IMPORTANT: When re-greasing the tracks of the loading mechanism, do not copy what I did in the video. Instead, clean off all existing grey grease with a dry cotton swab, then apply fresh white lithium grease. Do not use just any random grease!
I worked for a national repair company for 23 years and serviced thousands of VCR"s.I always held the head cleaning paper at the 3 o clock position on the head cylinder while turning the head cylinder counter clockwise. I mention this because at many seminars they told us by turning the cylinder in the opposite direction of spin sometimes the cylinder bearing grease would be dislodged.
I used to use wetted paper myself back in the day and I always turned the drum by hand in the same direction that it was powered up. The later built in head cleaners I found to be more of a nuisance than a help and I removed the contaminated units and left them out. It's a pity that by the time Panasonic were making these machines which were very good performers the VCR was starting to go out of fashion. I still have my Panasonic HV ND 630 which I just used today , It's 19 years old and still works beautifully , the pinch roller was replaced ten years ago along with a leaking PSU capacitor .
I still have one of these which I bought brand new in about 2000, it is still on my hifi rack, and it still works. I also still have some JVC S-VHS tapes new in the shrink wrap.
A couple of years ago I went into a charity shop as I usually do and scanned the VHS decks looking for any SVHS ones. Well they had one, for £5. I couldn't believe it. They did not know the difference between it and a standard VHS so I was pretty lucky.
Most people couldn't tell the difference between VHS and S-VHS, but they look up prices online and figure out that way that S-VHS is worth more. You got lucky!
what is the regular life span of a headdrum? given no VCRs are being manufactured...i assume we will never find them again. Panasonic VCRs from 1998-on...says 9000 hours long life head.
Hello You know, I wanted to ask you even to consult about the Panasonic NVHS1000 video recorder
I have a question about the Bvg of the upper part, that is, the upper cylinder ... Our device had a critical wear of the crystals (panasonic veh 0651 VJB00T07) and we changed it to a new analogue (VEH0454 VJP0032) .. The VJB00T07 board was soldered onto our new upper cylinder 0454 and put on the device ... We twisted the racks and removed all distortions ... But here's the question The head, that is, the whole cylinder, seems to be rotating quickly, that is, the speed has increased and the image is not of the best quality, when you just slow it down with your finger from above, the image falls into place and shows perfectly ... Please tell me how to reduce the rotation speed of the cylinder
Great stuff on your channel Dr. Cassette. I'm definetely subscribing. I've got one question for you Sir... I hope you can help me with this. I've got the exact same model as you (NV-HS950). In playback mode, the image is absolutely fantastic, but when I fast forward, the image colors get distorted, kind of oversaturated with lots of reds all over the place. When I return to normal speed, everything is right... no distortion. What's wrong...? I have no clue what could be causing this. Thank you very much!!!
can u tell me what this superdrive system actually is? i cant find the info online...its advertised a lot on their VCRs for a decade...i just ordered one on ebay coming from the UK...says Made in Japan.
what liquid are you putting in the paper to clean the head drum? I used to use a dry paper while the tape would run...it was the way I used to clean my VCR as a kid.
I just picked one up the box is opened but its never been used and still in its wrapping. It came with all unopened leads and evan a spare remote thats £30 to buy on ebay. All manuals to. I payed £50 quid i still cant believe my luck.
The TV studio is still something I'd like to have, the problem with the original project was that I was not able to spend as much money as I would have needed to get good results. Early 90s analog consumer equipment just doesn't give very good results. Of course with High Definition being pretty much the standard these days, old professional Standard Definition TV equipment has come down in price, but you need a good source. Ebay is very overpriced. I'd love to have some big Ikegami HK-355s just to play around with :D
Hello, DrCassette. It's me again ... as far as I can see from your videos, there's always a way to remove the mechanism without misaligning it. Is that correct? I have a NOS JVC HR-S9911U that needs lubing and a dump find: a Panasonic AG-7650 that, I hope, only needs lubing. Thanks for you videos - not only on VCRs but on other analog devices. Cheers!
It depends. Sometimes it's safe to take out the mechanism. Sometimes it's not. Try to find the service manual to your VCRs online, those will contain instructions for disassembly.
