Sharp VL-Z1 camcoder viewcamz problem?

I have one of these cameras and have suffered the same problem quite a few times.. it hates damp conditions and problem is solved with patience, leave door open without cassette.. leave to air in dry place, blow with hair dryer.. leave for a while.. then try again putting taper in.. eventually i assure you.. problem will fix itself

Paul
October 2010

http://www.techlore.com/forum/thread/12209/

Read what OMlet says about re-soldering the dew sensor connections. I was about to bin my VL-Z1, but I tried this and lo and behold it worked - just a momentary touch on each connection to melt and the solder. Fantastic. Just be careful not to melt any plastic parts. I feel like I want to broadcast this to all VL-Z1 owners because I was so convinced my cam was dead. Now I just need to fix the broken DV socket...

David I
March 2008

Paste this into your browser - http://www.techlore.com/forum/thread/12209/

Read what OMlet says about re-soldering the dew sensor connections. I was about to bin my VL-Z1, but I tried this and lo and behold it worked - just a momentary touch on each connection to melt and the solder. Fantastic. Just be careful not to melt any plastic parts. I feel like I want to broadcast this to all VL-Z1 owners because I was so convinced my cam was dead. Now I just need to fix the broken DV socket...

David I
March 2008

This is a common fault, The Dew sensor has been activated!
The manual says to leave the cassette door open for about 1 hour- unfortunately its a bit more serious than that!- it needs repair from sharp- If it is a VL-Z1H you are ok and service can be arranged under warranty or not From Sharp UK......
Any other model, (Such as mine!) VL-Z1U they will not work on, Will not entertain the warranty (Unless you take it back to the country of origin! mine = USA)
There is a place where service can be obtained in Telford - However, Cost is probably more than Camera's value!
Hence the reason many are for sale on Ebay with this fault, and go for less than £20-They are virtually unusable!

Troy
March 2008