Feasability of repairing dead 1394 connector on Sony Dig8 camcorder?

[Doc]

Have a Sony Digital8 and it appears the 1394 port has died. I have a 6
foot and 10 foot firewire cables. Never had a problem with the 6-foot
cable but the connection on the 10-foot has always been iffy - if it
got jostled the right way I lost the connection to the computer.
However because of where I needed the cam to be, the 6-foot connection
wasn't long enough. Upon close inspection of the ends on both, the
height of the contacts didn't seem exactly the same. So I did a little
light squeezing of the 10-foot cable's end with needlenose pliers to
adjust it a hair.

Plugged it into the 1394 port and got nothing no matter what. Then when
plugging in the previously dependable 6-foot cable, got nothing from
that either. Tried wiggling both at various angles to see if I could
establish any connection, get nothing on 2 different computers. So,
obviously something's wrong.

1) Any suggestions for remedies I might try on a DIY basis? An chance
it could be a mechanical physical contact issue and not an internal
fried chip/circuit issue?

2) Any idea what cost for such a repair would likely run? The problem
is, without a 1394 connection, the cam is kinda pointless. Yes, it has
analog out which works but the whole point of the Digital Cam is to be
able to create DV files.

3) Are the 1394 connectors generally fragile or are there brands with
ports that are more robust than others? What do you think I might have
done to cause this or was it possibly just a coincidence? I didn't poke
around the port on the cam at all, just tweaked the end of the one
cable a small amount.

Thanks for all input.

 

[Robert]

Have a Sony Digital8 and it appears the 1394 port has died. I have a 6
foot and 10 foot firewire cables. Never had a problem with the 6-foot
cable but the connection on the 10-foot has always been iffy - if it
got jostled the right way I lost the connection to the computer.
However because of where I needed the cam to be, the 6-foot connection
wasn't long enough. Upon close inspection of the ends on both, the
height of the contacts didn't seem exactly the same. So I did a little
light squeezing of the 10-foot cable's end with needlenose pliers to
adjust it a hair.

Plugged it into the 1394 port and got nothing no matter what. Then when
plugging in the previously dependable 6-foot cable, got nothing from
that either. Tried wiggling both at various angles to see if I could
establish any connection, get nothing on 2 different computers. So,
obviously something's wrong.

1) Any suggestions for remedies I might try on a DIY basis? An chance
it could be a mechanical physical contact issue and not an internal
fried chip/circuit issue?

2) Any idea what cost for such a repair would likely run? The problem
is, without a 1394 connection, the cam is kinda pointless. Yes, it has
analog out which works but the whole point of the Digital Cam is to be
able to create DV files.

3) Are the 1394 connectors generally fragile or are there brands with
ports that are more robust than others? What do you think I might have
done to cause this or was it possibly just a coincidence? I didn't poke
around the port on the cam at all, just tweaked the end of the one
cable a small amount.

Thanks for all input.

If you connected a 6 pin cable to the camera or PC port while the
camera is on their is a risk of blowing the IEEE port on the camera.
The 6 pin plug runs an active power lead and any mis-alignment might get
the volts onto the wrong pin and poooooffffff! Sony charges like a
roaring bull to replace a card.
Alternatively it might still be just the cable. Borrow a known good
one and try it.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

If you connected a 6 pin cable to the camera or PC port while the camera is
on their is a risk of blowing the IEEE port on the camera. The 6 pin plug
runs an active power lead and any mis-alignment might get the volts onto the
wrong pin and poooooffffff! Sony charges like a roaring bull to replace a
card.
Alternatively it might still be just the cable. Borrow a known good one
and try it.

Usually the camera end is 4-pin, and there should never be any power
there, absent an internal short at the 6-pin end - which might not even
have 6 pins in the shell, for all I know. OK, just looked at one - it
does have six pins at the big end.

FWIW, the RS-232 spec explicitly states that the interface electronics
will be immune to any short-circuit or misconnection of the pins. I
have no idea if USB and FireWire have such a provision, but it *would*
be nice.

 

[Colin_D]

Have a Sony Digital8 and it appears the 1394 port has died. I have a 6
foot and 10 foot firewire cables. Never had a problem with the 6-foot
cable but the connection on the 10-foot has always been iffy - if it
got jostled the right way I lost the connection to the computer.
However because of where I needed the cam to be, the 6-foot connection
wasn't long enough. Upon close inspection of the ends on both, the
height of the contacts didn't seem exactly the same. So I did a little
light squeezing of the 10-foot cable's end with needlenose pliers to
adjust it a hair.

Plugged it into the 1394 port and got nothing no matter what. Then when
plugging in the previously dependable 6-foot cable, got nothing from
that either. Tried wiggling both at various angles to see if I could
establish any connection, get nothing on 2 different computers. So,
obviously something's wrong.

1) Any suggestions for remedies I might try on a DIY basis? An chance
it could be a mechanical physical contact issue and not an internal
fried chip/circuit issue?

2) Any idea what cost for such a repair would likely run? The problem
is, without a 1394 connection, the cam is kinda pointless. Yes, it has
analog out which works but the whole point of the Digital Cam is to be
able to create DV files.

3) Are the 1394 connectors generally fragile or are there brands with
ports that are more robust than others? What do you think I might have
done to cause this or was it possibly just a coincidence? I didn't poke
around the port on the cam at all, just tweaked the end of the one
cable a small amount.

Thanks for all input.

If you squeezed the cable a wee bit too hard and closed up one of the
female connector pins a trifle too far, inserting the plug may have
driven the corresponding pin in the socket backwards far enough to not
make contact. If so, you may be able to get to the back of the socket
and push the pin forward again, but it will be loosened and may never
stay in place.

In that case, a new socket would seem to be required.

Colin D.

 

[Doc]

FWIW, the RS-232 spec explicitly states that the interface electronics
will be immune to any short-circuit or misconnection of the pins. I
have no idea if USB and FireWire have such a provision, but it *would*
be nice.

Can you advise what RS-232 is? What relation does this have to Firewire?

 

[Doc]

Feasibility even....

 

[Jukka Aho]

FWIW, the RS-232 spec explicitly states that [...]

Can you advise what RS-232 is? What relation does this have
to Firewire?

Now I'm feeling old...

 

[J. Clarke]

Can you advise what RS-232 is? What relation does this have to Firewire?

The standard serial interface, used for modems, printers, mice, and all
sorts of other things before USB came along. Has some advantages over
USB, like it works fine from one end of a building to the other and you
can easily make your own cables, but isn't designed to support hubs with
multiple attachments and is relatively slow, especially compared to USB2
Hi-speed.

 

[[email protected]]

We lost the Firewire port on two different Canon camcorders, and
discussed this with a guy at our best photo store in the area. He
claims on the Canon and many other camcorders the 1394 interface is on
a daughterboard, and the wires connecting it to the main board are very
fragile. We are not sure if this is the problem or not- the day
before we noticed the lack of 1394, we had left the cameras in a very
hot car trunk for an extended period of time.

He claimed repair on the cheaper Canon would likely be around 200
bucks- the more expensive one (GL2) would be more. Our solution was to
buy a 250 buck camcorder to act as a Firewire deck, plus it is another
backup camera. We'll take great pains with this one to protect it from
both shock and heat.

BTW, we also lost the Firewire connection on the motherboard of our
main video editing computer. As far as I am concerned, Firewire does
not seem to be very robust as far as hardware is concerned :-(

 

[Frank]

Feasability of repairing dead 1394 connector on Sony
Dig8 camcorder?>,

FWIW, the RS-232 spec explicitly states that [...]

Can you advise what RS-232 is? What relation does this have
to Firewire?

Now I'm feeling old...

LOL.

Me, too.

 

[Scott Schuckert]

BTW, we also lost the Firewire connection on the motherboard of our
main video editing computer. As far as I am concerned, Firewire does
not seem to be very robust as far as hardware is concerned :-(

It doesn't seem that way, does it? It's reasonably common to have a
component destroyed by a bad cable or bridge board.

One big issue is loose specs and less than stellar design of the
connector itself. It's surprisingly easy to insert a 6-pin connector
backwards, and this will almost always blow something, as the power
lines get connected to signal. A bad cable can do the same thing;
4-to-4 pin connections are safe, but 4-to-6 and 6-to-6 cables pose a
similar risk.

