or two time problem and ignore it (which, for me at first, it was).

I had the problem with my GL2 and sent it to Mack Camera. They sent it back and the problem recurred immediately. I sent it back in and the second fix has held for seven tapes and lots of rewinding.

I think the first thing one should do, and it may sound ridiculous to some, is to use a cleaning cassette. My GL2 goes unused for months at a time, and I seem to recall using the cleaning cassette to stop the problem at one time. May not work in all cases, certainly, but it it one simple procedure worth considering.

It's nothing to do with cleaning the heads or leaving a tape in, nor what brand of tape you use. First time I got the error was in a brand new camera after 3 tapes run thru it. The second time was after 5 more tapes. It is apparently a mis alignment of some of the rollers and pins in the tape carrige mechanism. I had the whole mechanism replaced and have had no further problems. (Touch wood).

I almost always get this message when trying to rewind with my XM2. I have to resort to rewinding by shuttling. Does doing this a lot damage anything?

I have had this problem since the camera was brand new.

I have always used the same brand of tapes (Panasonic).

I have never left a tape in the camera.

I have always been extremely careful and gentle with the camera.

Has anyone else tried Cosmin's technique for fixing it?

Cosmin could you give a more in-depth description and explanation of how to do it. Do I drop alcohol with a pipette and how much? What kind of alcohol does it like best?

I have used maxell tapes for three years on my XL1s and never had a problem, it was when i started switching from different brands of tapes that i started getting problems. Also never use the maxell head cleaner i used it in my JVC mini DV and i had nothing but problems after with recording. I would order a Canon head cleaner.

...on my XL1s...

I may be wrong, but, isn't that because this is a problem that effects the GL2 (known as XM2 in the UK)...?

I have had this problem since the camera was brand new.

I have always used the same brand of tapes (Panasonic).

I have never left a tape in the camera.

I have always been extremely careful and gentle with the camera.


I just wanted to add my experience to the morass with my GL2 (in case quantity will help any, I guess...). I've had the camera for maybe 18 months. I use it about 10 to 15 hours/month. I have the same care for my camera as Justin for the most part, although I have used about 5 JVC tapes in the camera. Other than that, it's been Panasonic (first consumer, then professional when I looked for an supplier of 80-minute tapes). I've always rewound and ejected the tape (more to prevent any type of crease in the tape). I've used a Panasonic dry head cleaner prior to my last few shoots, as I've started seeing artifacts in recorded tapes if I don't.

Anyhow, so I got that issue on my last shoot, and jumped on the 'Net real quick and saw all this information. I sent my camera to the Canon FSC in Irvine, CA. The out-of-warranty fix was $272.79, including shipping. The word from Canon was, "The GL line does not qualify for the discounted repair" that the CSR I talked to mentioned to ask for (a $50 fix). The FSC received the camera on a Tuesday, sent me an email estimate on Wednesday, which I immediately approved. The repair was completed by the next Wednesday, and I had the camera back on Friday (after a trip to Fedex because Canon did not notify me that the camera had shipped, nor did they update the Web site repair status to show "Shipped" until Friday). I was not real impressed by the FSC customer service--I could not get a straight answer about the repair progress or ETA for fixing. The lady always sounded like it was such a bother to answer the phone.

To finish up, I've rewound a tape or two, and it seems to work OK. I have a shoot this weekend, but I'm getting an FS-4 and an external rewinder. Hopefully I'll get more at least another 18 months outta this thing before it breaks again...

Thanks,
Matt

Hi All

I thought I should pass on the outcome of some hands on experimenting based on comments posted in this and other threads regards the "Remove Cassette" error.

To back track slightly, I bought a XM2 a few months ago which was intermittantly showing the error, a fact that was represented in the price I paid for it. However since then the problem became far worse, far too quickly, to the extent that even the rewind in play mode trick failed to work.
I have subsequently had a number of fruitless telephone conversations with the Canon (Dis-)Service Dept, who were not even prepared to give me a ball-park figure for the repair untill they had the camera in their clutches. Not even when I asked if they could give me a price for a straight replacment of the tape transporter. I was however informed that they charge £60/hr for their engineers time! ("The smaller the hammer the higher the pay" principle, I guess).

