Panasonic Fs100... fault problem.

[Topsy]

Hello all,

So.... please be kind .

The picture on my Panasonic FS100 was getting quite grainy after playing an old tape so I decided to follow some advice here and YouTube etc and clean the heads. I got some good quality tape head cleaning fluid and took the lid off the machine. I was as delicate as possible, using a Qtip gently ONLY on the erase/audio/control heads, guides, and rollers. Side to side. NEVER up and down etc. Used some paper, got it damp with the fluid, and "very lightly" on the head drum. Spin very slowly. Let it dry. All good I thought.

Now it appears I've broken the machine. Here is a clip of the inside - if you listen really carefully you can hear the odd noise it's making.

https://youtu.be/WXp3K5cEx9s

Sounds like it's coming from the head drum. You can see the resulting picture too and the volume meters moving up and down slightly which they didn't do before.

Any thoughts as to what it could be? Have I really just screwed this perfectly good machine up?

t

[JVRaines]

Can't tell much from your video. Did you maybe displace that arm that comes down over the drum?

[Topsy]

I don't think so... would filming some more of the inside help identify a particular issue at all?

[JVRaines]

Did you also clean the capstan and pinch roller? Check the tape path and make sure you didn't leave any cotton fibers or bits of paper behind. Check the rabbet (ledge on the bottom part of the drum where the tape rides) and make sure it's clean, too. Look at the tape passing over the guides — it should be perfectly centered and not bunched up at top or bottom. Other than that, I can only imagine that you had some loose bearing in your drum that was just waiting for your magic touch to go on strike!

[Topsy]

Will take a look.

I suppose I would feel "slightly" better if I discovered it was going to go wrong anyway but still, what a shame.

[Topsy]

"Did you maybe displace that arm that comes down over the drum?"

Turns out you were right. There was so much gunk under there. I cleaned it out and... presto. Working again

Many thanks!

t

[JVRaines]

Glad to hear it! That arm provides a grounding contact to drain static electricity from the drum. When it got insulated by the gunk, you started getting discharges through the playback electronics.