I've got one of these machines and the front display panel started intermittently working, and then eventually stopped working completely. Everything thing else works but just can't see the display. Any suggestions on where to look inside? A bad cap maybe?
With the display working intermittently for some time before going out completely I would have suggested bad solder joints on the display. A failed diode is an interesting problem. Thanks for the update.
Wow, I have nv-755hd model, 6 head hi-fi over 20 yrs. but when i play vdo, it show F04. So i open cover,it look like in this clip. Then press play, i found tape stuck around right pin (pin that lift up when insert cassette). Like it no power to pull tape then tape go out more and more finally stop and show F04.(sorry my english is bad, don't know how to explain). I don't know what's the problem? slack belt? or should i clean or apply grease somewhere? here's clip ua-cam.com/video/m-L5mUtkbJ4/v-deo.html
The self cleaning arms are designed to rotate parallel to the drum. With a cleaning stick, there is always the risk of damaging the heads by moving the stick not exactly parallel to the head drum, or applying too much pressure, getting the head tips stuck in the foam pores and ripping them off. I know there are cleaning stick designed especially for head drums, but I still consider paper the safer solution. It takes longer, but delivers good results.
@@DrCassette I'm waiting for a mint Panasonic NV-FS88 to arrive! First I want to do: Removing the self-cleaning arm and then cleaning the head drum with paper :)
Does anybody know, wether the hs950 has the 's vhs ET' function, which i think is important when you want better picture and sound quality on normal vhs tapes?
What you mean is S-VHS ET which allows you to record standard VHS cassettes in S-VHS mode. The HS950 does not have this function, S-VHS ET is a much more recent invention. However, you can always turn good quality standard VHS cassettes into S-VHS cassettes by melting a hole into the cassette to trick the sensor inside a S-VHS VCR.
Hello ! Are you alright ? Please. I need a service manual for this equipment. Or I need tips. So far I have not found any relevant help. I have a friend who tried to help me, but he also has no diagram. This unit has normal audio but no picture. The picture appears distorted as if it were TBC problem, RF, as a TV out of sync or tune. This is an AG1960 and I really want to fix it.
I use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for cleaning heads and guides, for rubber components I use an alcohol based window cleaner because the less concentrated alcohol is not so aggressive to the rubber. Only if the window cleaner does not deliver good results I use IPA also on rubber components.
The common problem of this panasonic mechanism is the small plastic tightely fitted in the shaft of the loading motor which rotates a plastic screw that moves the loading gear.This small plastic on the shaft cracks and the motor spins without gear moving and then the vcr stops.
@@GeorgeGeorge-xj2bc is it on the right side of the lape loading tray? My tape is stuck and I'm getting a H02 error which could be another problem I suppose. I want to save the unit since the playback is beautiful. Now the unit when I switch on comes on and goes straight to H02 error and the tape is stuck and I can't take the loading tray out since the hidden screw on the left is covered by the cassette. Thanks
I was never able to reproduce the video artifacts. Maybe what I saw there was the Digital Process responding to dropouts on a bad tape. Aside from this mystery the machine still works very well.
Thanks for the reply! I'm certainly reassured as I'm planning to do a full maintenance and re-lubrication and use this as my workhorse VCR. Edit: If the digital process did have a problem, how likely is it that it's caused by leaky caps and not something more complicated. I think the caps should be an easy fix as even if you don't have enough experience to replace them on your own, you could probably get the whole board shipped to a professional shop where they'll do it for you.
I really don't know, sorry. With this sort of thing it's a game of hit and miss. Capacitors often cause problems, but they are not always the reason why something doesn't work.
Video 2000 was best (2x 4 hours on a double sided cassette), but recorders were too expensive and so failed to sell. Only Panasonic managed to get VHS longplay with 8h of similar high PAL quality on their late K mechanism recorders.
The problem with Video 2000 was not just the cost, but also the fact that Philips and Grundig brought the system out too early, before development was properly finished. As a consequence the first generation of VCRs was extremely unreliable, earning the whole system a bad reputation. Friends of my parents bought a Video 2000 recorder, which ended up spending more time in the workshop than in their home. Consequently my parents bought a VHS HiFi VCR.
