Hitatchi VCR Problems

I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?

--
|-----/ | Se7en
/ The One and Only! | l
/ | 0x73518A15BA3C1476
/ | http://koolkidsklub.tech/~se7en/

On Wed, 23 Aug 2017 02:14:44 +0000 (UTC), Se7en
wrote:

I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?

Throw it away, go to Goodwill and get another one for $5

On 8/22/2017 10:14 PM, Se7en wrote:
I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?


Things that fail in VHS VCRs:
capacitors
belts
rubber rollers
plastic levers, guides, etc that move tape in and out of the tape path
around the helical scan heads.
heads also wear out over time.
also young kids like to jam stuff in thru the tape door.

On Wed, 23 Aug 2017 02:14:44 +0000 (UTC), Se7en
wrote:

I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?


Is it one like this ?

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/hitachi_vtr_8000e.html

Beta or VHS ? or some earlier unique cassette ?

John T.

On 2017-08-23, (in message
) transcribed: Is it one
like this? http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/hitachi_vtr_8000e.html

No. It's a Hitachi Video Deck Model No. VT-1100A. It front loads

Beta or VHS?

VHS.

--
|-----/ | Se7en
/ The One and Only! | l
/ | 0x73518A15BA3C1476
/ | http://koolkidsklub.tech/~se7en/

I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?


Is it one like this?
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/hitachi_vtr_8000e.html



No. It's a Hitachi Video Deck Model No. VT-1100A.
It front loads VHS.



http://vintageelectronics.betamaxcol...lvt-1100a.html

This link says that a belt kit is often required.

ps: posted to alt.home.repair and alt.comp.hardware
as per original message
John T.

On 8/22/2017 10:14 PM, Se7en wrote:
I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?



Have you actually opened it up and watched what happens when you insert a
tape? There are several actions involved but the most important thing is
that the cassette door is popped open and the mechanism pulls a loop of
tape out and wraps it through the mechanism and (partially) around the
rotating video head. It is a very well-timed mechanical ballet when it
works but when it goes even slightly awry...

Wild guess is that you will find a stripped gear which drives the
'extraction' mechanism -- the plastic gears used there are usually total
crap in consumer machines. Parts are probably impossible to come by unless
you can find a couple of donor machines to strip.

John McGaw wrote:
On 8/22/2017 10:14 PM, Se7en wrote:
I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?



Have you actually opened it up and watched what happens when you insert
a tape? There are several actions involved but the most important thing
is that the cassette door is popped open and the mechanism pulls a loop
of tape out and wraps it through the mechanism and (partially) around
the rotating video head. It is a very well-timed mechanical ballet when
it works but when it goes even slightly awry...

Wild guess is that you will find a stripped gear which drives the
'extraction' mechanism -- the plastic gears used there are usually total
crap in consumer machines. Parts are probably impossible to come by
unless you can find a couple of donor machines to strip.

On my failed front-load Mitsubishi four head, the tape
loading mechanism is controlled by a hardware sequencer.
Rather than using digital electronics or an embedded processor,
instead there is a wafer switch that rotates. The wafer switch
had things like optical sensors connected to it. The wafer would
advance from state to state, based on feedback from the
sensors.

There were two IR sensors that I could spot. I used an IR detector
card (the kind sold at Radio Shack many years ago), to verify the
IR LED on each was working. And putting a piece of opaque material
in front of the beam, cutting it off, made the phototransistor output
swing from rail to rail.

So I knew that part was working.

The motors used to advance the cassette, probably had overcurrent
detection (to detect a jam, in-flight). But without a schematic,
it wasn't possible to figure out the logic, or see what factors
affected operation.

The tape wouldn't stay in mine, and would be ejected again.
At least some features of the hardware sequencer were working,
but I couldn't figure out what input wasn't working right.

I sent mine off to the recycler.

And the $150 replacement (the only thing I could get locally), it's
just not the same. Not worth owning one of those, as the heads aren't
that good. Playback quality sucked.

