4 tapes from new, using Sony tapes. It went back again with the same problem after 3 more tapes run thru'. 2nd time they replaced the tape mechanism.
Am waiting for the next failure............................

argg
 

light use and had mine for about 16 months before i got the dreaded disease! argggg. it sucks when you see the "remove the cassette" This is a known problem and deserves a class action law suit. I just paid 400$

This sounds like very bad news to any GL2 users like myself... I wonder if anyone has owned GL2 for over 2 years without having the problem?

Ian and Chris say 16 months, David says 6, Colin says 4 tapes... It seems to be random, or maybe to do with the amount of usage of the deck. Either way I'm starting to think of selling mine. :(

Gone tapeless
 

I've been using my FireStore FS-4 to reduce the need to rewind significantly. I only rewind after laying black on a tape. Otherwise, I just use the FireStore unit for immediate playback.

I've also been transferring my tapes to the FireStore, which automatically segments the video into 2GB pieces and then burning the chunks off on data DVDs.

Variation in cassette spool spinning resistance
 

My Maxell tape rewinder give somes insight into an issue that can't help but be related to the GL2 failures. The issue is variation in mechanical drag in the cassette mechanism.

My rewinder's motor turns off when the tape is fully rewound by detecting the sudden refusal of the supply spool to turn. But it also turns off when the resistance to turning is high. As a result, some of my tapes, maybe 10%, are really a pain to rewind with this device because they have so much drag that the device keeps turning off. I have to press the start button dozens of times to get it rewound. I throw these tapes away. I have found offending tapes in the Panasonic, Fuji and Sony brands.

Cassettes such as these will challenge the GL2's apparently frail rewinding mechanism, and certainly be a factor in the "if" and "when" of a particular GL2's failure if the failure mode is mechanical.

Fred, that's very interesting. Do you suppose a return to the non-offending tape brand would be a case of closing the gate after the horse has bolted? In other words, would you imagine the damage has already been done?

Ian . . .

Continuing the idea that the brand of tape may be a factor in this problem. I have used perhaps 100 tapes over the past 2 years without (so far, fingers crossed) a single incident. I use exclusively TDK tapes.

Ian, I don't know about that since I have used the Maxell rewinder almost exclusively since I've had my GL2.

Fred, just bought one! I was expecting a ridiculously high price but for £13 it looks like you can't go wrong. I imagine Maxell will sell one or two more to other people reading this thread!

Thanks for the heads up.

Ian . . .

Hi all.

I have my XM2 for over 2 years. In this period I had the "zoom issue" which I solved by cleaning and eventually changing the zoom rocker (some of you might have seen the pics on this board, with my camcorder open to pieces).
Also, once in a while I get the "remove tape" issue. Like yesterday: ANY type I would try to rewind would give the message. The message appears when the tape is close to full rewind. Like minute 20 or closer to zero. For a short fraction of time before the message, the time code would show "-:--:--:--" like the camcorder looses the signal from the tape or something. While rewinding, as you get closer to the begining of the tape, the speed of the tape will increase making it harder for the heads to read the time code on the tape.
In my case the solution is simple: make sure the inside of the tape compartment is dry.
You see, every time I get back from a job (I doo weddings) I leave the camcorder with the tape compartment opened over the night (I put a cloth over the camcorder so dust won't get inside). I also have a big bag of silica stuff or what it is called (that absorbs humidity) that I put closer to the cam.
The night before yesterday I was to tired and forgot the cam into its bag (coming back from a wedding in the morning). Yesterday when I wanted to capture the tapes, I opened the bag and it smelled like an ashtray in there... I got the "remove tape" stuff with ALL tapes. I left the camcorder to dry over the night and this morning I could NOT reproduce the "remove tape" problem...

Long boring post, ha?! :)

Not boring at all, that's actually very useful information.

In case I get the rewind error problem (which I hope I don't), I will try use your trick to get rid of it - If anyone else tries it, let us know if it worked for you too.

My new-tome XL1s has been exhibiting the same problem. Here's my opinion:
I believe the problem is first an adjustment of the feed reel tension and then possibly tape binding within the cassette. Here is my reasoning:

Many years ago 7" reel-to-reel tape machines used a spring to keep tension on the feed side of the reel to prevent lateral slide across the record/playback heads. it also served to prevent a hopeless tangle of tape during fast forward/rewind as the feed reel began to approach the speed of sound.
Other techniques besides springs were used to maintain tension.

