Panasonic DMR-EX75/85 U81 Error Repaired / Solved

Hallo macklij, habe auch die Fehlermeldung U81, jedoch am Panasonic DMR-EX80SEG. Servicemanual von Panasonic ist vorhanden, aber von der Sat Main P.C.B. Platine ist kein Schaltplan vorhanden. Der Elko C9112 680µF war aufgeplatzt. Den Eklo habe ich erneuert, jedoch die Fehlermeldung U81 erscheint noch immer. Ich bitte um einen Schaltplan von der Sat Main P.C.B. Platine .

Mit freundlichen Grüssen
Hely0013

Please use English if you can - Thanks.

Hello macklij have. The U81 error message, but the Panasonic DMR-EX80SEG Panasonic Service Manual is available, but from the satellite PCB Main PCB schematic is not available. The 680μF capacitor C9112 had burst. The Eklo I renewed, but the error message still appears U81. I ask for a diagram of the Sun Main PCB circuit board

Replace the 100μF capacitor that is nearby to C9112.
If you still have U81 after that, you need to replace IC1508
 
Hi, I have a Panasonic DMR EZ25 and I've got the U81 error. I've bought the 2 capacitors and chip to repair with. But unfortunately this hasn't worked. Most likely due to my first attempt at soldering. Although for only £4 what I paid for the replacement parts on eBay it was worth a try. It was going in the bin anyway.

My question is - I have a few DVD's that I hadn't finalised prior to the machine breaking. Will I be able to finalise these in a new panasonic machine? Or if not, anybody able to finalise them for me?

I've had 2 panasonic DVD recorders in the last 5 years, they don't seem to last very long.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Hi, I have a Panasonic DMR EZ25 and I've got the U81 error. I've bought the 2 capacitors and chip to repair with. But unfortunately this hasn't worked. Most likely due to my first attempt at soldering. Although for only £4 what I paid for the replacement parts on eBay it was worth a try. It was going in the bin anyway.

My question is - I have a few DVD's that I hadn't finalised prior to the machine breaking. Will I be able to finalise these in a new panasonic machine? Or if not, anybody able to finalise them for me?

I've had 2 panasonic DVD recorders in the last 5 years, they don't seem to last very long.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome to the forum.

Yes you should be able to finalise the discs in a new machine - provided it is a Panasonic.

Poor ventilation (and therefore heat build-up) shortens the life of machines drastically, so if that is the problem, see if you can do something about it... e.g. put spacers in if you have machines/ boxes in a stack.
 
Hi, thanks for reply.

I do have a freesat box sat on top of the DVD recorder, maybe that limits it's ventilation a little, thanks for the tip.

Would I be able to finalise the DVDs in any Panasonic recorder or would it have to be a certain model?
 
Hi, thanks for reply.

I do have a freesat box sat on top of the DVD recorder, maybe that limits it's ventilation a little, thanks for the tip.

Would I be able to finalise the DVDs in any Panasonic recorder or would it have to be a certain model?

Any Panasonic DVD recorder should be OK.
 
I wasn't sure as my previous DVD recorder was a panasonic and when that broke it left me with a few unfinalised DVDs that I couldn't play in my replacement DMR EZ25.

Maybe things have moved on a bit now and you can with the new models... Fingers crossed!

Has anyone actually tried this?

Thanks again.
 
Hi guys. I have a new DVD Recorder now, not my choice but it was a gift. But it's not a Panasonic and I'm still stuck with 2 unfinalised DVD's. Does anyone on here have a Panasonic Recorder and would anyone be kind enough to finalise 2 DVD's for me please?
 
Hi everybody,

I am new at this forum.
Fist of all thanks for all the stuff you posted before. It is easily described and helped me a lot. But finally the error still exists at my DMR-EX85. :(

What I did so far, sumarized:
- Bought the repair kit from ebay (IC and the two capacitators)
- Soldered the old parts out and the new parts in (and yes, I kept in mind + and -)
- Checked with a multimeter if the newly soldered connections are ok and power can run through
- Reassembled the parts and plugged in the power cable

-> The DMR says "Hello" for maybe 1 minute and then goes into standby. When pressing the power button, it displays also "Hello" with the DVD symbol glowing. Then the "U81" apprears.
-> The measured voltage at pin 7 is about 0.002 volts, means near zero.

I checked all the cable connections and the soldered connections again and again, but everything seems ok. There are also no rests of solder that could cause short circuits. The new Cs themselves also seem to be ok.

Below you can see the beautiful result of my work. :).
The link between one IC pin and the resistor (blue circle) should not irritate you. I nearly killed the contact on the PCB (I was careful but there are such days...) and so I made a direct connection to the next part in the chain, that is the resistor.
What seems confusing to me is the following: The red circle shows the pins where the C1533 is placed. But even if this cap is removed, there is a short circuit between the two pins. I followed the circuit path at the board and the only part between the two contacts, as far as I can see, is the L1502. So I wonder what is the reason for the capacitator at all.

attachment.php




Do you have any ideas? Maybe I habe killed something inside the IC due to the heat of the soldering iron? I am running out of concepts...
 

