Trying to fix grandmas VCR so I can check if there’s anything worth salvaging on these old tapes. Wanted you to know your content is STILL relevant and REALLY helpful! Thank you!!
The people who originally engineered and designed these machines are pure geniuses. I own about seven different models of these VHS and holding on to them for my curiosity and enjoyment.
The RCA TOP Loading VCR's used that. I started Working on them in 1986 and ended in 2004. I Still do fix them as I buy them and sell them on Ebay :) Nice Video.
Great video lesson Dave, thanks. I'm glad we have DVD's now. I NEVER use WD40 for anything electronic. That stuff gets sticky and nasty after some time. I hear some people say they use it for pots. I'll bet they never tell us when the device comes back to them and they have to clean the crud out!
I have a JVC S-VHS unit, model S7600U. It eats tapes. I live in Nevada, but from what a local repair shop said, the only place to send it in for repairs is in Georgia. I will look af this video and maybe try to repair it myself! Thanks for sharing your video!
Grant Pass TV - I have a Phillips dual VCR and DVD player which I believe is close to 14 years old and seriously I only used it 10-15 times, maximum. When I insert my VHS tape, and I tried 3 different ones, the VCR makes an effort to run, but then power's it self off. When I press the power button back on, it ejects the tape out. Any idea what the issue night be? Are you in the Texas area where you might be willing to work on it or trouble shoot it?
I have a USB VCR for video converting that I think is having this problem. I took the cover off and when it unwinds the tape around the reader head, it keeps unwinding too much tape and then tries to eject. I have to carefully pull it out and respool. The first thing I noticed is the idler wheel (I think that's what it is based on your video) is freely moving. I'm not sure if it's supposed to do that but nothing looks broken or damaged. Any ideas?
Is there any place to find upper cylinders for old VCRs? I have salvaged an old Hitachi VT-11AR. Unfortunately I think the heads are shot. No picture on the TV just static when tape is playing.
Any idea why a newer 2003 model jvc vhs-c camcorder is chewing tapes on rewind? The tape gets close to the beginning before stopping. Not sure why it wont rewind all the way.
on mine, the tape goes in, it plays for a few seconds then the whole thing shuts off, after taking the cover off, the one the wheels while playing wasnt turning so tape unravelled.. so its the "idler wheel" how do you this this? or should i just move the "gear" manually to press play? (i only want it working to the point i can convert it all to pc) eg: its not a rubber one but a gear one like in your video but its not moving left to right so i have to move it right to play then eject, then move it left to rewind, then eject to move it right to play again
Great video! I am having a problem that the take-up reel is not working in play mode and the tape just feeds into the machine. I will check the mode switch.
Very good and informative video! I NEVER use cleaning tapes. Also, you should remove the auto head cleaner wheel. This thing causes problems over time...
Good job my friend thank you for your video!I have a NEC VCR I change the 3 black elastics belts 2 from the small moters and the other from the bottom moter but now I have 2 problems the first is that eat the tape when I eject the cassette but the film is staying inside and I must to put out with my hand and the second problem is not rewind left or right the cassette what is the problem?
I have a jvc dx62u and the loading unloading mech seems to be the issue. It loads fine and plays but unloading it isnt smart enough to put the tape back into the cassette. REW also causing the tape to be destroyed as the source reel doesnt pull as the destination reel runs in reverse pushing the tape back toward the source. I cannot find the mode switch in this model to save my life. It has to be somthing simple not kicking on the source reel motor to rewind the tape back into the cassette when ejected or something like that. I suspect that this one has an odd mode switch or some other mechanisum to control the load/unload. ANy pointers?
Having a Philips VR110/55 VCR. It has a playback problem. The head seams to loose it's speed when ever I change the cassette . Can you provide me with a solution.
Great videos! What is that wipe you use? The glare on the plastic made it hard to see. Acetone is fantastic for degreasing metal and glass but I’d use caution inside electronics because it eats plastic. I use electronic cleaner or Naphtha for real stubborn grease.
Acetone is the best cleaner I've found for video heads. I learned of it from a VCR manufacture who suggested it in their training video, but your right about the problem of getting it on plastic.
Some people believe that WD-40 is good for everything. In their infinite wisdom, some people come up with the craziest ideas. Unrelated to electronics, when I was with my car to be repaired at Renault shop, they mentioned that one person came with their car burnt at the back. What they did, they cleaned the brake discs and pads with benzine and after that they tried the effectiveness of the brakes, by braking hard. It's easy to imagine what followed. Benzine + heat = fire.
hey there just watched one of your videos about vcr eating tapes. i have a sony ev-a50 8mm player recorder. bought it back in the 90's and rarely used it. after sitting on a shelf in the basement for more than 2 decades i set it up and played a tape. played just fine until i fast forward. blue screen. ejected the tape and as they say it ate the tape. what i believe is happening is the drive wheels that make contact with the cassette are not turning to retrieve the tape back in the cassette. you mentioned that idle gear between the two drive gears. and you moved it back and forth. this is what puzzles me I've looked this thing over and i can't see what makes it go from one gear to the other. in fact it will make contact with one gear but when i swing it back to other gear it doesn't touch it. it seems to have stopper points on it so I'm so confused about this idle gear. maybe this isn't my problem and i need to look at another issue. what ever went wrong must have been because it sat on a shelf in the basement all those years. what the heck moves that idle gear? thanks so much. i liked your video
The idler tire or gear which connects with one spindle or the other to wind up the tape gets drive from a belt under the chassis. I think the problem is more likely the mode switch, but I'm just guessing.
