VCR Help!

[ultphot]

Hello, I am new to this forum, and I was wondering if anyone more knowledgeable than I am help me out with this, because I feel like I know the issue but don't.

I recently bought a Sony DSR-1500A for the purposes of converting my MiniDV and DVCAM tapes, and while I love using the thing, it has a problem that makes it impossible to use.

The unit only has 3 operational hours, 3 tape hours, 4 threading hours, and 3 drum hours, yet when I insert either a MiniDV tape or DVCAM cassette, the counter does not move from 0:00:00.00, and no image comes through the firewire port at the back of the unit. The actual tape transport mechanism is fine. I'm wondering if its because the heads are dirty, thus I ordered some materials and cleaning cassettes so I can (hopefully) fix it. I'm looking forward to using this deck, but not being able to get a video output really butchers the experience of using it. I've also tried to set everything in the menus I could to something related to MiniDV, but the indicator for DVCAM still illuminates despite me trying many MiniDV tapes, however it goes away if I press REC and PLAY at the same time and then sticks to the DV logo.

Would dirty heads be the issue here? Or does the unit need major servicing? it's got low hours on it, but I'm not too sure.

Thanks!

[ultphot]

I also wanted to add, the counter does move when the tape is recording, but does not move when playing back. Playing back the stuff it "recorded" with no input shows a blank screen on my good MiniDV and DVCAM cameras with cassette decks.

[The_Doman]

Not a PAL/NTSC compatibility problem?
I assume you read/examined the manual thoroughly?
Did you try to output/record the internal test signal/color-bars with Firewire and/or analog?
You have to set the playback/record format (DV-DVCAM) correctly?
Also a video mentioned there will be no Firewire output from tapes if the SAVE/record protect tab is not enabled.

Youtube: Sony DSR-1500a | Complete Tutorial

[ultphot]

Thanks for the reply,

This is the "A" model, so it should be fine for NTSC. All my cameras record in NTSC and from what I've read theres no way to change between NTSC and PAL on this device.

I did go through the manual trying to find specifics to the problem, but I had read over it maybe three times and couldn't find anything.
The unit does output the color bars through the firewire port, but it sticks to DVCAM mode (according to the indicator) when playing back, and the record mode is set to DV-SP. Theres no option for playback format on this thing, from my understanding its supposed to just autodetect it, making me believe that its not reading the tape correctly.

The tape also doesn't output anything even with the Save/Rec tab enabled. And like I said, the timecode (or the counter) doesnt move (nor does the codec change) unless its put into recording mode. I'm able to play the tape back in a working tape deck after the unit records to it, but its just a blue screen.

The "i.LINK" Indicator is blinking on the input side, but I'm not trying to edit over firewire, I just want to pipe the output into quicktime on a thunderbolt-2 enabled Mac. I'm able to do it on my other camcorders with working tape decks, do I need to get a legacy version of FCP to use it properly? Is it just a config issue and I need to reset everything?

[aramkolt]

The "A" on these usually denotes that they have the firewire output option on all units. Seems counterintuitive that they'd make a pro DV deck without firewire output, but it was not standard on the non "A" DSR models, even the flagship models like the DSR-2000 which could have still had it added as an option though.

Here's an example of a 1500 without firewire:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/287398222399

Usually timecode not ticking up is an ACE head positioning or alignment thing, but DV decks don't have ACE heads and the timecode reading part (at least per google) is done by the the helical scan from the video heads.

So yeah, clogged heads could explain it, but if it's not that, could be electrical problems. I think several of the DSR series are chock full of SMT capacitors and that will not be fun to chase down if it's those. They say electrolytic surface mount caps tend to fare better if periodically used, so this few operation hours might not be a good thing. Could also be it stopped working reliably after 3 hours for the original owner and was just shelved.

At one point I think I had a DSR1500 that was missing one of the tension arms, but I can't remember if I sold it for parts or not. If I didn't, I could probably get yours working between the two of them for a fee if you otherwise run out of things to try.

Other advice is not to use the cleaning tape more than a total of 20 seconds. The tape will probably tell you 5 seconds at a time, but if you do it for 4 consecutive rounds and are no better, it really shouldn't be that. They are slightly abrasive, so that does wear your heads a bit when using it.

