I had the camera repaired. I was told that the drum assembly needed to
be replaced. I asked for the old drum back (which I got). If you hold
the drum such that you can spin it with your finger, there was a
noticeable sound created by the spinning of the drum. I assume it was a
bearing issue. The camera was selling on EBay for around $750 and it
cost me $340 to repair.

Thanks to everyone for their help ... Michael

webpa wrote:
wrote:
Prior to today my camcorder was working fine. When I turned it on
today there was a very noticeable spinning sound coming from the
camera. I tried a different tape and I still have the sound. With the

on/off switch in the "Camera" position I get the spinning sound all of
the time. In the "VTR" position I get the spinning sound when I am
playing some tape or moving forward/backwards, but when I hit stop the
sound winds down. In the "Memory" position I don't get a spinning
sound. I don't know what to do with this position so I am not sure
about all operations within this switch setting. When I am in the
"Camera" position I get the spinning sound but when I open the tape
holder the sound winds down. It takes about 10 seconds for the sound
to wind down. The camera seems to be able to record and play back
video even with this sound. The sound is loud enough to hear from 15
feet away.

Could someone tell me what is causing the sound and how to find someone

to repair the camera.


Thanks so much for the help ... Michael

You might have a small piece of paper, plastic, or videotape loose down
inside the tape transport. It is touching the (rotating) video
headwheel and making the noise. Take out the cassette and inspect the
interior with a bright light and magnifying lens. If you don't see any
debris, turn the machine various ways and shake it.

Take care of this quickly or risk really serious damage to the machine.
If you use the machine as-is, it might be making tapes that only it
can ever play.