Firewire Problems and Recommendations

G

gustavotg

Member
Hi All,


I’ve been a little concern about the firewire connection reliability in the HD100. My Firewire failed acouple of weeks ago, JVC repaired but then again in the middle of a capture (using DVRack) it failed again, I won’t send the camera to JVC until end of April since we need this camera and we still have our second unit to capture while still shooting with both cameras (old one which firewire failed and a new one). Strangely enough the next day a friend called me to borrow my camera because his firewire failed while capturing using a G5.

I have a question, what one should do to avoid firewire failure (I always turn off the camera before I plug it in, but it happened anyway on my old HD100 in the middle of the capture), is it safer to use a laptop than a PC when capturing? I don’t want to damage my second unit (this one is a brand new “A” version). Is this an issue addressed in the A version (I mean Firewire problems).

Can somebody please share his experiences / solutions to this issue?

Thanks a lot.

BR,

Gustavo
 
Do not have the camera powered on when plugging in the firewire connector. It is that simple.
It isn't a big deal on DVX100 and XL2 with the 4-pin FW connectors, but the 6-pin cables cannot be "hot-swapped" on the HD100 without risk of shorting out the firewire control chip. I have heard of this happening before. If the connector is not lined up perfectly you may short it out.
 
Ditto, Tim and I've heard that from the JVC Cypress techs directly with the same exact 6-pin / 4-pin reasoning.
 
jlames said:
Ditto, Tim and I've heard that from the JVC Cypress techs directly with the same exact 6-pin / 4-pin reasoning.
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Yeah. The 6 pin connectors carry enough voltage from the computer to power small FW hard drives. I don't think the 4-pin cables carry that much power, so the risk is low.
 
True again. I accidentally, well, actually on purpose out of ignorance, went to plug in a 6-pin and got a spark, noticeable because I plugged the camera end in first and then ducked under my desk to attach the other end into the port. Darkness or dimness actually allowed me to see the spark which is why I mentioned it to Pellagatti and got that typical, "What are you an idiot?" look and slightly less abusive inquiry along the same lines which of course led me to call Matt at JVC. So, when you're right, you're right...and for all the right reasons. The current runs up the line to the camera and luckily this time no harm, big foul. And the same thing holds true for the DTE.
 
Is it also wise to plug in the firewire between the camera and computer before turning on your computer and camera? I imagine this would be the safest bet.
 
kidtexas said:
6 pin firewire carries enough juice to power a hard drive or an audio interface. One thing you could do is get a isolating firewire cable.

http://fwdepot.com/thestore/product_info.php/products_id/356

It removes the power from the line so you don't have to worry about hot swapping. You could also go 6 pin -> 4pin -> 6 pine and do the same thing.
Click to expand...
Brilliant! I don't have any bus powered devices anyway, so better safe than sorry.
 
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