Conon tape door won't open - Canon ZR60 Mini DV Digital Camcorder

I had the same problem. I checked the voltage first to ensure it was greater than 3.7V (some batteries were not). I left the door open and pushed the battery down and pressed the button and it powered up. Seems to be a problem with the contacts. I put about 6 layers of duct tape on top of the battery to cause the door to push it down and now it works.

Sony Handycam CCD-TRV58 Hi-8 Analog Camcorder
1. Per the manual on esupport.sony.com
- if the power is disconnected door won't open, and if the battery is the dead the door won't open.
Plug it in and hopefully you can get the tape out.

Did this work?

The very first mistake is to pry a door open. That damages them. You are never to do that. The correct way to get a tape out is to open the unit up and find out why the tape is stuck and then take action to release the door in the normal way- usually it is a loose belt or defective cam motor. As to the Pinch roller there are slide plates and even some pinch rollers had lubrication on them so that may have dried leaving you with a stuck part. The normal order of business is the find out what is stuck and then take action to clean and lubricate the mechanism to return to normal function. The problem with some Pinch Rollers is that there may be a particular spot it needs to be set at. This is true if it has a guide fitted to it. Then you will need either a jig or mirror tape to be able to set it correct again. I can not give any further advice without seeing the unit but this should get you started.

Here is a helpful video

Is the tape wrapped around the capstan?

You have to have a battery attached in order for the camera to eject the tape, also sometimes if you don't open the door all the way it won't eject the tape either. If it's not that the DV deck may be broken and you could send it in to the company or you could pay a local camera repair company to fix it.

Make sure the rear cargo lid is shut. Then if it still appears to be the door, then remove the jam switch in the door sill. The switches usually separate the wires when the door closes. You do not want to lose the wiring inside the doorjam and you do not want to leave a hole open either.
Tie a string on the wiring and/or tape the wiring to the doorjam until you can get a new switch. Tape the wire ends to prevet shorting.

Try these steps:

1. Open the tape cover fully until it clicks open.
2. Turn the camcorder on to "VCR Mode."
3. With the cover still open and the camera in "VCR mode," take out the battery.
4. Put the battery back in--out should pop your tape.

Keep us updated.

The tape transport mechanism cannot fully engage the tape to the head. When a tape is inserted, the tape guides have to pull the tape from the cartridge and send it towards the head. There is a sensor in the carriage that activates the transport to perform its' job. When that sensor is not enable, it will just allow the door to close and the tape guides will remain stationary. Basically, it needs to be taken apart and fixed or realigned.

It sounds like the drive belts on the deck have broken (not allowing playing, FF or REW) and/or the tape got "eaten" meaning the tape itself has wound itself around the rollers and cannot free itself. I strongly doubt this is an electrical issue. Definately sounds mechanical.

As far as the door not opening, there's usually a hook that holds the door closed. If the unit is mostly disassembled, look near one of the sides of the door for a metal hook. It's normally spring loaded and can be moved manually. That should free the door. If your tape was eaten, it might take some gentle persuasion to unwrap it from the rollers.

Good luck.