Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

In the early 1990s, I bought this Ricoh R-830 Video Camera
Recorder, and the salesperson said that it was actually made
by Sony, but with a different (and better) lens.

It's had such little use that it's not easy to tell it from
new by looking at it.

I'm hoping someone can cross-reference to the closest Sony
number for me, or tell me how I can find this out.

I'd like to tear into this thing and find out why it's not
working, and would feel better if I had a Sony number to
hang on it.

When pressed, a couple of years ago, the folks at Ricoh
simply say, "We don't sell video cameras." End of story. I
couldn't even get them to admit that they had ever sold
them.

So, anybody able to cross-reference?
--
Thanks,
tbl

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

Cross refrence what number you posted none, you believed the sales man ,
you bought it, as WC Fields used to say.

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

m Ransley wrote:
Cross refrence what number you posted none

??

He posted Ricoh R-830, the same as in the subject line.

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

tbl wrote:
In the early 1990s, I bought this Ricoh R-830 Video Camera
Recorder, and the salesperson said that it was actually made
by Sony, but with a different (and better) lens.
I'd like to tear into this thing and find out why it's not
working, and would feel better if I had a Sony number to
hang on it.
So, anybody able to cross-reference?
--
Thanks,
tbl
Could you give us any more info? What are the symptoms of the camera's
problem? What are the physical characteristics of the camera? Pics?
The thing that comes to mind immediately is fish caps. Sonys of this
era had a problem with fish caps. Does the camera smell like fish oil?
Do you have an ESR meter? Have you worked with SMD caps? Replacement
caps can be had from Mouser on pages 515-518 of their catalog. They are
made by Nichicon. If this is the case it will depend on how long the
problem has been going on. The fluid inside the cap can leak and over
time completely eat through the traces on the circuit board making
repair very difficult. Removing the caps can be difficult so as not to
damage the traces.
Alternately there are fuses on the back of the main power board
(depending on the model) that can blow out. They look like resistors.
Richard

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

Electrolytic cap failure is a common problem with many makes of camcorders
not only Sony

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

wrote in message
. ..
: Electrolytic cap failure is a common problem with many makes of
camcorders
: not only Sony

Yeh, but ... it had nothing to do with the OP's requests or
apparent interest.

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

On 24 Jan 2006 07:04:11 -0800, "spudnuty"
wrote:


tbl wrote:
In the early 1990s, I bought this Ricoh R-830 Video Camera
Recorder, and the salesperson said that it was actually made
by Sony, but with a different (and better) lens.
I'd like to tear into this thing and find out why it's not
working, and would feel better if I had a Sony number to
hang on it.
So, anybody able to cross-reference?


Could you give us any more info? What are the symptoms of the camera's
problem? What are the physical characteristics of the camera? Pics?
The thing that comes to mind immediately is fish caps. Sonys of this
era had a problem with fish caps. Does the camera smell like fish oil?
Do you have an ESR meter? Have you worked with SMD caps? Replacement
caps can be had from Mouser on pages 515-518 of their catalog. They are
made by Nichicon. If this is the case it will depend on how long the
problem has been going on. The fluid inside the cap can leak and over
time completely eat through the traces on the circuit board making
repair very difficult. Removing the caps can be difficult so as not to
damage the traces.
Alternately there are fuses on the back of the main power board
(depending on the model) that can blow out. They look like resistors.


Well... since you were kind enough to ask... ;-)

Two years ago, symptoms were intermittent color/black &
white, and same for sound.

Yesterday, symptoms were some pathetic motor sounds when
first turned on; viewfinder lights up, then shuts off, and
whole unit refuses to do anything else.

This thing got used about 3 hours-worth when I first bought
it, and none since. It looks like it's never been out of
the box. Well... it *did* until this morning, when I
couldn't resist the urge to take it apart!

I don't think I've yet done any damage to anything, and I've
found three capacitors that are leaking varying amounts of
brown ooze.

I've been looking thru my Digikey catalog, and got stopped
by my ignorance about capacitors. The leaky ones are all
the same: aluminum (?) cans with a sky-blue shrink-covering,
stamped with: "10v" "220 [symbol for micro-farad]" and
"sxj". On the next line: "03(3)" and "M(85[degree
symbol]C)".

From reading the last couple of days, I get the impression
that the "85 degree" marking indicates the temperature range
for dependability, and is somewhat of a quality rating,
where higher temp equates to higher quality. But by no
means sure of this.

There are many other silver-colored cans on the various
boards in this unit that are surface-mounted, and if they
are capacitors as well, they'd really have to leak a lot
before I'd be able to see the ooze coming out from under
them.

Even tho I have serious doubts about ever get this thing
back to snuff again, I'd sure be willing to spend a few
bucks for capacitors, if I just knew which to get, if only
to rise to the challenge.

Any further help would be very much appreciated, both by me,
and the electronics industry suppliers!

