Advice for tape drive repair / maintenance

[aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk]

 --- Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote: 
> > Going slightly OT, I assume the same thing
> > would happen to any rubber rollers in VHS
> > players, and be the main (only?) reason why
> > VHS players start chewing VHS tapes?
> 
> I've not (yet) aeen a video recorder where the
> rollers have turned to 
> goo. Not saying it can't happen, though.
> 
> The usueal reason for tape chewins is wear on the
> reel-drive idler which 
> means the tape is not wound nack into the cassette
> on eject (And may not 
> be properly taken up during play/record, so it get
s
> tangled round bits of 
> the machine). Or wear of the backtension band so
> that the tape loops on 
> the feed side of the head during play/record and
> gets tangled. Or wear on 
> the pinch roller so that the tape runs away from t
he
> correct path.

Ahhhhh.


> 
> Assuming the heads are still good, a set of roller
s
> and tension band is 
> not expensive. Setting up the back tension is 'fun
',
> and you will need a 
> service manual for the machine (but hey, do you
> really have a machine 
> that you don't have the service manual for?).
> 
>  
> -tony
> 


Service manual?!!! The only service manual I
know I have is for my car. Everything else
I have has manuals, but the service bit usually
requires ringing the manufacturer to get them
out.

I know I have the VCR manual here somewhere.....


Regards,
Andrew D. Burton
aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk