Sony Handycam no audio

G'day

I bought a Sony Handycam DCR-PC104e in Aug-04, and it's been great til -

During playback incamera there is no audio coming through. The volume
is at max, but there isn't even a hint of the movie's audio track - the
only noise is the whirr of the tape being driven.

Is this a known problem with these machines? I'm 4 months out of
warranty, so no joy there (yes, should have paid the extra $200 for
extended warranty, didn't have money at the time - looking at the
receipt, it was paid part credit, part eftpos, and part cash!).

I can live with it if I have to... it still has audio when exporting to
my eMac... but its a bit annoying when you want to rewatch something "on
location" as it where...


thanks


cosmic