Hi. I'm copying some vhs tapes onto dvd. Problem I have with a cpl of the tapes? is that the audio is terrible. I just have this buzzing/humming noise. If you have any tips I can try to hopefully improve the audio, I'd really be grateful. I know since the tapes have'nt been played for a long time, I guess these 2 tapes 'could' just simply be too far gone. Anyways, many thanks and really enjoyed learning from your clips.
If you find the IC which amplifies the audio, you could try cutting the audio input circuit board trace to going to the IC to figure out if the IC itself is the problem, or if some unwanted hum is being amplified because of a missing ground, or some other related problem. It could possibly be a bad capacitor somewhere in the circuit which is not filtering out the ripple, but this is just a guess of course.
Again thanks for your knowledge and info. I've seen a few videos on the head cleaning and as far as I can make out the two heads are at the bottom of the rotating drum and not the drum itself, in two gaps at opposite positions. Again what are your thoughts. Thank you again.
I have a Symphonic SC313B combo TV/VCR. It plays a tape fine. If I stop the tape the TV shuts off about 5-10 seconds later. If I turn it on it runs for another 5-10 seconds and shuts off. If I turn it on and play a tape it plays the tape fine. Any tips or tricks I can do to make the TV work without shutting down? I don't care about using the VCR. Thanks,
Hi Grant, I have a Toshiba DVR630KC model VCR and DVD player. I seem to have one of those rubber tires that looks like it is degrading. Where could I get one of these that would fit my vcr.? Another question I have is where could I buy a package of those Techspray Twillwipes to clean the head of my unit? My problem with my VCR is that when I put in a tape to play, it plates it for about 30 seconds and rejects the tape and the entire unit shuts off. Any advice here on what might be happening? Perhaps I need to take out the chassis and clean the timing switch? Please let me know . Thanks Michael Newell from Niagara Falls, Ontario,Canada
Oddly enough, I think that the self cleaning head in my VCR is what has kept it working all these years since the idiot that I am put a chewed tape into it, the picture went black and the TV cut to no signal instantly. So I immediately stopped the tape and ejected it and in a panic to see if my VCR was damaged I put in a good tape and it played as it should. For the the record my VCR is a Sanyo from 2004. I have had it since I was a kid.
My memory is a bit vague on that, but Sony had nice features I thought well of. In terms of reliability, for some reason panasonic comes to mind as a possible good choice.
Just hooked up my Sony VCR and it eats tapes. I'm going to have to open it up but it looks like the winding spool isn't spinning so the tape is just being flung out into the guts of the machine. It worked fine the last time I used it about 7 years ago but I'm sure something has gotten stiff or rubber has rotted away somewhere. Sad that no one makes them anymore or I'd just get a new one. I guess technically you can still get "new" ones but they're just as old as mine.
I've been watching your videos on VCR's. I have a VCR/DVD combo that I bought used. The main reason I bought it was that it would record to DVD from the VHS. However on trying to just play a VHS tape, the unit attempts to play, then spits the tape back out, and when I went to remove the casette the magnetic tape was still attached to something inside the machine and broke. What would likely be the cause? Or at least the main culprits? This way I might know what to look for to diagnose the problem and repair it.
I appreciate the info. When I get through Halloween and all the projects I have going for it I'll try to break it down and see if I can figure out what'a going on.
I've got a VHS player and when I put a tape inside, it ejects the tape back out but the tape itself is wrapped around a few things on the inside. It's why I'm here.
This helped me sooooo much with the vcr tuneup I need to do. Thank you so much!!! Glad to know I should not put WD-40 anywhere near it because it was my first thought when I heard the squeaking inside of it which I now believe so just be a result of a very old VHS tape that I was playing. By the way, do do you have any idea what might cause a very old VCR to rewind very slowly? I just picked up the VCR in question at Goodwill yesterday. It is a Sears LX I series and judging from the ports on the back I only have video in and out and the white audio cable in and out (I forget if that is the left or right channel LOL) but anyway that would seem to indicate to me that the VCR only operates in mono. Not sure because the tape sounded good when I put it in and the unit does play it I can just tell that it needs cleaning and a tuneup. I’m hoping to find the manufacture date somewhere on or inside the unit but if I had to guess I’d say it might be circa 1987. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair thank you. I repair my vcr following your video and it worked. I also use compressed air to clean dust. When I started the vcr it show me the plain blue screen, after I insert the vhs cassete it plays with no problem but when i took the vhs off or when I stop the video it show me a blue screen turn into black with some distorsion changing from black to blue and blue to black. if I turn off the vcr and turn back on it show e the plain blue screen... any idea why that happened? Also that unit was a vcr dvd combo, after I did all the celaning the dvd wont play or read the disk, probably is a dirty lense? How do you recommend clean a dvd lense? thank you
So back in the day for a couple of bucks at most of rubber 'tire' the customer would get charged about $ 200 to replace it in about what - five minutes ? Not to mention having to wait two weeks for the shop to get around to doing it. Guess we were paying for machine storage space and time till repair guy got around to it, eh. Gee, repair cost bargain for sure.
Thumbs up! I got a sony SLV-660hf that won't eject the tape. I tried to remove the bottom metal plate (4 screws) but it seems to be riveted on. Is there a trick to this?
I assume you are talking about the VCR chassis. Often times you will need to remove the circuit board from under the chassis. Otherwise it has a screw you can't reach to separate the Two. In some cases there may also be some wire connections you need to unsolder.
Maybe I need to work from the top side of the VCR to reach the bottom plastic gears under the cassette area. Thanks for the reply. It's appreciated. I'd drop it off at your shop if it wasn't 3500 miles away(from N.S.)