If a reel had been stored on its side or subject to a lot of jarring about the individual wraps of tape could slide laterally within the reel, causing increased friction. So much friction the machine could slow to a stop. I ran into this situation often with VHS tapes. The solution there was a fast foreward to end of tape and rewind to "re-pack" the tape.

In my case i feel the problem is tension on the feed reels. When i attempt to rewind a tape the camera exhibits so error messages until the motor switches to high speed. The viewfinder immeidately loses track of the time code and the "EJECT TAPE' message appears. Additionally, when playing tapes recorded on this camera on my GL1 I hear intermittent breaks in the audio track, which suggests not only transport issues, but alignment as well.

Rewinder
 

Where can you buy the Maxell or Firestore? How much do they cost? I couldn't find them on the internet.

FireStore
 

Check out the Focus Enhancements FireStore D.T.E. Recorders sub-forum under the Direct-to-Disk (Tapeless) Recording Solutions forum.

This link is to a post by a camcorder service guy--the first of it's kind I've seen on this issue. He says it's just shoddy design/part quality. His post is the fourth one on this page:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/sho...=112967&page=2

Sometimes I open the cassette door and the tape does not eject from both my GL2's. I just close the door and reopen and it usually works. If the tape spools inside the cassette have a resistance of turning that prompts the unit to give an eject notification, as far as my VCR is concerned, I squeeze/massage/twist the cassette (of course not hard enough to do any damage). It usually plays fine after that. I believe I have done it with DV cassettes as well, successfully.

possible solve
 

Hi all!

I posted a few days ago that I'm always leaving the camcorder with the tape compartment opened over night, after each wedding. Well, it was not enough, it seems, so yesterday I could not rewind to the end a single tape from 5...

As I'm the DIY kind a guy, I opened up the camcorder ( again! ) to see what's happening in there.

What I found out: it is (at least in my case) a problem with the tape transport. It is not about head misalignments as I've heard. I uploaded a small video to show you what's happening. As you rewind the tape, the tape travels from right to left. You can see in the video that the collecting spool fails to take the tape at the rate it is supplied. I'm sorry but I don't know the technical names for the components so I can better explain,that's why I choose to let you see it and draw your own conclusions.

What I think: as the tape is supplied at a constant speed, the collecting spool has a variable angular speed (because the diameter of the spool+tape increases as it takes the tape). In order to spin at variable speed (when the motor spins at constant speed), the collecting spool has a kind of "clutch" - friction is employed here. Friction that it is lost because of dirt & grease & humidity...

After a couple of hours of trying to get the mechanical assembly opened (I didn't manage to do it...), I found a part that resembles what I was looking for and tried a desperate cleaning process: a drop of spirit (alcohol) between a plastic gear and a metal plate.


Luckily for you, you don't even need to open your camcorder to try this possible solution!
:)


I finally managed to rewind all tapes!

Yet another unprotected part of a canon camcorder..... (like the zoom rocker)

Wow, Cosmin. That's so plausible as a cause and a solution that I almost dare to hope. Songs will be written about you if your experience is confirmed by others.

I'd like to hear from others, yes. "remove tape" could have different causes... If you've seen the little video clip, you saw the tape jump out a bit. I tried that with several tapes and got the same thing happened. Sometimes the tape would flow out like crazy until the "remove tape" would show and the tape would stop. It actually jammed a tape... :(

Also, the drop of spirit I'm sure it did remove some dirt... but a canon service would do a better job at cleaning the mechanism.

It is interesting that after over 20 messages in this topic, and 1400 reads, when I finally come with a possible diagnostic and a way to solve it, suddenly there's no interest in the subject!

Probably the problem went away by itself, for all canon users...



Anyway, I got more tapes rewinded without problems so far.

It's a business machine...
 

Home camcorder repair falls into the same category as home dentistry: You can learn about it but practically do nothing about it. For the pedestrian home user who runs 5 -10 tapes per year through their camera per year and is faced with a trip to Canon service after 5 years, this is part of the ownership experience.
For commercial users, what do you expect when you are wearing out delicate moving parts on a daily basis???
You are running a business and this is a maintenance expense. A NYC cabbie needs brakes every 6 weeks! Unless he is a licensed technician, it's illegal for him/her to make the fix!
I could paint several analogies here, but you get the point.
Replace the drum.
Canon does this with trained technicians.
No I'm not staff or a shareholder or a flagwaver for Canon. It's just a simple business rule that you keep your revenue producing tools working and get the maintenance done routinely to avoid costly downtime.
It's like the guy at the chewing gum factory and when the reciprocating drum star ........

