Philips EL-3400 VTR

[Electronic M]

I doubt Sam's put out anything on that unit (their VTR data seemed to start in the Betamax era). For service info I'd look for a big old Philips dealer that would have sold/serviced those when new and see if they have service lit, and maybe check with the company to see if they keep any older legacy documentation on file, and ask some vintage VTR collectors/techs.

That packing tape trick is interesting. Are those DEC/LINC tape machines Stationary head or rotating drum head machines (I don't collect vintage computer gear, so IDK)? Packing tape may work on the drum as long as it does not touch, block the spinning heads (don't cover the head slot), or gum up the heads.....I'd probably talk to an electroplater and a machinist about the heads, but then again disassembly may disturb mechanical alignments that are better left untouched. The wire guides are there for the thin edge of the tape to brush against and prevent the tape from riding on parts of the drum it's not supposed to so tape the parts of the drum that those posts don't block.

If it was mine and I got it working, I'd see if I could make it 100% tube....It would be cool to run a 100% empty-state video source and monitor rig, with the added benefit that if nuclear and or solar EMP's take out all PN junctions in the hemisphere you may be the only person left that can still watch actual video.