What does the inside of the dv input/output on a camcorder look like? What is the connection mechan

[David D]

I am trying to figure out why my firewire port doesn't work anymore on
my camcorder.

I am wondering just how the inside of it works - where the pins meet,
but I can't seem to find any information or images of what it looks
like. Does anyone know? I have taken apart the cable, but not the
camcorder (the camcorder has bent pins). I am hoping I can figure out
where the pins are bent and how the cable and the input on the
camcorder work together. Any help or images would be great.

Thanks

 

[Meat Plow]

I am trying to figure out why my firewire port doesn't work anymore on
my camcorder.

I am wondering just how the inside of it works - where the pins meet,
but I can't seem to find any information or images of what it looks
like. Does anyone know? I have taken apart the cable, but not the
camcorder (the camcorder has bent pins). I am hoping I can figure out
where the pins are bent and how the cable and the input on the
camcorder work together. Any help or images would be great.

Thanks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FireWire

 

[David D]

Thanks for that, but I need to know if I am going to do any damage to
the camcorder if I cross pins and the like, that is why I was hoping
to see a picture of the inside of the DV camera firewire port.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Thanks for that, but I need to know if I am going to do any damage to
the camcorder if I cross pins and the like, that is why I was hoping
to see a picture of the inside of the DV camera firewire port.

This is a problem you should refer to a qualified tech. If you're
embarrassed because you did something "dumb" to bend the pins -- well, it
happens to all of us.

 

[Meat Plow]

Thanks for that, but I need to know if I am going to do any damage to
the camcorder if I cross pins and the like, that is why I was hoping
to see a picture of the inside of the DV camera firewire port.

Well that's the best I could do. Firewire is actually a serial data port
like an RS-232 port. Don't know what damage you could have caused to a 4
pin port considering that they are twisted pair data and clock lines with
no power supply IIRC. Best bet is to get the device to a qualified tech
and let them determine if the pins have been bent or crossed and if so, if
they can be straightened out. Chances are low that any electronic damage
was done to the device.

 

[David D]

Well that's the best I could do. Firewire is actually a serial data port
like an RS-232 port. Don't know what damage you could have caused to a 4
pin port considering that they are twisted pair data and clock lines with
no power supply IIRC. Best bet is to get the device to a qualified tech
and let them determine if the pins have been bent or crossed and if so, if
they can be straightened out. Chances are low that any electronic damage
was done to the device.

Thanks for that. I would like to get them straighten, if possible,
the only problem is that when I phoned a tech place, they want to
change the board rather than try to straighten the pins - that means
at least $200.00. I was hoping that if I could extend the pins of the
cable long enough, I might manage to touch the bent pins inside the
camera, but I worried about frying the whole camcorder by doing
this...maybe?

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks for that, but I need to know if I am going to do any damage to
the camcorder if I cross pins and the like, that is why I was hoping
to see a picture of the inside of the DV camera firewire port.

Go to http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_Connector_Firewire.html#e
and link to the connector manufacturers' websites to look for specs
(yours is likely a 4-pin PCB mount). Or buy a connector from Mouser
or Digikey so you can tell what a normal one looks like.

TM

 

[Meat Plow]

Thanks for that. I would like to get them straighten, if possible,
the only problem is that when I phoned a tech place, they want to
change the board rather than try to straighten the pins - that means
at least $200.00. I was hoping that if I could extend the pins of the
cable long enough, I might manage to touch the bent pins inside the
camera, but I worried about frying the whole camcorder by doing
this...maybe?

Looking at the DV jack on my Sony Mini DV I really don't think it's
something that can be done. I don't even see how the metal contacts were
bent seeing they are well slotted in the plastic center piece. It's
understandable that the tech wants to replace rather than repair. If you
want to try it, have a big old magnifying glass, a lot of light and some
micro tools. You can remove the camcorder battery but really there's no
voltages there to fry, just clock and serial data.

 

[David D]

Looking at the DV jack on my Sony Mini DV I really don't think it's

something that can be done. I don't even see how the metal contacts were
bent seeing they are well slotted in the plastic center piece. It's
understandable that the tech wants to replace rather than repair. If you
want to try it, have a big old magnifying glass, a lot of light and some
micro tools. You can remove the camcorder battery but really there's no
voltages there to fry, just clock and serial data.

I don't really have the tiny tool, but I do have the light magnifier.
I was thinking that maybe they are bent and maybe broken, so I was
trying to connect them somehow. I can work fine without the battery,
but at some point I have to test it, and that is what I am worried
about - testing it on my computer (plugged in) and camcordering
(battery) and finding it fries the whole board because the 4 pins of
the cable hit the 4 pins of the camcorder in the wrong way, or hit the
wrong pins-