dirt on videoheads

[SNIFOC]

hey there,

I"m here in middle asia with a big problem:

the blinking red cross in the dvx 100 ae display tells me it"s time to clean the video heads, the material has lot of fragments and is pixelized.

The camera left something like less than 100hours behind, so maybe it"s another problem? It"s very dirty and dusty here, but the cross appeared on the outward trip in the train where it wasn"t that dirty.

The problem is that I forgot to take a cleaning cassette with me but luckily I found a sony tape bundle with cleaning cassette inserted in the package.

I let it run for 5 secs and it seemed like the problem was fixed but short time after that the red cross appeared again.

So, I let it run three times after that, one time 5, one time 10, one time 15secs, knowing that it"s not good for the heads but what should I do here, neither service nor support around.

So the prob isn"t fixed yet!!!

Any advices?

Please help, I"ve to shoot material!!!

 

[Alex H.]

The problem is that I forgot to take a cleaning cassette with me but luckily I found a sony tape bundle with cleaning cassette inserted in the package.

I let it run for 5 secs and it seemed like the problem was fixed but short time after that the red cross appeared again.

So, I let it run three times after that, one time 5, one time 10, one time 15secs, knowing that it"s not good for the heads but what should I do here, neither service nor support around.

Okay, a few issues here.

First, what brand(s) of tape were you using before you found the Sony tape and cleaning cassette? Sony is wet-type tape, and should not be used in the same camera as dry-type tapes (Panasonic, Fuji, Maxxell, TDX, JVC). This can cause clogging on the heads as the wet lubricant mixes with the dry and creates a pasty goo.

Now, technically, one wet tape after using dry tape isn't going to kill you. BUT, if you have dirty heads and have been using dry tape, using a wet-type cleaning cassette (Sony) is a huge problem.

Also, knowing that it can damage the heads, the last thing you should do is run the cleaning cassette over and over, and for longer periods of time. Never, ever, ever more than 5 seconds in PLAY MODE ONLY. And it should not be run often at all... maybe once every 100 or so hours, and only then if absolutely needed. And never rewind a cleaning cassette.

The safest way to get rid of the red X is to do this:

- unwrap a fresh, blank tape (the same that you use to shoot)
- put the camera in VTR mode
- insert the tape
- press PLAY and let it run for the entire hour
- eject the tape (do not rewind) and throw it away

Now that you've run the wet-type cleaning cassette, if you have been using dry-type tapes, the best solution is a professional head cleaning. If you are confident in your skills, you can try it your self. Directions, with caution, can be found here:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=6888

 

[Moseph]

The whole "wet vs dry" tapes issue is a thing of the past from my experience. As crazy as it may sound, I've put in a sony premium from my schools studio, after using PQ's, and then went back to my PQ's after that, and I didnt run into a single problem. I didnt use a head cleaner or clean the heads manually either. This was probably at least a hundred hours of use ago.

 

[Alex H.]

Again, one wet tape in a dry-tape world isn't going to mess things up. The wrong type of cleaning tape, however, runs more risk of gumming up the works.

 

[SNIFOC]

first of all thanks for the info.

yes, it"s like you wrote: I used Panasonic AY-DVM63pQ"s and a sony dvm-4cld cleaning tape because no other tapes were available here.

Could it help to use a dry cleaning tape for 5 seconds because I met someone who has a panasonic cleaning tape?

I played back my tapes i his camera and there were no faults at least as I could see on the material I could check.

Is it possible that only the playback head and not the recording head has a problem?

Which "device" controls the dirt on the heads? Is it a read after write sensor? Is it possible that this is defective?

 

[Alex H.]

first of all thanks for the info.

yes, it"s like you wrote: I used Panasonic AY-DVM63pQ"s and a sony dvm-4cld cleaning tape because no other tapes were available here.

Could it help to use a dry cleaning tape for 5 seconds because I met someone who has a panasonic cleaning tape?

No. You've used cleaning tapes too much already. Try running the blank tape for an hour as I previously suggested and see if that doesn't clear things up. If not, then it's time for a thorough cleaning by hand... not with a cleaning cassette.

I played back my tapes i his camera and there were no faults at least as I could see on the material I could check.

Is it possible that only the playback head and not the recording head has a problem?

Which "device" controls the dirt on the heads? Is it a read after write sensor? Is it possible that this is defective?

It's very possible that the play heads are the ones that are dirty, especially if the recording is fine (as shown on another playback device). Again, if the blank tape method dosen't clear it up, clean it using the previously provided link, or take it to a professional.