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Video recording system
2 rotary heads
Helical scanning system
Audio recording system
Rotary heads, PCM system
Quantization: 12 bits (Fs 32 kHz,
stereo 1, stereo 2), 16 bits
(Fs 48 kHz, stereo)
Video signal

PAL colour, CCIR standards

NTSC color, EIA standards

DCR-PC115/PC120BT:

DCR-PC115E/PC120E:

Usable cassette
Mini DV cassette with the 
mark printed
Tape speed
SP: Approx. 18.81 mm/s
LP: Approx. 12.56 mm/s
Recording/playback time (using
cassette DVM60)
SP: 1 hour
LP: 1.5 hours
Fastforward/rewind time (using
cassette DVM60)
When using the battery pack:
Approx. 2 min. and 30 seconds
When using the AC power adaptor:
Approx. 1 min. and 45 seconds

Viewfinder
Electric viewfinder (colour)
Image device
4.5 mm (1/4 type) CCD (Charge
Coupled Device)
Approx. 1 550 000 pixels
(Effective (moving): 970 000 pixels)
(Effective (still): 1 390 000 pixels)
Lens
Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T*
Combined power zoom lens
Filter diameter: 37 mm (1 1/2 in)
10

×

 (Optical), 120

×

 (Digital)

Focal length
4.2 – 42 mm (3/16 – 1 11/16 in.)
When converted to a 35 mm still
camera
Camera mode:
48 – 480 mm (1 15/16 – 19 in.)
Memory mode:
40 – 400 mm (1 5/8 – 15 3/4 in.)
Colour temperature
Auto, HOLD (Hold), 

Indoor

(3 200 K), 

Outdoor (5 800 K)

Minimum illumination
7 lx (lux) (F 1.8)
0 lx (lux) (in the NightShot mode)*
* Objects unable to be seen due to

the dark can be shot with infrared
lighting.

S video input/output
4-pin mini DIN
Luminance signal: 1 Vp-p,
75 

Ω

 (ohms), unbalanced

Chrominance signal: 0.3 Vp-p,

DCR-PC115/PC120BT:

DCR-PC115E/PC120E:

75 

Ω

 (ohms), unbalanced

Chrominance signal: 0.286 Vp-p,
75 

Ω

 (ohms), unbalanced

Audio/Video input/output
AV MINI JACK, 1 Vp-p,
75 

Ω

 (ohms), unbalanced, sync

negative
327 mV, (at output impedance
more than 47 k

Ω

 (kilohms))

Output impedance with less than
2.2 k

Ω

 (kilohms)/Stereo minijack

(ø 3.5 mm)
Input impedance more than
47 k

Ω

 (kilohms)

DV input/output
4-pin connector
Headphone jack
Stereo minijack (ø 3.5 mm)
LANC jack
Stereo mini-minijack (ø 2.5 mm)
USB jack
mini-B
MIC jack
Minijack, 0.388 mV low impedance
with 2.5 to 3.0 V DC, output
impedance 6.8 k

Ω

 (kilohms) (ø 3.5

mm)
Stereo type

— Continued on next page —

Level 2

This service manual provides the information that is premised the
circuit board replacement service and not intended repair inside the
VC-270 board.
Therefore, schematic diagram, printed wiring board, waveforms, parts
location and electrical parts list of the VC-270 board are not shown.
The following pages are not shown.

Printed wiring board ......................... Pages 4-19 to 4-22
Schematic diagram .......................... Pages 4-23 to 4-58
Waveforms and parts location ......... Pages 4-92 to 4-94
Electrical parts list ............................ Pages 6-14 to 6-25

Photo : DCR-PC120E

RMT-811

Canadian Model

DCR-PC120BT

AEP Model

DCR-PC115E/PC120E

UK Model

Australian Model

DCR-PC120E

E Model

DCR-PC115/PC115E/PC120E

Hong Kong Model

DCR-PC115/PC120E

Tourist Model

DCR-PC115/PC115E

Chinese Model

DCR-PC115E

Korea Model

DCR-PC115

J MECHANISM

— 2 —

1.

Check the area of your repair for unsoldered or poorly-soldered
connections.  Check the entire board surface for solder splashes
and bridges.

2.

Check the interboard wiring to ensure that no wires are
"pinched" or contact high-wattage resistors.

3.

Look for unauthorized replacement parts, particularly
transistors, that were installed during a previous repair.  Point
them out to the customer and recommend their replacement.

