Using a VCR with no ch. 3 or 4

Do you have a remote control for the TV ? How about RCA input jacks ? This problem can be solved easily but I need more info.

Which is why those channels aren't normally used for broadcast

I suppose very strong off air signals might alter the set's RF gain so that it doesn't recognise the weaker VHS signal. But I've not come across this.

Try unplugging the aerial from the VCR but leaving the lead to the TV in place. Hold the aerial lead so it just touches the socket on the VCR but isn't fully home and scan again. That should reduce the signal if you haven't got an attenuator to hand.

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    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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Not true, at least in the US. They are used for broadcast, but NOT in the same broadcast area, because they will interfere with each other. So if you have a local channel three, you WILL NOT have a local channel four, and vice versa.

Or do this. Put a known good tape in the vcr, push play. That ensures the vcr will be putting out a RF signal from the antenna out connector. Hook the vcr up to the TV, using the antenna connections. NOW do a channel scan. It should find the channel the vcr is putting out, either 3 or 4. If it finds nothing, possible flaws are, bad vcr- no RF output, no RF output-modulator turned off in vcr, bad cable between vcr and tv, bad tv, non-compatible units (NTSC vcr with a PAL TV or vice versa). You can also try to use the composite (yellow/white or yellow/white/red) connections, and bypass the tuner in the TV. That will get you a slightly better picture, providing the TV has A/V jacks.

HTH!

D

Well yes. But the point stands that you can't have a broadcast on the same channel as the VCR which seemed to confuse the OP.

Every one I've come across outputs its tuner when on. But some have a switch which outputs a test signal - usually beside the aerial connections

- and some do this by going to play with no tape in place.

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    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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All TVs that use a menu system can be programmed manually as well as auto-program. Use your TV's menu to manually program channel 3 or 4. If you don't know how to do this, use Google or another search engine to find the instruction manual for your TV, or post the brand and model number here for help.

Are you saying that if you press 3 or 4 on the remote control, the TV will NOT go to channel 3 or 4? If it does, you have no problem. If it doesn't, play a tape at the same time. Does it still not go to channel

3 or 4?

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ms wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

The TV remote went bad several years ago. We have been on Dish Network so there remote works but now off Dish Network, I use a universal remote.

In the old days on cable, the cable menu was on 4, so the TV went to 4 and I programmed the VCR on 4. With Dish, they had the TV always on 3 for the Dish receiver, so the VCR culd be programmed.

Now on the roof antenna, since there is no local broadcast channel on 3/4 as was mentioned, I will try the advice. I have the manual, it only describes the VCR autosetting to 3 or 4, (no switch), but the TV is IMO the issue, so hopefully the advice will help.

I have an old 1985 TV with a manual channel switch, may have to try that if nothing else works.

ms

The autosetting is only about ease of use.

The up/down buttons would go through all the channels if there was no autosetting. So you'd have to hold them down or keep pressing them in order to get from channel 12 to channel 35. The autosetting merely looks for strong signals, and "programs" them in, so the unused channels are not part of the memory. Thus, pressing up wilol go from that channel 12 to that channel 35 in one press, as if all the channels between it didn't exist.

It should not eliminate the ability to directly enter a channel. There's one station here I don't generally want to be bothered with, so I program it out, yet I can always go directly to it by pressing the channel number.

Most vcrs and tv sets I've seen allow one to turn off the autosetting, and let you decide whether to include specific channels. This is a good thing, because you may be interested in some week channels that the autosetting feature would ignore. It's merely tedious doing it by hand, since you may have to deleted a bunch of channels (though others may default to no channels in memory, and then you just have to add the ones you want).

Michael

ms wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

Good advice and thanks, I have "some" results. BTW, all the wonderful programming features are in the remote, Toshiba made a great 19" TV back in 1994, working every night since then, but a crappy remote, so I can't manually program channels. With the future of analog TV in doubt, I don't want to spend $30 for a new Toshiba remote.

Results: with VCR antenna jack connected to TV, with tape in Play, as you folks predicted, I get channel 4 fine. But of course, that's a test circuit, can't use the VCR in that hookup.

With the normal antenna cable *near* the TV input, no luck, it scans again.

Next step?

ms

snipped-for-privacy@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black) wrote in news:f5c3um$ji$ snipped-for-privacy@theodyn.ncf.ca:

Yes, I can manually go up or down, but for example, when I go from 2 to

3, the scan takes over as it does not detect any signal until it goes up to 6.

ms

ms wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

Thanks to all for the help.

I just found the remote for a newer Toshiba that died, it turns the older set to ch 4, so I will dig into the manual and see if the advice here can solve the problem. Will post back.

ms

ms ha escrito:

why not? if you are not using the AV input connectors between vcr and tv, then the only way to do it is via the coax lead. anyway, your experience proves the thing works. Now all you need to do is connect the aerial to the vcr and you should be fine.

-b

ms wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

The working remote solved the problem. Keying in ch 4, it stays there, and the VCR remote will program from there. In August, we can finally end our Dish contract, the other tv only has a generic remote, so time will tell. The data in this tread will certainly help.

Thanks

ms

VCRs, at least from my experience in the US, do not automatically output a RF signal from the vcr modulator from the antenna output jacks, however, they will pass a RF signal applied to the antenna in connector. The RF signal, created by the VCR modulator, channel 3 or 4, is present when a tape is inserted and play or autoplay is engaged. Or you can hit the TV/VCR switch. Not automatically outputting a signal on

3 or 4 allows you to record one channel, but watch another. Naturally, if you have nothing connected to the antenna in connector, and you dont have the VCR modulator engaged, the vcr will output nothing from the antenna out connector.

I've got three here of different makes and they all output their tuner to the RF output when not in standby. There's no real reason why they should not.

Eh? The VCR output is set to a channel that isn't used for broadcast in that area. It has to be to prevent interference. It's output remains the same frequency regardless of what it's tuner is selected to - or whether it's playing or not.

I'm not quite clear what you mean - none I know of have the facility to switch off the modulator, except by unplugging the mains. Even with no aerial connection into the VCR it will still output a carrier.

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    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk...

since the vcr has a 'pass thru' (if the aerial is connected to vcr ant in socket and the vcr RF out connected to the tv aerial socket), the TV will still be able to pick up the TV channels as will the vcr unless you unplug the machine.Hence you can record one while watching another and it does not depend on the vcr's modulator thanks to loop thru. I have only seen a couple with switchable modulators - one a sony another an ancient JVC top -loader HR 3300. Almost all modern vcrs use the modulator permanently if the deck in on, in standby, or whatever. this is to avoid having to swap the aerial and vcr RF cables at the back of the tv every time.

-B

Thinking on further it could be a UK thing. When NICAM stereo first arrived in the UK, many bought a VHS so equipped and used that as a tuner mainly for the sound. And if the TV didn't have a line input it makes sense that the VHS tuner was outputed to the RF out when the VHS was switched on.

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    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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There it is. US...RF modulator activated ONLY when tape is played, or VCR tuner is used, and its also switchable on/off. So, you can record channel 5, turn the RF modulator off (TV/VCR) button), and watch channel 9, or any other channel present.

UK....evidently, the VCR modulator is active all the time. (?) SOOO, in the UK, if you are recording, say channel 5, and you want to watch, say channel 9, and the VCR modulator is active all the time, how do you go about it? This is assuming the signal path is antenna-VCRs-TV, and you are using RF only. Never been to the UK, I'm curious.

Deke, in Missouri, USA

You set the RF modulator to a channel which has no broadcast service in your area. If it was on the same frequency as one you'd likely get some interference on replay via pickup on the linking lead to the TV anyway.

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    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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