How can I fix this VCR? Getting a bad picture

[black1]

The wood splitter has more than one use.



Al

have fun now wont ya

[JDarvall]

have fun now wont ya

Certainly will, thankyou very much Mr Black ....I thinking maybe something different....was going to use the axe, but then I'd just damage the edge,........haven't got a wood splitter, and using a sledge is a bit old.....

So, Maybe use a pick or a hoe ? ...... :confused: have to think about that. Its an important decision I think.

[scooter]

Use the Tin Lizzy, Jake, kind of "old" meets "nearly as old" ...

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

To me it doesn't sound like tuning, it sounds like tracking. From memory, if 'twas a tuning problem, the whole screen'd be rolling not just a bar... which I reckon is just the frame synch bar anyway. 'Sides, given that the heads are clean, poor tracking's the next most common problem with VCR's

Does your VCR have an auto-tracking switch? If that's off, turn it on. If it's already on, turn it off (that's probably the circuitry that's gone on the fritz) and look for a manual tracking knob. Just a tweak in one direction or t'other should see it fixed.

Unfortunately, later model VCR's didn't have the manual option... and used SMT instead of socketed chips; once the auto-tracking goes, goodbye VCR. [shrug]

[journeyman Mick]

Jake,
okay, now you need some help with dispatching the malfunctioning VCR. I had a malfunctioning radio up on the roof one day, you'd tune it and then as you moved away the tuning would drift out. We were constantly mucking around with it trying to get it to give a half decent sound. I finally got sick of it and used the framing gun to drive a dozen or so 3" nails into it then I swung it over my head a few times before tossing it onto the junk pile down on the ground. The next morning we realised we were going to miss out on guru swami buggatherestofyouI'mallrightjackgee (remember him?) so we dragged it off the junk pile and plugged it in. Amazingly it worked and even more amazingly it stayed in tune better. Finally threw it out though when we finished that house

So Jake, take a handful of 3" nails and drive them into the VCR and then get on your roof and toss the thing onto the ground. You just never know, it might just fix it

Mick

[JDarvall]

Use the Tin Lizzy, Jake, kind of "old" meets "nearly as old" ...

Good idea !... Wouldn't have been many VCR's crushed by a Model T....if only it was my idea, I'd do it ......besides me mate wouldn't trust me with it again. Had trouble stopping the thing last time and narrowly missed a fence ...Loves that car, he does. If I had hit that fence, he'd be locked up for murder.

[JDarvall]

Jake,

So Jake, take a handful of 3" nails and drive them into the VCR and then get on your roof and toss the thing onto the ground. You just never know, it might just fix it

Mick

....well, I was taught its a sin to discount anothers experience...so ok, I'll do it. I'll wait patiently on the roof until some bloke I don't like walks by, and aim it his way. Give the bugga a scare.....

uno, to kill two birds with one stone. Scare an arrrrsehooooole and fix the VCR in one go.

I understand how throwing it to the ground may fix it. But how's belting 3 nails in it going to help ? YOU must be joking, cause that'll just wreck it.

[JDarvall]

Unfortunately, later model VCR's didn't have the manual option... and used SMT instead of socketed chips; once the auto-tracking goes, goodbye VCR. [shrug]

I can't find any switches or knobs on the VCR that allow me to tune. So, I'm guessing its a late model VCR.

All adjustment is done by a menu that pops up onto the screen that you adjust with the remote. They've got 'autotune' and 'manual tune' for both the TV and the VCR. Which I do for all the channels.

But for playing a tape, there seems to be no means of tuning the VCR to begin with ....(so does that mean its autotracking ? )

and autotune just finds all the channels for you and seems to work fine, cause when I fiddle with the manual tune I can't seem to improve the picture

I shouldn't bother thinking about it anyway, I'm going to toss it off the roof tomorrow....oh dear.

[scooter]

The autotracking on mine (panasonic I think) is overridden by pressing the up or down channel button on the unit when a tape is playing.


Cheers..............Sean

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Tracking, not tuning. Different things.

If you're familiar with old film projectors, think of it as getting the frame in synch with the shutter. Get it wrong and you get the "split screen" effect. On VCR's the picture looks OK but the synch bar may be visible, amongst other things.

If all adjustments are done on-screen, then 'tis probably a late-model job and the ol' "bang it until it's fixed, fix it until it breaks" option sounds as good as any. And a damned sight more enjoyable.

[JDarvall]

Tracking, not tuning. Different things.

If you're familiar with old film projectors,

no, I'm not really familiar with anything Skew .... I know what you mean though.... basically the things cactus ! ...

[rrich]

I thought of something else to try. With a new tape, can you record something and then play it back? Does it look OK?

If the VCR does not play the recently recorded tape correctly it may just be the VCR is in it's final throws.

It may be best to just go buy a bew one. We had one with the remote dying. It was cheaper to go buy a whole new unit ($100) than to order a new remote control from the manufacturer ($110).

[JDarvall]

I thought of something else to try. With a new tape, can you record something and then play it back? Does it look OK?

If the VCR does not play the recently recorded tape correctly it may just be the VCR is in it's final throws.

It may be best to just go buy a bew one. We had one with the remote dying. It was cheaper to go buy a whole new unit ($100) than to order a new remote control from the manufacturer ($110).

Thanks Rich,,,,no, the picture when playing back on a new tape, after recording something is bad too,,,,, so its a bin job I think.

My mothers buying a new DVD player anyway, so I'm getting her VCR, so alls well now.

Thanks for your help.

[havenoideaatall]

I got a picture like that when the tape had been magnetised inadvertently in storage somewhere, a whole swag of tapes were like that.

Never bought a video since.