GL2 Remove Cassette Error Fix

Sola Osofisan · July 25th, 2006, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred Retread

Otherwise it's a trip back to the service center where about $250 is the standard charge and they pretty much fix everything for that price.

Just to update this thread. The Canon Service center turned out to be some 30minute drive from me here in NJ, so I stopped by without an appointment to drop the GL2. They fixed the erratic zoom and Tape Eject problems and also brought the camera back to factory specs, all for about $250. I'm a happy cat again. Worth every penny.

Kenneth Tong · July 27th, 2006, 07:41 PM

Dear All,

Luckily, I have not yet encountered the above problem for my XM1, which I purchased for 3 years ago (HK$12600) and in normal use (for kids school performance and family outings only). I have zoom problem recently and it was solved due to the clever advice of friends from this site.

I also purchased a cheap one ccd Canon MV450i (HK$4400)at the same time when I had the XM1, as playback deck.

In the first year of purchase I used the MV450 heavily in rewinding and fast forwarding when viewing video footage and after just 10 months use the above 'remove tape' message appears every time I rewind tapes. It also eats tapes! Besides, the speaker also broke. As it was still under warranty, I quickly retun it to the Canon hong Kong service centre for repair. It took one month for them to repair. Too long a time to me. They told me they had replaced the whole 'thing' inside. I believe the refer to the tape transport mechanism.

I owned a sony Hi-8 (purchased in 1996) before my DVs and I also heavily used the Hi-8 as both playback deck and cam. It never had any problem until quite recently in 2006.

2 reasons for the fragile DV tape mechanism:

1. The small size of DV tapes as compared with Hi-8 / VHSC makes all DV machines a bit fragile and we cannot use them so heavily.

2. Canon products are not as durable as Sony!

My friends used Sony VX2000 and never had any problem! My general impression of Canon products, which I frequently purchased, is that they are reasonably priced but always have minor problems. Maybe I am unlucky.

The lesson I have learnt from the cheap Canon 1 ccd cam makes me handle the XM1 with extra care. I only used it as video cam and seldom for playback deck.

The purchase price of my Hi8 is HK$9000 in 1996. The general high price at that time of video cams may push the sellers like Sony / Canon to put better stuff in their cam. Now everything has changed. Canon seems to have a factories elsewhere in the world whic are producing cheap components for Canon. Perhaps it is the way Canon keep the price low and quality so so?

I do not mean to hurt any company and I can only say that the life expendancy of seemingly durable cams can be much shorter than we expected.

Kenneth

Jonathan Nelson · July 28th, 2006, 03:50 AM

I had 2 gl2s and I didn't even know this problem existed. I sold them both recently so it's nice reading this thread after the fact.

I only used them as decks a couple of times, but I mostly used my optura 10 as the deck. Heck, I have ran 1000s of drum hours on my canon optura 10 and it's been powered up for months now. I am waiting for it to die! lol

I just find it funny that canon created a pro camera with such a terrible deck and yet their consumer decks seem to be better quality? Again, after 2 years of owning and extensively using the gl2, I didn't even know this problem existed. It really makes me wonder why I never experienced it.

I actually had a pretty nice canon collection: optura10, gl1, gl2, xl1s, xl2, and even a ZR330 - never a problem once. Always used sony premium tape.

Chris Hurd · July 28th, 2006, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan Nelson

I didn't even know this problem existed. It really makes me wonder why I never experienced it.

Well it's obvious that for you it was never a problem. For many people it was never a problem.

For those folks who do experience this problem, that's why factory service is available.

K. Forman · July 28th, 2006, 11:48 AM

It's like anything else. Hundreds of thousands of people can own a product, and swear it is the best ever. However, if you happen to have one that goes bad, it is a major issue. This is where support either makes or breaks the company. I had an Asus MB with issues, even though everybody swears that Asus is a great product. I disagree, because I couldn't even get a response from their support, even after calling overseas to the Company itself. I have an HD100 that had issues. It was replaced with a new unit, and done so very quickly, which is working beautifully.

And my GL1 has never had the tape issue, just for the record. Been a very reliable little workhorse for the last 4 or 5 years.

Alec Eriksson · August 8th, 2006, 02:42 PM

My GL-1's been back to Canon service twice for the REMOVE CASSETTE issue and been fixed twice, once just out of warranty but liberal complaining saw that fix for free, and once a few days out of warranty on the repair and they charged me some $400 to replace quite a bit of stuff.

