Broken Battery Tabs

M

mpalmer12345

Well-known member
I sent my HVX into Panasonic repair in KS last week to get a firewire problem fixed, and the Pana tech dept told me that my battery tabs were broken and needed to be fixed for $200+ (not covered under warranty, because it's supposedly my fault). I've NEVER had a problem with the battery not fitting snugly and securely before now, and I was wondering if anybody could describe what a broken battery tab looks and/or feels like. Is it obvious when it's broken, like is a part clearly missing, or is it something that just feels a bit loose?

I find it very strange that I wouldn't have noticed this before, and that now I am being asked to pay for something that sounds suspiciously like the tech guys did it to the camera themselves.
 
There was a big thread on this and I think Panasonic warrantied it. Let's see if I can search it and post the link before my time expires? And... go!

e
 
Okay, I just read through the past threads and came across the Spec-Com statement that the battery tab fix is covered under warranty, so I called Pana back and they say NO, only up to a certain model, not the more recent 200A, so I still have to pay, even though I've only had the camera 6 months. I have no idea how I broke this, or IF...
 
Do you put your camera in the case with the battery attached? If so, that is how you broke the tabs. They are plastic. It sucks. Jan knows about it and they did make them better, but there are still a few users like you who didn't get the message that the CDG-54 sized batteries sick out very far from the camera body and then you put your HVX in the case and it get's dragged around, the tabs can still break from the leverage and weight of the whole camera riding on the battery (lookl how far the big batteries stick out from the body. That is a lot of leverage.)

Panasonic should have made the battery tabs on the HVX200a and the HPX170 from metal, as we have been begging them to for years, not plastic, then nobody would have this nagging issue. It is hard to always remember to remove your battery from your HVX whenever you put it away. I have forgotten many times but so far, have been lucky and never have a broken tab. The vertical orientation in the HPX170 is better than the horizontal orientation of the battery on the HVX so that helps but still, what would metal backed tabs have added to the cost of manufacturer, pennies? At least they got rid of the plastic headphone jack on the HPX170 that you poor HVX guys still have to deal with. Oh well, perhaps on the next generation?

Dan
 
Thanks very kindly for the responses.

Thing is, I never found the battery to be anything other than snug and secure the whole time I’ve owned the camera. I had an HVX200 before this for a couple of years, and I never felt that there was any sort of problem on either camera with the battery being the least bit loose. All I know is that I’m having to swallow an unexpected $230 bill for something I probably won’t even notice when I get the camera back and that should have been done right in the first place.

I don’t think I’ll PM Jan C. It looks like the last discussion of this topic turned ugly for some reason (I didn’t bother to get the details), so I’ll just let it sit as a deep personal frustration and not take it beyond that.
 
My tabs were damaged last year but continued to do a fine job of keeping the battery in place, until last week that is. Seems they incurred further damage and now need replacing. So your tabs may have been 'broken' but you never noticed because they were still doing the job. You can probably have them skip the repair but as I have found eventually those broken tabs will catch up with you
 
Hi,

You should PM me with your serial number, date of purchase and from where you purchased. I will see what I can do. That early thread was heated but it all turned out just fine.

Best,

Jan
 
I put strips of velcro (the soft side) on the inside of the battery compartment to keep the battery snug. It gets rid of the space on the sides of the battery. That way the battery would have no room to move even if pressed down, keeping my tabs safe.
 
Actually upon further investigation, it is true that the HVX200A isn't covered, nor is any Battery tab on a serial number older than F6, why because the design was changed, and it takes a geat deal more to break them. My suggestion is that you take the battery off the camera during transport. I still have my original 200s and haven't broken any of the tabs. But then I am not in the habit of loading things in and out everyday and so they would never see the rigors of what you guys do.

Wish there was something I could do.

Best,

Jan
 
Jan:

Can you add to your feature request notebook for future generation HVX200/HPX170 cameras, "please, please, please implement metal battery tabs"?

At the production company I work at a lot, they have four HVX200s and three of them have needed new tabs, some were covered and some weren't. It's difficult when you have operators who are barely familiar with the HVX to explain how you always have to remove the battery from the camera when it is put into the case. People forget. It seems that this would be a simple fix, but even if it is not, it should be implemented. Broken battery tabs can really make your day bad when you arrive for a shoot and the battery or AC power plate won't fasten to the camera.

It seems with the vertical battery orientation on the HPX170 and HMC150, it probably won't be as much of an issue as it was on the horizontal orientation on the HVX. Have you heard from anyone yet about broken battery tabs on the HMC or HPX170?

Thanks,

Dan
 
Thanks at least for trying, Jan.

Well I got the cam back and I tested out the Firewire connection into the Mac and it worked perfectly the very first time, so I wasn't bat-guano crazy after all, contrary to what all the tech guys at Panasonic and everywhere else were telling me.
 
puredrifting said:
Broken battery tabs can really make your day bad when you arrive for a shoot and the battery or AC power plate won't fasten to the camera.
Click to expand...

Indeed -- to that end, I'd also suggest changing the design of the AC adapter. First and foremost, it should be able to be plugged in at the same time as the battery, so that the camera could automatically switch to AC power when your battery dies. Considering my $325 Asus EEE netbook can do this, surely my $5300 HPX-170 should be able to, yes?

But if that's not possible or practical for some reason, at least change it so that it connects via a standard barrel plug. That way if the battery tabs break, you can still use AC power.
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
Actually upon further investigation, it is true that the HVX200A isn't covered, nor is any Battery tab on a serial number older than F6, why because the design was changed, and it takes a geat deal more to break them. My suggestion is that you take the battery off the camera during transport. I still have my original 200s and haven't broken any of the tabs. But then I am not in the habit of loading things in and out everyday and so they would never see the rigors of what you guys do.

Wish there was something I could do.

Best,

Jan
Click to expand...

Jan

I need to ask this once more (I also have broken tabs in my 200E, 2006 model, serial number C6TC00552). Are tabs covered with longer warranty? My dealer or importer never noticed that warranty would extend. (Don't remember then tabs broke) How is it? I mean there should be equal treatment for all, not only those who complain.

After all, this seems like desingfault, which of course gets worse with 5400 mAh battery. The cure is simple also: You don't even need metal tabs if they are too complicated to replace. Instead there should simply be a support below the battery at the edge (as far as possible) to hold the weight of battery and give support. Once I broke my taps, I simply put a fit piece of plastic with good tape which holds the batterys weight. Had I understood to put it on place when the HVX was new, the tabs would never have broken!
 
journalist said:
Jan

I need to ask this once more (I also have broken tabs in my 200E, 2006 model, serial number C6TC00552). Are tabs covered with longer warranty? My dealer or importer never noticed that warranty would extend. (Don't remember then tabs broke) How is it? I mean there should be equal treatment for all, not only those who complain.
Click to expand...

I can only speak for the US. Your serial number would be covered in the US.

Best,

Jan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top