HDR-Fox T2 completely dead

armadale9

New Member
I removed the front panel to take off the orange filter following the instruction on this forum, and when I re-assembled it the box is now completely dead. Nothing happens at all. I measured the power supply and there is approx. 12v and 6v (both seem to fluctuate) on the pins. Is it possible I have damaged the front panel or maybe pushing and pulling the board connectors has caused damage (eg crack in the copper somewhere)? I checked the voltages on the front panel connector and on pins 2 and 3 there was 5v with the connector removed but only 2.1v when plugged in, is that normal?. Most of the board seemed to have no voltages anywhere other than near the power connector, but it is very difficult to check as the components are tiny. Any suggestions gratefully received.
 
The front panel is critical to powering up the HDR-FOX, so I guess you've buggered something.
 
Although I was very careful, that is what I concluded. Looks like I should find a replacement front panel. Do you think the main board may have got damaged with pushing and pulling the connectors?
 
Looks like I should find a replacement front panel.
Probably easier just to source a second-hand HDR-FOX and move into it.

Do you think the main board may have got damaged with pushing and pulling the connectors?
Impossible to say without inspection, but the board is fitted with latched connectors so it shouldn't have needed much pushing and pulling.

To prepare for removal: disconnect the cables from the main circuit board (pink arrows below - both connectors have lever latches); remove the machine screw securing the earth strap (green arrow); remove three machine screws securing the front panel moulding to the main chassis (blue arrows). Note that the centre screw is missing on the unit illustrated, and possibly has not been fitted on any units.
 
Thanks very much for your comments. I found the main front panel connector was very tight, even holding the latch released it required quite a lot of pulling to get it undone and pushing to get it back. The USB connector was much easier. Maybe I will follow your advice and find another HDR.
 
I just checked: it's a pinch and a wiggle. Not too hard at all, but easier to access with my left hand.
 
Thanks for that. I found that when I pinched and pulled, the socket was so tight my hand tended to slip up to the wires, so maybe my socket was much tighter than it should be. It also required a very firm push to put it back.
 
I have the advantage of years of experience. Pulling or pushing connectors with straight pressure is hard because there are multiple points of contact (2x96-way in some cases I've worked with). By easing one way and then the other, you gain some mechanical advantage.

I learned that the first time I tried to extract a prototype card from a rack - it didn't have a faceplate with the lever extractors (it was just a bare card) so I had to grip the card itself, and the solder joints hadn't been shaved so the pins on the back stood a bit proud... I ended up with a series of cuts on my finger tips 0.1" apart.
 
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