The last VCR factory, closed a year or two ago (there was a news article).
There won't be any new machines, and what you see, is whatever stock
is still on store shelves. And I wouldn't say I was "lucky" to get my
$150 unit either. Yes, it "works" in some sense, but it isn't worth owning
one unless you're desperate for entertainment (at the cottage, out of
antenna range or no Internet etc).

The mistake I made with my Mitsubishi, was turning off the power.
For years, it sat there with power connected, and you could feel
a tiny bit of heat from the vent. So it was a waster of electricity.
Every time I stuck a tape in it, it worked.

Then one year, I decided to unplug it. Thinking that nothing bad
would happen. It sat without power for a year. And when I plugged
it in, it would no longer ingest tapes properly. So much for the
false economy of saving electricity.

Paul

On 8/25/2017 5:03 PM, Paul wrote:
John McGaw wrote:
On 8/22/2017 10:14 PM, Se7en wrote:
I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?



Have you actually opened it up and watched what happens when you insert a
tape? There are several actions involved but the most important thing is
that the cassette door is popped open and the mechanism pulls a loop of
tape out and wraps it through the mechanism and (partially) around the
rotating video head. It is a very well-timed mechanical ballet when it
works but when it goes even slightly awry...

Wild guess is that you will find a stripped gear which drives the
'extraction' mechanism -- the plastic gears used there are usually total
crap in consumer machines. Parts are probably impossible to come by
unless you can find a couple of donor machines to strip.

On my failed front-load Mitsubishi four head, the tape
loading mechanism is controlled by a hardware sequencer.
Rather than using digital electronics or an embedded processor,
instead there is a wafer switch that rotates. The wafer switch
had things like optical sensors connected to it. The wafer would
advance from state to state, based on feedback from the
sensors.

There were two IR sensors that I could spot. I used an IR detector
card (the kind sold at Radio Shack many years ago), to verify the
IR LED on each was working. And putting a piece of opaque material
in front of the beam, cutting it off, made the phototransistor output
swing from rail to rail.

So I knew that part was working.

The motors used to advance the cassette, probably had overcurrent
detection (to detect a jam, in-flight). But without a schematic,
it wasn't possible to figure out the logic, or see what factors
affected operation.

The tape wouldn't stay in mine, and would be ejected again.
At least some features of the hardware sequencer were working,
but I couldn't figure out what input wasn't working right.

I sent mine off to the recycler.

And the $150 replacement (the only thing I could get locally), it's
just not the same. Not worth owning one of those, as the heads aren't
that good. Playback quality sucked.

The last VCR factory, closed a year or two ago (there was a news article).
There won't be any new machines, and what you see, is whatever stock
is still on store shelves. And I wouldn't say I was "lucky" to get my
$150 unit either. Yes, it "works" in some sense, but it isn't worth owning
one unless you're desperate for entertainment (at the cottage, out of
antenna range or no Internet etc).

The mistake I made with my Mitsubishi, was turning off the power.
For years, it sat there with power connected, and you could feel
a tiny bit of heat from the vent. So it was a waster of electricity.
Every time I stuck a tape in it, it worked.

Then one year, I decided to unplug it. Thinking that nothing bad
would happen. It sat without power for a year. And when I plugged
it in, it would no longer ingest tapes properly. So much for the
false economy of saving electricity.

Â*Â* Paul

If somebody just _had_ to buy a new VHS right now, it would be possible --
at least with deep pockets. For $700 you could buy a new "Sanyo DVD
Recorder/VCR Combo" or a refurbished one for about half the price. Probably
the guy who wound up with some of these "dead" products in the back of his
warehouse a few years ago is feeling much better about it now. Ones from
other makers like Funai are still hanging about too but I've never heard of
some of them. I don't even know for sure where my last VHS machine
disappeared to -- it is either in the "room of electronic mysteries" in the
basement providing housing for unemployed spiders or it might have gone to
the recyclers and I just forgot about it.

