Dead USB jack on Olympus LS-10

[junkyardt]

I've had my LS-10 since May 2008 and have taped with it happily dozens of times with no problems...til today. Went to transfer a show from last night and the PC won't recognize it at all. Tried different USB ports on the computer and different USB cables, all of which work with my other recorder and external hard drives--so it's definitely the jack on the LS-10. I'm well past the 1 year warranty period so I don't think it's worth looking into repair as Olympus would probably want to charge me out the ass in labor to get it fixed, and I can work around it by transferring files via an SD card reader from now on. Still, this makes me question the quality of craftsmanship of Olympus' products in general and makes me hesitant to buy anything from them again. Just a heads up for anyone considering buying an Olympus recorder. Has anyone else experienced this?

[darktrain]

I've had my LS-10 since May 2008 and have taped with it happily dozens of times with no problems...til today. Went to transfer a show from last night and the PC won't recognize it at all. Tried different USB ports on the computer and different USB cables, all of which work with my other recorder and external hard drives--so it's definitely the jack on the LS-10. I'm well past the 1 year warranty period so I don't think it's worth looking into repair as Olympus would probably want to charge me out the ass in labor to get it fixed, and I can work around it by transferring files via an SD card reader from now on. Still, this makes me question the quality of craftsmanship of Olympus' products in general and makes me hesitant to buy anything from them again. Just a heads up for anyone considering buying an Olympus recorder. Has anyone else experienced this?

I never use the usb connection on the recorder, i always found it a slow transfer, much faster to use the card readers or built in ones on the computer

[sunjan]

I don't think it's worth looking into repair as Olympus would probably want to charge me out the ass in labor to get it fixed
...
Has anyone else experienced this?

Slightly off-topic, but I had a Belkin Skype Phone that I dropped, and the usb port took a hit. Tured out one of the thin metal connectors had been bent and fell off next time i tried to plug it in.

Luckily, I was going to Shanghai on vacation, and brought it along for repair.
I went to a plain hole-in-the-wall mobile phone shop, and they soldered a new USB port for $15!

You could probably get the same service anywhere in the big Asian cities (Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong etc). So if you have a friend going there, pass it along for a cheap fix!

[John Willett]

No problem with mine and, like yours, over a year old.

I have had Olympus stuff for many years and have found them a high quality and reliable manufacturer - and would buy again.