I just purchased a used Kenwood VC-H1 SSTV scan converter for use in
our amateur radio balloon programme at the Grosse Pointe Academy and
it seems I've managed to kill it after only one day.

The unit worked just fine until I tried to connect an external video
camera to it. Unfortunately, I tried to do this at the end of a long
day and - not thinking too clearly - I tried to plug in the camera
while the unit was switched on. Not only that, but I also took a
shortcut in making the connector (stupid, I know) and connected the
video to both the tip and the ring of the stereo plug. I realize now
that the tip (I think it is) should have been left alone - it supplies
+5v to the stock camera.

Anyway, after plugging the external camera into the unit, it at first
functioned but displayed no video. The backlight was running at the
time, so the screen was visible (LEDs were also on) but there was
simply no video to display. As I was pulling the plug back out (with
the unit still switched on), though, everything blinked off.

It is now dead with a capital "D" - no lights, no video, no nothing.
Since the unit is used and thus not under any warranty, I figured I
might as well open it up and look inside - praying that just maybe
there was a fuse...

Well, no fuse, but many discrete SMT components. Is it possible that
one of these is a voltage regulator and I shorted it out when I was
pulling the plug? Something I can replace (or just test somehow)?

Does anyone know of anything else that I can look for on this board,
specific components that might have been damaged, etc., or am I
looking at a new main board? If the latter, then I guess I've
probably just wasted the last of our tiny budget on an expensive paper
weight - and I'm gonna have a bunch of really disappointed (and not so
happy with me!) kids on my hands....

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

73,
Robert
KC8UCH