HS243 Sony FDR AX43 camcorder £5 touch screen fix !!

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Oh my Paul. Not for the faint hearted. I can now see why Sony charged me an arm and a leg when I had to send my old Sony camcorder for repair. Sadly it never operated as when new. I take my hat off to the design and construction of these marvels of miniaturisation. Well done on being so brave and capable. 👏👏👍😀

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi Andrew they are amazing cameras, both video and audio. They may be the only consumer cam with a built-in gimbal. Brilliant.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

@@HaxbyShedIt was amazing to see the inbuilt gimbal. Sign of quality indeed.

[@chrisarmstrong8198]

That was one complicated disassembly. I admire your courage to even attempt it. Imagine how much effort it took to design all those intricate parts of the puzzle.

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi Chris yes it's a very sophisticated clever camera. I've since discovered I can link the two cams with WiFi so I can control both from one - that's a built-in function no extra bits required. Cheers

[@philhermetic]

Brave work Paul, and a good outcome! Not easy if your eyes, like mine, have seen better days!! Phil

[@HaxbyShed]

Phil, that's why I have the cheater lens (magnifier) in my TIG mask 😁😎

[@philhermetic]

@@HaxbyShed i must try one!!!! No work today, feeling bloody awful with a cold courtesy if my dear brother ! May actually be feeling slightly better but it might just be the parcodeine!!

[@HaxbyShed]

@@philhermetic Some of these ailments are really dragging on this year. I've been fine but my son has been down with something for a month now. He's working but feeling pretty rough. Cheers

[@philhermetic]

@@HaxbyShed my brother has covid, and generously gave me some! No video this week, but feeling much better today, but still testing positive:-(

[@lv_woodturner3899]

Wow, a complicated puzzle to dis-assemble and then try and remember how to re-assemble. Well done. A lot of tiny screws and delicate parts. Glad you got the old camera back to operation. I hope I never have to attempt a repair on my Panasonic camera. Dave.

[@HaxbyShed]

HI Dave, I did not want to write off an expensive cam for what could be a trivial fault so I kept plugging away at it. Sony would charge £55 (US$70) an hour plus postage plus parts - as it turned out maybe not a massive bill but I did not know how big a job it would be. Painful to buy another camera but now I will experiment with two (multicam shots). They link via wifi so the screen on one camera can control both. Cheers

[@davidberlanny3308]

Hi Paul, really well done, not only you fixed the fault but you were able to explain what to do step by step. You've got a good back up camera now. In my time making printheads for chart recorders we had printed flexible cables, these were effectively hinges so any damage in production could lead to early life failures. It was my job to decide if they could be used or not. Each one I rejected I would keep as record ... I had a folder full of them!! So you're right, those creases are very likely to have caused damage. They are amazing pieces of engineering though. A fascinating video. All the best!!

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi David, it's unbelievable that they can they can make those printed cables and send them half way around the world, and still make profit for £5 total. Cheers

[@davidberlanny3308]

@@HaxbyShed Yes, that is unbelievable. If someone sends me something, a gift, I get stung for about the same just for customs. Cost me quite a bit to get a door handle for my wife's Fiat 500. Maybe being so small goes classed as something else? China is a real mix, huge modern cars at the crossings next to peasants with everything loaded up on a push bike. I wonder what it will be like in the future? Cheers

[@russellwall1964]

Well done!! And I totally get your comment about fat fingers. It’s rough handling such tiny delicate parts, but you did quite well and now you have 2 cameras!!

[@HaxbyShed]

Thanks for watching that Russell. A bit off-topic but could save a few expensive cameras from the junk drawer. I have discovered that these cameras will link by wifi and I can control one from the other. Of course you have to have at least two to try - an unexpected benefit from this episode. Cheers

[@coplandjason]

Well done Paul, that's proper open heart surgery there and most definitely not for the faint hearted!

[@HaxbyShed]

Indeed Jason. £600 cam, £5 fix. That's a smug satisfaction ratio of 120:1 , not bad. Cheers

[@lindasmart5099]

If I tried that, the first thing I would have done was upset the container of screws

[@bin_chicken80]

Nice work Paul. @24.26: I may be wrong but I think you need to gently push the cream coloured part of the connector towards the cable after pushing the cable in towards the board and making sure it is fully seated. Some of those type ribbon connectors fold up to release the pressure on the connector and some have a tab that travels towards the connector (like the one shown). If it ever plays up again, that is the first thing that I would check. They are very delicate. I have broken a few. 😅 After about 5 out of hundreds, I figured it out. Great point about folding the ribbon cable to much too.

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi bin_chicken, I studied those connectors for a long time under a magnifying glass (or two) but I really could not figure out how to operate the 'catch'. There are two types of connectors for the ribbon cables in that camera and in the end I decided maybe the other type had sliding catches but these did not. Anyway it seems to work even with the grey connector cover damaged so Phew! So far it's all holding up ok. Cheers

[@samuelfielder]

Blimey! I would never attempt this - and never succeed if I did try it. Well done!

