Sony handycam PSU pinout

[Jules Richardson]

I brought a Sony handycam (it's a CCD-TRV128) home from a junk shop earlier. It's probably buggered (but OTOH the folks who run the place aren't techies at all, and I've had a few bargains from there), and there's no PSU for it.

I'd like to feed it DC from a 'junk' source just to see if it'll power up first, before splashing out on a proper PSU for it - but does anyone happen to have one of these (it's probably standard across lots of models) and can tell me the PSU connector pinouts?

Google tells me that the PSU is 8.4VDC, and I know which pin is GND as it's wired straight through to the battery -ve terminal - but it looks like there are two other pins rather than just one (unless one is just a spring-loaded connector retaining clip). If both of those additional pins are in use then one will be the +8.4V and the other one's carrying either charge information or PSU ID information (and hopefully it's not vital for the camera to power up :-)

cheers

Jules

[Jules Richardson]

Postscript: I just noticed that the bottom of the camera says 7.2V (and a DC symbol) - which is the same as the battery voltage. Perhaps it's possible that the PSU outputs both 7.2V (for running the camera from AC) and 8.4V (for charging the battery)?

Having said that, I've seen photos of the underside of the PSU, and it only lists 8.4V as an output (where multi-voltage PSUs normally list all of their outputs - and that may even be a legal requirement?)

If it comes to it I'll just have to dismantle it within a suitable pingfuckit-collecting environment to see if that gives me any clues :-)

J.

[Reentrant]

If it helps: my TRV110E has a PSU model no. AC-L10B, output is 8.4V 1.5A and the connector is about the size of a mini-USB. With the contacts facing up and away, left is -ve and right +ve.

[Jules Richardson]

I found this on Amazon:

... where the PSU connector seems to be:

+uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu+ | | +---nnn-- --nnn---+ |_|

Does that connector match what you have (i.e. the entire flat side of the connector is metal, with two wide pins on the keyed side)?

I took my camera apart (not as fiddly as I expected), and the socket on mine is as follows:

+------x--------z-+ | | +-----y-- --------+ |_|

... where 'x' seems to be GND (zero ohms through to the battery -ve with the camera assembled), and 'y' connects through to a wide track on the PCB (so is presumably power), and 'z' connects through to a narrow track on the PCB.

So I think what's going on is that 'z' is a "PSU connected" sense pin which is shorted to GND when the PSU connector is plugged in, with 'x' GND and 'y' power - but that the PSU connector also has a GND pin on the keyed side of the connector (possibly the PSU is shared across various devices, and some of them have a GND pin in this location?).

Of course if your PSU connector doesn't have a metal 'top' (or doesn't have continuity between this and the GND pin on the keyed side) then I'm barking up the wrong tree. Or just barking. :-)

cheers

Jules

[Scott M]

You're over-analysing it. To charge a battery you need a voltage higher than the terminal voltage (and final charge voltage) of the battery to get the current through it.

Scott

[Reentrant]

Some images of the connector and socket at:

The closeup shows my earlier post was wrong - the shield is -ve and the left pin must be a signal.

[Jules Richardson]

Awesome - thanks! The deffo looks like I need GND to the top pin in my connector, and +ve to the lower one, and with the remaining pin tied to GND. I doubt I've got a connector like that in the junk pile, but I can probably run some wires direct from the PCB just for testing.

cheers muchly

J.

[Jules Richardson]

I'm good at that :)

Yeah, I was just surprised to see three pins in the PSU connector, so thought the setup was more complicated than power and ground - but Reentrant's photos seem to confirm that the third pin is just there for PSU sense within the connector, and there's no third wire back to the PSU itself.

cheers

Jules

[Jules Richardson]

Well, it seems to work. Even came with a free tape of some old dear sewing ;) It took a while for the battery to do much, but it seems to be holding a charge now. Only thing left to do is test the video out, if I can find a S-video cable around here (or I *may* have a composite lead somewhere with the right connector on it)

thanks again!

Jules