So being at the point of not having a lot to lose I thought I'd give the alcohol clean a go. I therefore probed about with a cottonwool ear bud soaked in methylated spirit. Managed to get a drop on the wheel depicted by Cosmin, then had a bit more of a poke about, giving the rubber rollers and a flat looking wheel with what looks a little like a contact breaker bit of a going over. However I then realised that a cotton bud is NOT the thing to use as it had left masses of cotton fibers attached to every hook and corner within the compartment!

Cleaned all this out, waited a while for everyting to dry off and tried a new tape.

The thing ate it, totally chewed it up as soon as it was inserted then gave me the "Remove Cassette" error!

Problem had to be drag caused by components still being damp from the alcohol so based on this, the fact that Cosmin had recommended leaving the cassette tray open over night, another post (sorry I forget from whome) regards leaving your camera out in Californian sunlight (I wish) and the fact that by now I just wanted to tourture the damned thing, I took a hair dryer to it.

Blasted away into the open cassette tray for a minute or so untill I realised that the thing had become too hot to touch (oops)!!

Let it cool, tried a tape, fastforward then full speed fast rewind NO ERROR MESSAGE!!! :-)

I have up till now only dared 3 full speed rewinds but so far so good. I have decided however to buy a Maxell rewinder to be on the safe side.

As for as whether it was the cleaning or the hairdryer that was the major factor in the fix I cannot tell. However the fact that one of the triggers for the remove cassette message is damp, the hairdryer may be worth trying. Another factor in play may be heat and bearing lubricant related?

Just be aware that things get very hot very quickly.

Hope this insight may help someone in some small way.

Regards

Gaive

After peparing four tapes for use by fast forwarding and then a rewind (is this really of any benefit I wonder?) the fith produced the error message again 5 mins of tape before the begining at the end of the rewind.
Hand winding didn't solve the problem which got worse eventually culminating in a chewed tape.

However in the ensuing battle I have gained more insight into the workings of my nemesis, the tape transporter.

The problem appears to be tape specific, not so much manufacturer/tape lube or the like. During the couple of hours swapping tapes around I found that it was always the same tapes that were giving problems. Even to the extent that it was at the same point of the tape that the error would appear (though this may have just been a faulty tape, it was reluctant at times to hand wind). Old tapes recorded three years ago on a Sony Handicam worked OK (though I don't know how much interaction with the Canon they would endure). Others tapes would function OK after a hand crank, possibly by releasing an over tight portion of tape.

It may be that the original quality of the tape influences over-sensitive (drag?) sensors to reject the tape or the fault may be initiated by the uneven rewind which then triggers the problem. Then again there may be no over-wind and no tape quality issue, just faulty sensors. This the crux of the matter, which Canon obviously don't want to address.

It would be nice if it were possible to flash the afflicted cams to knock out the error report or at least find a way of preventing whatever sensory mechanism is in place from working.

So in summary the alcohol and hairdryer have helped but not provided a long term fix. Perhaps a more thorough clean is required? Though IMHO over sensitivity in the error reporting seems to be at the very least a contriburaty factor if not the root cause.

Keep on capturing

Gaive

...The problem appears to be tape specific, not so much manufacturer/tape lube or the like... Yes. That's what I'm talkin' about. See post #11 in this thread.

Hit by the same problem! Went to rewind a tape and got the error message. Trouble was the tape itself wouldn't eject. So it's now residing with Canon UK. I'm waiting to hear the bad news about the quote to fix it ... is anyone able to give me an idea?

My XM2 is 2 years old - put about 20 films through it. Last 15 have all been Panasonic.

Hello Paul, Hope your course went/is going well :)

I have not had the dreaded message (yet) but did have a problem ejecting a tape. It happened as I was attempting to change tapes before the wedding ceremony, "itwould not eject" - panic as the bride was about to walk in. Luckily I had 14 mins on the tape left (and a 2nd cam) so I waited till the 1st hymn and attempted again. No luck at all till I removed the battery and replaced, the tape came out thankfully. One thing I have noticed is if you open the tape door and do not wait for the engage to finish you can have problems so give it a few seconds.