My NV-HS950 is still the main work horse for VHS capturing and working fine for the most part, but with some tapes I get some strong vertical jitter. Example: ua-cam.com/video/uktdiLGu2mM/v-deo.html Could you point me to which parts probably need maintenance.. I assume parts of the tape transport? I carefully cleaned the heads, but haven't had the nerve to try anything else without guidance. The same tapes play fine in an el-cheapo Grundig recorder, but with drastically lower image quality. The VHS tapes themselves are BASF PHG240 tapes which have been recorded once and played back 2-3 times max...
Because of strange problems like this I stopped using my NV-HS950. These problems are not caused by anything wrong in the mechanism. As far as I can tell they are caused by the Digital Time Base Corrector or some other part of the "Digital Process". I keep getting strange artefacts in the picture if the condition of the recording is less than ideal. I am not sure if this is something wrong in the electronics, or if it is just normal with certain recordings.
@@DrCassette Thanks for your assessment. I recently noticed that activating the TBC switch darkens the image quite a bit, which is something that I don't remember happening before. I also noticed that my capture devices are losing sync when more than 75% (or so) of the PAL signal is completely white or black even with TBC enabled. So I currently suspect some capacitors slowly and silently going bad. I guess I'll have to browse for a replacement soon...
You might have to make a new alignment setting. Was the cassette with VIVA II recorder in LP? Was ist recorder on the same machine? So you remember the machine? Yes, sometimes, you would have to align the recorder to the tape you’re willing to digitalize. Other option : try a different machine.
When you grease/oil a VCR drive, only use silicone based lubricants. NEVER use WD40, vaseline, "all purpose" household machine oil or anything else made from petrol, vegetable- or animal fats or oil because these will make plastic cogs crack or crumble apart like charcoal after few years. The only reason why plastic wheels split around their metal shaft is by contact with incompatible oil. To avoid tape damage also get no lubricants on the heads. And do NOT remove the head cleaning wheel, but only occasionally clean it with cotton swab and isopropanol. Without that wheel (in some of my drives it is missing) the drum gets dirty about 4 times faster. The urban legend that it rips out heads is nonsense. (If a head shatters by foreign matter inside a cassette, of course debris will stick to the wheel. but blaming that wheel for it is like blaming the magnet inside a automobile gearbox for cog damage because it fishes the debris out.) To clean the head drum, use a piece cut out of window cleaning rag (faux chamois, about 15*10mm). I insert an empty cassettte frame (tape removed, top and bottom cut out) to make the mechanism spin the drum and gently hold the piece with my fingers against the spinning heads. I do clean the area above the heads with cotton swab and isopropanol. and when the machine is off, I also do very carefully clean the arease between heads with cotton swab - yes this is nothing for unskilled people, but I do it every few weeks and did not break a head with it. (The main risk is to tangle lint around heads by touching them wrongly. But do not move up and down, which indeed may crack heads off, but slowly rotate the drum by hand and stop before touching the head.) If there is a bad contact (particularly at mode switch and LED sensors) check solder joints. They tend to get bad by heat strain after some years of operation.
Since making this video I have started using lithium grease. Is that OK? The head cleaning wheels are rubbish. Some of them are made from foam which can deteriorate and cause a mess. I prefer to clean the heads 4 times more often or whatever.
It seems for metal-metal the moly grease is best but I'm not 100% sure. The Lithium grease, from what I've read on RTR forums is a good choise specially for plastic gears.
The black dry stuff the author mocked about is that molybdene sulphide lubricant. It is a graphite-like substance (conducts electricity) and only for metal-to-metal surfaces,
Moblybdene sulphide! That's it. Just for metal to metal. There's some controversy about this on the RTR forums - some people say thats the original grease, some people say there are more modern greases and some people say unless you can clean all the old grease you should not mix greases. I have a Pinoneer 707 - no more original greases available - and a Revox B77 for which there are original lubricants available. But the thing the Dr mocked really was a piece of candy.
The pinch roller arm (he said he oiled it) and tape stabilizer (spinning tape guide with metal weight on top) are designed to fall down by gravity to hold the tape down in correct vertical position. Do not lube their shaft (or maximum with a tiny drop of thin silicone oil if they squeak) else they tend to get stuck by suction of the oil, causing the tape to bob up and down (random change of tracking etc.). These parts must fall down some mm by themselves with an audible knock when lifted by hand; if they don`t, the shaft has been (s)oiled and needs cleaning.
