Just bought this on ebay, opened tape door and mechanism whirled and
opened up the inner slot ready for a tape. I put in a tape with its
write-protect switch set to see if would playback, and pushed the inner
mechanism shut. Switched on and silence! it now seems almost dead. All
that happens is the viewfinder lights up blue, and the red 'on' light
comes on (not flashing) when switched to any of the 'on' positions.
Nothing else works. There doesn't seem to be a manual eject hole as on
some camcorders.

The guy offered to refund me but I'd rather get it going, and need to
get my tape out anyway before returning it. Has anyone taken one of
these beasts to bits or got a maintenance manual?

Phil

On 11/03/2012 01:27, Phil Addison wrote:
Just bought this on ebay, opened tape door and mechanism whirled and
opened up the inner slot ready for a tape. I put in a tape with its
write-protect switch set to see if would playback, and pushed the inner
mechanism shut. Switched on and silence! it now seems almost dead. All
that happens is the viewfinder lights up blue, and the red 'on' light
comes on (not flashing) when switched to any of the 'on' positions.
Nothing else works. There doesn't seem to be a manual eject hole as on
some camcorders.

The guy offered to refund me but I'd rather get it going, and need to
get my tape out anyway before returning it. Has anyone taken one of
these beasts to bits or got a maintenance manual?

Phil

General answer, Google. There are loads of good "how to" pages on the
web, also videos on You Tube (never needed one for a camcorder though).

On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:24:23 +0000, Newshound
wrote:

On 11/03/2012 01:27, Phil Addison wrote:
Just bought this on ebay, opened tape door and mechanism whirled and
opened up the inner slot ready for a tape. I put in a tape with its
write-protect switch set to see if would playback, and pushed the inner
mechanism shut. Switched on and silence! it now seems almost dead. All
that happens is the viewfinder lights up blue, and the red 'on' light
comes on (not flashing) when switched to any of the 'on' positions.
Nothing else works. There doesn't seem to be a manual eject hole as on
some camcorders.

The guy offered to refund me but I'd rather get it going, and need to
get my tape out anyway before returning it. Has anyone taken one of
these beasts to bits or got a maintenance manual?

Phil

General answer, Google. There are loads of good "how to" pages on the
web, also videos on You Tube (never needed one for a camcorder though).

Makes this group somewhat redundant doesn't it.... or it might had the
mighty Mr Google actually have had the answer, but in the case google
has no more of a clue than you. Generally this group has in depth
expertise on the more obscure points that defeat "General answer,
Google".

I had, of course, tried Googling before posting. And YouTubing, where
the potentially promising video how-tos turned out to be come-ons for
USA camera repair outfits. Google also kindly informed me that this is a
not unknown problem with this camcorder, and a few others, but
apparently no one has seen fit to post any DIY fixes.

Oh, and in case your next bit of advice it to take it to a repairer, I
have already found the Canon UK repair franchise (from google would you
believe?) where the repair cost would handsomely exceed that of another
foray into eBay.

Now, has anyone taken one of these beasts to bits or got a maintenance
manual?

Phil

Phil Addison wrote:
On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:24:23 +0000, Newshound
wrote:

On 11/03/2012 01:27, Phil Addison wrote:
Just bought this on ebay, opened tape door and mechanism whirled and
opened up the inner slot ready for a tape. I put in a tape with its
write-protect switch set to see if would playback, and pushed the inner
mechanism shut. Switched on and silence! it now seems almost dead. All
that happens is the viewfinder lights up blue, and the red 'on' light
comes on (not flashing) when switched to any of the 'on' positions.
Nothing else works. There doesn't seem to be a manual eject hole as on
some camcorders.

The guy offered to refund me but I'd rather get it going, and need to
get my tape out anyway before returning it. Has anyone taken one of
these beasts to bits or got a maintenance manual?

Phil
General answer, Google. There are loads of good "how to" pages on the
web, also videos on You Tube (never needed one for a camcorder though).

