So a local technician looked over the camera, and they have informed me that somehow a chip on the main board has been fried. The technician said that the chip has a burn mark on it, indicating that the chip got so hot that it looked like it caught on fire. The technician mentioned that a power surge or something could have caused this, but he is not certain and could not pinpoint what caused this chip failure. On the otherhand, the actual tape loading mechanism itself is fine and was not damaged.

Although I have not send it into Canon yet, I would like to know if anyone has heard of such a problem before? Do you have any more ideas as to what might have caused it? Has anyone had their main circuit board fried and if yes, what might have caused it? Also, does anyone know the estimate cause to replace the chip/board?

Thanks,
Chuck Ng

I just sent mine in...
 

The rep I spoke with had me put the commentary in the appropriate field online saying it was a remove the cassette error, quoting the $50 cost max and using his name and extension number for a reference. My other GL2 has shown no problems so far but it's good to know it will be taken care of if it does. I haven't gotten my confirmation that they will fix it but I'm assuming the best at this point.

Just for the sake of general information, Bao, do you happen to know if the service advisory you mentioned applies only to transports on GL2's, or if it also covers the transports on other models (GL1, XL1, XL2, etc.)?

Yes! inquring minds want to know. I also have an XL-1s that needs service for this problem

remove cassette error
 

I think I can offer some good news. I too had the error many times, unfortunately being 80 feet underwater sort of makes it difficult to open the door and close it, or remove the battery and reconnect it. Can really ruin your dive. I was one of the first to use a drop of solvent on the little white gear/pulley near the top of the cassette deck. It improved the reliability but not 100%.

I held off sending the cam to canon for fear of the charge and fear that they would not fix the problem. I finally had some down-time so decided to bite the bullit and have the work done. I shipped the cam to their Irvine repair center along with a description of the "famous" problem. I also menioned that I would eventually like to upgrade but the decision on which brand would depend on how the "cassette error" problem works out.

I just responded to their message asking for authorization to pay the $62.00 repair charge, which I granted. I told the person that I was expecting more like $250. She checked the notes, it was originally $240 and had been changed. The charge was $0.00 parts, $50.00 labor, $12.00 shipping. Perhaps Canon has gotten the message. The camera is over three years old now.

When the camera arrives, I will test it and report back. Other than replacing the zoom rocker switch myself, and the cassette peoblem, I have been very happy with the camera and would recommend it to anyone. I have also had good responses from their repair service, even on another canon camera.

I don't check this forum often, so if anybody needs to contact me, emptech@yahoo.com.

Jim

Jarod,
When the first rep was reading the advisory aloud, I remember him reading GL2 but I can't recall if there were other cameras under the advisory as well. My suggestion would be to call and ask if you have the same problems with other cameras. By the way, I received the camera back very shortly (within a week) and no messages so far!

Sorry it's taken so long to post. I don't seem to get messages to old threads even though I've subscribed to them.

Is there any correlation between the "remove the cassette" error and leaving tape in the camcorder for extended periods of time (like weeks at a time)?

HV20 has the same issue. How do I know? Coz my cam is dead and I have seen other to report the same issue.

Link
 

Hi guys,
Here is the link to the advisory page: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...7&modelid=7512

hope this helps

Hi

I got my my XM2 (GL2 / Europe) in 2003.
2003-2005 no problems at all! Great DV cam, was worth the money.
Always used the same tape brand ("Sony Excellence").
2006 - "remove cassette" - was repaired, about 300,- Euros!
2007 - "remove cassette" - was repaired, about 300,- Euros!
Two weeks ago - - - you won't believe it: "remove cassette" pops up again :-(
Putting in a new tape in does help... but i have to try it a few times...
In 2 weeks I will get my PMW-EX1 from Sony. But still have a lot of DV tapes and I guess from time to time I will need a good DV cam as a "B"-roll.
I really don't know what to do. Again paying 300,-/400,- Euros ?

Regards from Germany
Rainer

I just sent mine in. I have been having been having problems with footage missing as well. Hopefully they take care of it for cheap because I was just outside the warranty.

I got my camera back a couple days ago. I was originally charged something like $240, but it was reduced to $63. Which was nice because I was a couple months outside of the one year warranty. The camera seems to be working fine. Thanks Canon for making this process as painless as possible. I have heard of others sending in their cameras to other companies and having it take upwards of 3 weeks to get it back, so I was happy when mine came back in 13 days.

Where
 

I just got this error last night when recording my footage off the GL2 (I have no other camera so I have to use it as a deck). I am getting the eject error only when trying to rewind the tape, but I don't want it crapping out while recording on my next wedding in 4 weeks.

Any information on how long it took for the service dept to return the camera to you?

The total time that my camera was not in my hands was 13 days. That included me shipping it and them shipping it back. I have heard others say even faster.

While you're waiting for the GL2 to be fixed, I strongly suggest you get a used unit off of eBay for $100-200 to use as a deck.