Question: Last summer my above combo deck the VHS side stopped showing image from tapes. Audio however remains crystal clear and hi- fi stereo, balanced at all times no dropout except for a half-second immediately after pressing Play(auto tracking engages).
?? What does one use to clean the video drum when "wet" and "dry" vhs- tape shell cleaners do not work ??
-ChrisCoaster
Is the sci.electronics.repair repairfaq still up?
Looks like it.
As I remember, it had a good section on VCR cleaning.
Mark Zenier snipped-for-privacy@eskimo.com Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)
One uses a chamois leather tipped head cleaning stick, moistened with 99.7% minimum electronics grade isopropyl alcohol. If you're feeling brave, applying very gentle pressure from the 'flat' of a fingernail, to the head drum whilst running with a tape in, can be very effective at cleaning stubbornly blocked heads. You feel the heads through the tape going "DRRRRRRRRR" against your nail. Sounds violent and 'wrong' I agree, but over the years, I have recovered many badly blocked heads in this way. I guess it's slightly 'enhancing' the abrasive characteristics of the tape's oxide coating, by increasing the pressure of the tape against the heads.
Arfa
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