Well all was well in the world until recently. Now I'm sitting here typing this with a tape I shot over the weekend that refuses to play in the camera. The nice REMOVE CASSETTE message is blinking and I'm about ready to burn down Canon HQ....and maybe light a cigar with the flames on someone's back as they flee.

I'm certainly NEVER buying a Canon camcorder again. Perhaps it's time to sell this one and just switch to still photography! Heh.

EDIT: After some fiddling it appears to be a combination of tape and whatever governs the speed of the rewind/FF (the clutch I presume?). When my tapes hit a bad spot the camera's RW slows way down then cuts off with the REMOVE CASSETTE message.

Time for a rewinder? Would that retension my tapes correctly? It seems there's either tension or goo on the ribbon to blame and I don't think my "two pencils and a paperclip in my mouth" method of winding my tapes is helping matters.

Peter Orr · August 9th, 2006, 09:52 AM

Hi there,

I just bought a GL2 and am having the same problem with rewinding tapes and getting the evil "REMOVE THE CASSETTE" message -- not every time, fortunately, but just enough to piss me off.

I don't only get the message when I rewind, but when I turn the camera on and there is already a tape inside. I presume this is because the camera scrolls the tape a little at start-up to find the timecode, is that right? Can anyone clarify?

Thanks to all your suggestions I have tried some alcohol treatment (great instructional pic, BTW) and leaving the tape deck open over night and I had no problems with it yesterday. If it keeps up, I'll discipline it with some more alcohol.

Alec Eriksson · August 9th, 2006, 10:17 AM

I managed to get my cranky GL1 to work yesterday after doing the following...

- Took tape out each time it told me to, and manually rewound past the "bad spot"
- Rewound the tape in the camera all the way to the beginning (doing the above each time)
- Fast forwarded the tape to the end (doing the above a few less times)
- Rewound the tape from the very end to the beginning, this time successfully
- Alcohol lense cleaning solution on a q-tip to dab it on the big roller drum thinger (technical name) in the tape compartment
- Let it all dry with door open
- Insert tape and pray...

In the end there's a few spots on my tape that have been mangled but it looks like I can use the tape to continue filming and also capture most of the stuff I shot the other day.

I know I shouldn't do it, but I happened to leave the tape in the camera prior to this last bit of filming and I think that's the big trigger of these problems. Definitely need to keep the tapes out if not filming, and do my best to do very little shuttling of the tape in-camera either during filming or capture (I know I should have a dedicated capture deck/camera but I can't afford it).

Graham Bernard · August 9th, 2006, 01:34 PM

As soon as I finish filming, OUT comes the tape - period! Rollers aren't getting hold of any tape or tape up against or not up against rollers - tape is well gone! AND I don;'t use it for shuttling tape or editing or reviewing.

Dale Guthormsen · August 9th, 2006, 06:54 PM

Grazie is right about not using the camera as a deck and not shuttling back and forth. As far as removing tapes, that is probably a good idea too.

I had about 60 hours on my gl2 and never had a misfire of any kind. Then one afternoon I started shuttling back and forth to find a given spot and was having a hard time getting it right. Then the cassette error occured and it even held the tape inside.

I consider it my own stupidity.

the good part was I also convinced my wife that I needed a back up camera and we got an xl2 for back up.

Gianfranco Gaglione · August 10th, 2006, 12:03 PM

Canon USA has issued in their website a faq about the "remove cassette" message.. here's the link for you.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...7&modelid=7512

Matt Hiebert · August 10th, 2006, 08:28 PM

Has anyone else tried Cosmin's solution with the alcohol and clutch? It seems to have worked for him and some others. I have a GL2 arriving any day. Trying to head off problems before they arise.

Matt Hiebert · August 10th, 2006, 08:36 PM

Also is there a "best" tape I should stock up on? My GL2 is used and the previous owner said he used a variety.

Richard Bender · August 24th, 2006, 08:21 AM

I'm looking at a used GL2 that seems to be fine on everything except the fast rewind which produces the "Remove Casset" error. What is it worth in this condition.

Paul Grove · August 24th, 2006, 08:38 AM

Matt - I've used Fuji ever since the remove cassette error without a problem. But there again I never, ever rewind a cassette in my XM2 or use it as a playback machine - I've got an old JVC single CCD which I used for that.

I would avoid using the slightly longer tapes (I think they are Pannasonics) than 60mins as I was using one when the error occured. I wonder if the mechanism is so delicate that it can't cope with the strain ...

