KA7OEI - Random bits

This web page contains random bits related to things technical - mostly having to do with repair/fixing of things - that don't fit anywhere else on my web site.

A few words of caution/warning:

Please be aware that these observations/fixes worked for ME and may NOT work for you!

If you try any of these things, you are doing so at your own risk! I cannot be held responsible if you do any of these and break something or cause some sort of injury or damage! It is up to YOU to do your own research and take appropriate precautions to avoid equipment damage, personal injury or any other sort of similar situation!

In some cases these cases are rather technical and may expose one to potentially dangerous voltages: Do not do this unless you are qualified to do such work, and if you do, take appropriate precations!

These items are in no particular order and could be on about any topic, but are usually related to things technical - such as problems (usually camra/computer-related) that I've had and have been able to solve... finally.

I appologize in advance for not having pictures of these things! In retrospect, it would have been a good idea!

Some of these were done so long ago that my memory is a but fuzzy and what is found below is based on my (often sketchy) notes.

When doing internal repair of any electronic/electrical device, you should remove the battery/disconnect the power before working on it!

You can email me for questions, but I don't know if I'll be able to offer any more help than what is on this page!

Adobe Flash will install without error, but won't work on Firefox or Seamonkey.

Problem: Under Seamonkey and Firefox (on XP) you can seemingly install Adobe Flash 10.x successfully (that is, there are no errors at all) but it doesn't really get installed.

Symptoms:

You go to a web page that tells you that to look at content, you must obtain the Flash plug-in. You do this - and it installs without error - but when you go back to a page that requires flash it still says that it's not installed.

Apparent reason:

This problem was solved by following the advice on this web page.
What seems to have been the problem is that the installer did not have operating system's permission to create the "plugins" directory pointed to by the %APPDATA% system variable. By manually creating this directory and copying files to it, Adobe Flash started working properly for both Firefox and Seamonkey.

It is not yet known if updates will be successful, but I now know how to do this manually!

Sony TRV730 camcorder throws a "C:31:something" error when loading a tape.

Problem: My Sony TRV730 D8 (Digital 8mm) Camcorder gave a "C:31:42" (or similar) error. When a tape was installed, it would try to load it - but then start chiming quickly and eject the tape, showing this error on the screen. Sometimes, it may work just fine, but it became increasingly unreliable over time.

Temporary fixes:

Smacking the cassette door with your hand as hard as you dare! This would often clear the error for a while - but it would eventually stop working.
Blowing a hair dryer into the tape compartment. It had been reported that "warming up" the components would "fix" this problem. I tried this and it was hit-and-miss and its efficacy wasn't demonstrable. If one did do this, care had to be taken to prevent heat damage (e.g. melting) of plastic parts.
Moving the take-up reel manually. It seemed that simply turning the take-up reel a turn or two before loading the tape would increase the likelihood that it would work properly. When ejected, this reel is gently locked into position and it was suspected that this reel wasn't unlocking during tape loading. Later, removing the tape compartment cover and watching the tape load dispelled this mistaken idea - although it did seem to work sometimes...
Eventually, the tape would not load. The camcorder could still be used to take stills and to record video to the memory card.

Permanent fix (for me!):

There is a flat ribbon cable that connects to the bottom of the scanner assembly (e.g. the tape drum.) It was observed that this cable had half-fallen out of its connector, causing intermittent control/signals to the rotating drum, resulting in the error.
The camcorder was partially disassembled - something that is NOT for the faint-of-heart. I have some experience in disassembling and fixing such things, so it was a bit intimindating, but the disassembly process was carefully documented in notes and sketches and only proceded as far as necessary.

This cable connects to a main board that is behind the scanner assembly - that is, when the LCD display is closed, the display would be facing this connector: This connector is near the top edge of this board, somewhat rearward of the "hot shoe" on top of the camera.

This cable was simply (and carefully!) plugged back in! It's been long enough ago that I don't remember exactly what sort of connector was used, but two types are commonly found:

Friction fit, no release tab: The cable simply pushes into its contacts, held only by compression of the springs within the connector.
Friction fit - with a release tab: This is what I think is on that particular cable. In that case, one has to release the connector by sliding (or lifting up) the locking tab, at which point the cable may be easily inserted - followed by re-locking this tab to secure this cable. If the locking tab doesn't move, don't force it!

Why did this occur? The cable itself was under a bit of stress, being folded backwards from the scanner assembly behind it to interconnect the circuit boards. Over time - with handling, jostling and temperature changes, the cable slowly worked its way out from the connector, causing a loss of connection.
Since I re-seated the cable, my circa-2000 TRV730 camcorder has continued to work just fine!