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi Samuel, patience and taking your time are the two main requirements (and eyesight, and steady hands, and being a risk taker, and ... ) Cheers

[@yegereli]

Thank you very much for helping me save my SONY AX53 camera

[@HaxbyShed]

Hey, that's great thank you for the feedback. It would be such a shame to trash a great camera for such a small item. I was determined to find a way to fix it. Cheers

[@Preso58]

Wow! Impressive fix. The built in speaker on my Sony has failed and I did consider taking the camera apart to see if it was full of metal dust but I took one look at all those ittybitty screws and said "Nah!" I would like to have it working so that I can confirm if it's recording. Maybe I should take another look.

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi Mark, not having a speaker is a big annoyance when reviewing video clips near real time unless you wear a headset or ear piece. I think I'd have to fix that. The problem on my cam would be the speaker is behind the last bit of the case to come off - what a darned annoyance! So far I have 3% dislikes and I lost one subscriber on that video. Off-topic videos are dangerous 😁🤣, you can't please everybody. Cheers & thanks for watching.

[@Preso58]

@@HaxbyShed You won't believe this but I started dismantling my camera and after removing all the screws and starting to lever up the plastic shell, I chickened out and put it all back together again. As a last resort, I put the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner over the speaker grill and let it suck for a while. I powered up the camera and the speaker burst into life again. Hallelujah! That's too bad about the dislikes, but I found your video to be interesting and it certainly got me motivated to fix my camera. Regards, Mark

[@HaxbyShed]

​@@Preso58sometimes it just takes a trigger and the brain does the rest. Now every time you use that cam you will smile in satisfaction. Loved your feedback thanks. Cheers

[@TheRecreationalMachinist]

Impressive stuff Paul. In my past life I've had to open up a few pro-sumer camcorders (they still ran on tape then) and I never enjoyed it. The challenge (aside from obtaining parts once the problem was identified) was to get it back together in ex-factory condition, with no screwdriver prise marks visible and no screws left over 😉 I've bought numerous quick release bases so I can move my cameras from place to place without ever troubling the screw in the bottom.

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi Matt, it must be a nightmare fixing those when it's a customer job. A moments loss of concentration and oops! Cheers Paul

[@trollforge]

Awesome Job Paul!

[@HaxbyShed]

Thank you Sir, 👍

[@TheMwilkin]

Good job. I had a vx1 focus packed up, and i ended up binning it after i started doing that . Was being so careful as well, oh well, ax43 now dont like it as much.

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi TheMwilkin, I don't know anything about the Panasonic but I went for the Sony for the built in Gimbal as much as anything. I have found it excellent for my purposes (making KZbin videos for my channel). The closeup zoom and focus are amazing even in poor light. I'm often fully zoomed in on small parts less than 1m away. Cheers

[@LockdownElectronics]

Nice job!

[@HaxbyShed]

Definitely a tricky job. I see quite a few of those advertised on eBay without working screen for about £150- £200. Might be worth a bet for a £5 repair and sell for £400. Cheers

[@mindbogglingtv]

Trying to repair mine as well. I see in 21:11 that the entire hinge was exposed and the entire hinge cover was removed but you never showed it how you were able to do it. Could you please share how you were able to remove it? Thanks!

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi, have a look at 10:20 to remove the outer cover for the hinge. the inner cover (if I recall correctly) comes off with a screw in the centre and then wiggle it out. But is was a while ago now..... Cheers

[@RB-yq7qv]

It pays to look online for any products as mark ups are so over the top from English suppliers. Nice repair work

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi, yes that's become quite a theme (annoyance) for me recently. I've bought some tools recently and during research I found the very same tools, made in China, at a great speed of prices from UK sellers. And also from the same sellers we see the very same tools at quite different prices on different platforms. I know we like to buy from our own countries but not when it's just taking profit on white label goods where the seller is adding zero value. Sometimes it's just somebody drop shipping from a bedroom (running a business from home and holding no stock). Sooner or later buyers will wise up. Cheers

[@yeahitworks]

Thanks for this video. Do you know how to replace the LCD door hinge?, mine is bent and needs a new one.

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi, I'm afraid I don't specifically but it will involve taking that cable off because it wraps around the hinge pivot. Cheers

[@yeahitworks]

​@@HaxbyShed Thanks for looking into this. I've searched everywhere but can't find a video on how to replace this door hinge. Would really help if you can put a video together, I'd really appreciate it!

[@DysonFraudy]

Hey Paul I’ve the same camera same problem, do you do repairs? Price?

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi DysonFraudy, no sorry I don't do repairs for people. I'm strictly amateur DIY for myself only. I can't afford to take the risk. There are companies who will do it for maybe £150(?) I think, or Sony themselves. Cheers

[@DysonFraudy]

@@HaxbyShed thank you for your time to reply, totally understand, top skills you have there I don’t think I’ll be attempting this fix unfortunately, all the best ✌🏼

[@alanremington8500]

Atta boy!!

[@HaxbyShed]

Alan, just setting the job aside and thinking about things without pressure often reveals a new idea or new approach. The brain is a great background processor when off-line (asleep). Cheers

[@alanremington8500]

Indeed; that is why I like your content.

[@thesjyoungjr]

It seems the moral of the story is that creases are bad 😊

[@HaxbyShed]

Hiya, pity I had to strip it down 4 times to finally fix it but yep that was the cause - trying to be too neat. Cheers

[@carlwilson1772]

First.

[@HaxbyShed]

Hi Carl having already changed the flexible cable once I thought the camera was toast but I just could not accept failure and bet another £5, which to my surprise paid off. Cheers