--
Thanks to all
--
tbl

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

I've been looking thru my Digikey catalog, and got stopped
by my ignorance about capacitors. The leaky ones are all
the same: aluminum (?) cans with a sky-blue shrink-covering,
stamped with: "10v" "220 [symbol for micro-farad]" and
"sxj". On the next line: "03(3)" and "M(85[degree
symbol]C)".
Hmm the Nichicons are rated -55-105ºC. Did Digikey have any Nichicons?
There are many other silver-colored cans on the various
boards in this unit that are surface-mounted, and if they
are capacitors as well, they'd really have to leak a lot
before I'd be able to see the ooze coming out from under
them.
Well to test them in place you'd need a ESR meter like he
http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html
and that's a kit. I once did some testing with a homemade one but now
have Dick's and I'll never go back.
Even tho I have serious doubts about ever get this thing
back to snuff again, I'd sure be willing to spend a few
bucks for capacitors, if I just knew which to get, if only
to rise to the challenge.
Well given what you've already found there's probably a lot more that
aren't leaking or not so much that it's easily noticed. Then there's
the problem of desoldering them from the board and resoldering the new
ones.
It will be a challenge.
Richard

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

tbl wrote:

On 24 Jan 2006 07:04:11 -0800, "spudnuty"
wrote:


tbl wrote:
In the early 1990s, I bought this Ricoh R-830 Video Camera
Recorder, and the salesperson said that it was actually made
by Sony, but with a different (and better) lens.
I'd like to tear into this thing and find out why it's not
working, and would feel better if I had a Sony number to
hang on it.
So, anybody able to cross-reference?

Could you give us any more info? What are the symptoms of the camera's
problem? What are the physical characteristics of the camera? Pics?
The thing that comes to mind immediately is fish caps. Sonys of this
era had a problem with fish caps. Does the camera smell like fish oil?
Do you have an ESR meter? Have you worked with SMD caps? Replacement
caps can be had from Mouser on pages 515-518 of their catalog. They are
made by Nichicon. If this is the case it will depend on how long the
problem has been going on. The fluid inside the cap can leak and over
time completely eat through the traces on the circuit board making
repair very difficult. Removing the caps can be difficult so as not to
damage the traces.
Alternately there are fuses on the back of the main power board
(depending on the model) that can blow out. They look like resistors.

Well... since you were kind enough to ask... ;-)

Two years ago, symptoms were intermittent color/black &
white, and same for sound.

Yesterday, symptoms were some pathetic motor sounds when
first turned on; viewfinder lights up, then shuts off, and
whole unit refuses to do anything else.

This thing got used about 3 hours-worth when I first bought
it, and none since. It looks like it's never been out of
the box. Well... it *did* until this morning, when I
couldn't resist the urge to take it apart!

I don't think I've yet done any damage to anything, and I've
found three capacitors that are leaking varying amounts of
brown ooze.

I've been looking thru my Digikey catalog, and got stopped
by my ignorance about capacitors. The leaky ones are all
the same: aluminum (?) cans with a sky-blue shrink-covering,
stamped with: "10v" "220 [symbol for micro-farad]" and
"sxj". On the next line: "03(3)" and "M(85[degree
symbol]C)".

From reading the last couple of days, I get the impression
that the "85 degree" marking indicates the temperature range
for dependability, and is somewhat of a quality rating,
where higher temp equates to higher quality. But by no
means sure of this.

There are many other silver-colored cans on the various
boards in this unit that are surface-mounted, and if they
are capacitors as well, they'd really have to leak a lot
before I'd be able to see the ooze coming out from under
them.

Even tho I have serious doubts about ever get this thing
back to snuff again, I'd sure be willing to spend a few
bucks for capacitors, if I just knew which to get, if only
to rise to the challenge.

Any further help would be very much appreciated, both by me,
and the electronics industry suppliers!

--
Thanks to all
--
tbl


As I recall, Ricoh and Sony shared many camcorder models back then, and
that many camcorders suffered from leaky caps, but the folks over at
sci.electronics.repair could probably be more help to you than anyone
here.

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

On Wed, 25 Jan 2006 03:24:40 GMT, "Bob (but not THAT Bob)"
wrote:


As I recall, Ricoh and Sony shared many camcorder models back then, and
that many camcorders suffered from leaky caps, but the folks over at
sci.electronics.repair could probably be more help to you than anyone
here.


Sheepish grin...

That's where I *thought* I had posted this. Then spent a
half-hour looking for it there!

I just posted it over there about 2 hours ago.

Thanks for the help, all.

--
tbl

Ricoh R-830 Camcorder - Really a Sony?
 

On Tue, 24 Jan 2006 07:06:40 GMT, tbl
wrote:

In the early 1990s, I bought this Ricoh R-830 Video Camera
Recorder, and the salesperson said that it was actually made
by Sony, but with a different (and better) lens.

It's had such little use that it's not easy to tell it from
new by looking at it.

I'm hoping someone can cross-reference to the closest Sony
number for me, or tell me how I can find this out.

I'd like to tear into this thing and find out why it's not
working, and would feel better if I had a Sony number to
hang on it.

When pressed, a couple of years ago, the folks at Ricoh
simply say, "We don't sell video cameras." End of story. I
couldn't even get them to admit that they had ever sold
them.

So, anybody able to cross-reference?


Well, for anyone interested, I threw in the new cap's, and
no joy. This thing is totally dead.

Thanks all for the help & comments.
--
tbl