Yes, I do. However, my Instagram is completely unrelated to this UA-cam channel. My Facebook is personal, only for family, friends and people I know in person. Sorry.
DrCassette Well, Ok! I mean I hope we can be friends! What is your name? I've watch your Videos since the last 5-6 years! I have both Facebook & Instagram if you ever wanted to add me free to do so.
Dr.Cassette brilliant and very informative videos, may I as of you...Where can I find the Grease,Oils and video heads Cleaning Alcohol, to service my Machines. Thank you.
IMPORTANT: When re-greasing the tracks of the loading mechanism, do not copy what I did in the video. Instead, clean off all existing grey grease with a dry cotton swab, then apply fresh white lithium grease. Do not use just any random grease!
Thank you from you video.
Im cleaning my nv hd 650.
Very Good!
GEAR-FLON grease with Teflon should also do the trick. It's absolutely harmless to plastic.
I worked for a national repair company for 23 years and serviced thousands of VCR"s.I always held the head cleaning paper at the 3 o clock position on the head cylinder while turning the head cylinder counter clockwise. I mention this because at many seminars they told us by turning the cylinder in the opposite direction of spin sometimes the cylinder bearing grease would be dislodged.
Interesting, never thought of that.
I used to use wetted paper myself back in the day and I always turned the drum by hand in the same direction that it was powered up. The later built in head cleaners I found to be more of a nuisance than a help and I removed the contaminated units and left them out. It's a pity that by the time Panasonic were making these machines which were very good performers the VCR was starting to go out of fashion.
I still have my Panasonic HV ND 630 which I just used today , It's 19 years old and still works beautifully , the pinch roller was replaced ten years ago along with a leaking PSU capacitor .
I still have one of these which I bought brand new in about 2000, it is still on my hifi rack, and it still works. I also still have some JVC S-VHS tapes new in the shrink wrap.
Superb video. Thanks. Panasonic is the best on audio. Invented by jvc. Pioneered by Panasonic. Forget the video. Audio is better than cd.
A couple of years ago I went into a charity shop as I usually do and scanned the VHS decks looking for any SVHS ones. Well they had one, for £5. I couldn't believe it. They did not know the difference between it and a standard VHS so I was pretty lucky.
Most people couldn't tell the difference between VHS and S-VHS, but they look up prices online and figure out that way that S-VHS is worth more. You got lucky!
Ottimo videoregistratore,io in collezione ho l'NV-HS900
what is the regular life span of a headdrum? given no VCRs are being manufactured...i assume we will never find them again. Panasonic VCRs from 1998-on...says 9000 hours long life head.
Beautiful machine your videos are Great thank you 📼
Hello
You know, I wanted to ask you even to consult about the Panasonic NVHS1000 video recorder
I have a question about the Bvg of the upper part, that is, the upper cylinder ... Our device had a critical wear of the crystals (panasonic veh 0651 VJB00T07) and we changed it to a new analogue (VEH0454 VJP0032) ..
The VJB00T07 board was soldered onto our new upper cylinder 0454 and put on the device ... We twisted the racks and removed all distortions ... But here's the question
The head, that is, the whole cylinder, seems to be rotating quickly, that is, the speed has increased and the image is not of the best quality, when you just slow it down with your finger from above, the image falls into place and shows perfectly ... Please tell me how to reduce the rotation speed of the cylinder
View #10! Thanks again for another great video!
Pinch roller : oil or grease please.
Great stuff on your channel Dr. Cassette. I'm definetely subscribing. I've got one question for you Sir... I hope you can help me with this. I've got the exact same model as you (NV-HS950). In playback mode, the image is absolutely fantastic, but when I fast forward, the image colors get distorted, kind of oversaturated with lots of reds all over the place. When I return to normal speed, everything is right... no distortion. What's wrong...? I have no clue what could be causing this. Thank you very much!!!
could you show me how to fix the Panasonic MS4 SVHS Cam switch problems, please
can u tell me what this superdrive system actually is? i cant find the info online...its advertised a lot on their VCRs for a decade...i just ordered one on ebay coming from the UK...says Made in Japan.
what liquid are you putting in the paper to clean the head drum? I used to use a dry paper while the tape would run...it was the way I used to clean my VCR as a kid.
