My advice would be to apply about 3 volts to the loading motor. The terminals were quite visible when you had the door off. That should move the cassette holder up and unlatch it (so the tape pops out), but only if nothing is stuck. If some gears are stuck somewhere, that /may/ cause damage if you are careless with it but it'll probably be fine. Depending on how far down the cassette holder is, you may simply be able to unlatch it yourself, but I don't know where the actual latch is; you'll have to check the service manual. When you pulled the tape out, its behaviour will have changed because the transparent leader tape at BOTH ends is now exposed. This means the infrared light will shine onto both the tape-end and tape-beginning sensors. The camera will probably interpret this as "no cassette inserted", hence it won't rewind/fast-forward. As for what the actual fault is... I don't know. It could be a dodgy mode switch, or part of the mechanism is mis-timed. It may even be a dodgy electrical connection. The good news is that these professional models tended to use the same cassette mechanisms as the much cheaper consumer units, so if the worst comes to the worst, you could just use a consumer model as a tape-drive donor. Even then, if the head on this one is good, you can keep that as a spare. I'm not sure about this particular model, but usually, to replace a DV head, you simply unscrew it, lift it out, stick the new one in, and screw it in. Hopefully its nothing too bad, and by not forcing it open with a crowbar, you are unlikely to have damaged it any further. Good luck!
Many thanks for all that information. I have seen about using power supply to points to get to gears open so might try that at some point. I fear it’s a gear issue myself as it was making noises like it was trying but never does now. Just sound then error beep. Yes I have not forced it and yer worse case it’s a spare unit. I hate how this error stops the camera working at all. If it was simply game over for the tape deck I’d of still used it on FireWire but won’t let you. Focus locks to unusable and stops other functions sadly. Ohhh well this is the price we pay using retro gear for fun.
@@epicchris1985 Chris can you please do a low light test with Sony TRV890 vs iPhone, wonder what has the best low light between them, I don't want you to put any super night shot mode on, I presume your 890 is a PAL Model, so please have it at 50fps and on the iPhone please use 1080p HD at 60 fps and also on the iPhone, please make sure Auto FPS is off, that is very important.
Chris can you please do a low light test with Sony TRV890 vs iPhone, wonder what has the best low light between them, I don't want you to put any super night shot mode on, I presume your 890 is a PAL Model, so please have it at 50fps and on the iPhone please use 1080p HD at 60 fps and also on the iPhone, please make sure Auto FPS is off, that is very important.
I’ve sold that unit on I’m afraid but loads of video on UA-cam people filming with the TRV900 in various times of day and those two units are the same apart from FireWire output only on the TRV890.
@@cariza5 yes it is indeed.. camera has very good low light.. I have the latest Iphone 13 Pro Max and low light is not good sadly.. they only have very small censors you see.
Sh!t! It's a full strip down and replace part. a) you've got to find the fault b) you've got to find the part c) you've got to fix it d) you've got to put it back together. Could be a capstan type scenario. I had a Sony TVR that I found at a boot sale, paid a fiver, even came with a cassette from a breast reduction surgery clinic, .. lots of video with clients with their chests out ... but after a while the tape stopped working. I took it to pieces and ordered a part, but never could get the part into the machine ..... and the cassette is in a bin somewhere!! Goddamn. These units are getting harder to get hold of and are not as cheap as they once were (as you'll know). I bought two recently, both just under 200 euros. There's a 170 on ebay, in japan, 500, buy it now .... Sorry I can't offer any truly helpful advice, although my advice would be to strip it down and find the fault! Then either buy another, strip that and replace, or keep this one for parts (and buy another) or, forget these cameras and get an HDV? I don't know if you've noticed this, but with my 170 I've found I can't record direct from camera to disc. (Log and capture only transfers from the tape I've recorded when the camera is in vcr mode) But I CAN with iMovie06. Use the record mode (after a few minutes the head goes to sleep) and view the image the camera's pointed at on the macbook via the firewire connection. And, I can take that file and drop it it straight into final cut 7. (I guess I'm maybe not doing something right in final cut, I can't believe I can do it in a free apple editor but can't in a 2000$ apple professional editor. Anyway, ... the camera breaking sucks! Sorry about that.