[ultphot]

The "A" on these usually denotes that they have the firewire output option on all units. Seems counterintuitive that they'd make a pro DV deck without firewire output, but it was not standard on the non "A" DSR models, even the flagship models like the DSR-2000 which could have still had it added as an option though.

Here's an example of a 1500 without firewire:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/287398222399

On the self made recordings, when it plays them back, does the timecode still not tick up when you play the self recorded tape even though you just see blue screen

Usually timecode not ticking up is an ACE head positioning or alignment thing, but DV decks don't have ACE heads and the timecode reading part (at least per google) is done by the the helical scan from the video heads.

So yeah, clogged heads could explain it, but if it's not that, could be electrical problems. I think several of the DSR series are chock full of SMT capacitors and that will not be fun to chase down if it's those. They say electrolytic surface mount caps tend to fare better if periodically used, so this few operation hours might not be a good thing. Could also be it stopped working reliably after 3 hours for the original owner and was just shelved.

At one point I think I had a DSR1500 that was missing one of the tension arms, but I can't remember if I sold it for parts or not. If I didn't, I could probably get yours working between the two of them for a fee if you otherwise run out of things to try.

Other advice is not to use the cleaning tape more than a total of 20 seconds. The tape will probably tell you 5 seconds at a time, but if you do it for 4 rounds and are no better, it really shouldn't be that. They are slightly abrasive, so that does wear your heads a bit when using it.

No the counter nor timecode actually tick up when playing. Before I insert the tape I can hear and see the test audio and pattern, but when I insert the tape the tone goes away and it switches to recognizing it as a DVCAM tape (when its not recorded in DVCAM format), and hitting play does nothing. The tape transport is fine.

The unit's counter DOES tick up when its in recording mode, but it does not move when rewinding or playing the recorded segment. I tried this with a brand new MiniDV tape, used the 1500 to record over the entire thing, and then tried to play it back. The counter doesnt move from the time when it stopped recording, and playign it in a good tape deck shows that its almost like nothing was recorded to it in the first place.

I currently have a TRV608 suffering from the same symptoms, and while not related to DV at all, that camera won't show an image nor does the counter move, except I am able to hear audio in that case (probably because its analog, not digital)

I also tried recording a tape in DVCAM format to see if it was just being weird, and that tape wont play either, nor does the counter work when playing, FF, or RW, but it works when recording and sticks to when it stopped recording unless i power cycle the machine.

Oh another thing, a light that says "servo" comes up when I start recording, but doesnt show up when I hit play. SERVO according to the manual indicates some kind of tracking lock? Maybe its clogged heads?

[ultphot]

I won't know if its clogged heads or not until I get the materials I need to clean the heads, and I'm hoping its just that

[ultphot]

Update! I found a way to get it to produce a recording! I was able to rerecord that tape I mentioned earlier and it does in fact output a recording of the test color bars and audio! I'm still not able to play it in the deck itself, but I was able to get it working in my working tape deck.

[aramkolt]

Hmm. So it can write but not read? Pretty sure the same heads are used for both, so that doesn't exactly suggest clogged heads or bad alignment. You are correct that servo lock means it is seeing the signal and running the tape at the correct speed and seeing sychronization stuff at appropriate intervals.

To me that suggests something about the signals isn't getting to the appropriate processing side and that the deck itself is probably mechanically fine - open or bad capacitors either in the servo section or processing section could do that.

During regular ff/rew, do you see anything on screen? That tends to involve less of the servo circuit since it isn't trying to get a perfect picture in those modes I think.

If you don't see anything, would probably look at the RF test points with a scope and make sure what is on the tape is making it at least that far.

[ultphot]

No, I don't see anything during FF or RW. I don't own a scope to be able to test anything but I also don't want to end up having to get rid of this thing. I can open it up and test every capacitor I see but I don't know how much that will help.

[ultphot]

Well, honestly, since I don't have the means or the time to actually try to fix this thing, I'm probably just going to get rid of it anyway. Thanks for all your help.