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General discussion

Mini dv tape will not eject from Sharp VLWD255

Mar 30, 2005 10:33AM PST

Camera will "try" to eject cassette, raising cassette carrier about 80% of the way to eject position. The carrier then reverses direction and returns to loaded position.
Camera functions properly in all other ways. Is this a bad tape, and what can be attempted to remove it? Thanks for any input.

Discussion is locked

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Tricky and ...
Mar 30, 2005 10:46AM PST

Proceed at your own risk. I fished out a bad tape a few times, but my trick was to start the eject and when it was just about to close, remove power to the unit. Now its in almost ejected position and I used a well lit bench, dentist mirror and found where it was hung up and ... extracted the tape.

May you be as lucky since repairs are approaching replacement costs today.

Bob

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On the same page?
Mar 31, 2005 2:46AM PST

Thanks for the confirmation. When I was considering buying it that is exactly what crossed my mind that might work. So I bought it with that problem. Somewhere in the dim basement of my memory it must have worked to retrieve a stuck something or another. Now I'm wondering if there is a bad micro switch or...?)that senses when the tape has traveled far enough to turn off power to the eject motor. I've read that dirty tapes and/or dirty or worn mechanisms could be the culprits too. ---W/C

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Tape eject problem: Good news/bad news
Mar 31, 2005 2:07PM PST

Well, it worked, kind of. I started the eject and popped out the battery just before the tape went back down. After waiting about ten minutes I put the battery back in and the tape went up the rest of the way and then released. I took it out and opened the cover door and the tape had broken since it was not visible (compared to a new tape). After trying the ejection several times successfully without a tape inserted, I put in a known good tape and now it too will not eject! I also noticed an error code on the screen of E007. Any ideas? Thanks again, W/C