Richard - if you are not intending to rewind/forward tapes then you could be ok. But if the tape gets stuck inside - as it did with me - be prepared for expensive bills - it cost me the best part of 300UKP!

July 27th, 2006, 07:41 PM	#182
Kenneth Tong Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 71	Remove Tape Message Dear All, Luckily, I have not yet encountered the above problem for my XM1, which I purchased for 3 years ago (HK$12600) and in normal use (for kids school performance and family outings only). I have zoom problem recently and it was solved due to the clever advice of friends from this site. I also purchased a cheap one ccd Canon MV450i (HK$4400)at the same time when I had the XM1, as playback deck. In the first year of purchase I used the MV450 heavily in rewinding and fast forwarding when viewing video footage and after just 10 months use the above 'remove tape' message appears every time I rewind tapes. It also eats tapes! Besides, the speaker also broke. As it was still under warranty, I quickly retun it to the Canon hong Kong service centre for repair. It took one month for them to repair. Too long a time to me. They told me they had replaced the whole 'thing' inside. I believe the refer to the tape transport mechanism. I owned a sony Hi-8 (purchased in 1996) before my DVs and I also heavily used the Hi-8 as both playback deck and cam. It never had any problem until quite recently in 2006. 2 reasons for the fragile DV tape mechanism: 1. The small size of DV tapes as compared with Hi-8 / VHSC makes all DV machines a bit fragile and we cannot use them so heavily. 2. Canon products are not as durable as Sony! My friends used Sony VX2000 and never had any problem! My general impression of Canon products, which I frequently purchased, is that they are reasonably priced but always have minor problems. Maybe I am unlucky. The lesson I have learnt from the cheap Canon 1 ccd cam makes me handle the XM1 with extra care. I only used it as video cam and seldom for playback deck. The purchase price of my Hi8 is HK$9000 in 1996. The general high price at that time of video cams may push the sellers like Sony / Canon to put better stuff in their cam. Now everything has changed. Canon seems to have a factories elsewhere in the world whic are producing cheap components for Canon. Perhaps it is the way Canon keep the price low and quality so so? I do not mean to hurt any company and I can only say that the life expendancy of seemingly durable cams can be much shorter than we expected. Kenneth

July 28th, 2006, 11:48 AM	#185
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	It's like anything else. Hundreds of thousands of people can own a product, and swear it is the best ever. However, if you happen to have one that goes bad, it is a major issue. This is where support either makes or breaks the company. I had an Asus MB with issues, even though everybody swears that Asus is a great product. I disagree, because I couldn't even get a response from their support, even after calling overseas to the Company itself. I have an HD100 that had issues. It was replaced with a new unit, and done so very quickly, which is working beautifully. And my GL1 has never had the tape issue, just for the record. Been a very reliable little workhorse for the last 4 or 5 years. __________________ www.SmokeWagonLeather.us

August 8th, 2006, 02:42 PM	#186
Alec Eriksson New Boot Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: MD Posts: 16	My GL-1's been back to Canon service twice for the REMOVE CASSETTE issue and been fixed twice, once just out of warranty but liberal complaining saw that fix for free, and once a few days out of warranty on the repair and they charged me some $400 to replace quite a bit of stuff. Well all was well in the world until recently. Now I'm sitting here typing this with a tape I shot over the weekend that refuses to play in the camera. The nice REMOVE CASSETTE message is blinking and I'm about ready to burn down Canon HQ....and maybe light a cigar with the flames on someone's back as they flee. I'm certainly NEVER buying a Canon camcorder again. Perhaps it's time to sell this one and just switch to still photography! Heh. EDIT: After some fiddling it appears to be a combination of tape and whatever governs the speed of the rewind/FF (the clutch I presume?). When my tapes hit a bad spot the camera's RW slows way down then cuts off with the REMOVE CASSETTE message. Time for a rewinder? Would that retension my tapes correctly? It seems there's either tension or goo on the ribbon to blame and I don't think my "two pencils and a paperclip in my mouth" method of winding my tapes is helping matters. Last edited by Alec Eriksson; August 8th, 2006 at 03:30 PM.

