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I dropped it a couple of times (accidentally), and when I sent it to the manufacturer for an estimate (I didn't expect them to do it for free, it was my fault anyway and my warranty had expired), they said it needed a replacement power circuit board and that was going to cost me $185 for parts and labor, that's $25 more than the actual camera cost. I love my little camera, and if there's a cheaper place to fix it, I would do that, but otherwise where's a good place to recycle it? I don't want to just throw it away.

2006-10-01 16:34:36 · 8 answers · asked by angelsong_04 3 in Consumer Electronics Cameras

It won't turn on. That's about all the details I have.

2006-10-03 16:16:12 · update #1

8 answers

Sell it "as is" on eBay. Disclose what actually happened, what your estimate was, and list if for a dollar to cover your auction costs. SOMEONE out there will think they can fix it and buy it from you.

2006-10-01 16:37:52 · answer #1 · answered by Picture Taker 7 · 0 0

Hi there:
I have already had the same problem.
It was with an HP camera.
You should tell more about your camera and what the problem is- does it not turn on? does it not use the power adapter to save batteries? does it turn on but not last long? does it not use the cable to connect to the computer anymore? What is the actual symptom with the camera - and, did the problem start when you first dropped it and just get worse? Is the problem intermittent, and a " jiggle factor"? You say it is " broken" but that is not enough information. If you dropped it a couple of times, then it would appear that the first couple of times you dropped it, it still worked. Did it just quit the last time you dropped it?

In any event... $185 is the price to put in an entire new inside - all the parts. They are not that expensive.

The last time I ran into this problem, the JACKS on the power board were jiggled loose by someone yanking on the cords while they were plugged into the camera. The power jack, the USB micro plug, and other plugs have teeny little jacks that are soldered onto the circuit boards with teeny little metal contacts.
It is extremely easy to bend these contacts and twist the JACK off the board enough to disconnect a few electrical contacts.
The repair shops do NOT " FIX" anything now. They just yank out the insides, and put in a new one.

If all you did as you say, was " Drop " the camera, and the power board, as you are quoted, is damaged, then the ONLY thing that can happen to a power board that is dropped is to loosen a connection, like a jack, or put crack in the PCB ( Printed Circuit Board ) that holds all the parts. In either case, all that is needed is to solder the broken connections together again. Because the camera uses SMT ( Surface Mount Technology ) the parts are really tiny, and most " technicians" are too lazy, or inexperienced to work on such a small scale. If the technician does have an SMT work station, it is worth many thousands of dollars, and the expertise needed would mean that the guy was highly paid - no one would bother for a simple camera.
You need an experienced electronics person who can use a tiny soldering gun and small solder to bridge a few broken contacts or traces. It just takes a bit of patience, but not many people either have the experience, or the patience...
If there is an electronics repair shop with an older tech who has been there a while, he would probably be able to do the work. Taking the camera apart in the first place, and putting all the little parts together, is more difficult than the soldering.
My approach would be to take it apart. ( but I'm like that, hey- you have nothing to loose, and you won't learn anything if you dont try ) Each part you take apart, you have a piece of paper and scotch tape, and tape the part to the paper, - if it is a screw, write on the paper where it went. Draw a picture of where the parts go under each piece if you have to. Mark each peice with a number 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. so that when you put it back together, you just do it in reverse order. You can put a tiny piece of masking tape ON the camera where the screws came from or parts go, as well.
Once you get to the power board ( if there is such a thing... this could be a generic fill-in -the blank form response that covers many different boards, and is just filled in so that the report is " filled in " ) you will see either loose connected parts, or a cracked cirucuit board ( usually a shiny green board with copper traces in a lighter green colour ). Tiny cracks are a bit difficult to see, but if you flex the board gently, you will see them under a good light.
If there are just loose connections on a JACK, or a few traces that cross a crack, these can be soldered by anyone with reasonable skills.
If YOU find the problem and take in the board to the technician,
and show him the places that are broken/ cracked, then he knows it is probably a simple job -- and, he will be impressed with your efforts, and a lot more willing to help ... ie - he does not have to take on the job guessing what might be wrong.
The worst case would be that your dropping the camera was NOT the problem and that someone grabbed the wrong adapter and plugged in some hideous voltage like 12 volts AC into the camera's 3 or 4 volt DC jack, or some similar overload situation. In this case, the " drop" type or jiggle is not a factor, and the high voltage just blew up the chips and circuits, and no one can " fix " a blown up chip - it has to be replaced, and again, individual SMT chips and diodes and capacitors are NOT normally replaced on a small consumer item - the ENTIRE thing is just replaced, in a few minutes.
Since you do not state exactly " WHAT " the actual problem is,
anyone trying to help you is just guessing, like me...
If the "drop" was the problem, then there is just a mechanical break in the connections- easy to fix.
If the problem was an " electrical " problem, the unit is probably fried.
If you post some more details, I will try to look back to see what can be done.

good luck

2006-10-02 00:37:21 · answer #2 · answered by cowgurl_bareback 2 · 0 0

You should have gotten a warranty on it. It can save you alot of money. But you can sell the camera on ebay for parts. Look and see if anyone has tried it. Or you can call around and see what other camera repair shops would charge.

2006-10-01 23:38:13 · answer #3 · answered by GRISSIOM PURE GENIUS 3 · 0 0

Pitch it in the trash and go get a new camera. The new ones are cheaper and have more so I am sure you will find what you want.

2006-10-02 00:04:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

well thats easy ...throw it away in the trash and buy a new digital camera. im a professional photographer and i change cameras every 1-2 years max .digital cameras has no value at all and at this rate camera manufacturers bring out newer advanced models every six months so its just not worth hasseling and stressing about a broken digital camera

2006-10-02 02:44:48 · answer #5 · answered by chrisfotog 2 · 0 2

your local recycling center probably will take it. They often recycle potentially dangerous materials.

2006-10-01 23:37:21 · answer #6 · answered by world traveler 3 · 0 0

yay i say ebay to
i did it befor

2006-10-01 23:46:56 · answer #7 · answered by the dragon king 2 · 0 0

put it on www.ebay.com someone will buy it for a good price

2006-10-01 23:37:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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