JVC DVHS HM-DH40000U signal dropping out

[nesburf]

Hi all,

My workhorse VCR seems to have developed an issue recently. All of a sudden I'm just getting complete dropouts while playing tapes. Seems to happen on both SP and EP tapes. The whole signal just completes drops out and comes back repeatedly. Sometimes it's literally every second, sometimes it's every few seconds like in the video I've attached.

Also noticed that after unplugging it for a while and the plugging it back in, I'll go to turn it back on, and it will drop in and out just on the grey splash screen until it finally settles and then only starts happening when playing back tapes.

I've attached a video of what is happening. Is the VCR pooched? Bad caps maybe? TBC pooched?

[Christopher2222]

Dirty video head maybe. Have you run a tape cleaner through it a couple of times?

[lordsmurf]

Dirty video head maybe. Have you run a tape cleaner through it a couple of times?

I really wish people would NOT always jump to saying "dirty heads".

In fact, dirty heads are usually the least likely issue you'll come across with VCRs.

Worse yet, many unknowledgable Youtube/blog guides written by halfwits to "clean" the heads are followed by equally unknowledgable VCR owners -- using Q-tips/etc -- which then does compound the person's problem by actually damaging the heads. So you end up with a VCR that has a problem and newly damaged heads from bad advice. At that point, you may as well just give up, as the VCR is now ruined for sure.

You should properly clean heads after so many hours of playing hundreds of tapes. But that's it. It's routine maintenance, not a catch-all to solve whatever ails the VCR.

...

My thoughts here: JVC DVHS HM-DH40000U sync problem?

[nesburf]

Don't think it's a head issue as it happens without even playing back a tape. It'll happen after being turned on after being unplugged for a while.

[JVRaines]

Therefore, the problem is thermal expansion and contraction. You may have dodgy solder joint(s) or cracked trace(s) somewhere inside.