I use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to clean heads.
I just picked one up the box is opened but its never been used and still in its wrapping. It came with all unopened leads and evan a spare remote thats £30 to buy on ebay. All manuals to. I payed £50 quid i still cant believe my luck.
Yes, indeed, you got very lucky :)
could you show me how to fix the Panasonic MS4 SVHS Cam?
pretty cool you still have the VCR.
The VCR is still in my collection. Since it does have a Time Base Corrector, it is good for transferring VHS to digital media.
I miss the time you were working on your tv studio!
The TV studio is still something I'd like to have, the problem with the original project was that I was not able to spend as much money as I would have needed to get good results. Early 90s analog consumer equipment just doesn't give very good results. Of course with High Definition being pretty much the standard these days, old professional Standard Definition TV equipment has come down in price, but you need a good source. Ebay is very overpriced. I'd love to have some big Ikegami HK-355s just to play around with :D
I know, I'm working in tv for 18 years now... Audioman, lighting and cameraman. Mostly for sports but for tv news too.
Hello, DrCassette. It's me again ... as far as I can see from your videos, there's always a way to remove the mechanism without misaligning it. Is that correct? I have a NOS JVC HR-S9911U that needs lubing and a dump find: a Panasonic AG-7650 that, I hope, only needs lubing. Thanks for you videos - not only on VCRs but on other analog devices. Cheers!
It depends. Sometimes it's safe to take out the mechanism. Sometimes it's not. Try to find the service manual to your VCRs online, those will contain instructions for disassembly.
I've got one of these machines and the front display panel started intermittently working, and then eventually stopped working completely. Everything thing else works but just can't see the display. Any suggestions on where to look inside? A bad cap maybe?
The problem was fixed as it ended up being a failed diode (IN5819) on the power board. I replaced it and the front display is working again.
With the display working intermittently for some time before going out completely I would have suggested bad solder joints on the display. A failed diode is an interesting problem. Thanks for the update.
Wow, I have nv-755hd model, 6 head hi-fi over 20 yrs. but when i play vdo, it show F04. So i open cover,it look like in this clip. Then press play, i found tape stuck around right pin (pin that lift up when insert cassette). Like it no power to pull tape then tape go out more and more finally stop and show F04.(sorry my english is bad, don't know how to explain). I don't know what's the problem? slack belt? or should i clean or apply grease somewhere? here's clip ua-cam.com/video/m-L5mUtkbJ4/v-deo.html
I have commented a possible solution to the problem on your video.
is paper really recommended? I thought a cleaning stick with foam is better for this? Because the self-cleaning arms used in many VCRs are using foam.
The self cleaning arms are designed to rotate parallel to the drum. With a cleaning stick, there is always the risk of damaging the heads by moving the stick not exactly parallel to the head drum, or applying too much pressure, getting the head tips stuck in the foam pores and ripping them off. I know there are cleaning stick designed especially for head drums, but I still consider paper the safer solution. It takes longer, but delivers good results.
@@DrCassette I'm waiting for a mint Panasonic NV-FS88 to arrive! First I want to do: Removing the self-cleaning arm and then cleaning the head drum with paper :)
Does anybody know, wether the hs950 has the 's vhs ET' function, which i think is important when you want better picture and sound quality on normal vhs tapes?
What you mean is S-VHS ET which allows you to record standard VHS cassettes in S-VHS mode. The HS950 does not have this function, S-VHS ET is a much more recent invention. However, you can always turn good quality standard VHS cassettes into S-VHS cassettes by melting a hole into the cassette to trick the sensor inside a S-VHS VCR.
Hello ! Are you alright ? Please. I need a service manual for this equipment. Or I need tips. So far I have not found any relevant help. I have a friend who tried to help me, but he also has no diagram. This unit has normal audio but no picture. The picture appears distorted as if it were TBC problem, RF, as a TV out of sync or tune. This is an AG1960 and I really want to fix it.
Could be bad SMD capacitors. Not easy to repair.
DrCassette I need the service manual for this equipment please... thanks 🙏🏻
@@AndersonRosa1991 Do an online search. I don't have a service manual.
