How NOT To clean a VCR Video Head

[@probnotstech]

I should probably link a video on how to PROPERLY clean the video heads: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXvQkqWohbOmadk

[@djstabilo100]

The more I watch these vcr repair videos the more I am impressed with whoever invented these things!

[@CoolDudeClem]

I learned this the hard way back in the 90's when trying to clean the heads on my camcorder. Broke a head and pulled the wire right out! Fortunately I was able to get a replacement and I got the camcorder working again but lesson learned.

[@OmeedNOuhadi]

Congratulations on doing your own repair, and repairing the repair you made on top of that. 👏👏👏

[@KuntalGhosh]

Yeah in 2024 if you do that there is no way to source a replacement head other than buying another camera. Definitely no way to get a new one. Recently i was recording all my mini dv tapes and some of them are like 25yrs old at this point, so pretty much every tape made the head dirty. And i had no cleaning tape. So i was very careful and gently cleaning the heads everytime a tape got successfully transferred. Took 2 days to copy 5 tapes. And i still have 8 more remaining as those are hdv tapes that my dad recorded on his sony hdr-fx1e. So now I will have to fix that camera. It has not been used in like 15yrs..

[@kingshearer2]

Thanks for detailing the video head. I always though the actual head pickup with the actual silver drum, I didn't realise the actual heads are in the little slots near the bottom. When I clean my heads nex time with a piece of A4 I'll be able to focus on those areas.

[@TheVCRKing]

That's why I use paper

[@joeburrows215]

I've cleaned vcrs for 30 years using q tips.. never had a problem

[@OmeedNOuhadi]

You were lucky or had expensive ones!

[@mokahless]

@@OmeedNOuhadi Or - and this needs testing, but it is a theory - damage is more caused by method than material. Disclaimer: I have no VCR experience. I've cleaned a lot of things with q-tips, and a lot of things with roughness in parts of their surfaces that cotton might get stuck in. There are some things you can't clean due to the roughness but from the looks of what I see here, there might not be an issue. First off, I would never go against the grain of any material (in this case, "up-down"). Second, I would never push so hard and be so rough. Third, I always "wind" the cotton once more around the q-tip to flatten any stray "hairs" while it is completely wet with isopropyl. Fourth and last, I never get too close to edges that will "bite" the cotton. The guy in the video did not follow any of these basic common sense things. So, the question remains: if someone isn't an idiot and uses cotton swabs or q-tips, could they damage the head or not? The question remains unanswered.

[@AZTech25]

same never emessed any up. Still have my zenith from 1994 still working

[@organicspirals]

I love your Simpsons reference in the caption! 💛🤣📼

[@marshmower]

I snapped a little chunk off mine back in the day. Matsushita Magnavox 1996 stereo model. Made in Japan. You are not kidding about them being thin and crispy. The only way I'd try it is "blot" it. Don't pull or drag it. Especially vertically.

[@dontastodgh1067]

Yikes...welp, time to get another video head!

[@albertnash888]

What should you use instead to clean the VCR head?

[@StevenMonticelli-ex1tg]

I know I was completely baffled by the fact that he shows you how not to do it but does not show you how to properly do it.

[@User0ne2]

@@StevenMonticelli-ex1tg it's on the fixed comment on the top...

[@OmeedNOuhadi]

@1:21 super impose memes vines, “Hey, I do, that!”

[@2ndPyleOfVinyl]

I know I drop the most random questions. How do you feel about the Sharp's more budget oriented range from the 1980s? We have used a Sharp VC-6730U since dad bought it new in 1987 and I got a VC-6846U for a birthday present. Both are fantastic machines. Basic, but they work very well. I am thinking about buying a VC-685U. Does the "equalizer" encode the audio like Dolby when switched on during recording? Does anyone know?

[@probnotstech]

I don't have a lot of experience with Sharp, but I've known people who really liked their stuff. I know their complex stuff from the 80s was unreliable, but maybe not so much with the more basic models.

