Dew Message problem with Sharp VL-Z series (1,3,5,7) camcorder

[Alan Taplow]

Go to: http://ataplow.googlepages.com/sharp-dew-problem
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Sharp DEW Problem

Many VL-Z series (1,3,5,7) cameras show a DEW message and shut down
even when there is no excess moisture - Sharp's recommendations don't
work and the camera is useless till repaired. Commercial repairs are
expensive and often more than a new camera would cost.

Over the past few years, I've had 545 people contact me for a fix to the problem. Here is a place for people to let others know their experience with this problem.

Some have suggested a class action suit - What do you think?

[DougW]

I pulled the little watch battery out and no more Dew warning so far. Just no time/date stamp now.

Now I have a new unrelated problem where every once in awhile the cassette will spin out some tape and jam when I turn the power on. It puts up an error saying eject the tape. I have to hand wind it back up and put it back into the cassette.

[Alan Taplow]

Some other fixes are at:
http://ataplow.googlepages.com/sharp-dew-problem

Not certain what the tape problem is all about - I personally haven't experienced that. Put a new message in the forum and perhaps someone else will have an idea. I'm inviting everyone who ever wrote me about the dew message over the last 3 years, so hopefully there will soon be a many others who may have some similar issues.

Peace,

Alan

Alan Taplow * 802-454-4675 * [e-mail] * Skype: ataplow
web: http://ataplow.googlepages.com/omlet
I create my own reality *** I get what I concentrate on
My power is in the present *** My time for action is now..

[Robert Kruse]

I have reflowed the solder joints on two different cameras, and both continue to show the error with decreased regularity. Before the reflow, removing the watch battery did nothing but reset the time. Now, removing it resets the DEW error and I'm back in business for a while after I reset the time/date. On one camera, I had to resort to putting a big glob of solder over both joints to get the DEW message to go away. Simply reflowing it didn't have any effect.

I get the mangled tape problem once in awhile. Just carefully remove the cassette and free the tape with a long, narrow pointed device like a center punch. DO NOT TOUCH THE TAPE with your fingers!!!! You will get grease on the tape and read/write heads and mess up everything worse than before. If you do touch the tape, don't put it back in the camera except to make a single transfer and then you'll need to run a tape cleaner through your tape deck. Mark the tape as having been touched and put it away for safe keeping. It's just not worth the problems associated with greasy tapes to use it again. It will dirty your heads and likely jam again.

You can retract the excess tape by pushing the release lever on the side of the tape cover, flip up the tape cover, and turn either take up spindle with your fingertip to take up the slack in the tape. If the spindles won't move, take a BIC pen cap and push the clip into a hole in between the spindles to release the catch.

I don't know why it periodically mangles a tape, but it does seem related to overriding the DEW message, so there might be something to the message after all once in a while.

I doubt a class action suit would have much luck so many years after the original owners have bought and likely sold their cameras. It's been about 4 years since these were last sold as new in stores. I agree the problem has merit as a manufacturing flaw, but getting a lawyer to take this on in the hope of a future payout seems remote at best.

[Robert Kruse]

Update: I couldn't get the DEW message to go away on the camera without the large solder glob over the weekend even after removing all batteries, so I had to reflow the contacts again. So far so good.

[Robert Kruse]

Both cameras continue to get the DEW message about every few days of disuse. I have lost count of the number of times I've reflowed the joints. Recently on a shoot with an unexpected DEW, I popped the tape and then all the batteries. DEW wouldn't go away, though. Out of desperation, I snaked my left pinky finger into the tape compartment and rubbed the sensor just a little bit. I put everything back to gether, and DEW was gone. This was no fluke. I've repeated it on both cameras several times since when DEW comes back. I don't know why it works, but it does. I don't recommend putting a grimy fingertip in there, but a relatively clean one didn't seem to harm anything.

[Alan Taplow]

Gee, Robert,
I've been wanting to give the finger to Sharp for a long time.

It certainly seems that the integrity of those connections is intimately related to the dew problem. I'm surprised that repeated reflowing of the solder hasn't cured the problem, but obviously it hasn't. I know that others have reported poking the connections with a screw driver have worked - now we can add a finger to the catalog of cures.

[Robert Kruse]

After missing too many important one time events due to DEW errors, and desiring a more detailed image, I finally made the jump to HDV and bought a new Canon HV30 (my first new, not used, camcorder purchase in 14 years). I miss the swivel grip, the positive latching of the LCD screen when closed, the front facing microphone, the moving arrows when recording, the 37mm filter thread, and the review mode while in camera mode on the Sharp camcorders, but not much else. The HV30 absolutely blows away the old Sharp in image detail, white balance, flexibility, and low light sensitivity. I can also mount either an external light or microphone on it, and both work seamlessly with it. I'll keep the old Sharps as backups when I can get them to work, or to record a second, less important, camera angle.

Because of this, I'll probably be checking in on this forum infrequently from now on.

Thanks for setting up this forum, Alan. It's been good.

[Russ Berger]

I have had some success with touching the solder contacts with a metal letter opener (trying to put some pressure on the solder joint). Usually that worked. Recently, I did get a soldering iron to re-solder that contact. I just heated each of the two contacts very briefly. Seems to work so far.

[D Hahn]

Re-soldering the joints seemed to work, initially. But soon it was no better than before. What seems to be working for me now is pressing hard on the two dew sensor contacts with the edge of a screwdriver while I turn on the camera displaying the "dew" message. Then I turn the unit off, remove the screw driver, and when I turn the unit back on, the dew message is gone. Once I turn the camera off, when I turn the unit back on the dew message may return. So I repeat the steps again with the screwdriver to use the camera once again.

I hate the dew message, but when this camera is working it is my favorite to use. I love that any-angle comfort grip, and it's small size.

My wife and I make fun of the "dew" message, since when it's displayed it will not "dew" anything. They should have instead displayed "don't", or better yet "won't". OR this camcorder is asking to do the "dew", a Mountain Dew. There have been irritating times when I've wanted to pour a nice Mountain Dew into this camcorder in response to its failure to record my "kodak" moments.

[Russ Berger]

Update - after touching a small tip soldering iron to the contacts, this camera has not done the DEW! So that seems to fix it (six months without a problem).

[Lawrence]

after reading the instructions from Alan, tried it, so far so good, tested for 1 week + now and the DEW message doesnt come back anymore.. Thanks Alan...

[Thierry Jousset]

On my side, I had the sensor changed, for 150 euros, here in France.

Now, it works; but the new issue is that the firewire link can't work with Windows Vista, so I cannot get my video on my computer.

What is amazing is that when you search the sharp web sites, it is just like they had never sold one camcorder ! It's clear they just want to forget it !

As a consumer, I swear to never buy again any sharp product !

Thank you for this sharp complaint initiative !