What would be the TBC board of my VCR?
What kind of alcohol is the best for this, the old forums are kinda back and forth about what’s best
I use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for cleaning heads and guides, for rubber components I use an alcohol based window cleaner because the less concentrated alcohol is not so aggressive to the rubber. Only if the window cleaner does not deliver good results I use IPA also on rubber components.
Hi! What you think, what model of Pany S-VHS VCR is better than other, 950 or 800? Thx
The Panasonic NV-HS950 is better, if it works.
@@DrCassette Tnx! 950 is like brand new! But 800 is too!
@@slayufa Then the 950 is better. The 800 for example has no Time Base Corrector.
Nv 1000 was the best wasn't it. Same as semi pro model.
HS950
The common problem of this panasonic mechanism is the small plastic tightely fitted in the shaft of the loading motor which rotates a plastic screw that moves the loading gear.This small plastic on the shaft cracks and the motor spins without gear moving and then the vcr stops.
Correct, you have to be very careful loading cassettes on this mechanism.
How do you fix this?
@@kingshearer2 This era by replacing the plastic with new one,since it was widely available and cheap ~1euro.Nowadays i dont know if still exists.
@@GeorgeGeorge-xj2bc is it on the right side of the lape loading tray? My tape is stuck and I'm getting a H02 error which could be another problem I suppose. I want to save the unit since the playback is beautiful. Now the unit when I switch on comes on and goes straight to H02 error and the tape is stuck and I can't take the loading tray out since the hidden screw on the left is covered by the cassette. Thanks
Did you end up fixing the Digital Process fault. Do you know if it's a common problem as I'm buying one of these in a few days.
I was never able to reproduce the video artifacts. Maybe what I saw there was the Digital Process responding to dropouts on a bad tape. Aside from this mystery the machine still works very well.
Thanks for the reply! I'm certainly reassured as I'm planning to do a full maintenance and re-lubrication and use this as my workhorse VCR.
Edit: If the digital process did have a problem, how likely is it that it's caused by leaky caps and not something more complicated. I think the caps should be an easy fix as even if you don't have enough experience to replace them on your own, you could probably get the whole board shipped to a professional shop where they'll do it for you.
I really don't know, sorry. With this sort of thing it's a game of hit and miss. Capacitors often cause problems, but they are not always the reason why something doesn't work.
400 lines with noise that was the best at the time. Made for good audio recorder/player even at 6 hr SLP speed.
Sony at the time offered ED Betamax that would do 500 lines - but of course Betamax was pretty much dead by then.
Video 2000 was best (2x 4 hours on a double sided cassette), but recorders were too expensive and so failed to sell. Only Panasonic managed to get VHS longplay with 8h of similar high PAL quality on their late K mechanism recorders.
The problem with Video 2000 was not just the cost, but also the fact that Philips and Grundig brought the system out too early, before development was properly finished. As a consequence the first generation of VCRs was extremely unreliable, earning the whole system a bad reputation. Friends of my parents bought a Video 2000 recorder, which ended up spending more time in the workshop than in their home. Consequently my parents bought a VHS HiFi VCR.
My NV-HS950 is still the main work horse for VHS capturing and working fine for the most part, but with some tapes I get some strong vertical jitter. Example: ua-cam.com/video/uktdiLGu2mM/v-deo.html
Could you point me to which parts probably need maintenance.. I assume parts of the tape transport? I carefully cleaned the heads, but haven't had the nerve to try anything else without guidance.
The same tapes play fine in an el-cheapo Grundig recorder, but with drastically lower image quality. The VHS tapes themselves are BASF PHG240 tapes which have been recorded once and played back 2-3 times max...
Because of strange problems like this I stopped using my NV-HS950. These problems are not caused by anything wrong in the mechanism. As far as I can tell they are caused by the Digital Time Base Corrector or some other part of the "Digital Process". I keep getting strange artefacts in the picture if the condition of the recording is less than ideal. I am not sure if this is something wrong in the electronics, or if it is just normal with certain recordings.
@@DrCassette Thanks for your assessment. I recently noticed that activating the TBC switch darkens the image quite a bit, which is something that I don't remember happening before. I also noticed that my capture devices are losing sync when more than 75% (or so) of the PAL signal is completely white or black even with TBC enabled. So I currently suspect some capacitors slowly and silently going bad. I guess I'll have to browse for a replacement soon...