I just picked up an old Magnavox VCR from 1984 for $15. Everything was going great until I put a VHS tape in. It eats 'em. Want to get it repaired but the nearest electronics repair shop is 3 hours away... (I live in a rural area)
Here in Grants Pass I can pick up VCRs dirt cheap in thrift stores and garage sales. If you have such an option in your area that would be my recommendation.
Your pinch roller is suppose to pull out the tape. It sound as though your take up reel may not be doing its job correctly. Perhaps your idler clutch assembly has a problem, or your Idler wheel.
Is there some way i could email you that way I could show you what it is doing? Ill need to check out the idler wheel, But now with all of my messing around The loading dock crunches every time it moves and it ejects the cassette immediately
Can't believe anyone would ever use wd40 for cleaning electronics. Really like you sharing your years of experience. Do you think you would still be sharing this wisdom if the electronics repair business was still going strong? :)
+ZenithClarity1969 I'm not sure if I would still be sharing this info if I was preoccupied with making more money, but making these videos has been enjoyable regardless. At some point I hope to write a troubleshooting manual.
Grants Pass TV Repair That would be cool. A video tutorial series would be something you could probably sell to. Like the old repair series tapes that manufactures put out for there employees back in the day. That would be interesting to many people.
I once got a VCR from the Salvation army and it was eating tapes on occasion or it would stop and when we opened it up the loading posts were sticky and after cleaning them it fixed the problem (I think a kid may have put something in there thst wasn't supposed to go in there one time like candy or something). I wonder if that's what happened with the WD40 incident.
I use WD-40 but it's not what you think it is. WD-40 Electronic contact cleaner is what I use , but from the looks of it my problem with the capatan? going the wrong way it might be the controller thingamigig on the bottom of the chasis and I might as well get a used one of the same model and muck with it later. the JVC's have this auto picture thats always auto tracking and while it's annoying when it pops up its better than having auto track at the beginning but manually tracking when auto track doesn't work throughout the tape and only JVC had that problem is brother did store this in a storage unit for a good year or two and that might be causing the problem. and I do have a fiber glass eraser around but oddly it's gone missing :( will have to go for another.
I think VCRs have more moving parts per square inch than any machine created in our history. So complex. I have aVCR that eats every tape before clicking into play mode. Do you have any spare parts and/or advice u could send my way, that I probably need in order to succeed in a fix? It's for a children's workshop, learning the philosophy of repairing things to good again, rather than wasting the materials, and the knowledge in so any fields necessary for repair, that present themselves in frank and novel ways through tape players, i believe? It's next week. Contact me?
I'm not sure, but once you remove the VCR cover and watch the casette attempt to load into the VCR it should be esy to figure out if you already know what that process is suppose to look like.
It is not quite right what are you saying here...first of all I am not a VCR repair professional, but I know a few thing about them. 1. First of all a bad mode switch can lead to "eating tape", but of course this is not the only nor the most important symptom. A bad mode switch it is easily diagnosed by the erratic behavior of the VCR... 2. Second....bad idler tire is rarely a cause of "eating tape". If the take-up reel doesn't rotate the VCR will switch itself off because the take-up reel does have a motion sensor on it..either hall effect or optical. Usually a bad idler tire does lead to making fast forward or rewind impossible or very difficult but the playback works just fine. And if somehow the take-up reel stops rotating the vcr will shut itself off after one or two seconds reducing in this way the tape damage to a minimum, usually there will be no damage at all. 3. Of course, if you have a cassette without transparent tape ends the VCR will snap the tape right of the reels, but there was no such thing as cassetes without transparent tape end....maybe only if the cassettes were "doctored" by some "wise guys"....otherwise all the cassettes had those transparent tape leads right out of the factory. 4. Dew on the video drum can destroy a tape...but againg....the VCR has a dew sensor and it will not play a tape until the moisture on it goes off.. 5. And I never, never heard of a VCR "eating tapes" because of dirty video heads...Dirty video heads means bad picture (very noisy) or no picture at all, but does not "eat tape". Never. And video heads should be cleaned using isopropyl alcohol, or in an emergency you may use ethyl alcohol...I don't think you should use acetone. I never did, and I never will. And in the end you never spoke of the MOST COMMON cause of VCR eating tapes....Most frequently even if the mode switch is ok....even if the idler tire is ok, even if the reels are turning smothly the tape manifests a vertical instability....a tendency to go up or down on the numerous tape guides and guideposts because of those being misaligned. Sometimes those are already bent because of previous repair attempts made by some "smart guys"....and they are very difficult if not impossible to reallign. Sometimes they are misalligned only from the wear and tear of the VCR itself...but they are equally difficult/impossible to realign. Sometimes the fault manifests only on some specific working modes of the vcr. For example when you do picture searching backwards near the end of the tape...but again the most common cause of VCR eating tapes is misalligned tape guides, and this malfunction is very, very difficult to repair.
Believe as you like, but I've been repairing VCRs for about 24 years, and I've repaired many tape eating issues by replacing idler wheels and replacing or cleaning mode switches. Using acetone will often clean heads where alcohol is unable due to a build up of tape oxides from the customer using one of those alcohol cleaning tapes that spread the oxides around. I learned of its use in a factory training tape many years ago. Your correct about the VCR shutting off if the motion sensor doesn't sense the movement of the supply reel due to a bad idler wheel or mode switch, but in the process of shutting off the idler wheel is momentarily engaged to help the the tape fully retract. If it fails to retract and the tape ejects the flap on the tape often closes on the tape. Your also incorrect about misaligned guide posts being the main source of tapes being damaged. I have seen this happen with some of the early VCRs,. and I've done this alignment on many occasions, but it's a rare occurrence now days. I've also seen dirty heads cause the tape to wrap around the video heads. It's rare but it can happen due to oxide build up on the cylinder head not allowing the tape to float above the spinning cylinder head.
