Splice VHS tape - I'm in the dog house

[bendixG15]

Was putting old family VHS tapes onto DVDs and ..disaster.
One tape broke on me..the beginning leader broke off about
half inch from the recording tape...

Anybody help me out on the best way to splice ....
Just need to play once, so I can get it onto the hard drive.

I've looked around, and can't find anywhere to buy
the splicing tape..lots of splice blocks.

[jameshgross]

Many years ago when I had to repair a VHS tape I was able to purchase a VHS cassette repair kit.
This kit included a new VHS cassette with leadin, splicing tape, simple block and cutter.
A quick GOOGLE search revealed that several kits were available on e-bay.

[hudsonf]

This place is located in NY http://www.tapecenter.com/tapecare.html

[SingSing]

Another Same brand VHS tape that you don't need can be serve as a lead in and part for transfering the tape with the content. That's a $2 solution, since all VHS tape can be take apart with a jewel philip screw driver.

[lordsmurf]

Not all of them SingSing. I've had to break quite a few tapes that were glued or tacked, not screwed. Just be really careful not to do further damage.

[moviebuff2]

Check with your local RadioShack. They should have the splicing tape for reel-to-reel available. You can use this tape to put your VHS tape back together since the tape's width is large enough.

Make sure that you wear plastic gloves while handling your tape. This will prevent oil from your fingers from getting on the tape and eventually on the VCR heads. You can get the gloves at dollar-stores like Dollar General, $1 will get you 100 gloves.

Also make sure that you apply the splicing tape to the non-recordable side of your VHS tape. It's the shinier side of the tape. By doing this, you can be sure that the splicing tape will not come in contact with the VCR head.

Good luck!

[bendixG15]

Thanks for all the help and hints and advice.

The case came apart easily, all I got to do is find that little piece that fell on the floor...(Sunday night humor)

I am splicing the blank leader, so I assume I'm not in a critical area. I just didn't want to buy a "kit" when all I need is a couple of inches of splicing tape. I will check out my local RS in the morning.

[redwudz]

A couple of other things to watch out for. If the tape broke in your VCR, it may be stopping the tape too hard. After you splice it, wind a little around to the other reel using a pencil through the drive holes so that the deck doesn't pull too hard on directly on the splice. I would avoid FF or RW if you can. The splices are usually not as strong as the tape itself.

You can cut the tape by overlapping the ends and using a single edge razor blade if you can't find a splicing block the right size. A good splice isn't so important on the ends of the tape as long as it's strong enough.

Also be careful disassembling the cassette. There are some parts that can fall out. You might want to experiment on a trashed cassette so you know where all the parts go if they fall out.

[MysticE]

It's no big deal if it's at the start, by the clear leader, just use scotch tape. That part never makes it across the heads.

[CrayonEater]

I'll second that. I used to use the RS stuff, but tried Scotch tape and it's worked ok. I try for abot 1/2" of tape on either side of the break. I try not to use too much so that it doesn't deform the tape when it's on the reel. There are somewhat stronger knock-offs of Scotch tape that work a little better than Scotch tape proper, so if you can get away with less, your job will be easier.

[ZippyP.]

For a one-off fix, I third the scotch tape suggestion.

[bendixG15]

Ok......OK......OK....thanks all

I did the fix with scotch tape.....

Worked just fine...
the splice stays inside the spool, so I am safe.

Made my DVD

....put a big note on the VHS tape..DO NOT USE
Some day I will do a "proper" fix

I read that over the years, the scotch tape adhesive
will react with the VHS tape and cause problems.

[Cornucopia]

Man, I wish I'd have seen this thread earlier...

Using scotch tape is a BAD idea!
It will gunk up your video heads. I know. I do this kind of thing (repairs) at work--alot of them.

If you have to splic, you should use a (aluminum-nonmetallic) splicing block, demagnetized safety razors, and specially made SPLICING tape. Doesn't cost that much more than regular. Can get it at places like Markertek, B&H photo, etc. It sure as hell doesn't leave the kind of adhesive bulk that regular tape does.

Funny thing is, you probably didn't need to splice at all. You could have just thrown away the leader and re-attached the remainder to the takeup reel. This takes a little practice and patience to get the tape reel lock snapped back into place correctly, but it's much more secure and no tape mess to have to deal with. The only downside would be the loss of ~3 seconds of footage at the very beginning.

Hopefully, somebody else who needs to see this will before they start cutting...

Scott

[ROF]

How does scotch tape gunk up your video heads when the tape is on the opposite side(nonrecordable) of the VHS tape that touches the head?

[MysticE]

Funny thing is, you probably didn't need to splice at all. You could have just thrown away the leader and re-attached the remainder to the takeup reel. This takes a little practice and patience to get the tape reel lock snapped back into place correctly, but it's much more secure and no tape mess to have to deal with. The only downside would be the loss of ~3 seconds of footage at the very beginning.

It's the clear leader that signals the VCR to stop, it's a most necessary part. Without the leader the tape would either snap or possibly the VCR's motor would burn out.

[ahhaa]

Just a comment... I've been transfering my old VHS too; some of it is 20+ years old, and played back fine. I'm sure not counting on my DVDs lasting that long!
Don't throw out those tapes for a coupla years...

also, next time... there prob'ly is a guy down at your local video rental spot who'd do it for ya if you don't want to DIY.

