I just ordered a PD-170

Dave Largent · February 13th, 2004, 01:27 PM

Here's my bad NTSC #: 1,111,894.

Craig Seeman · February 13th, 2004, 01:35 PM

Here's my good Serial Number
11110438

It's from the bottom of the camera.

Dave, it's odd that my serial number has one more digit that yours.

Brandon Payte · February 13th, 2004, 03:08 PM

My serial number for the no buz PD-170 is in the 1112 series.

Dave Largent · February 16th, 2004, 12:53 PM

You're right Craig. Here's the correct serial number
for my bad one: 11, 111, 894.
It's interesting that your good one has a lower number than my bad one.

Mike Rehmus · February 16th, 2004, 12:56 PM

From what I undersand, this was a random problem caused by paint under a screw-head which didn't allow proper grounding of a shield. So it is quite possible that some units did not have a grounding problem.

Cameron Stainton · February 20th, 2004, 01:22 AM

I have 1110406...no problems(fingers crossed)

Lou Bruno · February 20th, 2004, 07:45 AM

Distributor advised us that many of the sub serial# SONY's have been returned and fixed then redistributed back to the wholesalers.

Dave Largent · February 24th, 2004, 01:56 PM

Well, I just received the 170 back from Sony Pro.
It had been over two weeks since it went out
Express Over Night. I called them up to inquire. It took them awhile to find the status of the camera,
but they located it in the shipping department,
waiting to be sent out. It had been there
for one week, just sitting around.
Rather than send it overnite, as I had sent
it to them, they sent it normal ground,
which took four days.
The "work performed" slip says "repaired the
low level hum, unit is working properly".
I immediatly used the PD shipping box to send
out a VX to Armatos for repair of a loose
3.5mm external mic socket. I'm trying to get two
cameras working at once, but I have to keep
atleast one around, enen if it has a problem --
can't have two out at once.
Incidently, I had originally contacted Sony regarding
the VX mic socket repair and was told I'd need to send
it in for an estimate, and then it could take three weeks
to repair, not including transit time. Mike suggested
Armatos. They were friendly and prompt on the
phone, giving me an estimate and saying the repair
would be two to three days. They also mentioned that
they get a lot of VXs in with that problem -- that it's
a very common problem.
Anyways, went to check out the PD and, guess what,
it came back to me no different than it went out! The
buzzing is still there!
Just to make sure I wasn't imagining it, I had my girlfriend
help me with a test. I put on headphones and closed my
eyes. She would open and close the LCD door at random,
and I'd raise a finger up when I'd hear the buzz, and
lower the finger when it would go away. She said I
was exactly *on*, with when the LCD light would go
on or off. And the buzzing varies with the angle of the
door. My VX2000 does *not* have this problem.
So I'm not very happy at all.
I have not yet tested whether this buzz is recorded to
tape. Suppose that's the next step.
Perhaps someone with a 170 could do me a favor.
Listen in a quiet room with headphones, with manual
gain set above 50% or 75%, with headphone volume
up. Is a sound like a fly or mosquito buzzing around
normal?
And the kicker to all this is that I just received a letter
from Sony in which they pass along the Fed Ex shipping
bill for the 170 -- the bill that Fed Ex sent to Sony -- to
me! They want me to pay the $30 shipping! And Sony
is the one that originally gave me the Fed Ex number to
give at Fed Ex when I returned the camera for repair!
I'm bummin'.

Joel Ruggiero · February 24th, 2004, 03:35 PM

jeez that sucks i am planning on getting a pd170 this coming summer or fall hopefully sony will get there act together

Mike Rehmus · February 24th, 2004, 05:46 PM

Call support, not the Atlanta dufuses and politely but firmly tell them that you want a new camera and see what they say. And tell them you are NOT going to pay the shipping bill.

At the very least, tell them and email them the entire sequence of events including the stupid delays. If they won't compensate you by swapping cameras, then ask them how they are going to compensate you while they arrange for FedEx pickup from you, high-speed repair by them and FedEx next morning delivery.

Don't let them off the hook. If the first person you talk to won't help, take it up the line. Ask to speak with their manager and so on. Somewhere up the management chain, someone at Sony does care how they are perceived.

Cameron Stainton · February 24th, 2004, 08:16 PM

Dave
Really sorry to hear about your troubles. Sony needs to step up to the plate and get a new camera to you....ASAP!
As to the buzzing..I have used headphones in a quiet room with the camera in the VCR and in the Camera mode, opened the LCD and set the volume to max...no sound at all. (gain was at max-18db)

Hans Kuipers · February 25th, 2004, 01:10 PM

cameron : was this test with no microphone plugged into the xlr jackets????

Cameron Stainton · February 25th, 2004, 06:34 PM

Actually Hans, I tried it both with and without the Mic attached.
I may have mis-spoken....by no sound at all I mean that there was certainly no buzzing.

Mike Rehmus · February 25th, 2004, 06:49 PM

Folks you have to ground the inputs before you can truly tell the noise levels of the camera audio circuits. Probably won't take care of the buzz but it will stop the noise that is generated by floating input circuits.

Paul Chun · February 29th, 2004, 12:23 PM

Paul,

I'm in Hawaii and the local Sony service center is really of no help. I'm thinking about calling the Sony Pro service and see what they can do for me. My problem is that I need my camera. I'm sure all of us here need our cameras! I understand that Sony will pay for all shipping? How long is the turnaround time? I also read the post where the 170's came back and they still had the same problem. That totally sucks! Anyway, any info and suggestions you can give me would be appreciated.