Anyone knows, or at least those who are not completely atechnical, that if the playback freezes to a still picture and then the VCR completely stops, or it manifests any other kind of malfunction (eg. unstable tape speed) you should never ever jump to hit eject button. Instead you should press stop, then try Fast forward then rewind....and if these functions work properly it should be safe to eject tape afterwards. If they don't work it is better to open the vcr and see what the problem is instead of hitting eject... And believe it or not "wrinkled tapes" are caused by VCR's with misaligned tape guides...
On some but not all models the tape remains wrapped around the loading posts even after you press rewind and stop or fast forward and stop, so it the VCR fails to pull in the last couple inches it will still eat your tape. On one model I noticed the loading posts didn't fully retract until I pressed the power off button as well, Pressing fast forward or rewind and stop may do the trick on some models assuming the idler wheel still has enough adhesion to pull in the supply reel a couple more inches before it ejects the tape, but it's no guarantee.
I;m Sorry To Disagree With You BUT The #1 Problem With VCR Eating Tapes was The Defective Idler Tire (As Grant Mentioned) Followed by Sensors( Mostly Reel Sensors) Mode Switches Belts and A Glazed VCR Roller When I Changed The Idler Tire, Belts And The VCR Roller This Would Rectify The Problem About 90% of the Time (In My Case History) And A Good VCR Cleaning Would Complete The Repair Process!!! I Ran A VCR Repair Business From 1986 To 2002 and Kept a Record Of All Problems And Fixes Thank You Grant For Such A Great Set Of Videos I Have Never Been Let Down Yet!!! If You Want To Fix VCR;S Like a Pro Listen To Grant!!!!
You can disagree all day long, I repaired a few VCRs and I never found one with defective sensors. And bad idler tire means the VCR stops itself long before the tape is even slightly damaged. Because of the sensors...you know...especially the take up reel sensors. The only VCRs I found that were destroyng the tape were those with misaligned tape guides. The tape had a very strange tendency to go up or down on those guides with very predictible results. It would go off the guides or getting tangled in all sort of parts of the mechanism. But you can believe whatever you want to believe. I am here to say the truth for those who want to believe it. It doesn't bother me at all if you don't believe me.
This is why I hate VCR players and VHS Tapes because of the chewing of tapes I’m glad they don’t make any VCR Players and VHS Tapes anymore because the tape eating is very scary I like DVDS and Blu Ray Player because they don’t eat the DVDS and Blu Ray so DVDS and Blu Rays are good.
DOn't use a VCR. THey are so out of date. THey were great in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s but beyond that it didn't last much longer. Currently, there are relatively few VCRs. I like the DVR on my cable box. Also, I like DVDs which still works on my VCR/DVD combo.
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Trying to fix grandmas VCR so I can check if there’s anything worth salvaging on these old tapes. Wanted you to know your content is STILL relevant and REALLY helpful! Thank you!!
Thank you. I been repairing cheap vhs players and your a life savor. Being a 90s baby I never wanna see these things leave.
The people who originally engineered and designed these machines are pure geniuses. I own about seven different models of these VHS and holding on to them for my curiosity and enjoyment.
watching part 1 and 2 hands-down this fella is a true expert!
The RCA TOP Loading VCR's used that. I started Working on them in 1986 and ended in 2004. I Still do fix them as I buy them and sell them on Ebay :) Nice Video.
We need more of you fixer guys back. Love my old tech, but seeing videos like this you get aware of all potential issues aeound the corners 😱
Thank you for the advice Mr. I actually learned a few things from watching this, and got a memory refresh.
The self cleaning head roller was on mine and I'm so pleased you said you'd rip yours off since thats what I did! Great video thanks.
Lost tallent. what a pleasure to watch someone who still appriciates old electronics and knows how to repair them.
Great video lesson Dave, thanks. I'm glad we have DVD's now. I NEVER use WD40 for anything electronic. That stuff gets sticky and nasty after some time. I hear some people say they use it for pots. I'll bet they never tell us when the device comes back to them and they have to clean the crud out!
Thank you for putting this video up. I just got a job repairing vcr's. Ill put up my own tutorials sometime soon.
I look forward to seeing them.
How much do you charge? I just sent mine in that I bought in 2001! It was eating tape's!
Thank you for the video and for sharing your knowledge
Thanks for these videos! I'm triaging a few VHS decks and and trying to absorb all the information I can!
Thanks for the info Sir. Much appreciated! Rock on 😎☮✌
Great vid. Many thanks.
Excellent info.Thanks.
You're, as they say, a scholar and gentleman.
A great teaching video ... Thank you
excellent video - thanks
thanks for the info I still have hundreds of vcr tapes
thank you! Great tips.
I have a JVC S-VHS unit, model S7600U. It eats tapes. I live in Nevada, but from what a local repair shop said, the only place to send it in for repairs is in Georgia. I will look af this video and maybe try to repair it myself! Thanks for sharing your video!
These videos are great! Do you have any suggestions as how to access the mode switch on a 1997 Panasonic VCR/TV combo?