4.

Look for parts which, through functioning, show obvious signs
of deterioration.  Point them out to the customer and
recommend their replacement.

5.

Check the B+ voltage to see it is at the values specified.

6.

Flexible Circuit Board Repairing

• Keep the temperature of the soldering iron around 270˚C

during repairing.

• Do not touch the soldering iron on the same conductor of the

circuit board (within 3 times).

• Be careful not to apply force on the conductor when soldering

or unsoldering.

Boards requiring use of unleaded solder are printed with the lead-
free mark (LF) indicating the solder contains no lead.
(Caution: Some printed circuit boards may not come printed with
the lead free mark due to their particular size.)

Unleaded solder has the following characteristics.
• Unleaded solder melts at a temperature about 40°C higher than

ordinary solder.
Ordinary soldering irons can be used but the iron tip has to be
applied to the solder joint for a slightly longer time.
Soldering irons using a temperature regulator should be set to
about 350°C.
Caution: The printed pattern (copper foil) may peel away if the
heated tip is applied for too long, so be careful!

• Strong viscosity

Unleaded solder is more viscous (sticky, less prone to flow) than
ordinary solder so use caution not to let solder bridges occur such
as on IC pins, etc.

• Usable with ordinary solder

It is best to use only unleaded solder but unleaded solder may
also be added to ordinary solder.

After correcting the original service problem, perform the following

safety checks before releasing the set to the customer.

Power requirements
7.2 V (battery pack)
8.4 V (AC power adaptor)
Average power consumption
(when using the battery pack)
During camera recording using
LCD

4.1 W: DCR-PC115E/PC120E

4.4 W: DCR-PC115/PC120BT

Viewfinder

3.6 W: DCR-PC115E/PC120E

3.8 W: DCR-PC115/PC120BT

Operating temperature
0

°

C to 40

°

C (32

°

F to 104

°

F)

Storage temperature
–20

°

C to +60

°

C

(–4

°

F to +140

°

F)

Dimensions (Approx.)
57 

×

 118 

×

 113 mm

(2 1/4 

×

 4 3/4 

×

 4 1/2 in.)

(w/h/d)
Mass (approx.)
580 g (1 lb 4 oz)
main unit only
690 g (1 lb 8 oz)
including the battery pack
NP-FM50, cassette DVM60 and lens
cap
Supplied accessories
See page 3.

Power requirements
100 – 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz
Power consumption
23 W
Output voltage
DC OUT: 8.4 V, 1.5 A in the
operating mode
Operating temperature
0

°

C to 40

°

C (32

°

F to 104

°

F)

Storage temperature
–20

°

C to + 60

°

C (–4

°

F to + 140

°

F)

Dimensions (approx.)
125 

×

 39 

×

 62 mm

(5 

×

 1 9/16 

×

 2 1/2 in.) (w/h/d)

excluding projecting parts
Mass (approx.)
280 g (9.8 oz)
excluding power cord

Maximum output voltage
DC 8.4 V
Output voltage
DC 7.2 V
Capacity
8.5 Wh (1 180 mAh)
Dimensions (approx.)
38.2 

×

 20.5 

×

 55.6 mm

(1 9/16 

×

 13/16 

×

 2 1/4 in.)

(w/h/d)
Mass (approx.)
76 g (2.7 oz)
Type
Lithium ion

Memory
Flash memory
8MB: MSA-8A
Operating voltage
2.7 – 3.6 V
Power consumption
Approx. 45 mA in the operating
mode
Approx. 130 

µ

A in the standby

mode
Dimensions (approx.)
50 

×

 2.8 

×

 21.5 mm

(2 

×

 1/8 

×

 7/8 in.) (w/h/d)

Mass (approx.)
4 g (0.14 oz)

Design and specifications are
subject to change without notice.

(DCR-PC120BT/PC120E only)
Communications system
Bluetooth standard Ver.1.1
Max. baud rate

1) 2)

Approx. 723 kbps
Output
Bluetooth standard Power Class 2
Communications distance

2)

Max. wireless distance Approx. 10 m
(393 3/4 in.) (When connecting to
BTA-NW1 (optional))
Compatible Bluetooth profile

3)

Generic Access Profile
Dial-up Networking Profile
Operating frequency band
2.4 GHz band (2.400 GHz-
2.483 5 GHz)

1) Max. baud rate of Bluetooth

standard Ver.1.1

2) Varies according to the distance

between communicating devices,
presence of obstacles, radiowave
conditions, and other factors.

