Re: scored vcr head

The oxide coating material from the tapes can accumulate on the heads. I
takes only one defective tape, which is somehow damaged, to release enough
debris to clog the extremely small gaps in the actual head assemblies. The
wet and dry cleaning tapes remove most of the debris from the assemblies and
allow functions once again. It may be prudent to run the wet cleaning tapes
through the machine on a regular basis, probably once ever 6 weeks or so, or
if the picture tends to go snowy once again.Cheers
"sawney beane" <beadle1833@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ueidnaqOHqKWShTZnZ2dnUVZ_r6dnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ray L. Volts wrote:
"sawney beane" <beadle1833@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:VMednV5rXdU-4RrZnZ2dnUVZ_oqdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
My aunt told me her vcr suddenly began recording and playing only snow.
There is no mirror finish on the head. It's deeply scored as if it were
being turned down on a lathe. What could have caused this? Was it
manufactured that way?

Almost forgot.. the snow is most likely just dirty heads. Try a WET TYPE
cleaning tape, or, if you feel capable, manually clean using lintless
swab and 91%+ alcohol (or cleaning solution made for the job). Just
remember never to clean using an up and down motion on video heads. This
can cause the fragile heads to shatter. Hold the swab steady and hand
turn the drum across it. Don't press against the heads; only a small
amount of friction is required.


Thanks, it works again. It took several passes with a wet cleaning tape,
then an abrasive one. I wonder why the picture disappeared suddenly. How
long ago did they quit using heads with a mirror finish?


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: What is the safest way to clean D8 camcorder tape heads?
    ... digital blocking and digital artifacts in the picture that werent recorded ... Your symptoms could be caused by dirty heads, ... Or just tapes made some time ... fragile and won't take the ham-handed kind of manual cleaning ...
    (rec.video.production)
  • Re: Dirty heads on DV camera
    ... The symtoms of dirty heads, failure to record and mosaic on tape when it ... I ran the Canon head cleaner tape and the problem ... Unfortunately the Canon camera sensor did not tell me to clean ... After reading the discussion about Sony tapes, with lubricant, and ...
    (rec.video.production)
  • Re: Ticking or clicking sound in playback
    ... actually on the camera's audio track? ... Would a firewire help instead? ... If you have never noticed with audio cassette tapes there are ... >>> The operations guide does not recommend how often to clean the heads. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.moviemaker)
  • Dirty heads on DV camera
    ... The symtoms of dirty heads, failure to record and mosaic on tape when it ... I ran the Canon head cleaner tape and the problem ... After reading the discussion about Sony tapes, with lubricant, and ...
    (rec.video.production)
  • Re: Viewcam VL-E37 video problem
    ... R> perhaps somone may be able to give me a heads up. ... R> The Viewcam was bought new several years ago, ... R> Some tapes once loaded will get the message 'eject cassette' as ... We have a good miniDV camcorder and I'm about to archive all of our ...
    (sci.electronics.repair)