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Welcome to the forum.


Hi everybody,

I am new at this forum.
Fist of all thanks for all the stuff you posted before. It is easily described and helped me a lot. But finally the error still exists at my DMR-EX85. :(

What I did so far, sumarized:
- Bought the repair kit from ebay (IC and the two capacitators)
- Soldered the old parts out and the new parts in (and yes, I kept in mind + and -)
- Checked with a multimeter if the newly soldered connections are ok and power can run through
- Reassembled the parts and plugged in the power cable

-> The DMR says "Hello" for maybe 1 minute and then goes into standby. When pressing the power button, it displays also "Hello" with the DVD symbol glowing. Then the "U81" apprears.
-> The measured voltage at pin 7 is about 0.002 volts, means near zero.

I checked all the cable connections and the soldered connections again and again, but everything seems ok. There are also no rests of solder that could cause short circuits. The new Cs themselves also seem to be ok.

Below you can see the beautiful result of my work. :).
The link between one IC pin and the resistor (blue circle) should not irritate you. I nearly killed the contact on the PCB (I was careful but there are such days...) and so I made a direct connection to the next part in the chain, that is the resistor.
What seems confusing to me is the following: The red circle shows the pins where the C1533 is placed. But even if this cap is removed, there is a short circuit between the two pins. I followed the circuit path at the board and the only part between the two contacts, as far as I can see, is the L1502. So I wonder what is the reason for the capacitor at all.

The -ve side of C1533 is grounded.
The positive comes from one side of L1502
The other side of L1502 goes to the cathode of Diode D1504, the anode of which is grounded... in other words this will show as a leakage path depending on the polarity of your meter.


Do you have any ideas? Maybe I habe killed something inside the IC due to the heat of the soldering iron? I am running out of concepts...

The IC looks a little skewed to me. I cannot make out completely due to the limitations of the photo - but something that looks very like the foot of pin 1 of the IC seems proud ( and not 'wetted' into pad 1) ...and possibly contacting the pad of pin 2.

Killing the IC with too much heat is certainly a possibility. Each pad should be contacted for just a few seconds max and then allowed to cool before doing the next.
 
Thanks Gavtech!

The IC looks a little skewed to me. I cannot make out completely due to the limitations of the photo - but something that looks very like the foot of pin 1 of the IC seems proud ( and not 'wetted' into pad 1) ...and possibly contacting the pad of pin 2.
You are right, the photo quality isnt that good due to limitations of the camera (and my skills, I think :p). I only attached it because of my confusion with C1533.
But the connections themselves are alright as I have checked with the meter. There are also no "bridges" between the pins.

The -ve side of C1533 is grounded.
The positive comes from one side of L1502
The other side of L1502 goes to the cathode of Diode D1504, the anode of which is grounded... in other words this will show as a leakage path depending on the polarity of your meter.
That is interesting. When I solder out the C1533 and check the path with the meter, it beeps at each polarity. Maybe the diaode D1504 is broken? Verifying at other diods on the board, the polarity is the important thing.
I will check if I can find one in my dad's collection of old electronic parts...

Killing the IC with too much heat is certainly a possibility. Each pad should be contacted for just a few seconds max and then allowed to cool before doing the next.
Yea...I feared it. If the diode replacement does not work, I will maybe order a new IC on ebay and try it once more with more care (hope the pads will survive ;)).
 
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Yea...I feared it. If the diode replacement does not work, I will maybe order a new IC on ebay and try it once more with more care (hope the pads will survive ;)).

Good luck - and do let us know how you get on. I don't have an EX85 anymore, but occasionally have a look at the thread.
 
Hi all,
as I did not find any diode and did not have the time to visit an specialized shop, I ordered a new repair kit on ebay to replace the IC once more.
The good thing: The pads survived
The bad point: I am sure that I did not overheat the IC this time but the U81 error still exists :mad:

I will try to get a new diode from somewhere. But in the meantime: Do you have any suggestions where I can do some measurement to locate the bad part?

As an engineer in media technology I have some basic background in electronics, but at university the course "analogue electronics" was more a mathematical lecture than a practical training. ;)
 
Hi!
After a blackout, I've got the U81 error... I have disassembled the recorded and found that the 1530 capacitor has broken (I had already changed the other one of the DVB-T receiver). The IC has just a little spot in the correspondence of the first pin -honestly, if I had not seen all the pictures of the broken ICs, I would have thought that it was ok, but just to be sure I will change it.
I have already ordered the IC on ebay (no fast shipping available, damn it!) and in 3-6 days I should receive it and see if the recorder resuscitates again. These components must have been really been pushing to their rating limit if they all fail in the same way, shame on the engineer who calculated the power supply!
I will let you know if it works, in the meanwhile thanks for the very good guide.
 
