On Wed, 27 Mar 2002 02:48:09 GMT, John Beale wrote:

>poo wrote:
>: I seem to be having a problem with my TRV900's built-in mic.
>
>: It is noticeably worse at picking up sound. I thought it may be dirty
>: heads or something, so I cleaned it, but no improvement was seen.

>A number of people on the TRV900 mailing list have had this problem
>(built-in mic sensitivity dropping over time). By no means all cameras
>experience it (my 3.5 year old TRV900 is still fine) but I've seen more
>than ten reports. One person on the TRV900 list mentioned a Sony service
>bulletin blaming oils used in camera maufacture, contaminating the mic. In
>one case humidity (extreme humidity- boat ride below Niagra Falls) may have
>been the culprit. In general, electret mic elements don't last forever,
>though in particular the TRV900's seem troublesome.
>
>In any case the only fix I know of is your nearest Sony authorized service
>center. Or, use an external mic.
>
>See also http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/badmic.html

A problem I've noted is poor contacts - when an external
mic plug is removed, sometimes the built-in mic level
doesn't return to normal. When a cleaner like alcohol
or pot-cleaner is placed on a mini-plug and it is inserted
with the cleaner still wet and is moved-around/rotated
in the socket a few times, the problem generally goes
away. I make it a practice now to clean mini-plugs
before inserting them into camcorder jacks...