HPX250: HPX250 faulty rocker switch power on and off

L

lonewolf2koc@hotmail.com

Well-known member
It appears that my 1.4 years old HPX-250 is in need of warranty service. The camera would shutdown as I turn on the power button at the grip area. Changed battery and no luck. Not sure if something's wrong inside the power switch but it would shut off at the most needed time. Arrgh. Good thing I paid a bit more than the discounted price last year or so for the full USA version.
 
Sorry to hear about that lonewolf. I had been previously wondering about the robustness of that switch especially since it gets so much use switching from on to playback and then off and then on.
Let use know about your repair experience.
 
I got the same problem couple of times, an easy way to fix the problem is to blow air with a compressor to clean the switch...
I work on a renovation show so dust, in my case was part of the problem.
 
I'm having the problem too. I thought I was hitting the power switch by mistake, but just a thumb brushing by can power the camera off. Couple of nighhts ago it wouldn't turn back on until I reseated the battery. I'll try blowing air thing before sending it in.
 
This unreliable power is an intermittent problem. Additional info to the rotary power switch issue is that If I don't use channel 2 audio w/ phantom power on, it lessens. The operating environment is normal weather. Nothing w/ high humidity or extreme hot or cold. After the weekend, I'm able to turn on the HPX-250 w/ out any issues. But once ch 2 w/ phantom power is applied, I noticed that ch 2 would be completely dead after 20-30 min of use and that the power to the camera would also be dead whenever it wants. Only if I completely shut the HPX-250 off, remove the XLR cable on ch 2 and turn it back on, ch 2 is alive again. Not sure if the HPX-250 has enough juice to supply both CH1&CH2 phantom power concurrently for 60-120 min of continuous shooting. I suspect that the electronics inside the HPX-250 is not robust enough to handle live phantom mic plug-in while the cam is on. I will try to shut the camera off, plug in the shotgun mic and see if that cures the problem. This I learned fr. the Beachtek adaptors for DSLRs. They're notoriously very sensitive to any live phantom power source plug in while the device is on. I have a small mini Sony ECM ### shotgun hard mounted on ch 1 all the times. Ch2 is occasional use and the mics I'm using are: Sanken CS3 /& Panasonic MCP-700 mini-shotgun. These mics have no issues on other Panasonic 2/3" cams for live plug in w/ out shutting down the cam. It can't be the faulty mics. This sporadic shutdown occurred several times over the weekend. This is not good for doing live event coverage. The power on/off/mode switch is somehow interconnected to phantom power on ch 2. The work around is to simply leave the camera on all the times. Still waiting for downtime for warranty repair.

digitalgecko said:
I'm having the problem too. I thought I was hitting the power switch by mistake, but just a thumb brushing by can power the camera off. Couple of nighhts ago it wouldn't turn back on until I reseated the battery. I'll try blowing air thing before sending it in.
Click to expand...
 
For me, it happens while the camera is rolling or right when I pause it. It will just mysteriously turn itself off. Haven't lost any footage yet. I thought maybe the switch was pressure sensitive when I move my hand while shooting. But it does not happen every shoot, more like every 3 or 4 shoots. I only use one phantom mic input for my shotgun mic. The other input is usually hooked up to a wireless mic receiver so I can't speak to that issue.
 
It seems that the rotary switch wear out sooner than normal on the HPX-250. I'm guessing that it is only about $15-20 for the switch and it should be replaced every 12-18 months of normal pro use. The blow-dryer method is a good suggestion, but I prefer replacing it with a new one than trying to revive it. On a side note: Whenever I take my 2/3" lenses in for periodic maintenance, they always replace the zoom seesaw switch regardless of how new or old is it. It only about $15 for the that little part. There's no reason to be cheap on this and try to repair the $15 switch. The labor to repair the switch will cost 7-10x more. With this insight fr the lens, I think all mechanical switches can only take so much before it must be replaced.

digitalgecko said:
For me, it happens while the camera is rolling or right when I pause it. It will just mysteriously turn itself off. Haven't lost any footage yet. I thought maybe the switch was pressure sensitive when I move my hand while shooting. But it does not happen every shoot, more like every 3 or 4 shoots. I only use one phantom mic input for my shotgun mic. The other input is usually hooked up to a wireless mic receiver so I can't speak to that issue.
Click to expand...
 
I spray all my switches, plugs,etc. with DeoxIT D5 if I have a problem. Being doing that for 20 years and works about 98% of the time. The other 2% is broken or bad solder joints on the plug, switch.
 
The service experience was fairly smooth. The key thing is that you must register the HPX-250 for the 5-yr warranty to avoid any paper work hassles. I dropped it off last Tue at the Universal City/LA Service Center and it's ready today (Monday). They replaced the switch. I requested 22x lens factory re-alignment & overall checkup. Typically the electronic view finder's filter will get worn out over time due to cleaning and normal wear and tear. This is not covered under warranty. My suggestion is not to apply any chemical agent such as lens cleaner to the EVF's filter or LCD. It will give you that ugly stain that I can't get rid of months later. But somehow the older Panasonic 2/3" VF-20 & the newer VF-21KG will take lens cleaning fluid w/ out any issues. Use drinking water is probably the best for both newer and older EVFs on 1/3 & 2/3" cams.
 
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