Grant Pass TV - I have a Phillips dual VCR and DVD player which I believe is close to 14 years old and seriously I only used it 10-15 times, maximum. When I insert my VHS tape, and I tried 3 different ones, the VCR makes an effort to run, but then power's it self off. When I press the power button back on, it ejects the tape out. Any idea what the issue night be? Are you in the Texas area where you might be willing to work on it or trouble shoot it?
Great info TY
I have a USB VCR for video converting that I think is having this problem. I took the cover off and when it unwinds the tape around the reader head, it keeps unwinding too much tape and then tries to eject. I have to carefully pull it out and respool. The first thing I noticed is the idler wheel (I think that's what it is based on your video) is freely moving. I'm not sure if it's supposed to do that but nothing looks broken or damaged. Any ideas?
Is there any place to find upper cylinders for old VCRs? I have salvaged an old Hitachi VT-11AR. Unfortunately I think the heads are shot. No picture on the TV just static when tape is playing.
Yes i like your video and i giving you a like 🖒
I spent a ton of money replacing the idler tire on a Sharp 2 head in the early days.
Any idea why a newer 2003 model jvc vhs-c camcorder is chewing tapes on rewind? The tape gets close to the beginning before stopping. Not sure why it wont rewind all the way.
on mine, the tape goes in, it plays for a few seconds then the whole thing shuts off, after taking the cover off, the one the wheels while playing wasnt turning so tape unravelled.. so its the "idler wheel" how do you this this? or should i just move the "gear" manually to press play? (i only want it working to the point i can convert it all to pc)
eg: its not a rubber one but a gear one like in your video but its not moving left to right so i have to move it right to play then eject, then move it left to rewind, then eject to move it right to play again
do you do repairs and if so, it there a place to mail to or bring to? Thanks
Great video! I am having a problem that the take-up reel is not working in play mode and the tape just feeds into the machine. I will check the mode switch.
time earlier. I repaired a lot. now not. here in our country does not use the VCR video.
Very good and informative video! I NEVER use cleaning tapes. Also, you should remove the auto head cleaner wheel. This thing causes problems over time...
yeah mom's Sony has this and it's yelled brittled and 30 % of it is missing .
He mentions that at the end
Good job my friend thank you for your video!I have a NEC VCR I change the 3 black elastics belts 2 from the small moters and the other from the bottom moter but now I have 2 problems the first is that eat the tape when I eject the cassette but the film is staying inside and I must to put out with my hand and the second problem is not rewind left or right the cassette what is the problem?
I have a jvc dx62u and the loading unloading mech seems to be the issue. It loads fine and plays but unloading it isnt smart enough to put the tape back into the cassette. REW also causing the tape to be destroyed as the source reel doesnt pull as the destination reel runs in reverse pushing the tape back toward the source. I cannot find the mode switch in this model to save my life. It has to be somthing simple not kicking on the source reel motor to rewind the tape back into the cassette when ejected or something like that. I suspect that this one has an odd mode switch or some other mechanisum to control the load/unload. ANy pointers?
Having a Philips VR110/55 VCR. It has a playback problem. The head seams to loose it's speed when ever I change the cassette . Can you provide me with a solution.
Great videos! What is that wipe you use? The glare on the plastic made it hard to see.
Acetone is fantastic for degreasing metal and glass but I’d use caution inside electronics because it eats plastic. I use electronic cleaner or Naphtha for real stubborn grease.
Acetone is the best cleaner I've found for video heads. I learned of it from a VCR manufacture who suggested it in their training video, but your right about the problem of getting it on plastic.
Very informative
Wd-40 killer of vcr belts everywhere. Seen many of those in the past! Nothing like watching a rubber belt turn in to an elongated gooey mush.
Some people believe that WD-40 is good for everything. In their infinite wisdom, some people come up with the craziest ideas. Unrelated to electronics, when I was with my car to be repaired at Renault shop, they mentioned that one person came with their car burnt at the back. What they did, they cleaned the brake discs and pads with benzine and after that they tried the effectiveness of the brakes, by braking hard. It's easy to imagine what followed. Benzine + heat = fire.
hey there just watched one of your videos about vcr eating tapes. i have a sony ev-a50 8mm player recorder. bought it back in the 90's and rarely used it. after sitting on a shelf in the basement for more than 2 decades i set it up and played a tape. played just fine until i fast forward. blue screen. ejected the tape and as they say it ate the tape. what i believe is happening is the drive wheels that make contact with the cassette are not turning to retrieve the tape back in the cassette. you mentioned that idle gear between the two drive gears. and you moved it back and forth. this is what puzzles me I've looked this thing over and i can't see what makes it go from one gear to the other. in fact it will make contact with one gear but when i swing it back to other gear it doesn't touch it. it seems to have stopper points on it so I'm so confused about this idle gear. maybe this isn't my problem and i need to look at another issue. what ever went wrong must have been because it sat on a shelf in the basement all those years. what the heck moves that idle gear? thanks so much. i liked your video
The idler tire or gear which connects with one spindle or the other to wind up the tape gets drive from a belt under the chassis. I think the problem is more likely the mode switch, but I'm just guessing.
Hi. I'm copying some vhs tapes onto dvd. Problem I have with a cpl of the tapes? is that the audio is terrible. I just have this buzzing/humming noise. If you have any tips I can try to hopefully improve the audio, I'd really be grateful. I know since the tapes have'nt been played for a long time, I guess these 2 tapes 'could' just simply be too far gone. Anyways, many thanks and really enjoyed learning from your clips.
If you find the IC which amplifies the audio, you could try cutting the audio input circuit board trace to going to the IC to figure out if the IC itself is the problem, or if some unwanted hum is being amplified because of a missing ground, or some other related problem. It could possibly be a bad capacitor somewhere in the circuit which is not filtering out the ripple, but this is just a guess of course.