[@marshmower]

1986-89 your paying by the pound. So many of those features became standard in later models. Auto tracking was handy for just kicking back. I can't say too much bad about Sharp except there's usually some little fix here and there. Looking at the brand as a whole. The vhs-c screens would develop lines through them. But I believe that was the ribbon cable. Our Sharp Thailand microwaves required tweaking the relay. They are awesome by the way. They are probably better than sanyo.

[@claudiofarias4224]

Oh my God! I cleaned my VCR by the wrong way... The images are not show anymore 😭

[@dougjones2273]

How often should the video and/or audio heads be demagnetized, if ever?

[@probnotstech]

I've never heard of someone demagnetizing video heads in a VCR. The head drum is aluminum and the cores are ferrite, so there isn't much to become magnetized. I suspect you could risk causing damage by attempting this. The stationary heads (full erase, control track/audio, and audio erase) could become magnetized over time, but I think if you use the VCR to record periodically it should be fine. All of these heads will be fed a signal when recording, which should demagnetize them (my understanding is the AC bias signal should work to demagnetize them).

[@emilioconsuljr6470]

Is there a way to fix the video head if it was damaged? Or does it need to be replaced?

[@probnotstech]

I'm not aware of any way to repair a damaged head - it would need to be replaced.

[@2ndPyleOfVinyl]

Thank you so much for these wonderful videos. Look forward to them every week. Now, I have a Mitsubishi HS-3281UR and I believe I misaligned the loading cycle on it. It won't load a cassette anymore. What is a good way to realign the mechanism on the cassette bay?

[@probnotstech]

That's a hard one. Unless you have the service manual, the best I can recommend is looking for timing marks on the gears - usually a small circle or triangle/arrow, meant to show how to line the gears up. Other than that I've tried moved one tooth at a time when I suspect timing is off and there's no markings to follow.

[@asj31980]

Oh wow, never know before that, thank U.

[@emilioflores4672]

Pov: you looked up people getting high on video head cleaner

[@Shamsithaca]

I have been using paper since I was 10 years old. NOw I have a fancy sheep skin hahah.

[@MortezaParkook]

Thanks, is there a way to remove the head and still be able to play the tape without image. I'm working on a project and need to put a similar tape (not video/audio tape) in VHS spools and just play, FF, RR.

[@probnotstech]

The head drum plays an essential part in the tape loading design, so you wouldn't be able to operate the VCR without it. However, I don't see a big deal with just leaving it in the machine. Non-magnetic tape could damage the heads, but if you don't care about that then just leave it as-is.

[@tyc2348]

Hi,my mini dv says condensation operated paused (can’t play tape or record,but it works when it is fully charged)please help 🙏

[@marshmower]

Get hair dryer.

[@TheRealAndreasBartel]

I'm using q-tips and isopropanol since ever, but I hold it in a fixed position, press it without force against the drum and turn the drum by hand. No vertical movement of the q-tip. But this is when I get a VCR "new" via ebay. For general cleaning after a bad tape I use BASF tapes from the eighties, the original ones with a four digit German ZIP-Code

[@EmreLikya]

I bought a Panasonic branded device and it had an incredible quality, everything was great, but it did not read the tape and got stuck there. I couldn't find the solution and I messed around and unfortunately I damaged the heads and it turned out to be waste. Later, I found the solution, I solved the problem by pushing the tooth manually, but it was too late. I'm still very sad, it was a great device.

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

My vcr plays back pre recorded tapes just fine but when i record and play back, it looks like crap

[@SwedishRetroTechNerd]

One time I used some crappy paper that got stuck in the video head of my beta vcr and the thing was the VCR worked when I got the paper out of the drum also I did a stupid mistake I used toilet paper with IPA when that happend btw at least I WAS VERY LUCKY that time : ).

[@marshmower]

Oh my.

[@SmoggyLambGG]

So how do you clean a video head, especially the thin 19µ ones?

[@probnotstech]

The cleaning method will be the same regardless of head gap width. The one I use (as well as many others here on youtube) is with printer paper + isopropyl alcohol (check my pinned comment). I tear off a small strip of printer paper and soak it in 99% ipa. I then gently hold it against the head drum with about the same pressure that the tape has when going past the heads. Now I rotate the head drum a few times - you can feel the video heads pass the paper. Do not move the paper while doing this, especially up and down (perpendicular to the tape path) as this can damage the head. Remember not to hold it to hard against the head, it just needs enough pressure to touch the heads as they pass.

