Here's a short follow-up on the wet camera.

My fantasy about an easy repair waned, and I began to agree with
anyone who said drying the camera would not help (2 months after it
was submerged for a couple seconds) with rice..

But I recognized the risks in taking it apart (like later needing
rubberbands to hold it together again) and went through with the rice
for about 10 days.

No help.

Another effort to fantasize an easy solution was that the on/off
switch was corroded by the hottub water, and if I sprayed some DeOxit
into the slot, it might somehow reach the switch. Of course doing
that from the outside never works with slide switches, and it didn't'
work here. . Then I moved the switch back and forth many times, but
that didn't work.

I took off the left and right sides, and found one more screw
underneath. But after that, I couldn't' lift the top (where the
on/off switch is) so I went to look for a repair manual.

I found one but when I dl'd it, it was an owners manual.

I found a site with a list of repair manuals with some panasonic
cameras, including one that looked a lot like mine. It was free for
some things, but for service manuals, it was 8 Euros for 24 hours.
Plus it was not my model and might be an owners manual, and I probably
can't fix the camera anyhow.

Then I found my model elsewhere for 10 dollars.

Then i found it elsewhere for free!! elektrotanya.com Really great
place. Two things free per day. Also retrovo.com is very good.

(Paying 10 or 12 dollars wouldn't have been so bad either.)

The manual for the Panasonic camera showed me pretty clearly that I
had to take off the back, then a printed circuit board inside., then a
piece of plastic, then the video screen, then the top of it (oops, had
to loose the front after all, just like it implied) , then the top
pcb.

BTW, NO TRACE OF WATER INSIDE ANYWHERE, except brown around the holes
that a certain style of the screws go in.

The manual was good: showed how many screws and which size screws, and
in one case, where screws from different steps were the same specs.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE GOOD?. They were giving away free
at the supermarket pharmacy pill holders with one box for each of 7
days. Planning for my dotage, I took one. The lids were very loose
when I took it, probably why they were free, but six months later, the
lids seem tighter. Very good for sorting screws style A, B, C, D,
etc. I should have done this years ago. My mother taught me
to arrange the screws like they were before I took them out, but my
house is too crowded for that now, and some things stay disassembled
for years.


The manual showed each electric flat cable that had to be
disconnected. It also gave warnings about what would be needed to
reassemble things, before I took them apart. Plus I've learned to
think about that during disassembly. I couldn't have done this when
I was just starting out.

Although it was the first job with such small things since I started
wearing glasses 10 years ago. I have a good magnifying glass, but I
should have been using the lens I got that clips on to my glasses and
goes in front of one of them. With proper positioning, it works well
and then I could see WHILE I was doing it.


Used a meter to test the on/off switch. It's fine. Darn.

BTW, if I were a fully equipped panasonic camera shop, or maybe any
electronic camera shop, I would have extension cables. The manual has
part numbers for them. A set of 5 lets all the parts sit several
inches from the other parts, so one can fiddle, then check if the
camera works without the time it takes to reassemble the camera. I
guess I won't have to put the screws in for testing but the three
delicate cables I'll have to reattach will take a lot of time. I've
been there with some computer printer, and these are smaller and
thinner. One of them has a release that has to be lifted for
disassembly and probably has to be pushed down for reassembly.


Looked around. Everything looked good except I found that there is
another battery soldered in place (in addition to the rectangular
battery one removes and charges in the charger) . It has white
crystals underneath it, just a little but I know it's too much, and
it measures 25 millivolts instead of 3 volts!

I would think it was only needed for remembering things when the big
battery is out, -- which means I should desolder it and test the
camera -- but the schematic seems to show it's closely tied in to the
shutter button switch. But maybe that's because there is one
schematic for the top of the camera and two others for the rest of it,
and I have to print out two or maybe all three before I can look at
them at the same time.


So, I need a battery again. Last time it was for a laptop, and I was
able to remove a coin battery holder from a very old computer mobo, or
maybe I bought one at radio shack after that, and run a wire to
outside the laptop, but I don't want to do that for a cute very little
camera, with no already-existing holes. And I'm not sure I can get
this battery at all, in any physical size.

I've looked all over and I can find it listed in the Panasonic
catalog, but no price, no way to order. Under parts for this camera,
Panasonic only lists the obvious ones. The big removable battery, etc.
all at outrageous prices. Something like 60 dollars for the battery
for a 90 dollar camera. . Another place sells them but I'll be
surprised if they will sell just one. I've filled out their Request
for Quote. I"m going to start another thread right after this one,
just to deal with the battery.

I've looked all over and I can find it listed in the Panasonic
catalog, but no price, no way to order. Under parts for this camera,
Panasonic only lists the obvious ones. The big removable battery, etc.
all at outrageous prices. Something like 60 dollars for the battery
for a 90 dollar camera. . Another place sells them but I'll be
surprised if they will sell just one. I've filled out their Request
for Quote. I"m going to start another thread right after this one,
just to deal with the battery.