3) This is a specification matched to

specific usage requirements
between Bluetooth compatible
devices. It is laid down in the
Bluetooth standards.

Picture
6.2 cm (2.5 type)
50 

×

 37 mm (2 

×

 1 1/2 in.)

Total dot number
211 200 (960 

×

 220)

— 3 —

Make sure that the following accessories are supplied with your camcorder.

•

Abbreviation
CND

: Canadian model

HK

: Hong Kong model

AUS

: Australian model

CN

: Chinese model

JE

: Tourist model

KR

: Korea model

DCR-

Destination

Color system

NETWORK (Bluetooth)

Flash memory
(VC-270 board IC1406)

SDRAM
(VC-270 board IC1404)

BT-003 board

PC115

E, HK, KR,
JE

NTSC

✕

4Mbit

16Mbit

✕

PC115E

AEP, E, JE,
CN

PAL

✕

4Mbit

16Mbit

✕

PC120BT

CND

NTSC

a

32Mbit

64Mbit

a

PC120E

AEP, UK,
E, AUS, HK

PAL

a

32Mbit

64Mbit

a

Remarks

NTSC: X301 of VC-270 board is 54MHz.
PAL: X301 of VC-270 board is 40.5MHz.

With BT-003 board

8

1

9

0

qd

qf

4

5

6

7

qa

2

3

qs

1

2

AC-L10A/L10B/L10C AC power adaptor (1),
mains lead (1)
A/V connecting cable (1) 

3

USB cable (1) 

4

Battery terminal cover (1)

5

NP-FM50 battery pack (1) 

6

Wireless Remote Commander (1) 

7

Size R6 (AA) battery for Remote
Commander (2)

8

Lens cap (1) 

9

Lens hood (1) 

0

Memory Stick (MSA-8A) (1) 

qa

CD-ROM (SPVD-004 USB Driver) (1) 

qs

21-pin adaptor (1)
DCR-PC115E/PC120E only

qd

2-pin conversion adaptor (1)
DCR-PC115: JE/PC115E: JE only

qf

2-pin conversion adaptor (1)
DCR-PC115: E,HK/PC115E: E/
PC120E: E, HK only

— 4 —

1.

POWER SUPPLY DURING REPAIRS ····························· 7

2.

TO TAKE OUT A CASSETTE WHEN NOT EJECT
(FORCE EJECT) ································································ 7

3.

DISCHARGING OF THE FLASHLIGHT POWER
SUPPLY CAPACITOR ······················································ 8

3-1.

DISCHARGING THE CAPACITOR USING
THE SHORT JIG ································································ 8

3-1-1. PREPARING THE SHORT JIG ········································· 8
3-1-2. DISCHARGING THE CAPACITOR ································· 8
3-2.

DISCHARGING THE CAPACITOR USING THE
REMOTE COMMANDER ················································ 8

3-2-1. DISCHARGING THE CAPACITOR ································· 8
3-2-2. PROCESSING AFTER COMPLETING REPAIRS/

ADJUSTMENTS ································································ 8

1.

SELF-DIAGNOSIS FUNCTION ······································· 9

2.

SELF-DIAGNOSIS DISPLAY ·········································· 9

3.

SERVICE MODE DISPLAY ············································· 9

3-1.

Display Method ·································································· 9

3-2.

Switching of Backup No. ··················································· 9

3-3.

End of Display ···································································· 9

4.

SELF-DIAGNOSIS CODE TABLE ································· 10

Main Features ············································································ 1-1
Quick Start Guide ······································································ 1-1
Getting started

Using this manual ·································································· 1-2
Checking supplied accessories ·············································· 1-2
Step 1 Preparing the power supply ········································ 1-3
   Installing the battery pack ··················································· 1-3
   Charging the battery pack ··················································· 1-3
   Connecting to a wall socket ················································ 1-4
Step 2 Setting the date and time ············································ 1-4
Step 3 Inserting a cassette ······················································ 1-5

Recording – Basics

Recording a picture ································································ 1-5
Shooting backlit subjects – BACK LIGHT ··························· 1-8
Shooting in the dark – NightShot/Super NightShot ·············· 1-8
Self-timer recording ······························································· 1-8
Checking the recording – END SEARCH / EDITSEARCH /
   Rec Review ········································································· 1-9

