Tape Was Jammed In VCR Machine, Now Picture Jumps

Whitespirit66

Whitespirit66

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I have a 5 year old Philips VHS VCR. Recently the tape I was using got caught in the macine. I think it was the fault of the cassette.

I managed to tease the cassette and several feet of tape out of the machine, through the flap at the front. I was very careful.

Now, when playing back tapes, the picture jumps upwards briefly every 2 or 3 seconds approx. I have tried adjusting the tracking via the buttons on the remote, but this doesn't cure it.

Is there anything I can adjust inside the machine, or do I need a pro? Is the machine economically repairable, it was a really good machine before this?
 
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Not economically viable. but all you need to do is clean the drum head, to restore function. Beware ripping out the head on the drum while cleaning.

Far better than using a cleaning tape.

Whilst in there, use a very fine grade emery paper on the capstan, rubber roller to the right of the head, to boost it's ability to feed tape to the head, and prevent further tape crashes. And make sure the mode switch is clear, and apply white grease where neccesary. Other lubricants attract dirt etc, so make sure it's OK.
 
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definately go for cleaning
if you don't have a cleaning tape try inserting and ejecting a tape several times as some machines have a felt pad that momenteraly rubs the head during incertion

in general if a tape gets tangled its best to remove the top and ease out
but only with power off and tape ejected
 
Thanks for your replies.

Will try a cleaning tape first, then get busy with the screwdriver and alcohol (for cleaning purposes!) if I get no joy.

I know it's an antiquated system, but so am I. ;)
 
Clean the audio/control head too - a tall, vertical head a bit like you find in an audio cassette recorder, somewhere on the right of the spinning head drum.

Don't clean the video heads (on the spinning drum) unless you have researched how you do it, as there's a 99% chance you'll either miss them completely, or snap them!

Nothing wrong with VHS... who can resist all those pre-recorded tapes in charity shops for 10p?
 
quite sure your heads is not the problem but with philips vcr's the pinch wheel was usually the culprit check the tapes that have gone through the machine while the fault has been on open the cassette flap and see if the tape has been creased in a slant pattern at intervals along the tape if this is the case do not put any cassettes in the machine until the pinch roller has been replaced as this has permantley damaged the tape and once damaged will play back faulty even in a good machine.
 
D

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