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#1
08-24-2023, 05:52 PM
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Sony DXC-M3
Another 1984 Sony DXC-M3 survives. One of the last of the three-tube "industrial" format with Saticons in this one. I found this on e#%& and the seller said it had "stripes" in the video. It arrived and it did have stripes. I cleaned all the board connectors and no joy. The stripes were there but wandering L to R to L and intermittant as I rotated the cam. That is not something internal but local PS interference, Sure enough, a new 14 pin connector from my vault did the trick. Bad shield somewhere. Solid pix now.
It looks great for 1984 but needs a registration touchup and maybe some electronic focus touchup. I have the charts and the service manual. The detail adjustment was cranked up and backing that made a good pic at 0db gain. Above that the noise is audible. I have the CCU also but that is a mystery to me. It takes DC in via 4 pin DIN. Gotta figure out how that works. I think the VO-4800 3/4" black body PS used that. 14 pin to the camera from a Sony DC supply works for now. It came with a Canon lens and I have a NOS zoom/focus kit also that fits. Somewhere is a VF. A 40 year old cam lives!
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“Once you eliminate the impossible...whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." Sherlock Holmes. Last edited by Dave A; 08-25-2023 at 05:08 PM. 
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#2
08-25-2023, 05:07 PM
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Added a smallish pic. Conversion did not help but it tells the story. Great color rendition from a Saticon. Much better on a real monitor.
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“Once you eliminate the impossible...whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." Sherlock Holmes.
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#3
08-26-2023, 08:35 AM
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Glad to see another M3 up & running. They were a popular ENG/EFP model next to the JVC KY-2000 and Ikegami ITC-730 in a smaller package, the JVC used a dichroic mirror layout and magnetic deflection while the Sony used electrostatic deflection and a prism for color splitting giving it a big advantage in light sensitivity, registration stability and real detail. My M3a recently went to another member here and I still have my KY2700 with its mushy tubes. I did a write-up of the M3 in the Videokarma television Broadcast Gear section https://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=275482 and covered several of the issues with these.
The 4-pin DIN is the same as what is used with the VO-4800 portable UMatic, Sony wanted to standardize this until they got with the 4-pin XLR program. The DIN connector is a pain and I'd recommend changing over to the XLR staying with the standard of Pin-1 being ground and Pin-4 the hot B+. Anyway congrats on the M3, I have over 30 years of experience with this one, if I get really bored I may post a few more Tricaster caps of some tapes shot with the M3 for your entertainment.
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#4
09-20-2023, 09:54 AM
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Dxc m3 + vo 4800
Add me to the list of caretakers for a DXC M3A too.
Had mine for about 20 years now, bought as an addition to my VO 4800 I’ve had for almost 30 years. All in good order too, happy to say. I power mine from the vcr via the 14 pin Q connectors, with the AC 340 power supply powering the lot. I do make sure to power it up periodically to keep the tubes in shape. One of my favourite cameras in my inventory.
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#5
04-11-2024, 05:16 PM
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I too am a happy M3a camper, good to know yours was an easy fix! Mine had two bad boards, but three sharp tube, Arc Tech's old one got mine working.
Personally, for the CCU-M3 I just sent 12v into the barrel socket in the battery compartment. It's center neg, so keep that in mind. Sadly my CCU has a borked pedestal pot, and it looks like some caps have gone out.
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