XH-A1s Firewire repair question at DVinfo.net

Tony Stram · September 21st, 2011, 10:02 AM

Sorry for the long post. I'm a do it yourselfer kind of guy. I own 2 XH-A1 and recently purchased a like new XH-a1s with the firewire port inop. I also own an XL2 and GL2. I repair 90% of all my camera problems, Lens, switches and I replace firewire boards in all my cameras. Really don't be afraid to do the board replacement its about a 2 hr job. I would like to ask anyone that had their XH-A1s in for firewire repair what did they actually do or replace. Or has anyone else replaced their own boards. I replaced the XH-A1s board and still no output to the firewire port. I'm trying to determine if the new board is toast too. If so I'll attempt another try. I know someone will ask about the menu and the auto/ HDV/DV setting ...this is grayed out and you cannot select. all my other cams work on the same computer so we will rule out cables and computer, for now I transfer via another camera. but I use DTE's on jobs. I would like to get an answer from another DIY guy.

Andrew Carter · October 11th, 2011, 04:17 AM

Are they hard to find the firewire boards for these cameras? I've been offered one with a burned out board, but i'm not sure if its worth taking on?

cheers

Don Palomaki · October 11th, 2011, 07:01 AM

Do you have a copy of the Canon Service Manual for the XH-A1s? That should cover the board replacement stuff. (I do not have one.)

It could be more involved than replacing the board upon which the port connector is mounted if the signal just passes through the board to another board with the actual IEEE1394 interface chip on it.

I suspect Canon parts would sell the boards.

Gregory Gesch · October 11th, 2011, 06:00 PM

Hi Tony. I fried mine and had it replaced by Canon Australia (and they fixed the faulty Handgrip at the same time). The parts they used as exactly listed on the Invoice were:

DA3-5509-000 LABEL, NAME, (XH G1S, HD) $0
DA3-8107-010 COVER, LEFT, (XH G1S, HD) $0
DY1-9278-000 PCB ASS'Y, MAIN, (XH A1S, HD) $798.47

with Labour of $337.00.

Ouch!

I imagine the first two parts were the grip. Is that any use?

Tony Stram · October 13th, 2011, 05:10 PM

Ok, Thanks for posting fellow XH-A1 users. Well If you are able to obtain a XH-A1 with only firewire issues, I think you need to ask yourself what is your goal. Are you shooting to tape or a DTE. My situation is that I have the luxury of several XH-A1's so if I shoot tape I can use another cam to transfer it. But I like and have a passion for DTE's so I would like the port to work. I'm also told that Canons HV20, 30, and 40s make a good transfer camera, if you decide to go easy on your heads. I haven't tried that one out yet. The XH-A1 (reg) cam is much more tricker to replace the i/o board than its A1s model. You have to dissmantle more of the camera to get it out. Since I repair only my cams i cheat and drill a tiny hole along side the headphone jack to remove a screw that holds down the i/o board to the chassis of the cam. On a few of the fixes that i did I think the ports were not burned out but had damage to the connector itself from accidental tugging on the firewire. (traces cracked) . There is a canon repair guy on ebay selling these boards for around 65 bucks ea. I have purchased 3 so far and have not been dissapointed. I did have a bad feeling on the "s" model that it could be the main board. I might be up for that repair too. Now I do have to say this...if your not mechanically inclined and have no electronic experience, don't attemp it. You could really mess things up badly. there are ribbon connectors to remove during the dissmantle and are easily breakable. The next time I r&r one I might make a you tube video on how to do it. My next quest is aspect ratios verses project size, wow what a nightmare. I only edit what I shoot and then to DVD or final media. But I just took on a Doc. job that will be all media 4x3, 16x9 std and HD and so far my experiments are going poorly. I want to avoid stretching out the std video, it starts getting noisy but I do like working in HD for the sharper titling but when it passes over a standard clip it freaks out either the clip or titling. thanks to all and if it dosen't work try something else, like rock and roll the rules are "there are no rules"

