HP945.com

[jgenemans]

Warning: By opening your camera there is a risk from electrical shock – be sure that your camera has had the batteries removed for at least 24 hours for the capacitor that charges the flash to discharge. While generally not capable of injury or death, it will definitely get your attention if you touch the wrong part of the camera if it has been recently operated. I’m not responsible if you electrocute yourself. YOU DO THIS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Caution: The procedure that is mentioned here WILL violate your warrantee. The HP850 & HP945 cameras are not designed for the average user to disassemble and repair. These cameras are quite fragile on the inside. If you elect to do this procedure, you do this completely AT YOUR OWN RISK. If you take proper precautions and have good eyes and a steady hand, you can reasonably expect to complete this repair with success – however, NO guarantees are made and/or implied.

Note: This procedure was not developed by me. I am not an electronics guru by any stretch of the imagination even though I am quite capable of doing this procedure having assembled several electronic kits (if anyone remembers those Heath Kit short-wave radios among other projects). A friend, who shall remain anonymous, and is very good with electronics, owns a 945 and compared it to the 850 which is very similar on the inside and was successful in fixing it.

This “rainbow” condition can affect both the 850 & 945 cameras. I personally suspect it will occur more frequently as these series of cameras get older in age and the cameras fatigue with age. The cause of the “rainbow” coloring is actually caused by a micro-fracture in a solder connection on a connector strip inside the camera.



Tools required:
1 set of micro-screwdrivers (Philips and Flat-Blade)
1 soldering pencil, with the finest point you can find with stand and cleaning sponge (unless you happen to have a microscopic soldering station then use it instead)
1 tube/can solder flux
1 small tube/jar of rubber cement
1 set of watch-maker’s magnifying glasses or a stand mounted magnifying lens
2 small trays for small parts, especially the small screws


Step 1

Remove all removable items
1. Batteries – do this 24 hrs in advance to prevent electric shock
2. Memory Card
3. Rubber Eye Piece – this falls off many cameras, it is held on by rubber cement, just peel it off.
4. Open battery door and data/power door (leave open).
5. Unscrew all Philips screws around the back of the case.


Step 2

Gently pry off the back cover using flat blade screw drivers – kind of like opening a can.


Step 3

Once the back cover is off, remove the board assembly that holds the LCD (it has several screws holding it to the main board). The problem connector is directly under the LCD board. There are two types connectors used. The connectors are relatively robust but do use care when opening and closing-lifting the little bar (brown) in the photo [one type] and sliding the brown bar up along the cable [on the other type]. Release the connector on the LCD board cable. Release the connector on the lens cable, push the cable aside and you are ready for the re-soldering.




Step 4

Once you have located the connector assembly (indicated in yellow), The easiest method to resolder and probably the only way to fix this is to flux all the connections on a side then reflow each joint by heating each lead in turn across the connector while gently pressing on each of the contacts to close any microfracture (the cause of the problem). Let it cool completely, repeat on the other side. Take your time, as you will be applying a lot of heat to this small area of the board -- allow plenty of time to cool between each lead.


Step 5

Once the board has cooled to the touch reassemble by reversing (Steps 3 through Step 1) the process of disassembly, carefully making sure that the two connectors are seated correctly, and all screws are correctly placed. One of the final steps is to glue the rubber eyepiece back on with a very small amount of cement – take care not to add too much or get any on the eye piece lens. Insert batteries and card, and hopefully you will have a working camera.

Good Luck!

P. S.

If you don’t know how to solder surface mount electronics, here are some basic guides:
http://www.geocities.com/vk3em/smtguide/websmt.html
http://www.ee.latrobe.edu.au/~djc/Soldering/how_to_solder.htm
http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/elab/soldering.htm (video tutorial - not sure of content)

_________________
Best Regards,
Jan Genemans

Modified HP850s, HP R707, HP M22
& One modified Panasonic FZ30
Underwater capable & many Filters
Sharing same filters, converters, chips, & U/W case

[Jack D Davis]

Thank you Jan. You just told me how to remove and replace the back of my 850, once the "parts" camera arrives. I thought I'd have to experiment, but now I know how in advance. That broken case is practically fixed.
_________________
Jack

Camera: HP 850
accessories: Crystalvue LX 8X, Olympus C-180 1.7X teleconverter, Raynox DCR-720 .72X wide angle, +1 +2 +4 +8 closeup lenses.