My old VHS video camera appears to have a problem of some sort. I haven't used it in quite a while and when I powered it up today (using the A/C adapter) the power light came on and the screen in the view finder illuminated (like a tv w/ no signal), but no picture. Anyone have any suggestions as to what could be the problem? As far as I could tell, all of the switches were in the correct positions. Thanks in advance for the info.

Blue: The view finder is in fact a little TV. You say you have not used in quite a while, I'm not sure what quite a while is but I can tell you the worst thing you can do to a TV is let it sit unused. There is a cathode gun that fires electrons at the back of the picture tube to cause the phosphor there to glow in varying amounts of brightness which your eye perceives as an image. Over a period of time of non use the effectiveness of the gun will deteriorate and, if left long enough, cease to function all together. Sometimes just turning the set on, or camera in this case will restore the screen and gun to some or all of its ability. Sometimes not. The other problem you may have is the receptors in the CCT, or charge coupled device. That is the device that actually peers through the lens, reads and converts the light and color to electrical information that can be written onto the tape. This device can suffer from the same problem from non use. Try turning the camera on and leaving it for a long period of time, but move it about from time to time so it is not looking at the same image all the time. If this does not help......well there are newer, much smaller cameras available for a fairly reasonable price.

sae, after leaving the camera on for an extended period over the weekend - plus some on/off experiments, still no picture when used as a camera. It does function as a VCR, allowing playback through the viewfinder crt. I guess it's the CCT to which you referred, huh? Oh well, it's well over ten years old and has recorder untold hours of soccer, softball, cheering, dance, graduations, weddings and many other family moments. It's probably cost prohibitive to have repaired so I may get out some small screw drivers on a rainy Saturday and go exploring. Thanks for the information.

A very valuable piece of info, Blue. You say it will record information and then you can view it on the CRT, this may be a good thing. I assume that the tape will then play in your home VCR. This indicates that the camera is working as designed and the problem then is in viewing the field you intend to record on the CRT. When in the record mode the CRT should see the signal from the CCD as you record and it is not. You are very right about a repair being cost prohibitive. I would guess you would be in the $100.- $200. range at a minimum. With new 8mm cameras available $300.-$400. for base models it is kind of a no brainer as to the choice. I know I hate to dispose of obsolete equipment. Heck, I still have (and use) a Sony Super Beta machine among others.

I may have misled you with my previous post. The camera when used as a VCR will play a tape and is viewable through the view finder. It does NOT record and for that matter the manual zoom doesn't even work. A glimmer of hope though. The last time I switched it on, the date/time/batt and a picture were briefely visible in the view finder. Maybe after sufficient on/off sessions it'll heal itself (one can always hope). I can relate to you not wanting to dispose of 'stuff'. I've engineered modifications and fixes on the fly with things I've not discarded. My wife, on the other hand, is of the opinion that if 'it' doesn't totally function - get rid of it. Our next move will be a battle over what goes with us and what gets pitched. Thanks again.