September 21st, 2011, 10:02 AM	#1
Tony Stram New Boot Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chicago Illinois Posts: 8	XH-A1s Firewire repair question Sorry for the long post. I'm a do it yourselfer kind of guy. I own 2 XH-A1 and recently purchased a like new XH-a1s with the firewire port inop. I also own an XL2 and GL2. I repair 90% of all my camera problems, Lens, switches and I replace firewire boards in all my cameras. Really don't be afraid to do the board replacement its about a 2 hr job. I would like to ask anyone that had their XH-A1s in for firewire repair what did they actually do or replace. Or has anyone else replaced their own boards. I replaced the XH-A1s board and still no output to the firewire port. I'm trying to determine if the new board is toast too. If so I'll attempt another try. I know someone will ask about the menu and the auto/ HDV/DV setting ...this is grayed out and you cannot select. all my other cams work on the same computer so we will rule out cables and computer, for now I transfer via another camera. but I use DTE's on jobs. I would like to get an answer from another DIY guy.

October 11th, 2011, 04:17 AM	#2
Andrew Carter Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: England Posts: 116	Re: XH-A1s Firewire repair question Are they hard to find the firewire boards for these cameras? I've been offered one with a burned out board, but i'm not sure if its worth taking on? cheers

October 11th, 2011, 07:01 AM	#3
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,488	Re: XH-A1s Firewire repair question Do you have a copy of the Canon Service Manual for the XH-A1s? That should cover the board replacement stuff. (I do not have one.) It could be more involved than replacing the board upon which the port connector is mounted if the signal just passes through the board to another board with the actual IEEE1394 interface chip on it. I suspect Canon parts would sell the boards. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

October 11th, 2011, 06:00 PM	#4
Gregory Gesch Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 114	Re: XH-A1s Firewire repair question Hi Tony. I fried mine and had it replaced by Canon Australia (and they fixed the faulty Handgrip at the same time). The parts they used as exactly listed on the Invoice were: DA3-5509-000 LABEL, NAME, (XH G1S, HD) $0 DA3-8107-010 COVER, LEFT, (XH G1S, HD) $0 DY1-9278-000 PCB ASS'Y, MAIN, (XH A1S, HD) $798.47 with Labour of $337.00. Ouch! I imagine the first two parts were the grip. Is that any use?

October 13th, 2011, 05:10 PM	#5
Tony Stram New Boot Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chicago Illinois Posts: 8	Re: XH-A1s Firewire repair question Ok, Thanks for posting fellow XH-A1 users. Well If you are able to obtain a XH-A1 with only firewire issues, I think you need to ask yourself what is your goal. Are you shooting to tape or a DTE. My situation is that I have the luxury of several XH-A1's so if I shoot tape I can use another cam to transfer it. But I like and have a passion for DTE's so I would like the port to work. I'm also told that Canons HV20, 30, and 40s make a good transfer camera, if you decide to go easy on your heads. I haven't tried that one out yet. The XH-A1 (reg) cam is much more tricker to replace the i/o board than its A1s model. You have to dissmantle more of the camera to get it out. Since I repair only my cams i cheat and drill a tiny hole along side the headphone jack to remove a screw that holds down the i/o board to the chassis of the cam. On a few of the fixes that i did I think the ports were not burned out but had damage to the connector itself from accidental tugging on the firewire. (traces cracked) . There is a canon repair guy on ebay selling these boards for around 65 bucks ea. I have purchased 3 so far and have not been dissapointed. I did have a bad feeling on the "s" model that it could be the main board. I might be up for that repair too. Now I do have to say this...if your not mechanically inclined and have no electronic experience, don't attemp it. You could really mess things up badly. there are ribbon connectors to remove during the dissmantle and are easily breakable. The next time I r&r one I might make a you tube video on how to do it. My next quest is aspect ratios verses project size, wow what a nightmare. I only edit what I shoot and then to DVD or final media. But I just took on a Doc. job that will be all media 4x3, 16x9 std and HD and so far my experiments are going poorly. I want to avoid stretching out the std video, it starts getting noisy but I do like working in HD for the sharper titling but when it passes over a standard clip it freaks out either the clip or titling. thanks to all and if it dosen't work try something else, like rock and roll the rules are "there are no rules"