I did get it open a lot but yes it does indeed look like something inside has very much broke. As for pd170 it only goes to sleep with tape left inside as mine I’m sure I’ve done live capture from few times but left take out as otherwise yer they power off to protect tape. I do have hdv units and much newer sd card units but like the retro gear too. If I can’t fix the camera it’s parts or lobbed into a wall in anger 😂
@@epicchris1985 I think the 170 stays on, it doesn't go into standby every 5 minutes, like with my Panasonic NV100, where I would have to remember to hit the record button within 5minutes elapsed since last time, or lose the capture/mac connection as the camera went into sleep mode. (just had to record a couple of secs to keep the thing in live mode) With the 170, the heads go to sleep, you can hear them power down, but the thing keeps transmitting. Anyway, I bought one off ebay from Poland, and it's really top notch and as described. Superbly packed, firewire good (seller mentioned 'has been refurbished' and it's perfect. Unit also had quite low hours (45, 9, 8, 30 (x10 )respectively - not mentioned in his advert so another nice surprise) And, my friend, I've just checked, and he's still got a 150 listed. Get on there and buy with confidence (if y experience with seller anything to go buy) He says ..“camera fully working lately was replace tape recorder mechanism for new one so camera working ”... so it could be it HAD the same problem, but he's fixed it! Pay in polish currency. (the photos aren't that inspiring, but honestly, a great seller,. camera was superbly packed, new mic still in box, large battery that's good, charger ok,, and firewire, perfect!! here's the link if you want to go ahead, or just have a look. www.ebay.fr/itm/165437237219?hash=item2684d3e7e3:g:WzMAAOSwp8NiqbDB (PLN exchange rate is about 10:1 euro)
with mine, should clarify, he stated, "for sale sony dsr-pd170 miniDV .camera in very good visual and 100% working condition.charger,battery,remote control and mic. included.all ports like rca firewire mic. are working.legendary.camera 100% efficient." there was no remote control in the box (which I've just realised going back to look at the listing, and the charger is not the one shown, (but it ok.. not a Sony, but a brand new Universal travel charger) But yeah, no remote .. bit naughty, but not shown in the two photos of the listing. This might not work as sold and old listing. www.ebay.fr/itm/165458417447
I thought he;d stated in the listing, '.. firewire repaired'.., and there was never any mention of a remote control being included ... hence why I mentioned above. And I am very particular about the firewire connection as you'll know. But now no mention of it. I dunno, I can't see why the listing copy would change since I hit buy it now in early June .. and that's why I never kept searching for a remote (cos it wasn't listed as having one !!) .. now it is, and no mention of firewire. Whatever, the camerar, firewire, packing, service, price, all good. Very good even. I left positive feedback and sent him an email of thanks. (I wrote to him before clicking 'buy it now' to 'make sure' I would receive the 170, and not the 150. In a short reply he assured me I 'would receive whatever item that was in the listing/that I was buying.' Short and to the point, I thought, OK, then, I'll take a semi risk. He's got good feedback.
My advice would be to apply about 3 volts to the loading motor. The terminals were quite visible when you had the door off. That should move the cassette holder up and unlatch it (so the tape pops out), but only if nothing is stuck. If some gears are stuck somewhere, that /may/ cause damage if you are careless with it but it'll probably be fine. Depending on how far down the cassette holder is, you may simply be able to unlatch it yourself, but I don't know where the actual latch is; you'll have to check the service manual.
When you pulled the tape out, its behaviour will have changed because the transparent leader tape at BOTH ends is now exposed. This means the infrared light will shine onto both the tape-end and tape-beginning sensors. The camera will probably interpret this as "no cassette inserted", hence it won't rewind/fast-forward.
As for what the actual fault is... I don't know. It could be a dodgy mode switch, or part of the mechanism is mis-timed. It may even be a dodgy electrical connection. The good news is that these professional models tended to use the same cassette mechanisms as the much cheaper consumer units, so if the worst comes to the worst, you could just use a consumer model as a tape-drive donor. Even then, if the head on this one is good, you can keep that as a spare. I'm not sure about this particular model, but usually, to replace a DV head, you simply unscrew it, lift it out, stick the new one in, and screw it in.
Hopefully its nothing too bad, and by not forcing it open with a crowbar, you are unlikely to have damaged it any further. Good luck!
Many thanks for all that information. I have seen about using power supply to points to get to gears open so might try that at some point. I fear it’s a gear issue myself as it was making noises like it was trying but never does now. Just sound then error beep. Yes I have not forced it and yer worse case it’s a spare unit. I hate how this error stops the camera working at all. If it was simply game over for the tape deck I’d of still used it on FireWire but won’t let you. Focus locks to unusable and stops other functions sadly. Ohhh well this is the price we pay using retro gear for fun.
@@epicchris1985 Chris can you please do a low light test with Sony TRV890 vs iPhone, wonder what has the best low light between them, I don't want you to put any super night shot mode on, I presume your 890 is a PAL Model, so please have it at 50fps and on the iPhone please use 1080p HD at 60 fps and also on the iPhone, please make sure Auto FPS is off, that is very important.
Chris can you please do a low light test with Sony TRV890 vs iPhone, wonder what has the best low light between them, I don't want you to put any super night shot mode on, I presume your 890 is a PAL Model, so please have it at 50fps and on the iPhone please use 1080p HD at 60 fps and also on the iPhone, please make sure Auto FPS is off, that is very important.