Since the number of devices actually powered from the FireWire
connector is quite small, I've taken to using specialty cables which
MAY have 6 pin physical connectors at one or both ends, but never have
more than 4 pins or lines actually present. I also (though the
interface is rated plug-and-play) no longer connect or disconnect when
anything is powered up.

I've had the experience of a bad FireWire-to-ATA bridge board (in an
Imation tape drive) taking out three motherboard FireWire circuits
before I caught on.

On the plus side, once you get it connected, it works MUCH better than
any flavor of USB.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

The standard serial interface, used for modems, printers, mice, and all
sorts of other things before USB came along. Has some advantages over
USB, like it works fine from one end of a building to the other and you
can easily make your own cables, but isn't designed to support hubs with
multiple attachments and is relatively slow, especially compared to USB2
Hi-speed.

Not to mention that it was often a challenge to get RS-232 to work.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Can you advise what RS-232 is? What relation does this have to Firewire?

Others answered the first question. That you had to ask made them feel
old, and to tell the truth, it also makes me feel old

I thought the second was obvious...

OK - I gave an example of a useful property of an older spec and
suggested - or at least hoped - that the newer one might, by analogy
and good engineering, have the same property.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Feasibility even....

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Baudot TTY anyone?

 

[Martin Heffels]

Baudot TTY anyone?

No need to feel old. All this is still being used by radio-amateurs around
the globe, and also commercial-stations like weather-forecast for marine.

73 de PH5TAE -martin-
--

 

[l e o]

It doesn't seem that way, does it? It's reasonably common to have a
component destroyed by a bad cable or bridge board.

One big issue is loose specs and less than stellar design of the
connector itself. It's surprisingly easy to insert a 6-pin connector
backwards, and this will almost always blow something, as the power
lines get connected to signal. A bad cable can do the same thing;
4-to-4 pin connections are safe, but 4-to-6 and 6-to-6 cables pose a
similar risk.

Since the number of devices actually powered from the FireWire
connector is quite small, I've taken to using specialty cables which
MAY have 6 pin physical connectors at one or both ends, but never have
more than 4 pins or lines actually present. I also (though the
interface is rated plug-and-play) no longer connect or disconnect when
anything is powered up.

I've had the experience of a bad FireWire-to-ATA bridge board (in an
Imation tape drive) taking out three motherboard FireWire circuits
before I caught on.

On the plus side, once you get it connected, it works MUCH better than
any flavor of USB.

apple's firewire is a horror! my maxtor drive with firewire port doesn't
recognized at time and I have to turn the drive off - disconnect the
cab;e - turn the drive on - reconnect the cable. also, my canon
camocorder's firewire port was fired. it was my fault but WHO designed a
port that is so fragile?

 

[Doc]

As a follow-up, I got a close-up look with a magnifier and saw a bent
contact inside the port. I ground down the ends of a pair of pointy
tweezers so they'd fit in the channel of the contact and a straight pin
which I bent the end of to allow me to push down on the contact and
managed to manipulate it enough to get it back in line with the other
contacts and am now back in business. I also fiddled with the contacts
on the cable end to make sure they're as even as I can make them on an
eyeball basis, which is to say, straighter than they were out of the
box.

As others have mentioned, after having gotten this close look at how
it's configured, I'm really surprised how flimsy a design it is. The
cable end seems to have way too much ability to wiggle around and
inadequate strain relief given how little margin there seems to be for
the contacts range of motion. I'm surprised I haven't had problems
before this. From now on I'll tape the cable to the body of cam
instead of just letting it hang.

 

[Cynicor]

As others have mentioned, after having gotten this close look at how
it's configured, I'm really surprised how flimsy a design it is.

Sony's goal is not to get you to keep the same piece of equipment forever.

 

[Jim Townsend]

Doc wrote:

As others have mentioned, after having gotten this close look at how
it's configured, I'm really surprised how flimsy a design it is. The
cable end seems to have way too much ability to wiggle around and
inadequate strain relief given how little margin there seems to be for
the contacts range of motion. I'm surprised I haven't had problems
before this. From now on I'll tape the cable to the body of cam
instead of just letting it hang.

Yes.... I've had a firewire cable go bad on me. I didn't bother
trying to fix it, I just replaced it. You're right. They are flimsy.