We have an old Grass Valley 100N that is going down hill. We run four cameras during our services and I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions on what would be a good replacement.

We us the broadcast signal live in the room and later to post on the internet. Need black and color bars as well. And there are older cameras...I think we run them in through composite.

Unless you're looking to make a major change in your plant (e.g., moving to SDI) I would look for a used Grass Valley 110. It should be a nearly "drop-in" replacement, and it's quite stable and maintainable. The 110 has an internal black generator which locks to external reference, and its phase automatically matches the background generator and internal timing.

If you're in the market for a new analog switcher, the Ross RVS-210a is also worth a look (or the 216, if you need more inputs). The capabilities are similar to the 110, but the user interface for the mix-effects bus is a bit different (not bad -- just takes some getting used to).

Since your system is obviously already configured so that timing isn't an issue, I would avoid switchers with built-in synchronizers. They invariably degrade the video to some degree, add at least one frame of delay.

Color bars will need to come from some other source... your sync generator might produce them, and most professional cameras also generate them. If you happen to have a Leitch 680 video distribution frame with an empty slot, you can even get a color bar generator card to plug into it -- I'm pretty sure the model you want is SPG-1680N -- and it can create other useful test signals like convergence patterns, ramps and multiburst.

One idea in the meantime, that might help your 100N: several series of G/V switchers (including a 300-3AN in the station where my office is) made extensive use of sockets for integrated circuits, and the chips work their way out of being fully seated over time (probably a combination of repeated expansion/contraction as temperature changes, plus vibration from the fans). Periodically we get really weird problems, and all it takes to fix is to pull each card and press firmly on each socketed chip. You'll feel and hear a noticeable pop as the chip seats back where it belongs. Although you can normally pull G/V cards with power on, it's probably safest to shut down first.

If you are looking for other maintenance / repair information on it, let me know what you need... chances are pretty good that I can at least point you in the right direction.

-- Jeff

Thanks for the info and insight! I may take you up on the offer of finding repair. Know anyone near Souther Indiana?

Unfortunately, none of our stations are in that part of the country, so I don't have any contacts there (yet -- my daughter is looking to go to Cedarville University this fall, and that isn't terribly far away). A good friend (and fellow believer) is a field engineer for Thomson Grass Valley, and I'll ask him if he knows of someone in the area.

Is there a specific problem you're battling, or is it general wear and tear? I might be able to help you through a fix... and I'm pretty sure that I still have some 100N boards in the other building...

-- Jeff