[Adam]

While I'm waiting for that transistor for my console stereo, I'm taking another look at this VCR.

At first I thought there must be a problem with the circuit that controls that solenoid. (in 1st pic) But the problem turned out to be that that +12V wasn't getting there.

Now there is a switch which is supposed to activate when the tape loads (see 2nd pic) which turns on the 12V. In the 2nd pic you can see two switches. The top one is supposed to close when the tape loads, and the bottom one is supposed to open. The bottom one functions like it should; the top one does not. There is a small plastic lever which activates the top switch just like you see on the bottom one. There is nothing wrong with it, but I just removed it so I could get a better look.

I took the picture after the tape loaded. The arrows are pointing to part of a metal ring, I believe that ring is supposed to rotate further down so as to push on the plastic piece (the one I removed - so its not in the pic) and close the switch. Unfortunately, I can't really see whats going on without taking large portion of this unit apart, which I was hoping I wouldn't have to do.

The 3rd and 4th pic show what happens when I activate the switch manually. It plays the tape. The sound is good, picture is intermittent.