At the shop we perform more than 800 repairs each
year primarily on Sony and Ikegami Betacam camcorders and decks.
Word of mouth among freelance videographers has helped us reach
a point where 70 percent of our client base are national. We do
work for ESPN, the U.S. Navy, NBA Sports among a slew of others.
Having Ikegami Electronics as a client hasn’t hurt.
We’ve been performing warranty deck repairs with them for more than
eight years on the popular HL-V55 and HL-V59 camcorders.
In an effort to help control the annual cost of camcorder
maintenance, (which helps our freelancers become more successful),
we’ve chosen DRS Ahead Technologies as our main supplier of camcorder
replacement heads.
NEW LIFE FOR OLD, AND NOT SO OLD
As a part of normal use, heads buildup material.
That will eventually decrease the head to tape contact and result
in partial or total loss of RF signal recorded on tape. We’ve
all seen it show up as a dropouts, break up and color problems.
Sometimes it’s tape or environmental debris, which
is easy to remove with cleaning fluid and a lint free cloth. Other
times, it’s a stubborn buildup more prevalent with Betacam SP
camcorders.
These internal VTR decks have smaller video drums
with heads that spin faster and "bakes" material on
to the head tips. It’s more frequent on camcorders that use metal
tape. We’ve noticed a distinct drop in the lifespan on many of
these Betacam heads.
Plus, on certain VTRs, original equipment drums
have had a recent history of poor head life when used with some
of the popular tape stocks that tend to be more abrasive.
Predicting exactly when a head will clog is nearly
impossible. So, frequent cleaning is the best, least expensive
and could be the most important task a videographer can do.
Either way, the inevitable is going to happen.
Whether it’s from neglect, engineering, abrasive tape or old age,
those heads are going to need to be replaced.
DRS was the first of the head refurbishers to come
up with a replacement head for Betacam camcorders. In the past
six months, we’ve installed 35 DRS replacement camcorder heads
without a singe report of a head clog.
To top it off, head-tip measurements of the earliest
installed units show remarkably little wear. Not only does the
DRS head have a larger head tip surface, but it also averages
about five microns greater head tip penetration than its factory
replacement. These two factors tend to greatly increase head life
which translates into decreased average head costs.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION OR AN "OUCH"
OF CURE
Good maintenance makes all the difference. The
bulk of our business is from freelancers, who face more problems
than the company guy. Camcorders and tape decks need regular
maintenance and, frankly, there aren’t a lot of places you can
go. But, without it, your business can suffer. Downtime. Emergency
rentals. Re-shoots and the occasional lost client can cost a
lot more than maintenance.
Whether it’s maintenance or remanufacturing,
there’s a lot to consider with your equipment. The quality of
DRS, which exceeds manufacturer specs, fits right into Macie's
concept for providing the best possible service anywhere. Availability
and prompt service has also been a plus for DRS.
It’s all a part of our goal to provide the highest
quality service with the shortest turnaround. DRS and Macie
seem to agree: Happy customers should be the goal in every business.
Roger Macie has an EE from Northeastern University
and has worked as a maintenance engineer at the Christian Science
Monitor, WCVB-TV and WGBH-TV for more than 29 years. He can
be reached at Macie Video Services at 888-MACIEVIDEO, www.macievideo.com
or fixer@broadcastvideo.com.