I have a rewind problem with my XM1 (GL1), but do not get any Eject Tape error message. The tape simply,fails to rewind at full speed and the timecode counter loses track of the tape position as it rewinds. I have never yet had a tape fail to rewind fully - it just takes its time.

All other functions of the camera appear to operate normally. Fortunately I rarely need to use it as a recorder and so do not need to rewind tapes in the camera. I have only ever used Panasonic DVM63 tapes.

Thanks Cosmin for this info. Unfortunately, my camera is already at Canon service center....grrr...I've would definitely try your trick. Anyway I'm hoping not to get any more CASETTE messages for some time...

Jimmy, yes I do run more than 10 tapes/year, true. Canon service should do a better job than I did, I said that.

Unfortunately, I had a bad experience with the local canon service (local means 700km away, btw). They would keep the camcorder at least a month in service (is what they told me) and I cannot afford that. I do not own a back-up camcorder.

"Home camcorder repair falls into the same category as home dentistry"
Well, I do not go to the dentist to wash my teeth! :)

And this all topic started with this premise:

" I am usually the do-it-yourself type, and would rather find a way to fix my cam than have it gone for a week or shell out > $250.
.............
Let's collect knowledge about the problem and see if there is a way for us to crack open our cams and fix 'em for free!" - Harper Abbot

Not ever meaning to rain on your parade ... you are right ... just as you would clean your teeth at home so should you clean the heads on the camera at home. Beyond that, I feel that professional intervention is most times the best cure.

the only time i have ever had this happen on my GL2 is when i use my head cleaner cassette and it comes to the end of the tape, it stops, and says to remove it.

I've been having a bad time with 'Remove Cassette.' Had it serviced and the message returned immediately. I was able to shoot a short, but can't rewind or playback. I tried cleaning; this didn't help. I'm sending it back again today for service.

When it returns, I'm wondering if I should switch tape brands. I've always, only, used Maxell.

I know it is a little late to be responding to this, but incase anyone is interested I have had my GL2 for almost 2 years now and have never had the "Remove Casset" problem (knock on wood). It has been well taken care of but that doesn't mean that it hasn't been used to play back a lot of tapes. I have only used panasonic tapes in my GL2. Hope this helps a bit.

Alex B.

Eject cassette problem
 

I've owned a GL-2 for about 18 Months (I really love it), about a month ago I started getting the "eject cassette" problem on the play side but eventually it would play. I started searching the GL-2 user forums and found out that it's a fairly common problem. I read all the horror stories (it was depressing). I'm the videographer for a local stock car racing track and last saturday night I got the message while recording and it hasn't recorded since. I called a local camera store that is a certified Canon repair center. They said that they would'nt be able to look at it for as least 4 weeks and it would cost approx $400.00 (gasp), so I decided to call Canon. I explained my problem and told them from what I had learned from the web, that it's a fairly common problem, and I asked if Canon had done anything to remedy the problem. The rep told me that Canon was aware of it and if I sent my GL-2 in they would repair it at a "reduce repair rate" of $50.00 with a turnaround of 7 to 10 days. So wish me luck, I Fedexed it out to their Jamesburg NJ service center, maybe there is a happy ending.

Chuck

I live in NYC and never heard of this law.
 

"A NYC cabbie needs brakes every 6 weeks! Unless he is a licensed technician, it's illegal for him/her to make the fix!"


I live in NYC and never heard of this law. I know some taxi drivers and know for fact that they sometimes fix their rigs themselves.
If you have a business then most likely you have more than one camera and for you fixing one or another camera once in the while is not extraordinary problem. Most of us are do not have a luxury to own more than one camcorder of this kind, and we rather spent this $300-$400 on good mice, light, tripod etc.

I own GL-2 for couple years now, I am light user (about 60 tapes so far) but i'd like to monitor and see all of my options if and when I will hit this problem.

P.S. 59 of those tapes are FUJI, and 1 was Panasonic 80 min. I use a rewinder for last 30 or so tapes.

cabbie, dentist, rocket scientist ... etc
 

You understand the parallel ... the analogy still stands.

Is it lost forever?
 

Okay, I've read the boards and I have a variation on the problem. I have a Canon GL1 and have always used Sony Premium Tapes. It has already been sent in for repair on the tape rewinding and now I have a new problem.

