Blown SDI repair

Hi all

from the reading I have done, I believe that my rear SDI output is blown. I am using the URSA 4k V1. I had a BM4k VA attached to it. I was using SWIT v-mount battery and d-tap for VA. I had never heard of this shorting and blowing issue before. The front SDI port seems fine. my 5" VA is getting a picture from it. The rear not so much. Although both VA's will shown and HDMI signal, the 4K VA seems to not show any SDI input. This leads me to believe it may have blown at the same time. The camera seems to be working fine, in all other departments. I am wanting to know how big a repair job this is? what kind of cost. Is it even worth it, or should I just shoot on cards from here on out and not worry about a SDI output!!!?????? thanks

Sorry for your loss, this is why you do Not connect a camera and monitor to the same power source without using a battery distribution system that isolates the two power outputs from each other to prevent ground fault shorts. Also, it is a good practice to connect all SDI cables Bfore powering up the equipment, another possible ground short issue.

You will need to contact BM Supoirt direct about any repairs and the associated costs.
Cheers

Hey Clive,

Did you find a solution to fix the blown ports, if you sent it in how much did it cost if you don’t mind me asking?

Regards,

James

I'm sorry to disagree, this is shoddy work. Connecting devices to the same power source should be the ultimate fix for any ground loop and potential differences. For ages this sort of compatibility was built into designs, and even when you had big potential differences between two pieces of equipment, all you would get is hum bars. Leaving out a 5 cent protection device is poor engineering. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but the design is just wrong since this is a commonly known issue!

Only reason I am commenting is a friend/colleague somehow fried both my SDI out and Video Assist SDI in/out simply by connecting my VA straight into the battery D-Tap as opposed to taking it off the camera B-Mount plate which is a regulated output.

Major bummer and I feel sorry for him to be honest, maybe it was bad luck but ultimately they all need to be repaired now through no real fault of his own.

I fortunately read these forums a lot and get bits of knowledge here and there as to how better run this equipment to stop these faults, but ultimately some people just aren’t that way inclined and will plug into a port as they presume it won’t cause harm to the devices.

My dad is an electrican and he said he was surprised that doing something like that could fry the SDI, he said he would expect some built in protection to mitigate these things happening.

If anyone could properly explain how this could happen I would really appreciate it, so I can understand and not make the same mistakes myself going forward.

I'm sorry to disagree, this is shoddy work. Connecting devices to the same power source should be the ultimate fix for any ground loop and potential differences. For ages this sort of compatibility was built into designs, and even when you had big potential differences between two pieces of equipment, all you would get is hum bars. Leaving out a 5 cent protection device is poor engineering. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but the design is just wrong since this is a commonly known issue!

Connecting a second device is literally the reason D-Tap exists. Most apologists prefer to overlook this simple fact.

Originally the Dtap was only for lights, and the good battery mounts would turn that power on when the tally was lit (camera recording). Now far too many things rely on Dtap for power. But that still doesn't excuse the design issue.

Hello. My BM Production Camera 4K EF has left working at its SDI out. We have bought the camera in 2016, and the Camera Support from Blackmagic says that they can't repair it:
"the camera...was considered end of life earlier this year (2019), which meant decision was made to no longer manufacture parts such as the main PCB"
For a product in the professional range of this camera, this is a mayor lack of service to the customers. As I can see in this forum, the issue seems to be a weak design of SDI circuit. In this case, every other principal brand ussually offer a solution to the infortunate users, so they can maintain confidence in the brand. Now this is not my case.

The BM Production Camera 4K EF Was in 2016 already considered done,

BMD Already released the Ursa Big, Ursa Mini 4K and Ursa Mini 4.6K. Which are ALL follow ups of the Production Camera 4K. Which is releases begin of 2014.

So it seems that BMD has disregarded support on the Production Camera 4K after 5 years. ( for a product that only had a 1 year service and support )
As there were so many upgraded versions after that in the Ursa series. And now with the Pocket 4K/6K.
I totally understand BMD. There products does not cost the end of the world. But people should understand that the lifespan of such product is 2/3 years maximum.

We often replace the gear after 2 / 3 years, not only to keep up and have the latest gear, but also because of service and support.