Z1U Tape stuck

[Andy Peterson]

Hello,

I put a regular ol' tape in my Z1U today, and the mechanism stopped halfway down.

I get "Reinsert the cassette", but I can't eject, nor insert the tape any further.

I took out the battery, waited 20 minutes, nothing. Hit the reset button, nothing.

Has anyone had this happen? I would REALLLLLY appreciate any tips.

Thanks,

-Andy

[Boyd Ostroff]

I would have it looked at by a pro repair center since it sounds like you've tried all the obvious things. That mechanism looks really fragile and you could probably do a lot of damage by messing with it. Sony repair info is here:

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Broadcastan...eCenters.shtml

Maybe they could provide some help by telephone?

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Broadcastan...0018/fee.shtml

[Simon Battell]

This is taken from the official Sony FX1 repair manual.

I expect the same applies to the Z1.

I accept no responsability if you try it.

TO TAKE OUT A CASSETTE WHEN NOT EJECT (FORCE EJECT)

1 Remove the power supply (Battery and AC power adaptor).
2 Open the cassette lid.
3 Remove the MD lid.
4 Supply +4.5V between the LM UNLOAD terminal and the LM LOAD terminal from the DC power supply and unload the cassete.

Hope it works.

[Andy Peterson]

Thanks guys.

Looks like we are going to have to bring it in.

[Nick Hope]

In theory the 4.5V could be supplied by 3 x AA batteries or whatever in series, but those terminals are a long way in and super fiddly to get at. Looks like a job for a specialist to me.

[Nick Hope]

Tried as hard as I could with 3 x AA batteries in a battery holder and some tiny solid-core wire with a few mm of the insulation stripped off. Didn't work. No response or motor noise or anything from the camera.