My recorder is back to work! The fix worked, I have changed the IC and the capacitor and the error has disappeared. Thanks a lot for the guide!
 
I suddenly have a 'U81' code in the display of my DMR-EX85, after simply unplugging the machine for 20 minutes, this morning. Pressing the power button off and on does not solve the problem.

However - and this may be a crucial piece of info - I also have a DMR-EH60D on a shelf below and it suddenly displayed 'U81' as well at one point this morning (I have never known this machine to display this fault code before). Pressing the power button off and then on solved it, however.

I have heard 'U81' can be shown for many reasons, including if there is an external issue, or a temporary signal problem of some kind. Both machines are connected to the same aerial.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
I suddenly have a 'U81' code in the display of my DMR-EX85, after simply unplugging the machine for 20 minutes, this morning. Pressing the power button off and on does not solve the problem.

However - and this may be a crucial piece of info - I also have a DMR-EH60D on a shelf below and it suddenly displayed 'U81' as well at one point this morning (I have never known this machine to display this fault code before). Pressing the power button off and then on solved it, however.

I have heard 'U81' can be shown for many reasons, including if there is an external issue, or a temporary signal problem of some kind. Both machines are connected to the same aerial.

Any help would be appreciated.
That is an intriguing coincidence.

My guess is that the EX85 has reached the U81, in the way that many do , and it now requires the standard U81 fix.
I am also guessing that some of the data gibberish that causes such an error code to be generated has reached the EH60D through the system interconnects ( There is an IC2 bus data interlinking chips even when connected by scart)... and which has triggered the error code there... but which has been re-settable as it does not have a real problem.
 
Thanks, Gavtech. This is a job I will leave to my local authorised Panasonic repairer, as it is too fiddly and intricate for my level of expertise. Hopefully, they will be able to acquire all the necessary parts themselves.

The only connections to the back of the EH60, at the time, was its mains supply and an RF lead connected to the RF in (this lead connected directly from the RF out of the EX85).

I have many important hard drive recordings on the EX85, which I would like to transfer onto DVDs. I hope that it can be fixed without a problem, and that it doesn't require me to resort to having to acquire a second-hand EX85, and get them to transplant my hard drive into another EX85.

I do find it incredible, and also worrying, that just by simply switching off the machine (by the mains plug switch - and not by pulling out the plug) has caused such problems. It makes me very fearful of needing to disconnect the mains from this machine for any reason, in future.
 
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Hi guys,

excellent guide thanks a lot.
I have got all parts last week and I finally managed to give it a go. I should have not! At least not today...
I was quite pissed up and it was a shitty day and I was rush the ic off and damaged the two legs.

Could anybody tell me where are they connected? Or should I bin the whole thing?

Thanks guys!

14vld0i.jpg
 
By 'damaged the two legs', I presume you mean that you lost the two copper lands on the PCB where the legs of the IC should connect.

You have nothing to lose by trying to patch a fix.

This is not easy to depict but I've drawn on your original picture to try to give an indication.

Pin 1 of the IC has no connection coming outwards from the body of the IC.
Instead the pin 1 pad goes underneath the IC ( shown in pink ) and emerges to connect to one leg each of L1501 and C1530

Pin 2 ( shown in grey) coming out from the IC connects directly to the chip capacitor C1529.
But it also backtracks under the IC to connect to legs of QR1502 and R1513.

EX75-85 IC1508 Pins 1 and 2.jpg
 
Second attempt - I don't know if this is any clearer or not - but you may as well have it.

EX75-85 IC1508 Pins 1 and 2 Ver 2.jpg
 
Second attempt - I don't know if this is any clearer or not - but you may as well have it.

THANK YOU!
Probably you've saved my life - my wife would have just butchered me...

Is that OK if I scratch off some paint and solder a wire to each of the red dots from the legs?

1zyhutk.jpg
 
Is that OK if I scratch off some paint and solder a wire to each of the red dots from the legs?

Just measured it and the answer is no.
For pin 1 is fine but for pin 2 I will need 2 wires to connect to C1529.

Thanks again, you have just made my day (and hopefully it'll work :thumbsup:)
 
Here is a suggestion.
I would be mindful of the number of lands that need to be crossed... so using fine insulated wire you could connect as picture - using the existing component connections on the distant lands.
Make the connection on QR1502 very quick if you use this method. You could kill it with too much heat.

EX75-85 IC1508 Routings.jpg
 
Here is a suggestion.
I would be mindful of the number of lands that need to be crossed... so using fine insulated wire you could connect as picture - using the existing component connections on the distant lands.
Make the connection on QR1502 very quick if you use this method. You could kill it with too much heat.

Thanks Gavtech for spoon feeding me!
I am too ashamed to post the picture of the actual soldering but have a look at this!!

2in4ua.jpg

Thanks guys (especially Gavtech) to save my face :clap:
 

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