1978 RCA Selectavision VCT200 top loading vcr not going into play
 

Pulled this out the other day and I'd like to get it running but all it does is rewind and fast forward. Pressing play starts a sound you can hear down inside but the two arms that take the tape up around the drum won't move. I found that I was able to move them up forward myself but I don't think they should be able to move that freely. Doing this did start some rotation and belts spinning but that's it. All belts are good. Any ideas on where to start on this. I would tear down to those arms but I would need some kind of steps. There's metal and screws everywhere down there. Assuming these arms have detached from something.

Hi. Your problem is either a broken loading belt or the loading gear has split in half. Remove the bottom cover and unscrew the 4 circuit boards to reveal the mechanism. The boards open in hinges for ease of service. I have attatched a pic of the loading motor and gear.

Regards,

Fivos

I will open it and get a pic of that area for you. Last time I was in there, I didn't notice anything wrong. I'm not good with these top l I adding units. Thanks for helping. It's never took this long to get a reply. Thought I was alone here.:scratch2:

Here's how mine looks.

Well, that looks OK. Does the loading motor turn when you press play? Maybe the belt is slipping...

I'm looking at it right now. Everything turns but if I run it upright, I hear a scraping. I flipped it over and found that white plastic gear is sliding down and touching the metal round piece that always spins that turns the heads (drum). The gear turns for a bit then shuts off. I don't thing its attached the the arms up above anymore.

I just watched this video and on his machine, the gear that's above the chassis broke in two pieces. Maybe that's the case with yours too. Unscrew the loading gear assembly and take a look there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJJf-N0JAY

What screws do I remove? Got an image of that area?

Good luck Buddy :)

I have the Panasonic version of that VCR but I don't have access to it right now. The screws are shown in the video I linked previously.

Yeah I tend not to watch them due to the constant buffering with my current internet. I went ahead and checked this out. Silicon valley and he didn't even have any tools, geez! Funny how he removed the tape cover when it wasn't necessary. He ended up taking everything down from the bottom. Glad I don't have to do it from the top. I was surprised he glued it since that rarely ever works. Video was too dark to see what screws were removed. He did it too fast and didn't even a how which ones. I may be able to figure it out. 3d printing doesn't help me here tho as I do not have access to something like that and who knows how much it would cost to have someone do that. No name or part number to go by either. Just a gear. If I knew what to order, maybe I could find a replacement.

Well, thanks to your help and some idea from the video, I figured remove screws to move drum out of way, two screws holding the motor/gear assembly and unplug the 3 wire plug and pull out revealing the same problem. I circled the broken gear and location where it attaches. Is there a name or part number for this gear I can use to search?

Sadly, I don't have the full service manual so I can't find the original Panasonic part number. Since this machine is 39 years old, I don't think the part is available as new anyway. You can try glueing it back togother or 3D print a new one. Worst case scenario is to find another one of these machines and steal some parts...

Well, I knew gluing this thing was going to be a waste of time. I put it in 48 hours later and machine went into play but the right arm only went out half way. Stopping it returned that one but the left arm got stuck half way because of a smaller arm with a metal pin or rod was out in front of it. Now, fast forward actually rewinds the tape. Never seen anything like that. Since then, the dew light has come on and now I can't do anything. It's not wet either. Should I just bypass this sensor or is there a better fix? Also, is the broken gear the cause of all the other issues?

Anyone?