February 16th, 2004, 12:56 PM	#50
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	From what I undersand, this was a random problem caused by paint under a screw-head which didn't allow proper grounding of a shield. So it is quite possible that some units did not have a grounding problem. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

February 20th, 2004, 07:45 AM	#52
Lou Bruno Go Cycle Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Huntington, NY Posts: 815	Distributor advised us that many of the sub serial# SONY's have been returned and fixed then redistributed back to the wholesalers. __________________ Lou Bruno

February 24th, 2004, 01:56 PM	#53
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	Continuing saga of my trouble with PD170 ... Well, I just received the 170 back from Sony Pro. It had been over two weeks since it went out Express Over Night. I called them up to inquire. It took them awhile to find the status of the camera, but they located it in the shipping department, waiting to be sent out. It had been there for one week, just sitting around. Rather than send it overnite, as I had sent it to them, they sent it normal ground, which took four days. The "work performed" slip says "repaired the low level hum, unit is working properly". I immediatly used the PD shipping box to send out a VX to Armatos for repair of a loose 3.5mm external mic socket. I'm trying to get two cameras working at once, but I have to keep atleast one around, enen if it has a problem -- can't have two out at once. Incidently, I had originally contacted Sony regarding the VX mic socket repair and was told I'd need to send it in for an estimate, and then it could take three weeks to repair, not including transit time. Mike suggested Armatos. They were friendly and prompt on the phone, giving me an estimate and saying the repair would be two to three days. They also mentioned that they get a lot of VXs in with that problem -- that it's a very common problem. Anyways, went to check out the PD and, guess what, it came back to me no different than it went out! The buzzing is still there! Just to make sure I wasn't imagining it, I had my girlfriend help me with a test. I put on headphones and closed my eyes. She would open and close the LCD door at random, and I'd raise a finger up when I'd hear the buzz, and lower the finger when it would go away. She said I was exactly on, with when the LCD light would go on or off. And the buzzing varies with the angle of the door. My VX2000 does not have this problem. So I'm not very happy at all. I have not yet tested whether this buzz is recorded to tape. Suppose that's the next step. Perhaps someone with a 170 could do me a favor. Listen in a quiet room with headphones, with manual gain set above 50% or 75%, with headphone volume up. Is a sound like a fly or mosquito buzzing around normal? And the kicker to all this is that I just received a letter from Sony in which they pass along the Fed Ex shipping bill for the 170 -- the bill that Fed Ex sent to Sony -- to me! They want me to pay the $30 shipping! And Sony is the one that originally gave me the Fed Ex number to give at Fed Ex when I returned the camera for repair! I'm bummin'.

February 24th, 2004, 05:46 PM	#55
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Call support, not the Atlanta dufuses and politely but firmly tell them that you want a new camera and see what they say. And tell them you are NOT going to pay the shipping bill. At the very least, tell them and email them the entire sequence of events including the stupid delays. If they won't compensate you by swapping cameras, then ask them how they are going to compensate you while they arrange for FedEx pickup from you, high-speed repair by them and FedEx next morning delivery. Don't let them off the hook. If the first person you talk to won't help, take it up the line. Ask to speak with their manager and so on. Somewhere up the management chain, someone at Sony does care how they are perceived. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

February 25th, 2004, 06:49 PM	#59
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Folks you have to ground the inputs before you can truly tell the noise levels of the camera audio circuits. Probably won't take care of the buzz but it will stop the noise that is generated by floating input circuits. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

February 13th, 2004, 01:27 PM	#46
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	Here's my bad NTSC #: 1,111,894.

February 13th, 2004, 01:35 PM	#47
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Here's my good Serial Number 11110438 It's from the bottom of the camera. Dave, it's odd that my serial number has one more digit that yours.

February 13th, 2004, 03:08 PM	#48
Brandon Payte Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Tx Posts: 41	My serial number for the no buz PD-170 is in the 1112 series.

February 16th, 2004, 12:53 PM	#49
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	You're right Craig. Here's the correct serial number for my bad one: 11, 111, 894. It's interesting that your good one has a lower number than my bad one.

February 20th, 2004, 01:22 AM	#51
Cameron Stainton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Carbondale, CO Posts: 22	I have 1110406...no problems(fingers crossed)

February 24th, 2004, 03:35 PM	#54
Joel Ruggiero Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Buffalo,NY Posts: 167	jeez that sucks i am planning on getting a pd170 this coming summer or fall hopefully sony will get there act together

February 24th, 2004, 08:16 PM	#56
Cameron Stainton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Carbondale, CO Posts: 22	Dave Really sorry to hear about your troubles. Sony needs to step up to the plate and get a new camera to you....ASAP! As to the buzzing..I have used headphones in a quiet room with the camera in the VCR and in the Camera mode, opened the LCD and set the volume to max...no sound at all. (gain was at max-18db)

February 25th, 2004, 01:10 PM	#57
Hans Kuipers Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 61	cameron : was this test with no microphone plugged into the xlr jackets????

February 25th, 2004, 06:34 PM	#58
Cameron Stainton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Carbondale, CO Posts: 22	Actually Hans, I tried it both with and without the Mic attached. I may have mis-spoken....by no sound at all I mean that there was certainly no buzzing.

February 29th, 2004, 12:23 PM	#60
Paul Chun Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 132	Paul, I'm in Hawaii and the local Sony service center is really of no help. I'm thinking about calling the Sony Pro service and see what they can do for me. My problem is that I need my camera. I'm sure all of us here need our cameras! I understand that Sony will pay for all shipping? How long is the turnaround time? I also read the post where the 170's came back and they still had the same problem. That totally sucks! Anyway, any info and suggestions you can give me would be appreciated.