DVX 100A fire wire port

JimStrauss

JimStrauss

Active member
Hello,
My firewire port in the dvx is not working, has anyone had this problem? I had my camera for a little over a year and with the warranty expired, I'll have to either pay or fix it myself. I just don't know how this could have happened. Any thoughts?
Jim Strauss
 
Hello Jim,

Welcome to the world of firewire. We see this happen all the time. Usually what happens is some static electricity (when plugging in the cable) gets passed into the port and blows up the 1394 driver chip. Another thing that happens is that (and I'm not accusing you of anything:)) some people accidently plug in the connection backwards and that blows up the 1394 driver.

It requires the VTR Main PCB to be replaced.

Let me know if there is anything else that we can help you with.

Best regards,

Andrew Hoffman
Senior Operations Manager
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com
 
Hey Andrew,
Thanks for the reply. I was capturing on a PC a few months ago and it worked fine, then a few months later when I purchased a Mac, it didn't work. I don't know why that is?
How much do you think it'll cost to fix the problem?
Thanks
Jim Strauss
 
Yet another example of a Mac user blowing up his firewire port. The problem seems to be directly correlated between a six-pin firewire port (which is almost universal on macs) and plugging in or unplugging the firewire cable with the power turned on.

In short, you must never do that.

It's okay on the PC, where you have a 4-pin port on the computer and a 4-pin port on the camera. But on a Mac you have 6-pin ports and those are notorious for blowing up firewire ports on a wide variety of camcorders.
 
From what I understand Mac's are a little more susceptible to blow out. Using 4pin to 4pin connections helps a lot. But the best way to avoid the problem is to not have your camera on when you plug/unplug the firewire cable. The even better way is to not have your pc or your cam on when you plug/unplug.

On a related note, Spec-comm is an authorized dealer/repair center of panasonic products, and they would be a great place to get your firewire port fixed.

Jason
 
Hey,
Thanks for all the tips, it helps a lot.
I'm just having a little trouble understanding the 4pin port and 6 pin for Mac? Does that mean I need to buy another firewire cable for a Mac or do I just follow the instructions you gave me and always make sure the camera is not plugged in when I (un)plug my firewire cable?
Does anyone know what something like this will cost?
Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate everyone's comments.
Jim Strauss
 
Spec-comm or any authorized repair center should be able to help you on the cost issue to repair.

As to the other question... In short just follow the directions Barry laid out and you will significantly decrease the chances of this happening again.
If you do live recording via firewire to your laptop, you may want to look into getting a firewire cable with an L-shaped connector, to potentially reduce the risk of the cable being yanked out during live recording (which can also cause the same blown firewire issue).

Jason
 
If you start with cold devices on each end of the (PC/4-pin) does it matter whether the camera or the pc is powered up first?
 
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