August 9th, 2006, 06:54 PM	#190
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Grazie is right about not using the camera as a deck and not shuttling back and forth. As far as removing tapes, that is probably a good idea too. I had about 60 hours on my gl2 and never had a misfire of any kind. Then one afternoon I started shuttling back and forth to find a given spot and was having a hard time getting it right. Then the cassette error occured and it even held the tape inside. I consider it my own stupidity. the good part was I also convinced my wife that I needed a back up camera and we got an xl2 for back up. __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

August 10th, 2006, 12:03 PM	#191
Gianfranco Gaglione New Boot Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 6	Canon info Canon USA has issued in their website a faq about the "remove cassette" message.. here's the link for you. http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...7&modelid=7512

July 28th, 2006, 03:50 AM	#183
Jonathan Nelson Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Kingman Arizona Posts: 298	I had 2 gl2s and I didn't even know this problem existed. I sold them both recently so it's nice reading this thread after the fact. I only used them as decks a couple of times, but I mostly used my optura 10 as the deck. Heck, I have ran 1000s of drum hours on my canon optura 10 and it's been powered up for months now. I am waiting for it to die! lol I just find it funny that canon created a pro camera with such a terrible deck and yet their consumer decks seem to be better quality? Again, after 2 years of owning and extensively using the gl2, I didn't even know this problem existed. It really makes me wonder why I never experienced it. I actually had a pretty nice canon collection: optura10, gl1, gl2, xl1s, xl2, and even a ZR330 - never a problem once. Always used sony premium tape.

August 9th, 2006, 09:52 AM	#187
Peter Orr Tourist Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 2	Hi there, I just bought a GL2 and am having the same problem with rewinding tapes and getting the evil "REMOVE THE CASSETTE" message -- not every time, fortunately, but just enough to piss me off. I don't only get the message when I rewind, but when I turn the camera on and there is already a tape inside. I presume this is because the camera scrolls the tape a little at start-up to find the timecode, is that right? Can anyone clarify? Thanks to all your suggestions I have tried some alcohol treatment (great instructional pic, BTW) and leaving the tape deck open over night and I had no problems with it yesterday. If it keeps up, I'll discipline it with some more alcohol.

August 9th, 2006, 10:17 AM	#188
Alec Eriksson New Boot Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: MD Posts: 16	I managed to get my cranky GL1 to work yesterday after doing the following... - Took tape out each time it told me to, and manually rewound past the "bad spot" - Rewound the tape in the camera all the way to the beginning (doing the above each time) - Fast forwarded the tape to the end (doing the above a few less times) - Rewound the tape from the very end to the beginning, this time successfully - Alcohol lense cleaning solution on a q-tip to dab it on the big roller drum thinger (technical name) in the tape compartment - Let it all dry with door open - Insert tape and pray... In the end there's a few spots on my tape that have been mangled but it looks like I can use the tape to continue filming and also capture most of the stuff I shot the other day. I know I shouldn't do it, but I happened to leave the tape in the camera prior to this last bit of filming and I think that's the big trigger of these problems. Definitely need to keep the tapes out if not filming, and do my best to do very little shuttling of the tape in-camera either during filming or capture (I know I should have a dedicated capture deck/camera but I can't afford it).

August 9th, 2006, 01:34 PM	#189
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	As soon as I finish filming, OUT comes the tape - period! Rollers aren't getting hold of any tape or tape up against or not up against rollers - tape is well gone! AND I don;'t use it for shuttling tape or editing or reviewing.

August 10th, 2006, 08:28 PM	#192
Matt Hiebert New Boot Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Jefferson City, Missouri Posts: 9	So where'd we leave off... Has anyone else tried Cosmin's solution with the alcohol and clutch? It seems to have worked for him and some others. I have a GL2 arriving any day. Trying to head off problems before they arise.

August 10th, 2006, 08:36 PM	#193
Matt Hiebert New Boot Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Jefferson City, Missouri Posts: 9	Best tape? Also is there a "best" tape I should stock up on? My GL2 is used and the previous owner said he used a variety.

August 24th, 2006, 08:21 AM	#194
Richard Bender Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 40	Camera value with this problem I'm looking at a used GL2 that seems to be fine on everything except the fast rewind which produces the "Remove Casset" error. What is it worth in this condition.

August 24th, 2006, 08:38 AM	#195
Paul Grove Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Liss, Hampshire, UK Posts: 67	Matt - I've used Fuji ever since the remove cassette error without a problem. But there again I never, ever rewind a cassette in my XM2 or use it as a playback machine - I've got an old JVC single CCD which I used for that. I would avoid using the slightly longer tapes (I think they are Pannasonics) than 60mins as I was using one when the error occured. I wonder if the mechanism is so delicate that it can't cope with the strain ... Richard - if you are not intending to rewind/forward tapes then you could be ok. But if the tape gets stuck inside - as it did with me - be prepared for expensive bills - it cost me the best part of 300UKP!