Hi,
Sorry to hear that your little camera is in trouble. First of all did
you try eBay for replacement battery? Another thing, even if you make it
work again with all the hard work, there is no guarantee it'll like as
it supposes to.
Time is money, how much time and effort are you going to spend with that
camera with residual value of lot less than 90.00.

If I were you, I'd see if I could find a used one on eBay to get, and
that broken one as spare unit to keep. Only time I dropped my camera was
wya back in 'Nam during the war, when I was ambushed by Cong sniper
driving on a remote highway under Huey gunship cover. When I jumped off
hurriedly parked Jeep, the camera strap around my neck came flung off.

On Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:48:25 -0600, Tony Hwang
wrote:



I've looked all over and I can find it listed in the Panasonic
catalog, but no price, no way to order. Under parts for this camera,
Panasonic only lists the obvious ones. The big removable battery, etc.
all at outrageous prices. Something like 60 dollars for the battery
for a 90 dollar camera. . Another place sells them but I'll be
surprised if they will sell just one. I've filled out their Request
for Quote. I"m going to start another thread right after this one,
just to deal with the battery.

Hi,
Sorry to hear that your little camera is in trouble. First of all did

Thank you. It's no big deal. I didn't repeat that I got the camera
for free, because a stranger on freecycle put it in his swimming suit
while he was on a cruise ship and then got in the hot tub for a
moment. So I knew I probably couldn't fix it. I've actually made a
lot of progress. .

you try eBay for replacement battery?

No. Thanks. I should have tried ebay, and Amazon... I just did, and
they don't have it. So I didnt' waste the time of that company I did
write to. That's good, at least. (My guess is 2 dollars for the
battery and 10 dollars shipping. Or 5 dollars and 7 for shipping.)

Another thing, even if you make it
work again with all the hard work, there is no guarantee it'll like as
it supposes to.

Noted. And the manual went into this too. There are two sorts of
things to do before disassembling: Initial Setting Release and
Flash-Rom Data Backup, but since the camera does nothing, I can't do
them. Maybe it won't matter, except I think the loss of the backup
battery will matter. Still the repair manual talks about replacing
the backup battery, so it probably has enough instructions to get past
that. .

Then there are other "Measurements and Adjustments". "Details of
Electrical Adjustment", 3 crowded pages long. Then there's the
"built-in adjustment software", the release of the "initial setting"
and the re-doing of the "initial setting". So far I can't tell what
status it will have, or what I have to do. Great manual, far more
complicated than I expected. It will be interesting, and I'm looking
forward to that stage, if I get that far. . I'm glad I have another
camera.

I don't think I'll need this, at least not at first, but it also has
Error Code Memory Function, including ICS (Indication of additional
Camera Settings when picture was taken) function. 4 crowded pages.
My gosh this 90 dollar camera is complicated.

Time is money, how much time and effort are you going to spend with that
camera with residual value of lot less than 90.00.

A lot, but repairing things is far and away my prime hobby.

If I were you, I'd see if I could find a used one on eBay to get, and
that broken one as spare unit to keep.

Then, unless the newer one broke, I'd have nothing to repair.

Only time I dropped my camera was
wya back in 'Nam during the war, when I was ambushed by Cong sniper
driving on a remote highway under Huey gunship cover. When I jumped off
hurriedly parked Jeep, the camera strap around my neck came flung off.

I'm glad you weren't killed.

You've got a good excuse there. Mine is nowhere near as exciting, a
fat man I barely know in a hot tub.

Thanks.

On Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:54:28 -0400, micky wrote:
BTW, if I were a fully equipped panasonic camera shop, or maybe any
electronic camera shop, I would have extension cables. The manual has
part numbers for them. A set of 5 lets all the parts sit several inches
from the other parts, so one can fiddle, then check if the camera works
without the time it takes to reassemble the camera.

I remember doing that with an LV-ROM player (like a CD-ROM, but using
Laserdiscs, something of a rare beast) - there were about 20 separate
PCBs in the machine, and it was impossible to work on it and test without
extension cables.

Looked around. Everything looked good except I found that there is
another battery soldered in place (in addition to the rectangular
battery one removes and charges in the charger) . It has white crystals
underneath it, just a little but I know it's too much, and it measures
25 millivolts instead of 3 volts!

It's definitely a battery? Mention of it being tied to the shutter
mechanism just made me wonder if it was a discharge capacitor for the
flash rather than a battery at all.

