I purchased a Sony Handycam a few years back, along with a two-year extended warranty. The camcorder worked great the first year, but it developed an issue with the cassette holder. When I tried to record or play a cassette, I began to get Sony's version of the "blue screen of death," accompanied by text instructions to "reinsert cassette."
It initially occurred fairly randomly, and I was able to reinsert the cassette and continue, but after a month, even that was no longer possible. I called Sony to report the problem and to see how best to proceed, since it was still under warranty. After explaining the issue to the technical support representative, I asked him if this was a common problem. His response was that it was very strange, and he had not heard of this happening before.
Yet if you enter into any search engine the words "Sony Handycam rei," you will see "Sony Handycam reinsert cassette error" come up as an option. Selecting it will result in multiple Internet entries on this particular error. The favorite solution is as follows:
Trust me on this one... with tape still in unit and battery removed, smack both sides of unit firmly three to four times with the heel of your hand. It works nine out of 10 times on all Sony cameras.
Further research revealed various possible reasons for the error -- one site says a pinch roller worked its way off its post because of a cheap locking nut. Another site says a cable needs to be reseated. Yet another says the cassette holder is out of alignment. There are even YouTube videos of people explaining the correct procedure for smacking your camera. The problem seems to be endemic across model numbers, although the tech rep at Sony was unaware that there was an issue.
I tried the usual troubleshooting techniques, although I must admit I am out of my element with camcorders. I tried cleaning the unit, examining parts that were exposed enough for a visual inspection, powering down the unit and resetting it, trying a different cassette, and yes, I admit it, smacking it (according to the experts on YouTube, who at least knew there was a problem). Since it was inoperable anyway, smacking it made me feel better. Smacking actually worked a couple of times before it finally refused to work at all. Ultimately, I could not get rid of the error, and the camcorder was now completely useless. It was a shame, too. Besides the issue of basic functionality, every other feature on it worked well.
This entry was submitted by Nancy Golden and edited by Rob Spiegel.
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I agree Ann, and it is a shame. A telling point is that our teenage kids do not expect longevity in products - for them, throw-away is the norm and they are the next generation...
Nancy, I'm with you on that thought. Some of them get it and see the need for recycling, etc., but I think the whole concept of throwaway products is what they're used to, so it's a fish-in-water thing.
What can I say - A few months back the power supply for my Dell laptop died. Like any good DIY fixer, I gave it a few small bumps and noticed the little green light flicker. Seeing some hope, I gave it a good forceful smack - and the thing came back to life. Its still going.
Sometime smacking can work for computers also. I know a couple people at work who have used the smacking technique - or perhaps more accurately described as the pick-it-up-and-slam-it-down technique. While this did not actually "fix" the computer, it successfully made it completely inoperable which meant that our computer tech friends had to finally quite fooling with the old PC and bring them a new one.
When I was growing up, we only had one TV as was typical in those days...a knob-tuning black and white 19-inch tube TV. From a very young age, I remember the standard family practice to get a better picture was to slap the top of the TV with an open hand...and it worked! (My Dad was an EE.) That old TV lasted forever though, so I was a teenager by the time we got a new-fangled color TV.
I haven't had to smack TV's since, except for when they broke after a few years. The old TV's seem to last much longer. I hope my new LCD HDTV's last a good few years, but I recently had to replace our first LCD TV at four years old.
The cost to repair electronics these days always seems to equal or exceed the cost of a new unit, so that means disposable consumer electronics.
Growing up, we had a TV from about 1970. In the 90's, we bought a VCR and after a few years, the TV required a good smack on top of it every time we used the VCR to alleviate a wavy screen. This worked for a few years until we got a new TV. I do not know what the smack did, but it felt good and it worked.
"... the product was purchased at a Best Buy or some such store with an extended warranty added at the cash register."
Understood, Nancy, but a warranty is a legal contract -- either the manufacturer or the aftermarket warranty company is on the hook (during the warranty period) for a working unit or a refund. Admittedly, most warranty service these days requires the customer to pack up the ailing device and ship it off to Guadalajara or some such place, but being noisily insistant at the Big Box Customer Service counter can often work wonders ... ;-)
I appreciate your input gafisher - but my phone conversation with Sony was even more exasperating than the error message. I had the warranty papers in my name that showed store, date of purchase and serial number of the unit – yet they asked for a receipt, which I did not have since I had the warranty certificate. It took a week for them to research my warranty which puzzled me, until I found out why. Savvy consumer that I am, I had waited for this particular camcorder to go on sale. My warranty specified a replacement would be available if my unit became defective, which is why I purchased it. However, the fine print that I did not notice specified that the replacement value would be for the amount I paid for the unit, not the manufacturer's retail value like I had assumed. Of course they did not have a replacement unit available at the sale price so if you include the purchase of my warranty, by receiving my warranty refund (not the option I would have chosen) I got to pay $50.00 for a defective camcorder.
Looks like we got a lot of fellow smackers out there - so if you smack something to fix it - make sure you explain it as a percussive repair. That makes it sound technical!
Ironically, there are a number of ailments that truely can be temporarily repaired with "Percussion Repairs." The scariest one I ever witnessed was on a commuter flight from Philadelphia to Harrisburg on an old Beechcraft 99. As we taxied out to the runway, with the cockpit in full view of us passengers, we hit a bump and every idiot light lit and every gauge on the instrument panel pegged one direction or the other. The pilot never missed a beat, punched the instrument panel and everything jumped back where it was supposed to be. Clearly, a major open or short (most likely an open ground) that he temporarily repaired. I was so shocked and impressed I didn't even think to insist I get off for another flight.
As mentioned in previous posts:
a) a sticking car starter solenoid can be broken free, or if the starter is on a commutator arc dead spot the shock can move it to another spot or break the oxides enough to make contact and start.
b) motor bearing "sticktion" can be broken by a quick jar. In the case of the camcorder, it could adjust tape cassette alignments in the guide-track, or shift pinch rollers on their shaft.
c) Silver or tin whisker growth shorts can be broken by the shock.
d) Oxides on a "flakey" intermitant electrical contact, such as on a tin-lead plated connector contact, can be cracked allowing the current to tunnel through.
e) I have seen broken lightbulb filaments move and make contact . . . for awhile. I suspect that broken elements in the old technology vacuum tubes could rearrange in much the same manner to make connection again for awhile.
I'm sure there are other ways in which this crude "fix" could legitamately affect the device to get it working again temporarily. Clearly, if the root cause were designed-out, these temporary fixes would not be needed.
When your lab is only one scope, one meter, and one homebrew function generator and power supply, the scope is stage center. But this one wasn't working right.
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