brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

S

schteevie

Well-known member
after less then 5 hours of recording, my new DVX100a is not playing back...
it was fine for teh first hour or so of digitiing, then it started screwing up...
it gives me the blue screen while it reads time code as it plays tape that I know has image...

I just tried shooting a test and then during record a red x came up in the top left of the screen - WHAT THE HELL?
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

You have a dirty cylinder head. All you need to do it clean it and you should be fine...
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

after fast forwarding and rewinding a couple times the image got all mozaicy and blocky and then started playing again... so yes, it seems the heads are dirty... I don't have a head cleaner and it is after hours for the stores.. damnit!

my question is - should I be worried that the heads got this dirty this soon???

I've only had 5 hours of head time over two days of shooting...
yes it was outside, hot and humid, but seriously... I took real care to keep things clean and away from dirt or anyting...

I used brand new MQ tapes and didn't re use any of the tapes... how easy is it to get the heads dirty...?
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

The heads can get dirty in different scenarios. If you shoot a lot outside, or in humidity then they will get dirty faster. I wouldn't worry to much. Wait for Barry_S to post the guide on cleaning. I wouldn't use a tape. Barry walked me through it over the phone, and it's really not that hard.
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

thanks for the replies... what do you mean don't use the cleaning tape? how else can it be done? I was going to go buy one in the morning...

anyway... I am slightly less worried after these replies, but I am still dead in the water as far as being able to continue digitizing tonight... so I am going to get behind on my post schedule - DAMN IT!

I am also feeling like I can't trust my camera to shoot in the conditions I need it to... dirty heads after two days...? that is not cool.

I have to shoot again this weekend... I need to trust it again
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

First off let me ask is it after two days of shooting? Or you've only owned the camera for two days?

Regarding the cleaning tape....

It's very abrasive. It's like rubbing sand paper on your heads. Eventually the tape will do more harm than good. Wait for Barry to post the cleaning tutorial or better yet get your heads professionally cleaned...
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

[quote author=TylerGred link=board=Events;num=1091143611;start=0#6 date=07/29/04 at 18:12:59]First off let me ask is it after two days of shooting? Or you've only owned the camera for two days?

Regarding the cleaning tape....

It's very abrasive. It's like rubbing sand paper on your heads. Eventually the tape will do more harm than good. Wait for Barry to post the cleaning tutorial or better yet get your heads professionally cleaned...[/quote]

I've owned teh camera for about a week, and the last two days were shooting with it. i don't understand what the relevance of your quesion is...?

anyway - if there isa tutorial about cleaning - why can't I find it on the forum? i searched my butt off.
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

I asked it because I wasn't sure if you'd owned it for two days and it didn't work or if you'd owned it for a while (during storage moisture can get inside) and shot with it for two days. Do you live in a humid area? It shouldn't need a cleaning only after a week. But I state again that it can easily be the case if you live in a humid area or many other various reasons. I needed a cleaning after about 5 weeks.

Like I said WAIT for Barry to post the tutorial. He should have it up within a few days...
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

[quote author=schteevie link=board=Events;num=1091143611;start=0#2 date=07/29/04 at 17:26:26]
I've only had 5 hours of head time over two days of shooting...
yes it was outside, hot and humid, but seriously... I took real care to keep things clean and away from dirt or anyting...

I used brand new MQ tapes and didn't re use any of the tapes... how easy is it to get the heads dirty...?
[/quote]

I'm experiencing the same problems with only about 3 hours of head time... did you ever get this resolved? Did cleaning the heads work for you? Has anyone else had this problem?

- Lisa
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

I wasn't about to try cleaning it myself...
out of despiration I used a head cleaning tape, and it didn't even solve to problem completely...

I ended up taking it to the shop and had it cleaned by panasonic.

they did it free but it took almost a week though.  
they gave me a loner unit while the camera was out, but the situation still isn't ideal.

the problem is solved for now, but I am not entirely happy about the situation as I still don't have a good option to solve this WHEN it happens again.
the fact is that I will be putting the camera through similar conditions many times as the job I am shooting will frequently require it.

I would be happy to build regular cleanings into the budget and pay to have it done...  but I can't find a repair shop in the toronto area that does it...  they all send it out to panasonic if it requires any real work - and that can take several days or even a week...

does anyone know of a local shop that will do head cleanings same day???
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

my dvx100a had a few minor drop-outs during first few weeks, then settled down. I suppose new heads need 'running-in' - some individual camera's more than others.
A friend of mine has been a VHS-rental service engineer for decades now. He says a good and safe 'gentle polishing' of the heads can be had simply by fast forwarding then rewinding , start to finish, a (normal) miniDV tape through the camera/deck. - This may not be anywhere near as effective as Barry's 'isopropyl alcohol wash' instructions, but at least it's completely normal for the camera, requires no special skill (!) and is certainly worth a try when you have a 'new' camera in blue-screen condidtion.
I hope you don't have anymore probs Schteevie . - Paul.
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

Also I would think twice about using the camera a deck. It's just more wear and tear on the heads and could cause head clogs prematurely.
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

I had a similar problem:
I have my dvx100ae since 30 of march 2004.
After about 35hours of shooting (5weeks) my dvx started make some problems with recording and timecode (red cross blinking,...)
A friend of mine said me it is only some wet inside the cam, after some time it will be dry and ok again.
but not
I brought it to a panasonic servis
after 3weeks they called me they found some SALT WATER INSIDE(?!!), what damaged a bit the desks,
and they asked me, if I was somewhere on a holyday near the sea with it!!!!!!
of course not, I didnt left my country with it.
but they asked for cleaning pieces of salt inside of cam (some kind of chemical bath of the desks) 40euros - they said it was not a varanty repair...

well, now my dvx is ok
 
Re: brand new 100a SCREWED up heads???

Well, it seems to have settled down thus far. The day it happened it was a very hot and very humid day. In trying to fix the problem I kept forwarding and reversing to check, and by the third new tape finally got it to work. I'll keep an eye on it though and have it forwarding through a complete tape right now. Thanks all for your suggestions!
 
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