Faulty Sony HC42E

[gkw]

Can anyone recommend a camcorder repairer. Whilst in record mode I get a series of white vertical lines on a dark background in both the viewfinder and LCD screen. When I point the camcorder at something bright this dark background becomes lighter but there is no real image. In playback mode the recording is as described. If I put in a tape which was made before this fault developed the playback through viewfinder and LCD is perfect. Anyone know what problem might be and good repairer?
Thanks.

[Andy98765]

Try fast forward of the tape, then fast rewind before using.

[gkw]

The fault remains the same, whether there is a tape in or not!

[arNika]

This sounds like 'black screen of death' to me.

I've been looking but can't find the thread about it, but I've just got my Sony back from the Sony repair centre this morning and it works fine now after displaying the same symptoms as yours.

It started as vertical black and white lines, then after a week or so went totally black.

It was totally free of charge, no postage either, and was turned around in two weeks, with easter included.

If anyone can find info please post it! I've only just been through it and can't find the info anymore, I hope they haven't removed it from their site.

I'd also like to say 'cheers, Sony'.

[gkw]

Thanks. I took it to local shop. He stated the aperture of the lens was fixed wide open and he could see the CCD. Cost to repair about £120. The guy seemed genuine enough. One of his sales staff tried to get me to buy a new camcorder but he stated the cost of repair would be less than replacement and the camera would not have same spec as mine. Decided to bite bullet and pay for repair.