Makes this group somewhat redundant doesn't it.... or it might had the
mighty Mr Google actually have had the answer, but in the case google
has no more of a clue than you. Generally this group has in depth
expertise on the more obscure points that defeat "General answer,
Google".

I had, of course, tried Googling before posting. And YouTubing, where
the potentially promising video how-tos turned out to be come-ons for
USA camera repair outfits. Google also kindly informed me that this is a
not unknown problem with this camcorder, and a few others, but
apparently no one has seen fit to post any DIY fixes.

Oh, and in case your next bit of advice it to take it to a repairer, I
have already found the Canon UK repair franchise (from google would you
believe?) where the repair cost would handsomely exceed that of another
foray into eBay.

Now, has anyone taken one of these beasts to bits or got a maintenance
manual?

The Canon user manual, as you've found, isn't much help, but users of
the XL2 have found that either taking the battery out overnight and/ or
gently pushing the "push" marking on the cassette cover while
simultaneously firmly moving and holding the eject slide has worked.

If you're *really* unlucky, the tape gets tangled up in the transport.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

I had, of course, tried Googling before posting.

Don't see that there's any "of course" about it. You didn't say.

I find it something of a mystery why some people spend a lot of time
posting really useful "how to" stuff. But they do. I guess this is
rather a high end product, so less of a candidate for d-i-y.

On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:13:21 +0000, John Williamson
wrote:

On 11/03/2012 01:27, Phil Addison wrote:

Now, has anyone taken one of these beasts to bits or got a maintenance
manual?

The Canon user manual, as you've found, isn't much help, but users of
the XL2 have found that either taking the battery out overnight and/ or
gently pushing the "push" marking on the cassette cover while
simultaneously firmly moving and holding the eject slide has worked.

If you're *really* unlucky, the tape gets tangled up in the transport.

Thanks John, I have tried various combinations of battery in or out,
taking out the CR25 backup battery as well and leaving to reset the
system. Also putting the battery in whilst the eject slider is held open
as all to no avail. Hopefully the tape isn't tangled as the cassette
has not wound at all since I put it in. First thing I tried after
loading it was to see if it would come back out - and it didn't!

Phil

On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:53:46 +0000, Newshound
wrote:


I had, of course, tried Googling before posting.

Don't see that there's any "of course" about it. You didn't say.

Because anyone savvy enough to find our newsgroup (by googling?), not to
mention savvy enough to consider this kind of repair, would know how to
google.

I find it something of a mystery why some people spend a lot of time
posting really useful "how to" stuff. But they do.

It's partly to give back something to the community that has, or perhaps
will in the future help them. It's called altruism. And partly
like-minded people discussing things of common interest, i.e. DIY in its
widest sense. Perhaps one day you yourself may feel the urge to give
back.

I guess this is
rather a high end product, so less of a candidate for d-i-y.

It obviously is a candidate otherwise this thread wouldn't exist.
Perhaps you're new here, but if you look back through the history you
will see some very complex proxects being caried out by folk here.

Phil

On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:27:13 +0000, Phil Addison
wrote:

Just bought this on ebay, opened tape door and mechanism whirled and
opened up the inner slot ready for a tape. I put in a tape with its
write-protect switch set to see if would playback, and pushed the inner
mechanism shut. Switched on and silence! it now seems almost dead. All
that happens is the viewfinder lights up blue, and the red 'on' light
comes on (not flashing) when switched to any of the 'on' positions.
Nothing else works. There doesn't seem to be a manual eject hole as on
some camcorders.

The guy offered to refund me but I'd rather get it going, and need to
get my tape out anyway before returning it. Has anyone taken one of
these beasts to bits or got a maintenance manual?

Update

Just got an email from the official Canon repairers "The only way to
remove the tape is by dismantling the camera."

That's just the excuse I need, "Nurse... Scalpel"

Phil