Camera not turning on at DVinfo.net

George Palmier · October 23rd, 2007, 01:11 PM

Today my HD100 did not turn on. Instead it had the tallies blinking fast and a contionous tone being heard from the speaker. On searching the manual it said that such error menas that there is a humidity problem. Now I put the camera infront of a dehumidifier to lower the humidity. Hope that that will solve the problem. Is there a way to temporarily eliminate the humidity check of the camera? Today I lost a good piece of footage as the camera didn't switch on. Many thanks for any reply.

George Palmier · October 27th, 2007, 07:04 AM

New update to my problem!!! Now when operating the camera indoors there's no problem at all but as soon as I go outside the camera wouldn't turn on!! I live in Malta, centre of the Mediterranean Sea, and at this time of year the temperature is very similar indoors and outdoors so there isn't a sudden change in temeperature. Can it be that the humidity sensor sort of lost its calibration and is reading high humidity even if infact the humidity is well inside an acceptable value? Please try and help me out on this. Many many thanks

Bob Hart · October 27th, 2007, 07:48 AM

It might be a job for the service centre.

A wild chance may be that you have a damaged, defective or contaminated tape in it.

Another wild chance is that you have used a mix of Sony and non-Sony tapes over the time you have used the camera??

To eliminate the humidity detector being faulty possibility :-

Restart the camera indoors.

Unload the tape.

Give the camera a run through with the cleaning tape.

Try another tape.

If you have used both Sony and non-Sony tapes in the past, the workshop is the next stop. There is apparently an antagonism between the "wet" lubricant used in Sony tape coatings and the "dry" lubricant used in other brands.

When the debris from both mixes and builds up in the tape path it causes problems. There is some contention as to whether this is a "real" or "imagined" issue in the league of an urban myth, however there is enough anecdotal comment to be found on forums to suggest one should err on the side of caution and not mix the types. Apparently, this buildup does not come away with the use of a cleaning tape and is a difficult job for a repair shop.

Sorry I don't have another solution for you.

George Palmier · October 27th, 2007, 08:49 AM

Thank you very much for your help Bob. The thing is that I never used sony tapes and I am trying to power on the camera without any tape in it. Now I ran a head cleaner for 10 seconds. I will try to switch the camera on outside when night falls as it was at this time that I had major problems. Is it possible that because of some kind of dirt on the heads, the camera won't turn on at all? Once again thanks for your help.

Bob Hart · October 27th, 2007, 01:26 PM

Now that you have eliminated mixed tapes as a source of the problem, the next thought is whether very recently, you transported the camera in an airconditioned vehicle for long enough to cool it before bringing it back out into the normal environment and running it very shortly afterward.

If the tape path dewed and some of the damp came off and got into the tape, the problem will hang around even if the camera is in another environment. Once moisture gets into the winding of the tape, it is there for a long time and maybe the tape will remain unusuable.

Maybe leaving the cassette door open for an hour or so in the airflow of a fan, then trying another tape might indicate if this has happened if the substituted tape runs trouble free. Run the cleaning tape one more time before using another tape in case some of the binder from the troublesome tape has come off with the damp so that the new tape does not become contaminated by anything the troublesome tape may have left behind.

Other than this chance, it seems your camera may have a fault which requires workshop help. I don't know how the JVC camera detects moisture or humidity.

It may be that excessive back tension or braking on the tape from other causes, before it passes around the drum is interpreted by the system as dewing which causes a tape to stick like clingwrap. The camera's diagnostic may be reporting another fault as moisture but I am really only guessing.

It may be as simple as normal motions and wear and tear has caused an electrical connection like the end of a ribbon cable or a sub-board to motherboard style junction to become resistive.

It might be time for the repairman to have a look at it.

October 23rd, 2007, 01:11 PM	#1
George Palmier Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Malta Posts: 96	Camera not turning on Today my HD100 did not turn on. Instead it had the tallies blinking fast and a contionous tone being heard from the speaker. On searching the manual it said that such error menas that there is a humidity problem. Now I put the camera infront of a dehumidifier to lower the humidity. Hope that that will solve the problem. Is there a way to temporarily eliminate the humidity check of the camera? Today I lost a good piece of footage as the camera didn't switch on. Many thanks for any reply.

October 27th, 2007, 07:48 AM	#3
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	It might be a job for the service centre. A wild chance may be that you have a damaged, defective or contaminated tape in it. Another wild chance is that you have used a mix of Sony and non-Sony tapes over the time you have used the camera?? To eliminate the humidity detector being faulty possibility :- Restart the camera indoors. Unload the tape. Give the camera a run through with the cleaning tape. Try another tape. If you have used both Sony and non-Sony tapes in the past, the workshop is the next stop. There is apparently an antagonism between the "wet" lubricant used in Sony tape coatings and the "dry" lubricant used in other brands. When the debris from both mixes and builds up in the tape path it causes problems. There is some contention as to whether this is a "real" or "imagined" issue in the league of an urban myth, however there is enough anecdotal comment to be found on forums to suggest one should err on the side of caution and not mix the types. Apparently, this buildup does not come away with the use of a cleaning tape and is a difficult job for a repair shop. Sorry I don't have another solution for you. Last edited by Bob Hart; October 27th, 2007 at 07:59 AM. Reason: error

October 27th, 2007, 01:26 PM	#5
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Now that you have eliminated mixed tapes as a source of the problem, the next thought is whether very recently, you transported the camera in an airconditioned vehicle for long enough to cool it before bringing it back out into the normal environment and running it very shortly afterward. If the tape path dewed and some of the damp came off and got into the tape, the problem will hang around even if the camera is in another environment. Once moisture gets into the winding of the tape, it is there for a long time and maybe the tape will remain unusuable. Maybe leaving the cassette door open for an hour or so in the airflow of a fan, then trying another tape might indicate if this has happened if the substituted tape runs trouble free. Run the cleaning tape one more time before using another tape in case some of the binder from the troublesome tape has come off with the damp so that the new tape does not become contaminated by anything the troublesome tape may have left behind. Other than this chance, it seems your camera may have a fault which requires workshop help. I don't know how the JVC camera detects moisture or humidity. It may be that excessive back tension or braking on the tape from other causes, before it passes around the drum is interpreted by the system as dewing which causes a tape to stick like clingwrap. The camera's diagnostic may be reporting another fault as moisture but I am really only guessing. It may be as simple as normal motions and wear and tear has caused an electrical connection like the end of a ribbon cable or a sub-board to motherboard style junction to become resistive. It might be time for the repairman to have a look at it. Last edited by Bob Hart; October 27th, 2007 at 01:31 PM. Reason: error

October 27th, 2007, 07:04 AM	#2
George Palmier Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Malta Posts: 96	New update to my problem!!! Now when operating the camera indoors there's no problem at all but as soon as I go outside the camera wouldn't turn on!! I live in Malta, centre of the Mediterranean Sea, and at this time of year the temperature is very similar indoors and outdoors so there isn't a sudden change in temeperature. Can it be that the humidity sensor sort of lost its calibration and is reading high humidity even if infact the humidity is well inside an acceptable value? Please try and help me out on this. Many many thanks

October 27th, 2007, 08:49 AM	#4
George Palmier Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Malta Posts: 96	Thank you very much for your help Bob. The thing is that I never used sony tapes and I am trying to power on the camera without any tape in it. Now I ran a head cleaner for 10 seconds. I will try to switch the camera on outside when night falls as it was at this time that I had major problems. Is it possible that because of some kind of dirt on the heads, the camera won't turn on at all? Once again thanks for your help.