Playback – Basics

Playing back a tape ································································ 1-9
To display the screen indicators – Display function ·············· 1-9
Viewing the recording on TV ·············································· 1-10

Advanced Recording Operations

Recording a still image on a tape – Tape Photo recording ·· 1-11
Adjusting the white balance manually ································· 1-12
Using the wide mode ··························································· 1-13
Using the fader function ······················································ 1-13
Using special effects – Picture effect ··································· 1-14
Using special effects – Digital effect ··································· 1-14
Using the PROGRAM AE function ····································· 1-15
Adjusting the exposure manually ········································ 1-16
Focusing manually ······························································· 1-16
Interval recording ································································· 1-17
Frame by frame recording – Cut recording ························· 1-17

Advanced Playback Operations

Playing back a tape with picture effects ······························ 1-18
Playing back a tape with digital effects ······························· 1-18
Enlarging images recorded on tapes – Tape PB ZOOM ······ 1-18
Quickly locating a scene using the zero set memory function ·· 1-19
Searching the boundaries of recorded tape by title
   – Title search ····································································· 1-19

Searching a recording by date – Date search ······················· 1-20
Searching for a photo – Photo search/Photo scan ················ 1-20

Editing

Dubbing a tape ····································································· 1-21
Dubbing only desired scenes
   – Digital program editing (on tapes) ································· 1-22
Using with analog video unit and your computer
   – Signal convert function ·················································· 1-25
Recording video or TV programmes ··································· 1-26
Inserting a scene from a VCR – Insert editing ····················· 1-27
Audio dubbing ····································································· 1-28
Superimposing a title ··························································· 1-29
Making your own titles ························································ 1-30
Labelling a cassette ······························································ 1-30

Customising Your  Camcorder

Changing the menu settings ················································· 1-31

“Memory Stick” Operations

Using a “Memory Stick” – introduction ······························ 1-33
Recording still images on “Memory Stick”s
   – Memory Photo recording ··············································· 1-36
Recording an image from a tape as a still image ················· 1-38
Superimposing a still image in the “Memory Stick” on an
   image – MEMORY MIX ·················································· 1-39
Recording moving pictures on “Memory Stick”s
   – MPEG movie recording ················································· 1-41
Recording a picture from a tape as a moving picture ·········· 1-41
Recording edited pictures as a moving picture
   – Digital program editing (on “Memory Stick”s) ············· 1-42
Copying still images from a tape – Photo save ···················· 1-43
Viewing a still image – Memory photo playback ················ 1-44
Viewing a moving picture – MPEG movie playback ·········· 1-45
Viewing images using computer ·········································· 1-45
Copying the image recorded on “Memory Stick”s to tapes · 1-47
Enlarging still images recorded on “Memory Stick”s
   – Memory PB ZOOM ······················································· 1-48
Playing back images in a continuous loop – SLIDE SHOW ·· 1-48
Preventing accidental erasure – Image protection ··············· 1-49
Deleting images ··································································· 1-49
Writing a print mark – PRINT MARK ································ 1-49
Using the optional printer ···················································· 1-50

Using the Network function

Accessing the network ························································· 1-50

Troubleshooting

Types of trouble and their solutions ····································· 1-51
Self-diagnosis display ·························································· 1-52
Warning indicators and messages ········································ 1-52

Additional Information

Usable cassettes ··································································· 1-53
About the “InfoLITHIUM” battery pack ····························· 1-54
About i.LINK ······································································· 1-54
Using your camcorder abroad ·············································· 1-55
Maintenance information and precautions ··························· 1-55

Quick Reference

Identifying the parts and controls ········································ 1-57

2-1.

LCD CABINET (R) ASSEMBLY ··································· 2-3

2-2.

CABINET (L) SECTION ················································ 2-4

2-3.

VTR COMPLETE, CABINET (R) SECTION ··············· 2-6

2-4.

FJ-035 BOARD ······························································· 2-7

2-5.

VM-027 BOARD ···························································· 2-8

2-6.

CD-349 BOARD, LENS DEVICE ·································· 2-8

2-7.

VC-270 BOARD ····························································· 2-9

2-8.

MECHANISM DECK ····················································· 2-9

2-9.

FLASH UNIT (MC) ······················································ 2-10

2-10. FLASH UNIT (ST) ······················································· 2-10
2-11. CABINET (G) BLOCK ASSEMBLY, ETC. ················· 2-11