Cleaning 'headers' question

[Blue_nose]

Hello

I would be grateful for some useful comments.

I have a Sony Digital8 TRV 120 E and on the flip-out screen the playing movie has three horizontal lines across it. According to the handbook, the stripes mean that the 'headers' need cleaning.

Also according to the handbook, the headers necessary are Sony V8-25 CLD. Can I ask:

1) Are those headers still available (price?);

2) Is there another, effective way of cleaning the headers.

Thanks for any feedback.

Steve

[blaireau_photo · Accepted solution]

Hello Steve - Welcome to the Sony Forums

As opposed to replacing the headers which I feel won't be cost effective due to the repair costs, you could buy a cleaning tape for your camcorder first of all. This is one example:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/12418/show.html

I would advise you to shop around online as there are quite a few available.

If this doesn't work, let me know!

Simon

[Blue_nose]

Hello and thanks for the welcome!

I have been out and bought a 'header' tape, so let's hope it does the job.

Thanks again.

Steve

[blaireau_photo]

Hello again

That's great - let me know how it turns out.

Thanks,

Simon

[Blue_nose]

Hello Simon

I am afraid that didn't work.

I have run the Header Tape through a couple of times (I just followed instructions that came with the pack). There had been one or two error symbols on the camcorder indicating that the headers needed cleaning and they have now disappeared, so the headers probably needed cleaning anyway.

Still, the problem persists. There are two lines across the 'pull-out' screen and as the tape is playing I notice that every few seconds or so the sound and video 'jumps'. This happens with every tape played.

I am not quite sure what the cause of these 'two lines' could be or how to resolve the problem.

Thanks if you can offer any suggestions.

Steve

[blaireau_photo]

Hello again

At least, like you say, you have clean heads now.

There is another possibility that I have seen in the past with the tape based cameras. If there is still some kind of blockage that is causing these lines on the screen you could try turning the camera upside down and giving it a few firm taps with your hand. I know that this sounds like bizarre advice but I have actually seen it work for some users in the past (it usualy helps to get rid of error messages etc but you never know).

If that still doesn't resolve the problem, it may be time to find out how much a repair would cost. There is a sticky forum thread about contacting customer services here:

http://www.sony.co.uk/discussions/message/651957#651957

Having said that, you may find a better price by asking around some local repair centres and there may also be companies online that are able to repair your camera provided that you are willing to ship it to them. If you put 'camcorder repairs' into Google, you will see a few possibilities.

Thanks,

Simon

[Gus100]

Hi Steve, hope your problem with playing back the tapes has been resolved long time ago.

If not, you might try what I have chanced to find out:

 - when you play a problematic tape, find a section the tape is empty or a section you are willing to sacrifice. Usually this is the end of the tape where you might find a bit left over;

 - switch to the record mode, and take a few seconds. I find that my old TRV620E comes with with a message saying that the cassette is being cleaned at this stage.

 - Once that cassette cleaning is performed even for a second or two, while keep the same tape in place, switch to the play mode and remind the tape to the beginning, and then just hit the play button!

This worked for me after trying the cleaning head etc.