On 8/25/2017 5:11 PM, John McGaw wrote:
On 8/25/2017 5:03 PM, Paul wrote:
John McGaw wrote:
On 8/22/2017 10:14 PM, Se7en wrote:
I bought a early 1980's-era Hitachi VCR (billed as a VTR on its
casing) and connections, dispays and buttons all work. Only thing not
working is its heads (the most important part). Putting a tape in
results in loud mechanical clanking sounds. The tape refuses to play,
rewind, fast forward, or even rewind. The counter doesn't move, nor
does the tape position. Does anyone have advice for repairing tape
heads?

Have you actually opened it up and watched what happens when you
insert a tape? There are several actions involved but the most
important thing is that the cassette door is popped open and the
mechanism pulls a loop of tape out and wraps it through the mechanism
and (partially) around the rotating video head. It is a very
well-timed mechanical ballet when it works but when it goes even
slightly awry...

Wild guess is that you will find a stripped gear which drives the
'extraction' mechanism -- the plastic gears used there are usually
total crap in consumer machines. Parts are probably impossible to
come by unless you can find a couple of donor machines to strip.

On my failed front-load Mitsubishi four head, the tape
loading mechanism is controlled by a hardware sequencer.
Rather than using digital electronics or an embedded processor,
instead there is a wafer switch that rotates. The wafer switch
had things like optical sensors connected to it. The wafer would
advance from state to state, based on feedback from the
sensors.

There were two IR sensors that I could spot. I used an IR detector
card (the kind sold at Radio Shack many years ago), to verify the
IR LED on each was working. And putting a piece of opaque material
in front of the beam, cutting it off, made the phototransistor output
swing from rail to rail.

So I knew that part was working.

The motors used to advance the cassette, probably had overcurrent
detection (to detect a jam, in-flight). But without a schematic,
it wasn't possible to figure out the logic, or see what factors
affected operation.

The tape wouldn't stay in mine, and would be ejected again.
At least some features of the hardware sequencer were working,
but I couldn't figure out what input wasn't working right.

I sent mine off to the recycler.

And the $150 replacement (the only thing I could get locally), it's
just not the same. Not worth owning one of those, as the heads aren't
that good. Playback quality sucked.

The last VCR factory, closed a year or two ago (there was a news
article).
There won't be any new machines, and what you see, is whatever stock
is still on store shelves. And I wouldn't say I was "lucky" to get my
$150 unit either. Yes, it "works" in some sense, but it isn't worth
owning
one unless you're desperate for entertainment (at the cottage, out of
antenna range or no Internet etc).

The mistake I made with my Mitsubishi, was turning off the power.
For years, it sat there with power connected, and you could feel
a tiny bit of heat from the vent. So it was a waster of electricity.
Every time I stuck a tape in it, it worked.

Then one year, I decided to unplug it. Thinking that nothing bad
would happen. It sat without power for a year. And when I plugged
it in, it would no longer ingest tapes properly. So much for the
false economy of saving electricity.

Paul

If somebody just _had_ to buy a new VHS right now, it would be possible
-- at least with deep pockets. For $700 you could buy a new "Sanyo DVD
Recorder/VCR Combo" or a refurbished one for about half the price.
Probably the guy who wound up with some of these "dead" products in the
back of his warehouse a few years ago is feeling much better about it
now. Ones from other makers like Funai are still hanging about too but
I've never heard of some of them. I don't even know for sure where my
last VHS machine disappeared to -- it is either in the "room of
electronic mysteries" in the basement providing housing for unemployed
spiders or it might have gone to the recyclers and I just forgot about it.

Get a TV card such as the Hauppauge hvr1800 for $25 or less delivered,
from Ebay. Get the software CD from the mfg for $10 or use the excellent
free, open source MediaPortal software available from sourceforge and
watch, listen and/or record ATSC, NTSC, ClearQAM and FM signals for
either simultaneous or later playback. You'll thank me later.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/mediaportal/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HAUPPAUGE-WI...pid=1700241170