Problem with 1984 Sylvania VC2230SL01 Top Loader VCR.
 

Helllo, fellow VIDEOKARMA Members.

I have here a 1984 Sylvania Model: VC2230SL01 Top Loading VCR. I bought it at my local thirftstore a couple of weekends back. I noticed that it had a VHS tape in it already and decided to plug it in to test if the VCR powered up. Sure enough it did but when I went to eject the tape the machine had eaten it... Never having any experience working on VCR's before I didn't have much clue of what was wrong intill I spent about a week fighting and reading a lot on the net about common problems with VCR's and I found some great resources out there too! First thing I noticed was the pinch roller was all hard and glazed and it seemed to cause the tape to spool out in the one corner when the pinch roller touches the vhs tape, I found out that they don't make pinch rollers for this vcr anymore grrr.... but I did manage to find a replacement, I thought it would fix the problem but it didn't :( next thing I read was that the idler tire's go bad and sure enough it had the same problem glazed and hard. I found out you can use O-rings to fix the problem and what a great idea, since it solved the problem :) I was able to stop the VCR from eating tapes YEAH! I then proceeded to clean the head and other roller parts using 70% isopropyl alcohol and copier paper.
A new problem has arisen though that I am stumped on and hope someone out there has some common knowledge about. Every VHS tape I have tried to play has resulted in either a jumpy picture which I can not stabilize with the slow tracking or tracking knobs, and also white distortion at the top of the screen. The Audio comes in fine. Just the picture I am having problems with.

Gotta be heads or alignment. I've had a couple of these also under the Magnavox brand too. Great little machines.

how do i go about doing the alignment?

That i couldn't tell you. minw was always belts and idler. Never had to adjust anything. I'm sure someone knows though.

First, make sure the heads are clean. If you're not sure, take a new paper coffee maker filter and dampen it with a little head cleaner. Run it gently over the heads a few times....if it's got any black on it, there is still some crud in the heads.

Alignment issues can usually be adjusted out by tweaking the 2 guide posts. If you don't have a tool for this, you can make one by taking an old flat screwdriver and filing a slot out of the middle. Play a known good tape, center the tracking control, and watch the screen while turning the guide posts. You don't have to turn them much, a little nudge should have a noticeable effect on position of your "white distortion".

[UPDATE AUGUST 6th 2014]

Had some more time this week to mess around with this mess of a VCR:no:
Thanks for those who replied:yes: I did the alignment first and it did fix the problem for a short period of time, but I found out tonight that it is indeed the heads that have worn out :( I found this Youtube video that shows the exact problem I was having ->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IknGPFEkgC0
Now I guess it's a matter of trying to find a head assembly for it, I did try MCM Electronics but I didn't see anything on their website.. I do have three other VCR's on hand but I really love these old Top loaders there not as common as they once were. I've included a picture of the head, I've been told you need to have the exact one or else it won't work? Maybe someone might be able to track one down. I saw a couple on Ebay as well but there not the exact part number.

Many machines are the same model with different brand casings. Try to find a cross reference of models. Should make it easier to find the right head.Try any model built by Panasonic that year. They built several brands including RCA, Magnavox, GE and several others.

Not visible in the pictures but what does the back-tension band look like? A thin brass (sometimes plastic) band around the supply reel one end to a right angle plastic piece that's affixed with a screw and adjustable, the other attached to an arm that rides on the tape when it's playing-recording controlling the tension on the tape. Should be a felt lining in that band. Seen many where the glue dries out over time and the felt falls off, maybe down in the mechanism somewhere. So you have no back-tension on the tape. Sorta what it looks like to me.

Heads used to be dirt cheap for those Matsushita-made 2 head units. ASTI Magnetics was our source 10-20 years ago when people were still payin' to fix these things.

Thanks for the quick replies:D

Big thanks to Ed in Tx, Yep you were right it's gotta be the back tension band it's pretty obvious in the picture here. You can see were it's broken off, you can even see the imprint of the circle where the old one used to sit. Phew! really hoping I don't still have to change that video head... kinda on a budget lol. Also i checked out ASTI Magnetics and they do have the video head that I need just incase.:banana:

Just wondering. About how much is a head?

Someone pulled and twisted on that til it broke off! And the other end normally held with a retainer clip to the back-tension arm is gone too.

Now all you need to do is find one. Also the retainer clip that goes on the end that attaches to the back-tension arm. Have to take out the arm so do that, then align the arm position with the new band in place.

I have a Quasar VH-5042XQ top load vcr from December 1984. It has the same video head as the Sylvania VC2230SL01. I had just openned mine up for
different issues, cleanning and resistor cooking smell last night. I came accross this post today, thought a few pictures of tensioning band might help.
Ed

Hey, EdKozk2.

Thanks for taking the time to post those pictures! I forgot to mention that I did find the retainer clip rattling around, when I was trying to find the remains of the tension band which sadly is gone. I did find a company in New Zealand that sells the generic belts but they need me to measure it using their measuring chart http://www.tradetech.co.nz/site/trad...eets/Belts.pdf I was wondering if you'd be able to measure yours since mines missing?

According to buyphilipsparts.com this should be the replacement part. (No affiliation!)

Thanks Ed in Texas,
I hadn't come across that website, could be
useful for other VCR parts.
Ed