Bad behavior from a 13" RCA combo set
 

I have a little RCA 13" TV/VCR combo set from 1996 (model T13070WH, chassis no. TVR1/2B) that is behaving badly. When I put a tape in and try to play it the whole TV turns off, and when I turn it back on to eject the tape the tape comes out partially pulled out and snapped in the middle. Obviously this kind of behavior is absolutely unacceptable.

The question is, what might be causing this behavior? Ruining tapes is a VCR-specific problem but the whole TV shutting off tells me it's more serious than a malfunctioning VCR component.

Start by pulling all the tape out of a junk cassette. Cover the
peep holes on either side of the cassette door. Use black tape.
Now you have a test tape & you can watch the mechanics.
Could be supply reel is stuck or the take up isnt turning.

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

I'm no VCR export but I have fixed some here are some tips that might help.
1 clean the mode switch it can cause the symptom your having
2 the belt may be bad
3 it could be take and supply hubs but not likely
If it's none of the above it's probably not fixable
You will have to open the TV up and combo units are very hard to work

. Here is YouTube video of Emerson tv/VCR combo that has a similar problem it is long and not all of the video is about the VCR protion but the video might help you fix your TV/VCR combo https://youtu.be/P4OSlRaVH3g

Yeah, I'm definitely going to open it up and take a look inside. Worst comes to worst I'll just junk it and look for another one.

It's common for VCR-TV combo units to turn off everything if any sensors detect malfunction of any kind. Belts probably stretched and idlers might be glazed over.

That's actually good to know. I didn't know they did that. I was thinking the turning off thing was in the TV circuitry but now I know that I can focus on the VCR half.

Yes especially Funai based sets had a common failure with this issue with the tape loading tray. I had a 19" Emerson (Funai) that used a Built-in DVD and VCR and when the tape tray jammed it would shut the TV off. On that set I gave up on the VCR because it was trashed, I bypassed the photo sensor and tricked the TV to stay on. It was for a group home so they didnt really care about the VCR portion. The VCR wouldn't have broken if one of the guys didn't try jamming things into the tray.. I found quarters, scissors, food and other things in there that I was quite surprised it didnt short the whole thing out. There was a quarter laying on the plastic tray right under the flyback with some arcing on the quarter that actually melted into the plastic bottom!!

I would have not pulled this thing apart to fix it if the tray didn't start clicking and popping when the TV was turned on to immediately shut the TV off in 5 seconds

So how exactly do I find belts for the VCR mech in this TV? When I look online for belt kits they're specifically for standalone VCRs. Do I just buy a kit with a lot of belts and hope for the best?

Good luck buddy,I hope you can make her happy again :)

Well I guess I fixed it...I replaced a worn out belt, gave the VCR mech a good clean, and blasted the mode switch with contact cleaner and when I put in a tape it played, fast forwarded, rewinded, and ejected without any issues. Nice!

Well done! It's nice when it's an easy fix!

Yeah! Now I can use this little guy to quickly determine the contents of unlabeled VHS tapes.

Ahh the fun part. Been there. Lots of home movies I never remembered. Christmas past and easter. Stuff like that.

Glad you got it working. Just saw this post. Even so, don't know where VCR parts come from today.

The RCA T13070 (and similar GE branded model) were manufactured in 1996 (or, it was a 1996 model year) by IVP, International Video Products, a joint venture between Toshiba and Thomson. This was actually pretty decent stuff, a far cry above any Funai or Orion mess.

The service data issue number is 13TVR60 (the GE branded model), in case you decide to search for it. I looked at 3 RCA's and two GE's in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Not enough history to report.

By the way, if you ever see the power light flash 6 times (and little else happen) that is the 'child lock'. Just hold the power button on the remote for 6 flashes to restore operation. That was one of the three calls. :D

Brian

Yeah, I noticed the Toshiba tube inside. Definitely better than a lot of TV/video player combo units, though not as good as a Panasonic or Sony machine.