So, I need a battery again. Last time it was for a laptop, and I was
able to remove a coin battery holder from a very old computer mobo, or
maybe I bought one at radio shack after that, and run a wire to outside
the laptop, but I don't want to do that for a cute very little camera,
with no already-existing holes. And I'm not sure I can get this battery
at all, in any physical size.

Well, if it is a battery, do you know if it's a rechargeable or not? If
it's not, then as a quick test I'd desolder it I think, run wires to the
outside world, then loosely reassemble the camera - hook the wires up to
a couple of 1.5V batteries and see if the camera works. If it still
doesn't work then you've got other faults to find and can work on them
(or give up! :-) without having spent any money.

cheers

Jules

On Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:12:07 +0000 (UTC), Jules Richardson
wrote:

On Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:54:28 -0400, micky wrote:
BTW, if I were a fully equipped panasonic camera shop, or maybe any
electronic camera shop, I would have extension cables. The manual has
part numbers for them. A set of 5 lets all the parts sit several inches
from the other parts, so one can fiddle, then check if the camera works
without the time it takes to reassemble the camera.

I remember doing that with an LV-ROM player (like a CD-ROM, but using
Laserdiscs, something of a rare beast) - there were about 20 separate
PCBs in the machine, and it was impossible to work on it and test without
extension cables.

I'll bet.

Looked around. Everything looked good except I found that there is
another battery soldered in place (in addition to the rectangular
battery one removes and charges in the charger) . It has white crystals
underneath it, just a little but I know it's too much, and it measures
25 millivolts instead of 3 volts!

It's definitely a battery? Mention of it being tied to the shutter
mechanism just made me wonder if it was a discharge capacitor for the
flash rather than a battery at all.

Definitely a battery. It looks like one, it has a + sign peeking out
from under the solder tab which is spot welded or something to the
top, it leaks like a battery, it's in the PCB layout and marked
b8001, b8001 is in the parts list called battery, and in the schematic
with a battery symbol, plus there is a section on removing "b8001, the
battery". Okay, I'm sure this is more proof than needed. :-)
Oh, and the part number is on the web, listed as a Lithium-Manganese
dioxide rechargable battery. I think not everywhere does it say
rechargeable, but it does at the Panasoonic site.

So, I need a battery again. Last time it was for a laptop, and I was
able to remove a coin battery holder from a very old computer mobo, or
maybe I bought one at radio shack after that, and run a wire to outside
the laptop, but I don't want to do that for a cute very little camera,
with no already-existing holes. And I'm not sure I can get this battery
at all, in any physical size.

Well, if it is a battery, do you know if it's a rechargeable or not? If
it's not, then as a quick test I'd desolder it I think, run wires to the
outside world, then loosely reassemble the camera - hook the wires up to
a couple of 1.5V batteries and see if the camera works. If it still

That's a very good idea. I should have thought of it. I might even
be able to reassemble the camera that way if I only install the top
circuit board and not the outside top.


doesn't work then you've got other faults to find and can work on them
(or give up! :-) without having spent any money.

That sounds good.

cheers

Jules

On Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:54:28 -0400, micky
wrote:

I've looked all over and I can find it listed in the Panasonic
catalog, but no price, no way to order. Under parts for this camera,
Panasonic only lists the obvious ones. The big removable battery, etc.
all at outrageous prices. Something like 60 dollars for the battery
for a 90 dollar camera. . Another place sells them but I'll be
surprised if they will sell just one. I've filled out their Request
for Quote. I"m going to start another thread right after this one,
just to deal with the battery.


This sounds like an awful lot of time and work for an older camera worth
$90. With the price coming down on digital cameras, you can buy a new
camera for $90 or less and they use standard AA batteries.

If you absolutely must have that model, look on ebay for another one.

If you had dried it immediately it may have been salvaged, but it was
allowed to corrode and rust, and it's likely junk now.
You can spend $60 on a battery and still not have a working camera.
Invest that money in a new camera.

On Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:22:59 -0600, wrote:

On Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:54:28 -0400, micky
wrote:

I've looked all over and I can find it listed in the Panasonic
catalog, but no price, no way to order. Under parts for this camera,
Panasonic only lists the obvious ones. The big removable battery, etc.
all at outrageous prices. Something like 60 dollars for the battery
for a 90 dollar camera. . Another place sells them but I'll be
surprised if they will sell just one. I've filled out their Request
for Quote. I"m going to start another thread right after this one,
just to deal with the battery.


This sounds like an awful lot of time and work for an older camera worth
$90. With the price coming down on digital cameras, you can buy a new
camera for $90 or less and they use standard AA batteries.

If you absolutely must have that model, look on ebay for another one.

If you had dried it immediately it may have been salvaged, but it was
allowed to corrode and rust, and it's likely junk now.
You can spend $60 on a battery and still not have a working camera.
Invest that money in a new camera.

Thanks for replying. You probably saw my reply to Tony.