A nice video about video. Those are complex devices in my opinion.
Again thanks for your knowledge and info. I've seen a few videos on the head cleaning and as far as I can make out the two heads are at the bottom of the rotating drum and not the drum itself, in two gaps at opposite positions. Again what are your thoughts. Thank you again.
Yes correct. The cylinder itself is not the heads. and the heads are very fragile.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair Again, thanks for the prompt reply, very refreshing. Singem.
i wish you had of shown us how to take the self cleaning head off. thanks anyway, very helpful vid!
I have a Symphonic SC313B combo TV/VCR. It plays a tape fine. If I stop the tape the TV shuts off about 5-10 seconds later. If I turn it on it runs for another 5-10 seconds and shuts off. If I turn it on and play a tape it plays the tape fine. Any tips or tricks I can do to make the TV work without shutting down? I don't care about using the VCR. Thanks,
Hi Grant, I have a Toshiba DVR630KC model VCR and DVD player. I seem to have one of those rubber tires that looks like it is degrading. Where could I get one of these that would fit my vcr.? Another question I have is where could I buy a package of those Techspray Twillwipes to clean the head of my unit? My problem with my VCR is that when I put in a tape to play, it plates it for about 30 seconds and rejects the tape and the entire unit shuts off. Any advice here on what might be happening? Perhaps I need to take out the chassis and clean the timing switch? Please let me know . Thanks Michael Newell from Niagara Falls, Ontario,Canada
I mentioned a place in this video that probably sells the rubber tires you need. th-cam.com/video/ufuELzsMKUg/w-d-xo.html
Oddly enough, I think that the self cleaning head in my VCR is what has kept it working all these years since the idiot that I am put a chewed tape into it, the picture went black and the TV cut to no signal instantly. So I immediately stopped the tape and ejected it and in a panic to see if my VCR was damaged I put in a good tape and it played as it should. For the the record my VCR is a Sanyo from 2004. I have had it since I was a kid.
Who do u. Recommend for. Service I have a. Magnavox. Model. Zv427mg9. I live in northern. Cal.
Thank you
In your years of experience, which manufacturer made the best VHS player?
My memory is a bit vague on that, but Sony had nice features I thought well of. In terms of reliability, for some reason panasonic comes to mind as a possible good choice.
Just hooked up my Sony VCR and it eats tapes. I'm going to have to open it up but it looks like the winding spool isn't spinning so the tape is just being flung out into the guts of the machine. It worked fine the last time I used it about 7 years ago but I'm sure something has gotten stiff or rubber has rotted away somewhere. Sad that no one makes them anymore or I'd just get a new one. I guess technically you can still get "new" ones but they're just as old as mine.
The symptom you described can often be repaired by replacing the idler tire and or a slipping belt.
I've been watching your videos on VCR's. I have a VCR/DVD combo that I bought used. The main reason I bought it was that it would record to DVD from the VHS. However on trying to just play a VHS tape, the unit attempts to play, then spits the tape back out, and when I went to remove the casette the magnetic tape was still attached to something inside the machine and broke. What would likely be the cause? Or at least the main culprits? This way I might know what to look for to diagnose the problem and repair it.
It could be a slipping belt or dirty mode switch or possibly a bad clutch mechanism but I can't say for sure.
I appreciate the info. When I get through Halloween and all the projects I have going for it I'll try to break it down and see if I can figure out what'a going on.
I still have a VCR next door
Are you still around? Location, if i were to send you my VCR?
Nah, I'll just bring it back to Goodwill
I've got a VHS player and when I put a tape inside, it ejects the tape back out but the tape itself is wrapped around a few things on the inside. It's why I'm here.
That's a common problem. My first approach would be to clean the mode switch, and check for slipping belts.
Hi, can an old stretched out belt cause a VCR to eat tape or shut down with the tape snagged up inside?
I think it's more likely to be a dirty mode switch or idler tire or gear causing your VCR to eat tapes.
This helped me sooooo much with the vcr tuneup I need to do. Thank you so much!!! Glad to know I should not put WD-40 anywhere near it because it was my first thought when I heard the squeaking inside of it which I now believe so just be a result of a very old VHS tape that I was playing. By the way, do do you have any idea what might cause a very old VCR to rewind very slowly? I just picked up the VCR in question at Goodwill yesterday. It is a Sears LX I series and judging from the ports on the back I only have video in and out and the white audio cable in and out (I forget if that is the left or right channel LOL) but anyway that would seem to indicate to me that the VCR only operates in mono. Not sure because the tape sounded good when I put it in and the unit does play it I can just tell that it needs cleaning and a tuneup. I’m hoping to find the manufacture date somewhere on or inside the unit but if I had to guess I’d say it might be circa 1987. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.
I have always assumed a VCR with only one audio output jack would be mono.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair thanks! Any idea what would cause the VCR to rewind very slowly ?
@@sweetsapphire88 The only thing that comes to mind is a possible slipping belt or idler tire.
that vcr is missing the full erase head
i have a question, if i use compressed air (from a can) to clean dust, that will damage any part of the vcr?
After doing so for years I've never damaged a VCR using compressed air.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair thank you. I repair my vcr following your video and it worked. I also use compressed air to clean dust. When I started the vcr it show me the plain blue screen, after I insert the vhs cassete it plays with no problem but when i took the vhs off or when I stop the video it show me a blue screen turn into black with some distorsion changing from black to blue and blue to black. if I turn off the vcr and turn back on it show e the plain blue screen... any idea why that happened?