[BJ_M]

Funny thing is, you probably didn't need to splice at all. You could have just thrown away the leader and re-attached the remainder to the takeup reel. This takes a little practice and patience to get the tape reel lock snapped back into place correctly, but it's much more secure and no tape mess to have to deal with. The only downside would be the loss of ~3 seconds of footage at the very beginning.

It's the clear leader that signals the VCR to stop, it's a most necessary part. Without the leader the tape would either snap or possibly the VCR's motor would burn out.

no -- lots of tapes dont have any leader and the machines have take up sensors for end of tape (usually - at least the better machines --- anyway, lots of commercial vhs tapes have no leader ...

[moviebuff2]

I agree with Cornucopia.

Scotch tape is simple a bad choice. The tape's gluey stuff tends to ooze out on all sides of the tape. Even the tape does not touch the video head and its vincinity, it still passes the path where the VHS tape will go through. Just flip open the protective cover of the case, one will see 2 metal guiding pins. This is where the gluey stuff can be deposited and transfered to the VHS tape itself.

Trust me :P you don't want anything gluey deposited in the tape path. Potential major disasters!

[MysticE]

Funny thing is, you probably didn't need to splice at all. You could have just thrown away the leader and re-attached the remainder to the takeup reel. This takes a little practice and patience to get the tape reel lock snapped back into place correctly, but it's much more secure and no tape mess to have to deal with. The only downside would be the loss of ~3 seconds of footage at the very beginning.

It's the clear leader that signals the VCR to stop, it's a most necessary part. Without the leader the tape would either snap or possibly the VCR's motor would burn out.

no -- lots of tapes dont have any leader and the machines have take up sensors for end of tape (usually - at least the better machines --- anyway, lots of commercial vhs tapes have no leader ...

Really? So the posters "old family tapes" are of this special commercial type I'm assuming. Every VHS tape in every video store and every tape sold through mass merchants will have this clear leader, it's part of the VHS spec. And as the poster noted "One tape broke on me..the beginning leader broke off " so obviously he doesn't have one of these special tapes or machines that you speak of. He also said "Just need to play once, so I can get it onto the hard drive". Sounds like a job for Scotch Tape to me, all this adhesive talk is irrelevant for one play.

[ahhaa]

OT:what is it about computer screens that makes folks so dang feisty?

I posted elsewhere about this guy at Google videos... the one who calls VH'ers noobs; now he's trying to start a major flame war with me over -get this- whether the Desktop is 'in' or 'on' C:

imho, there's something about this medium of communication that raises hackles in a most peculiar way; maybe the missing body language or tone of voice? something, the same something that sparks barfights.

anyway, I'd like to see a forum sometime where everybody is on webcams instead of text, just to see the diff, if anny.

[gadgetguy]

...Really? So the posters "old family tapes" are of this special commercial type I'm assuming. Every VHS tape in every video store and every tape sold through mass merchants will have this clear leader, it's part of the VHS spec. And as the poster noted "One tape broke on me..the beginning leader broke off " so obviously he doesn't have one of these special tapes or machines that you speak of. He also said "Just need to play once, so I can get it onto the hard drive". Sounds like a job for Scotch Tape to me, all this adhesive talk is irrelevant for one play.

I have also "repaired" many tapes that the leader has broken on by discarding everything before the break and just reattaching it to the spindle. The VCRs I have rewind and fastforward at high speed and slow down as it nears the end. They do this regardless if there's a leader or not and all VCRs stop when they reach the end of the tape, whether there's a leader or not. There may be some that will stop at the the clear leader, but I've never seen one that did. I have ejected tapes with clear leaders and checked to make sure they are fully rewound, and they are.

As for using scotch tape... in this situation, I see no problem. If you regularly clean your VCR, an occasional "quick repair" for a single play is not going to be a problem.

[mikel]

Personally (although I've done it in an emergency) I wouldn't recommend
attaching the tape directly to the hub. The clear leader is there for a reason.


Howstuffworks.com
"End-of-tape sensing - The leader on video tapes is clear. A VCR shines a light through the tape and can detect the end of the tape when it "sees" the clear leader."

I believe the clear leader is also much stronger, to withstand the stress of reaching the end of the tape during rewind.

For a single play...it'll prolly work...but I'd definitely avoid the procedure for anything
that is kept.

[Snakebyte1]

I wouldn't say all VCRs know when the end of the tape is reached without a leader of some sort. I had two that didn't. One was an old RCA top-loader and the other one was a JVC.

We had a couple of Fuji tapes that broke so we just threw away the broken leader and attached the remaining tape to the hub. The RCA would rewind the tape and when it came to the end it would make a good THUCK sound. We used it for quite awhile. Eventually that the RCA machine refused to rewind any tapes at all (wonder why?).

I also noticed that the tape stretched more easily at the beginning without the leader.

Next we put one of these tapes in the JVC, which would have been an early 90's model. When we rewound that tape it came to the end and made one gawd-awful clanking noise. That was the one and only time we used it in that machine.

I don't think I'd want to try it in a VCR made today - they're not nearly as solidly built as older ones.

[BJ_M]

VHS uses an optical system to detect the ends of the tape - in theory through the leader - but i have seen 1000's of bulk tape with no leader .. and they work fine ...

they used to use visible light sensors - but for the past many years it has been infrared (on the little post that sticks up into the tape).. Beta used a metal leader.

I looked the specifications for VHS (that i could find) and i could not find that a clear leader is a requirement (a leader is a requirement for beta types, "C" Threading vs. VHS "M" threading ..




The very first VHS deck of all, launched in Japan in 1976 and the USA in 1977 was the JVC HR-3300