I recorded 2 hours of video the other day and after returning home, I reinserted the tapes and rewound them. I then got the dreaded Remove Cassette Tape message after both rewinds. Figuring that was natural, when I tried to play them back it still had the Remove Cassette Tape message. I took the tapes out and replaced them, still to no avail and the same message appeared. I powered the camera down, removed the battery, installed the battery again, turned the camera back on, inserted the tape and of course the Remove message reappeared.

I took the tapes to a camera store that does editing and they were able to get one of the tapes to come up, but not the other. When I took the tapes back home, sure enough, I was able to play one but not the other.

Is everything lost on the one tape? Is there any kind of way to retrieve the data off of the tape or anyone that specializes in this? I really wanted to bring this stuff into Premiere and do some editing with it. HELP!

cassette issue
 

I wonder if using the rewind machines, that are supposed to help save your camera life do not wind it to tight or such and then the camera is under strain???


how about you people who use these machines?


Dale guthormsen

Eject Problem
 

I have one of the first GL2's sold in Canada and I have just run into this problem this week so that's coming up on three years. I wasn't even aware of it until now so I've got some back reading to do...

I have just spent a week using the new XL2, what a great camera that has turned out to be with the 20x zoom lens and XLR inputs. If my xm2 gets the tape eject message again I will be tempted to bit the bullet and step up to the XL2. But I wonder if they have similar problems? The tape carriage mechanism must be virtually the same.

I've seen a sony vx2100 doing the remove tape stuff... They (sony) display a coded message but the behavoiur is the same: you need to take the tape out and put it back again - try working with the cam again...

Possible GL2 Rewind Fix
 

Hi all. I run a small production house in the NYC environs. First off, I'd like to thank Cosmin for his advice on this matter. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who has had this problem.

That being said, I've found a fix that might work for others. I tried keeping the case open overnight to allow moisture evaporation, and even attempted cleaning the little plastic gear shifter, as Cosmin suggested, with alcohol. These seemed to work for a little bit, but it didn't take long for the error to repeat.

After experimenting a little, I found that in my case, HOLDING DOWN the camera's rewind button gave me 100% satisfactory rewind results. I'm wondering if this will work for other users. As opposed to hitting it once, hold down the rewind button until it reaches where you'd like it to.

Let me know if this helps.

Furthermore...
 

Above, I mean that you can hold it down while the tape is stopped. Not merely shuttling it manually while there is picture onscreen. Do it as though you'd normally rewind a tape, with the tape already stopped on the blue master screen.

- JMG

Last year I had the Eject Cassette problem with my XM2, I could play, record without problems but attempting to rewind a cassette caused the problem to appear (flickering timecode display and then the Eject Cassette message.)

Soon after the problem first occurred I was attempting to rewind a cassette. I got the Eject Cassette message after which I ejected the cassette. I re-inserted the cassette and attempted to continue rewinding the cassette. The mechanism suddenly started making nasty noises and I stopped rewinding immediately and attempted to eject the cassette. The tape had been chewed and was tangled up in the mechanism. I was on holidays in a remote area and had no possibility of immediate servicing. Very fortunately I was able to very carefully extract the tape from the mechanism without breaking it or the camera. (The tape had very important material on it and luckily only a very small section was damaged.) For the remainder of my holiday, I did not even attempt to rewind tapes in the camera. The play and record functions were still ok.

When I returned home, I had the camera serviced under warranty and have not experienced this problem since.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has experienced tape damage associated with this 'Eject Cassette' problem.

Regards,
Steven.

Fast Forward then Rewind?
 

Hi all,

I have been combing this site for the last few weeks and have been impressed by all the intelligent questions and informative replies being passed on - without attitude.

I am awaiting my first GL2 in a couple of days, and am feeling a little tentative now, based on this tape transport "Remove Cassette" issue.

I am an enthusiastic video hobbyist, and come from a graphic and audio background. This may be a long shot, but with DAT audio tapes (which are quite similar to Mini DV) - we ran into the same problems with the tape transport mechanisms - they just jammed up and could no longer play. It kind of got around that a workaround was to always first fast forward the tapes until they end; then rewind them fully before using.

I know this is a drag, as far as putting more wear on the unit (it should be built to take it, though), but this solved the issue, at least in the world of DAT. It seemed with audio DAT tapes, some manufacturers just wound the tapes too tight for the transport to deal with. Fast forwarding it before recording just loosened them up a bit - and the problems went away.

Is this worth a shot?

Thanks

- Bill Shore