Also that unit was a vcr dvd combo, after I did all the celaning the dvd wont play or read the disk, probably is a dirty lense? How do you recommend clean a dvd lense? thank you
So back in the day for a couple of bucks at most of rubber 'tire' the customer would get charged about $ 200 to replace it in about what - five minutes ? Not to mention having to wait two weeks for the shop to get around to doing it. Guess we were paying for machine storage space and time till repair guy got around to it, eh. Gee, repair cost bargain for sure.
yea these crooks were robbing us.
My VCR is having issues grabbing the tape fully, would that be a mode switch issue?
It might possibly be the cause.
i did the w d-40 but i got know where to spray
Thumbs up! I got a sony SLV-660hf that won't eject the tape. I tried to remove the bottom metal plate (4 screws) but it seems to be riveted on. Is there a trick to this?
I assume you are talking about the VCR chassis. Often times you will need to remove the circuit board from under the chassis. Otherwise it has a screw you can't reach to separate the Two. In some cases there may also be some wire connections you need to unsolder.
Maybe I need to work from the top side of the VCR to reach the bottom plastic gears under the cassette area. Thanks for the reply. It's appreciated. I'd drop it off at your shop if it wasn't 3500 miles away(from N.S.)
If you take your time I'm sure you'll figure it out.
I just picked up an old Magnavox VCR from 1984 for $15. Everything was going great until I put a VHS tape in. It eats 'em. Want to get it repaired but the nearest electronics repair shop is 3 hours away... (I live in a rural area)
Here in Grants Pass I can pick up VCRs dirt cheap in thrift stores and garage sales. If you have such an option in your area that would be my recommendation.
Grants Pass TV Repair can I send you my vcr to get fixed ?
Why is a double unit not worth repairing if by repairing it you can make sometimes $300 as refurbished with some units? If it has a dvd recorder
Nobody in their right mind would pay $300 for a combo unit lol.
Those things are made so cheap and without repairability in mind.
I always take that self-cleaning thing off. They're easy to unclip.
That's probably a good idea.
Panasonic sd 320 error f04 how fixed issue
Mine ate my Night Court tape!
I make $200,000 a year servicing and selling VCRs.
What if my vcr eats the tape using the pinch roller? As soon as I put the tapes in the pinch roller starts spinning and pulls out way to much tape
Your pinch roller is suppose to pull out the tape. It sound as though your take up reel may not be doing its job correctly. Perhaps your idler clutch assembly has a problem, or your Idler wheel.
Is there some way i could email you that way I could show you what it is doing? Ill need to check out the idler wheel, But now with all of my messing around The loading dock crunches every time it moves and it ejects the cassette immediately
Major tip....Don't spray everything with WD40! :-)
If I want you to fix the VCR, which is eating the tape/brakeing the tape, how can I send it to you.
I'm not doing any repairs that require shipping, but you stop in I'd be glad to look it over and see if it's something I'd like to work on.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair where are you located
@@maheshgoyal8403 I'm here in Grants Pass Oregon
Can't believe anyone would ever use wd40 for cleaning electronics.
Really like you sharing your years of experience. Do you think you would still be sharing this wisdom if the electronics repair business was still going strong? :)
+ZenithClarity1969 I'm not sure if I would still be sharing this info if I was preoccupied with making more money, but making these videos has been enjoyable regardless. At some point I hope to write a troubleshooting manual.
Grants Pass TV Repair
That would be cool. A video tutorial series would be something you could probably sell to. Like the old repair series tapes that manufactures put out for there employees back in the day.
That would be interesting to many people.
I once got a VCR from the Salvation army and it was eating tapes on occasion or it would stop and when we opened it up the loading posts were sticky and after cleaning them it fixed the problem (I think a kid may have put something in there thst wasn't supposed to go in there one time like candy or something). I wonder if that's what happened with the WD40 incident.
I use WD-40 but it's not what you think it is. WD-40 Electronic contact cleaner is what I use , but from the looks of it my problem with the capatan? going the wrong way it might be the controller thingamigig on the bottom of the chasis and I might as well get a used one of the same model and muck with it later. the JVC's have this auto picture thats always auto tracking and while it's annoying when it pops up its better than having auto track at the beginning but manually tracking when auto track doesn't work throughout the tape and only JVC had that problem is brother did store this in a storage unit for a good year or two and that might be causing the problem. and I do have a fiber glass eraser around but oddly it's gone missing :( will have to go for another.
@@GrantsPassTVRepair Let's us know when you do Dave! You're great.
I think VCRs have more moving parts per square inch than any machine created in our history. So complex. I have aVCR that eats every tape before clicking into play mode. Do you have any spare parts and/or advice u could send my way, that I probably need in order to succeed in a fix? It's for a children's workshop, learning the philosophy of repairing things to good again, rather than wasting the materials, and the knowledge in so any fields necessary for repair, that present themselves in frank and novel ways through tape players, i believe? It's next week. Contact me?
I'm not sure, but once you remove the VCR cover and watch the casette attempt to load into the VCR it should be esy to figure out if you already know what that process is suppose to look like.
Ever heard of clocks and how many moving parts they have?
VCRs are pretty simple machines when compared to clocks.
It is not quite right what are you saying here...first of all I am not a VCR repair professional, but I know a few thing about them.
1. First of all a bad mode switch can lead to "eating tape", but of course this is not the only nor the most important symptom. A bad mode switch it is easily diagnosed by the erratic behavior of the VCR...