I’ve sold that unit on I’m afraid but loads of video on UA-cam people filming with the TRV900 in various times of day and those two units are the same apart from FireWire output only on the TRV890.
@@epicchris1985 do you think the trv900 is better in low light than your iPhone, I forget what iPhone you have.
@@cariza5 yes it is indeed.. camera has very good low light.. I have the latest Iphone 13 Pro Max and low light is not good sadly.. they only have very small censors you see.
Sh!t!
It's a full strip down and replace part. a) you've got to find the fault b) you've got to find the part c) you've got to fix it d) you've got to put it back together.
Could be a capstan type scenario. I had a Sony TVR that I found at a boot sale, paid a fiver, even came with a cassette from a breast reduction surgery clinic, .. lots of video with clients with their chests out ... but after a while the tape stopped working. I took it to pieces and ordered a part, but never could get the part into the machine ..... and the cassette is in a bin somewhere!! Goddamn.
These units are getting harder to get hold of and are not as cheap as they once were (as you'll know). I bought two recently, both just under 200 euros. There's a 170 on ebay, in japan, 500, buy it now .... Sorry I can't offer any truly helpful advice, although my advice would be to strip it down and find the fault! Then either buy another, strip that and replace, or keep this one for parts (and buy another) or, forget these cameras and get an HDV?
I don't know if you've noticed this, but with my 170 I've found I can't record direct from camera to disc. (Log and capture only transfers from the tape I've recorded when the camera is in vcr mode) But I CAN with iMovie06. Use the record mode (after a few minutes the head goes to sleep) and view the image the camera's pointed at on the macbook via the firewire connection. And, I can take that file and drop it it straight into final cut 7. (I guess I'm maybe not doing something right in final cut, I can't believe I can do it in a free apple editor but can't in a 2000$ apple professional editor.
Anyway, ... the camera breaking sucks! Sorry about that.
I did get it open a lot but yes it does indeed look like something inside has very much broke. As for pd170 it only goes to sleep with tape left inside as mine I’m sure I’ve done live capture from few times but left take out as otherwise yer they power off to protect tape. I do have hdv units and much newer sd card units but like the retro gear too. If I can’t fix the camera it’s parts or lobbed into a wall in anger 😂
@@epicchris1985 I think the 170 stays on, it doesn't go into standby every 5 minutes, like with my Panasonic NV100, where I would have to remember to hit the record button within 5minutes elapsed since last time, or lose the capture/mac connection as the camera went into sleep mode. (just had to record a couple of secs to keep the thing in live mode) With the 170, the heads go to sleep, you can hear them power down, but the thing keeps transmitting.
Anyway, I bought one off ebay from Poland, and it's really top notch and as described. Superbly packed, firewire good (seller mentioned 'has been refurbished' and it's perfect. Unit also had quite low hours (45, 9, 8, 30 (x10 )respectively - not mentioned in his advert so another nice surprise)
And, my friend, I've just checked, and he's still got a 150 listed. Get on there and buy with confidence (if y experience with seller anything to go buy) He says ..“camera fully working lately was replace tape recorder mechanism for new one so camera working ”... so it could be it HAD the same problem, but he's fixed it!
Pay in polish currency. (the photos aren't that inspiring, but honestly, a great seller,. camera was superbly packed, new mic still in box, large battery that's good, charger ok,, and firewire, perfect!!
here's the link if you want to go ahead, or just have a look.
www.ebay.fr/itm/165437237219?hash=item2684d3e7e3:g:WzMAAOSwp8NiqbDB
(PLN exchange rate is about 10:1 euro)
with mine, should clarify, he stated, "for sale sony dsr-pd170 miniDV .camera in very good visual and 100% working condition.charger,battery,remote control and mic. included.all ports like rca firewire mic. are working.legendary.camera 100% efficient." there was no remote control in the box (which I've just realised going back to look at the listing, and the charger is not the one shown, (but it ok.. not a Sony, but a brand new Universal travel charger) But yeah, no remote .. bit naughty, but not shown in the two photos of the listing.
This might not work as sold and old listing.
www.ebay.fr/itm/165458417447
I thought he;d stated in the listing, '.. firewire repaired'.., and there was never any mention of a remote control being included ... hence why I mentioned above. And I am very particular about the firewire connection as you'll know. But now no mention of it.
I dunno, I can't see why the listing copy would change since I hit buy it now in early June .. and that's why I never kept searching for a remote (cos it wasn't listed as having one !!) .. now it is, and no mention of firewire. Whatever, the camerar, firewire, packing, service, price, all good. Very good even. I left positive feedback and sent him an email of thanks. (I wrote to him before clicking 'buy it now' to 'make sure' I would receive the 170, and not the 150. In a short reply he assured me I 'would receive whatever item that was in the listing/that I was buying.' Short and to the point, I thought, OK, then, I'll take a semi risk. He's got good feedback.