Panasonic AG-1980P deck ejects all tapes.

[Spektre]

I picked up one of these at a local 2nd hand store. "It's fully functional", they said. Got home and any tape inserted sounds like it loads up...waits 2-3 secons...and then ejects. Many different size/brand tapes tried. It never gets to playing a tape.

Store owner was nice and refunded the money adn did not want the unit back.

So, now I have a unit and was wondering if this is a common repair and if someone could help me diagnose/fix it. I pretty handy with electronics, but know more electronics and nothing of tape mechanisms.

Thanks in advance and fee free to move the post. I did not see a VHS hardware forum.

Spektre

[oldfart13]

Fixing tape loading problems can be hard or simple depending on what is wrong. For a do it yourself guide, check here:

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/vcrfaq.htm


Schematics are (probably) available online but I think some sources were mentioned on this site. You'll have to search for them.

My opinion? Find a shop still capable of getting the repairs done from a qualified service technician. Get an estimate first. It may be that other things are wrong with your deck (heads, belts, wheels, etc.) making it cheaper to go look for another unit than spending time and money trying to fix a unit that's on it's last legs...

[NJRoadfan]

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/2668-user-manuals-service.html

The AG-1980P service manuals can be found there. The information you seek is likely in the K-Mechanism Service Manual.

[Deter]

I've seen this a bunch, when I first started working with the AG units saw so many problems, that I had to learn how to fix them. This is actually an easy fix, but I am telling you that it is more than likely the least of the problems with your unit. If you want to get this unit fully working and in perfect shape send it to me to fix.

Have never seen or purchased an AG unit that didn't need work, and in my time, have seen a lot of these machines!

PS Plug in your machine, don't put a tape in. Look at the brightness of the display, more than likely it will be dull. Next listen to machine, and you will more than likely hear a humming noise. That is just the start!