repair of underwater cameras

[cstolp]

In my research of underwater camera's I have seen some discussion about broken units.  Sounds like one of the most common problems are broken wires inside the camera cable.  I have heard people claim that after contacting Marcum no repair is offered and they are SOL.  Aqua Vu was/is selling a replacement connector for ~$15 that the user can solder onto their cable.  I have also read that owners who are unwilling or incapable of such a repair are having trouble finding a place to have said repairs performed.

So I have two questions:

1.  Would such a service be valuable to this community?

2.  Anyone have dead cameras they would sell for a reasonable small price such that I could look into the viability of starting such a business?

[ice dawg]

Most of the problems that people I know have had with broken wires was that the wires were broken very close to the camera housing. When they would bend the cable next to the housing they would lose the picture. For most of these it would have been necessary to open the housing to try to repair it which opens a new can of worms such as filling the housing with dry nitrogen and sealing it again. One friend had this problem and the cost of a new camera was $60 so he ordered a new one. If ya think there will be enough demand for this service to make some money, go for it.

[icejunky]

I think the problem with most electronic repairs is that it is almost cheaper to replace then buy new...

I had one issue with my aqu-vu camera, I sent it in ($20 to ship it to them) the repair cost was $80, then I had to pay to ship it back, im now $120 in on a $250 camera.

Personally I though about just buying a new camera, this one is now 5 years old, and was almost not worth repairing

[ice dawg]

icejunky, what model of Aqua-Vu do you have? Mine is a ten year old Z60 and still going strong. I think the only reason I would consider a new one would be to get something that is easier to see in the sun.

[icejunky]

Mine is an SV100... no issue with the camera i love it, it was just did I want to spend $120 fixing it or put $120 against an upgrade. The main reason I have no switched over from aqua-vu is that I love the DVR feature which no one else has adopted

[ice dawg]

I have a DVR also and I hope I can get on the ice with it this year since the snow was too deep around here last year. I have a tendancy not to replace things until they start costing me too much to keep them going also. I built my first underwater camera and used it until my son reversed the polarity and burned the camera out of it.

[littlesturgeonguy]

The camera on my Marcum vs380 got water in it 2yrs ago. Took a month to get it back, but it was sent in during the busy season. They replaced the camera under warranty. I think i paid shipping to them and paid to send it back to me.
when you contact the manufacturer about the repair find out what you need to send them. Don't send any more than you have too such as battery or screen if you know the screen is good. They can test it on there own equipment which will save you some money on shipping.

[ice dawg]

When I bought my Aqua-Vu V60 I had a wire go open in the cable right next to the camera housing. When I called them they insisted that I send the whole system to them to be checked out. I told them I was sending the camera only because I knew that the problem was an open wire near the camera housing and I didn't want the whole unit beat up during shipment. They sent me a new camera and it has been trouble free ever since.