Mike

built one myself takes about 20 min to solder and assemble

in the states radio shack will have the components <$10

you need pc/laptop with parallel port of course

dvinlite is the sony rm95 emulator which is what you need for hours usage and tweaking

rm95 is a very handy tool to dump the nvram (a hackers dream) to harddrive or printer

How can I check hours of usage on my VX2000?
 

Just want to know how to find out the number of hours used on my used VX2000. thanks.

You cannot without the special remote controller and the information. Sony is fairly reticent about allowing those out of their control.

how do i found out hours used?
 

hi, how do i find out how many hours are on a vx1000? ive looked in the manual but cant find anything about it..thanks

If the 1000 keeps track, and I think it does, you would need the RM-95 service tool and the service manual.

I think all cameras keep track of head hours, but we mere mortals are not allowed to find out what those hours are unless we're willing to spend at least the amount of money that a PD150 costs.

I don't think a RM-95 costs that much, does it?

Mike, for awhile it seemed to disappear from Sony's website. Now, after a little digging I found it again! True, it isn't all that expensive, $78.28. Because of the way they've implemented the site I can't post a direct link, but go to Sony's Direct Accessories and Parts Center and in the Search box click the Part or Accessory Number button. Enter the part number J6082053B in the text field and click Search. John Beale offers a picture of the remote, on his website. According to him, the remote should work with most Sony and Canon camcorders.

How to interpret hours numbers
 

On a PD150/170, how does one interpret the Operation, Drum Run, Tape Run, and Threading numbers? What does each mean and what relationship do they have with each other, if any? For example, does Operation time include Tape Run time? Does Threading time include all the others?

Re: How to interpret hours numbers
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Mike Hanlon : On a PD150/170, how does one interpret the Operation, Drum Run, Tape Run, and Threading numbers? What does each mean and what relationship do they have with each other, if any? For example, does Operation time include Tape Run time? Does Threading time include all the others? -->>>

Each one does contain the next item except Threading is the number of threading operations.

What is "threading"?

The threading operation is what takes place when you load up a tape and the camcorder "threads" the tape around the heads and readies it for playback or recording.

John

tape head hours...newbie question...
 

how do you check the hours on you tape head on the PD150... i'm purchasing a used one later tonight, and would like to check the usage before i buy... thank you...

Last item on the last menu

VX-2000 head hours - What's high/moderate/low?
 

Recently aquired a VX-2000 which has 256 hours on it. Is this moderate, high? 256 isn't the limit of the hour meter, is it (256 being FF in hex)?

How did you determine the head hours since there is no menu to accomplish same?

I had to send it to Sony for servicing and requested they tell me. There's a special tool you can buy for this as well. I forget what its called, there's some posts here about it.

You can use the RM-95 for this. Here's how to get one:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost....42&postcount=5

finding hours on pd150
 

I've never touched a pd150 before but a freind of mine has the chance to buy one for about $1700, and wants to know how to check the hours. He owns a vx 2100 right now and i own a vx2000, so with both know the menu system for those camcorders, but not the pd versions.

Any help would be appricated....and is $1700 a decnet price on them?

The hours meter is the last item in the last menu in the camera.

Everything should be multipled by 10 to get the actual hours (I think it tells you that) except the last value. So if the top number reads 60 then it really is telling you 600 hours.

Thank you.

sony vx2100 have hours meter?
 

i can't remember if the vx2100 has an hours meter measuring its use

i know the pd150/pd170 does.

can anyone point me to which screen w/in the menu would allow me access to the hours menu?

thanks in advance

be well

rob katz
harvest film

No, there isn't a menu item for that on the VX-2000 or 2100. However there is a way to find out if you want to spend a few bucks; get an RM-95. See the following:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?p=181342

Help reading camera hours on pd150
 

Can someone explain what all this stuff means on a pd150.

Operation 41x10h, Drum 18x10h, Tape 10x10h, and threading 72x10h,

operation is how long the camera has been on.
drum is how many times round the drum has run.
tape is how many hours have been recorded.
and i think threading has something to do with how many times the tape has been ejected.. but im not 100% sure on that one.

Reading Camera Lingo
 

Thanks Joe! I thought that was what the operation and tape were but not sure about the others...Now, this may sound stupid but does the " X 10" literally mean "times ten"

In other words, does 41 X 10 mean 410 hours?

Thanks

yes - X 10

please help with hours?quickly
 

is this alot of hours or not?
i dont really understand the x10 thing. is it just multiply by 10 or what

Hour meter:
operation: 30x10
drum: 19x10
tape 10x10
threading: 57x10
thanks for looking and helping

by the way it is a pd150 if that matters

help with hours please? quickly
 

Hour meter:

operation: 30x10
drum: 19x10
tape 10x10
threading: 57x10

is this alot of hours or not?
dont really understand the whole x10 thing
thanks

Those numbers except the threading numbers get multipied by 10 as you surmised. those are very low numbers for a PD150 and, in general, low numbers for any camera.

anyone that can help please

Hi Nate and welcome to DVinfo. I suspect you haven't gotten a response since the thread title was "help with ours" instead of "help with hours" :-) Also, it would help if you give a clue as to what sort of camera you're asking about.

I'm assuming it's probably a PD150/PD170 so I'm moving this thread to the correct forum. But this question comes up a lot so have a look at some of these threads, which our "search" function turned up:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=65523
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=36625
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=29843
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=28263
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=10959

thanks so much

i hope to get the pd150 but i am in the air for a gl2 also.
i had a gl1 and liked it but it seemed too old.

frankly I would go with the 150 not just because I'm a Sony kind of guy but look at the features of the 2 cameras.
The 150 has bigger chips than the GL2, it has superior low light capabilities over the GL2, it has easier and more control over the image than the GL2. Other than that, I guess they're pretty close ;-)

Go for the Sony, I think you'll be very happy with it.

Don

thanks i think i will get a vx2000. i have usually had real good luck with sony as i have alot of sony stuff(dvdplayer,tv,ect.)
thanks so much

Hey Nate. FWIW, the VX-2000 and GL-2 don't provide any way to tell you how many hours are on the camera. That feature is only available on the PD-150, PD-170, PDX-10 and HVR-Z1.

i know i just am looking to spend about 1400.
i am just wieghing my options

determining hours on a vx2000
 

I've often heard people say they have "low hours" on their camcorder or even give the amount of hours. Is there a feature on the camcorder that determines the hours used?

thanks,
nancy

Unfortunately there isn't an easy way to do this on a VX-2000. The PD-150, PD-170, PDX-10, HVR-Z1, HVR-V1 and HVR-A1 have this feature but their consumer "cousins" don't.

Sony used to made a wired remote control which connected to the camera via the LANC jack. It had an LCD display on it and could be used to read the hours (see: http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/rm95.html). Unfortunately, I don't believe it's available anymore. However a service center which works on Sony cameras might have one.