VCR Eats Tapes
#1
01-24-00, 02:37 PM
#2
01-24-00, 04:10 PM
I will assume that you are not one to clean your VCR tape path on a routine basis. You get this rhetoric from the manufacturer that you have "self cleaning heads". This is true. But, the tape path, itself, builds up residue from the tape and after a while it gets "gummy" on the pinch roller and the direct rollers. As a result, the gummy residue will adhere to your tape and "grab it". It will roll up in the the mechanism and jam the deck.
Solution: Clean the tape path. Take the cover off the machine and inspect the path that the tape takes through the machine. Use a Q-Tip and denatured alcohol (NOT RUBBING ALCOHOL--IT CONTAINS OIL) and clean the rubber surfaces of the residue. Clean any guides that the tape uses.
The tape heads are in the big silver cylinder at the end of the tape path. DO NOT TOUCH THEM. LEAVE THEM ALONE! Cleaning a tape head by a novice is sudden death to the machine.
Before you put the top on the machine, use a wet (STRESS THAT! WET) tape cleaner cartridge. You can buy them at K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc and they come with the cassette and a bottle of fluid. USE THE FLUID AS DIRECTED. Run the WET cleaning tape through the tape path a couple of times. Let dry for a few minutes.
Then, load a tape you are too particularly fond of such as DUMB THAN DUMBER. Let it load and run into the machine and check to make sure there is no residue to grab the tape on its journey through the machine. If it happens, note the spot and clean it again with denatured alcohol. Let dry. Repeat!
Okay, it runs fine again. Preventative maintenance on the machine says you will run the WET cleaning tape through the machine every 24 hours of running to prevent this from happening again.
Why not use DRY cleaning tapes? They are very abrasive and are murder on the the heads of the machine. Every time you use a DRY tape, you shorten the life of your heads in that machine by 150 hours. Why do they sell them? They are cheap, they actually do fix the problem, and they wear out your machine faster so that you will buy a new one. USE A WET CLEANING TAPE....ALWAYS!
So, the secret is cleaning the tape path and now you know how to do it right. When the tape runs smoothly again, put the cover back on, tighten the screws, put it back in service, and enjoy the movies (Anything except DUMB AND DUMBER).
Let us know how this works out.
Smokey
Solution: Clean the tape path. Take the cover off the machine and inspect the path that the tape takes through the machine. Use a Q-Tip and denatured alcohol (NOT RUBBING ALCOHOL--IT CONTAINS OIL) and clean the rubber surfaces of the residue. Clean any guides that the tape uses.
The tape heads are in the big silver cylinder at the end of the tape path. DO NOT TOUCH THEM. LEAVE THEM ALONE! Cleaning a tape head by a novice is sudden death to the machine.
Before you put the top on the machine, use a wet (STRESS THAT! WET) tape cleaner cartridge. You can buy them at K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc and they come with the cassette and a bottle of fluid. USE THE FLUID AS DIRECTED. Run the WET cleaning tape through the tape path a couple of times. Let dry for a few minutes.
Then, load a tape you are too particularly fond of such as DUMB THAN DUMBER. Let it load and run into the machine and check to make sure there is no residue to grab the tape on its journey through the machine. If it happens, note the spot and clean it again with denatured alcohol. Let dry. Repeat!
Okay, it runs fine again. Preventative maintenance on the machine says you will run the WET cleaning tape through the machine every 24 hours of running to prevent this from happening again.
Why not use DRY cleaning tapes? They are very abrasive and are murder on the the heads of the machine. Every time you use a DRY tape, you shorten the life of your heads in that machine by 150 hours. Why do they sell them? They are cheap, they actually do fix the problem, and they wear out your machine faster so that you will buy a new one. USE A WET CLEANING TAPE....ALWAYS!
So, the secret is cleaning the tape path and now you know how to do it right. When the tape runs smoothly again, put the cover back on, tighten the screws, put it back in service, and enjoy the movies (Anything except DUMB AND DUMBER).
Let us know how this works out.
Smokey