You might have to make a new alignment setting.
Was the cassette with VIVA II recorder in LP? Was ist recorder on the same machine? So you remember the machine?
Yes, sometimes, you would have to align the recorder to the tape you’re willing to digitalize. Other option : try a different machine.
How much would this have cost Brand New?
i have one from my editing days in the 90's and think i paid over £600 for it
oh wow, its not direct drive...all belt driven?!!! what happens if the belt becomes hard or breaks.
The essential parts (head drum and capstan) are direct drive. Bad belts obviously need to be replaced.
When you grease/oil a VCR drive, only use silicone based lubricants. NEVER use WD40, vaseline, "all purpose" household machine oil or anything else made from petrol, vegetable- or animal fats or oil because these will make plastic cogs crack or crumble apart like charcoal after few years. The only reason why plastic wheels split around their metal shaft is by contact with incompatible oil. To avoid tape damage also get no lubricants on the heads.
And do NOT remove the head cleaning wheel, but only occasionally clean it with cotton swab and isopropanol. Without that wheel (in some of my drives it is missing) the drum gets dirty about 4 times faster. The urban legend that it rips out heads is nonsense. (If a head shatters by foreign matter inside a cassette, of course debris will stick to the wheel. but blaming that wheel for it is like blaming the magnet inside a automobile gearbox for cog damage because it fishes the debris out.)
To clean the head drum, use a piece cut out of window cleaning rag (faux chamois, about 15*10mm). I insert an empty cassettte frame (tape removed, top and bottom cut out) to make the mechanism spin the drum and gently hold the piece with my fingers against the spinning heads. I do clean the area above the heads with cotton swab and isopropanol. and when the machine is off, I also do very carefully clean the arease between heads with cotton swab - yes this is nothing for unskilled people, but I do it every few weeks and did not break a head with it. (The main risk is to tangle lint around heads by touching them wrongly. But do not move up and down, which indeed may crack heads off, but slowly rotate the drum by hand and stop before touching the head.)
If there is a bad contact (particularly at mode switch and LED sensors) check solder joints. They tend to get bad by heat strain after some years of operation.
Since making this video I have started using lithium grease. Is that OK?
The head cleaning wheels are rubbish. Some of them are made from foam which can deteriorate and cause a mess. I prefer to clean the heads 4 times more often or whatever.
It seems for metal-metal the moly grease is best but I'm not 100% sure. The Lithium grease, from what I've read on RTR forums is a good choise specially for plastic gears.
The black dry stuff the author mocked about is that molybdene sulphide lubricant. It is a graphite-like substance (conducts electricity) and only for metal-to-metal surfaces,
Moblybdene sulphide! That's it. Just for metal to metal. There's some controversy about this on the RTR forums - some people say thats the original grease, some people say there are more modern greases and some people say unless you can clean all the old grease you should not mix greases. I have a Pinoneer 707 - no more original greases available - and a Revox B77 for which there are original lubricants available. But the thing the Dr mocked really was a piece of candy.
The pinch roller arm (he said he oiled it) and tape stabilizer (spinning tape guide with metal weight on top) are designed to fall down by gravity to hold the tape down in correct vertical position. Do not lube their shaft (or maximum with a tiny drop of thin silicone oil if they squeak) else they tend to get stuck by suction of the oil, causing the tape to bob up and down (random change of tracking etc.). These parts must fall down some mm by themselves with an audible knock when lifted by hand; if they don`t, the shaft has been (s)oiled and needs cleaning.
⭐️🇹🇷💯👍
Dr.Cassette! Do you have Facebook or Instagram?
Yes, I do. However, my Instagram is completely unrelated to this UA-cam channel. My Facebook is personal, only for family, friends and people I know in person. Sorry.
DrCassette Well, Ok! I mean I hope we can be friends! What is your name? I've watch your Videos since the last 5-6 years! I have both Facebook & Instagram if you ever wanted to add me free to do so.
Dr.Cassette brilliant and very informative videos, may I as of you...Where can I find the Grease,Oils and video heads Cleaning Alcohol, to service my Machines. Thank you.
Thanks for your