2. Second....bad idler tire is rarely a cause of "eating tape". If the take-up reel doesn't rotate the VCR will switch itself off because the take-up reel does have a motion sensor on it..either hall effect or optical. Usually a bad idler tire does lead to making fast forward or rewind impossible or very difficult but the playback works just fine. And if somehow the take-up reel stops rotating the vcr will shut itself off after one or two seconds reducing in this way the tape damage to a minimum, usually there will be no damage at all.
3. Of course, if you have a cassette without transparent tape ends the VCR will snap the tape right of the reels, but there was no such thing as cassetes without transparent tape end....maybe only if the cassettes were "doctored" by some "wise guys"....otherwise all the cassettes had those transparent tape leads right out of the factory.
4. Dew on the video drum can destroy a tape...but againg....the VCR has a dew sensor and it will not play a tape until the moisture on it goes off..
5. And I never, never heard of a VCR "eating tapes" because of dirty video heads...Dirty video heads means bad picture (very noisy) or no picture at all, but does not "eat tape". Never. And video heads should be cleaned using isopropyl alcohol, or in an emergency you may use ethyl alcohol...I don't think you should use acetone. I never did, and I never will.
And in the end you never spoke of the MOST COMMON cause of VCR eating tapes....Most frequently even if the mode switch is ok....even if the idler tire is ok, even if the reels are turning smothly the tape manifests a vertical instability....a tendency to go up or down on the numerous tape guides and guideposts because of those being misaligned. Sometimes those are already bent because of previous repair attempts made by some "smart guys"....and they are very difficult if not impossible to reallign. Sometimes they are misalligned only from the wear and tear of the VCR itself...but they are equally difficult/impossible to realign. Sometimes the fault manifests only on some specific working modes of the vcr. For example when you do picture searching backwards near the end of the tape...but again the most common cause of VCR eating tapes is misalligned tape guides, and this malfunction is very, very difficult to repair.
Believe as you like, but I've been repairing VCRs for about 24 years, and I've repaired many tape eating issues by replacing idler wheels and replacing or cleaning mode switches. Using acetone will often clean heads where alcohol is unable due to a build up of tape oxides from the customer using one of those alcohol cleaning tapes that spread the oxides around. I learned of its use in a factory training tape many years ago.
Your correct about the VCR shutting off if the motion sensor doesn't sense the movement of the supply reel due to a bad idler wheel or mode switch, but in the process of shutting off the idler wheel is momentarily engaged to help the the tape fully retract. If it fails to retract and the tape ejects the flap on the tape often closes on the tape.
Your also incorrect about misaligned guide posts being the main source of tapes being damaged. I have seen this happen with some of the early VCRs,. and I've done this alignment on many occasions, but it's a rare occurrence now days.
I've also seen dirty heads cause the tape to wrap around the video heads. It's rare but it can happen due to oxide build up on the cylinder head not allowing the tape to float above the spinning cylinder head.
Anyone knows, or at least those who are not completely atechnical, that if the playback freezes to a still picture and then the VCR completely stops, or it manifests any other kind of malfunction (eg. unstable tape speed) you should never ever jump to hit eject button. Instead you should press stop, then try Fast forward then rewind....and if these functions work properly it should be safe to eject tape afterwards. If they don't work it is better to open the vcr and see what the problem is instead of hitting eject...
And believe it or not "wrinkled tapes" are caused by VCR's with misaligned tape guides...
On some but not all models the tape remains wrapped around the loading posts even after you press rewind and stop or fast forward and stop, so it the VCR fails to pull in the last couple inches it will still eat your tape. On one model I noticed the loading posts didn't fully retract until I pressed the power off button as well, Pressing fast forward or rewind and stop may do the trick on some models assuming the idler wheel still has enough adhesion to pull in the supply reel a couple more inches before it ejects the tape, but it's no guarantee.
I;m Sorry To Disagree With You BUT The #1 Problem With VCR Eating Tapes was The Defective Idler Tire (As Grant Mentioned) Followed by Sensors( Mostly Reel Sensors) Mode Switches Belts and A Glazed VCR Roller When I Changed The Idler Tire, Belts And The VCR Roller This Would Rectify The Problem About 90% of the Time (In My Case History) And A Good VCR Cleaning Would Complete The Repair Process!!! I Ran A VCR Repair Business From 1986 To 2002 and Kept a Record Of All Problems And Fixes Thank You Grant For Such A Great Set Of Videos I Have Never Been Let Down Yet!!! If You Want To Fix VCR;S Like a Pro Listen To Grant!!!!
You can disagree all day long, I repaired a few VCRs and I never found one with defective sensors. And bad idler tire means the VCR stops itself long before the tape is even slightly damaged. Because of the sensors...you know...especially the take up reel sensors. The only VCRs I found that were destroyng the tape were those with misaligned tape guides. The tape had a very strange tendency to go up or down on those guides with very predictible results. It would go off the guides or getting tangled in all sort of parts of the mechanism. But you can believe whatever you want to believe. I am here to say the truth for those who want to believe it. It doesn't bother me at all if you don't believe me.
This is why I hate VCR players and VHS Tapes because of the chewing of tapes I’m glad they don’t make any VCR Players and VHS Tapes anymore because the tape eating is very scary I like DVDS and Blu Ray Player because they don’t eat the DVDS and Blu Ray so DVDS and Blu Rays are good.
DOn't use a VCR. THey are so out of date. THey were great in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s but beyond that it didn't last much longer. Currently, there are relatively few VCRs. I like the DVR on my cable box. Also, I like DVDs which still works on my VCR/DVD combo.