Other comments:

There are MANY reasons why your Sony camcorder may throw errors when loading tapes. I perused other web pages to determine what the possible causes would be and checked them out, but to no avail. It was due to experience with other cameras/camcorders - and the fact that I had nothing to lose - that I finally checked to see if the cable was falling out: It was! Some of these problems included:

At least one version of camcorder has a problem with a plastic piece falling out near the rubber pinch roller. People have reported using a piece of the tube from a ball-point pen to fabricate a replacement piece. That was definitely NOT the case with this camcorder.
Clogged heads on the camcorder. If you have a lot of old tapes laying around and have decided to play them, this could happen to you. The best way to clean the heads is to use the appropriate cleaning solution and swabs that are specifically designed for cleaning this type of camcorder, but these products are getting harder to find. I have had good luck with the standard "dry" head cleaning tape - BUT:

These tapes are abrasive on purpose: They literally "sand down" the heads and drum very gently to remove "crud" from the drum. Excessive use will prematurely wear out the drum!
They should be used sparingly - that is, as little as possible!

The may/may not apply to YOUR camcorder - Sony or otherwise.

If your camcorder has a problem other than the above, I really can't help you - sorry!

Camera Images on a Sony DCR-HC42 camcorder start to get erratic/flaky and then finally disappear.

Problem: Images through the lens - as seen through the electronic viewfinder, saved as still images on the memory card, as seen on the flip-out LCD, and video recorded on tape get flaky, but playback works fine. They may get noisy, dark, distorted, off-color, etc. This condtion may be affected by pushing on the camcorder's case - particularly in the recessed portion where the flip-out LCD goes in - or it may be affected for better or worse by smacking the camcorder firmly. Previously-taken images stored on the memory card (when the camera was working properly) look fine.

Cause:

The flat ribbon cable from the imager fell out of its connector! (Sound familiar?)

Fix:

To fix this, the side cover of the camcorder (with the flip-out LCD) was carefully removed. The cable coming from the imager unit was observed to have partially dislodged from its connector and it was re-installed.
I'm sorry that I don't have more details about this: This camera failed in this manner just after it was out of warrantee - which was several years ago - and more-specific details are a bit fuzzy. Again, the same care described for the fix for the TRV730 (above) was used when disassembling and reassembling the case and re-installing the cable in its connector.
As happened with the cable in the TRV730, this cable, too, was under a bit of "spring" which caused it to slowly work out of the connector over time due to handling and temperature differences.

If your camcorder has a problem other than the above, I really can't help you - sorry!

Images on a Polaroid X530 camera started to get erratic/flaky and then finally disappeared.

Problem: Images from the LCD viewfinder - and those saved on the memory card - started to get noisy, distorted, and finally disappeared.

Cause:

Would you believe - a cable from the imager to the main board?

Fix:

Removing the bottom cover of the camera allowed me to see that the ribbon cable that connected the imager/lens assembly had partially dislodged. Simply putting it back in place fixed things! The same precautions about re-installing cables mentioned above apply

The "Take Picture" button on a Nikon Coolpix L5 camera no longer works - or it only works sometimes.

Problem: The camera no longer (reliably - if at all) takes a picture when you press the button. Everything else works fine, though.

Cause:

The small ribbon cable that goes from the sub-circuit board just under the "take picture" button on the top of the camera and connects to the main board (behind the LCD) fell partly out.

Fix:

This cable just fits in the connector with friction and was carefully pushed back into place. If one is very careful, one need to lift the back completely off the camera as this connector is accessible from the top. It is necessary to remove all of the screws: IIRC, there are two on each side and at least three on the bottom, near the tripod mount.
When removing the back panel enough to access this connector, note that there are some very small (black/red) wires that connect to the LCD's backlight: Either be VERY careful not to break them, or unsolder them to allow one to work on the board.. (They go to spots near the bottom of the board labeled "BL-" and "BL+" and are the black/red wires, respectively.)
There's another flat ribbon cable that connects the LCD to the main board. If you need to unplug this cable, note that this is locked into place: To unlock this cable, carefully slide the beige piece (the color may vary) toward the bottom of the camera (away from where the cable plugs in) on each side and the cable may be more-easily be removed. Note that this lock piece does NOT lift up, but slides backwards to release the cable. Some other connectors in this camera hold the cable in place only with friction, while yet others have a locking mechanism that slides toward the cable to unlock it.
When reassembling, make sure that the slide switch knob just above the LCD aligns with the switch on the main board or else you won't be able to move it back and forth! It's easiest to slide it all of the way to one side before taking off the back, and then making sure that the button is in that same position when you put it back together.
The longer screws holding the back on go in the side with the shiny, chrome strip. (There are screws on both sides and along the bottom.)
The camera's back lifts off the bottom edge first and is hooked into the top edge. It may be reluctant to disengage, so be careful NOT to break anything!
The "guts" of the camera may lift out from the front of the camera: Be careful if this happens as other parts/buttons may come loose/out of alignment.
As with any camera with a flash, there may be high voltage present near the flash unit. If you touch this, you may get a nasty shock - and the current may flow through you, into some of the camera's circuitry and blow it up! (It may not do you any good, either!) These voltage are generally present in the upper-left corner of the camera - behind where the flash is located, on the main board.

If your camera has a problem other than the above, I really can't help you - sorry!