[@fireice2585]

This is bullshit. You can literally break the video head with anything when you intentionally trying to break it, it has nothing to do with using a q-tip. You even bent the handle of the q-tip itself with the force you put on.

[@probnotstech]

"This is just a bit of fun" -the video "This is bullshit" -you

[@EndangeredFormats]

I was thinking the same thing, like why would you put so much force into it

[@mokahless]

@@probnotstech Saying "this is just a bit of fun" is not a valid disclaimer to say "oh but I said it was fun so if I misrepresented something it doesn't matter" To be clear, your video is fair. Your response here is not. Valid questions still remain. Maybe you could take advantage and make another video while being more careful. Don't care? They admit that being careful while cleaning is still untested, and you won't be the one to test it but be honest about the question remaining.

[@Tomsonic41]

I ruined my Bush VCR heads by trying to clean them this way. Now it's extremely difficult to get a picture out of it, and it's having difficulty rewinding anyway so I threw it away.

[@simtitan1]

VCR King is crying right now.

[@TheVCRKing]

Actually I'm not. This is a really education video.

[@No-history-why]

I did it and now my tapes on the vcr are distorted and discolored. I learned the hard way

[@organicspirals]

I am really distraught to say that my built-in-VCR Panasonic TV recently got shot by the storms we've been having. One night, our power went out twice, and I'm guessing that was when it happened. I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me. I happened to watch this video, then later that day I decided to use my VCR TV and it wouldn't power on. How may I repair it? I really wish now that I kept it unplugged whenever I wasn't using it.

[@HandlebarProduction]

Same exact thing happened to me with my Sony SLV R1000 :c Hoping to find someone who can repair it for me as I have no idea what I am doing but no one close to where I live.

[@vintagelover3873]

I did it before see ur video my Panasonic m-3000 vhs camcorder wont play any cassette and i clean head with this swab dose it damage ? What to do now still no video when i play its showing tracking video for some sec then blank screen i tired what to to thank

[@dagimadmasu]

Can I use any kind of alcohol?

[@probnotstech]

I seem to remember using 75% IPA in the past, but I would recommend 90+ if you can find it.

[@moses777exodus]

Very informative. Much Blessings to you. Thanks for sharing, Lord-Jesus-Christ dot

[@prebaned]

Painfull to watch the little guy get damaged. However I never had a issue for years cleaning with Q-Tips.

[@sumeho3591]

Me neither. We just pulled the case open, over rode the cassette load switch so the head would spin, and then lightly held a q tip soaked in 99% isopropyl against the spinning drum. We got many years out of them.

[@kalinridenour]

Watched it with the sound off. Why isn’t my VCR working?

[@OmeedNOuhadi]

@2:30 you’ve spilled the alcohol 🍺!

[@jimmyschmidt14]

welp, time to get another video head

[@rickydamian5095]

You can clean the head with a handkerchief with alcohol is correct

[@avadeshkumar9937]

Pls servo capstone principal

[@markmarkofkane8167]

You just have to make sure you don't touch the heads.

[@probnotstech]

So clean the heads without touching them, got it! :D

[@jessemiller2335]

the sheer amount of people that are still uneducated about this is really..bad… there are still many people on vhs forums that are still using q-tips on the heads… even people that regularly repair and clean vcrs don’t know this

[@slayufa]

Only Paper & Alcohol

[@KarlPedal-qu7hu]

Just did this with paper instead and the copper thingys broke anyway

[@ماهرسلطان-خ1ج]

Ok

[@bobsbits5357]

hi i was told to use paper i had a ADAT with bad audio the paper thick worked ok beacam sp heads are more fine a tec told me there a cleaner that all ways coming on around the head drum 6 time the tape speed of a betamax a tec told me

[@lukedavis436]

I dont trust myself with this lol....i have a 1980s Sanyo Betamax pulled out of a Skip... pretty sure the heads are either ruined or incredibly dirty..... I've Never handled a piece of equipment thats poorly maintained before..

[@neutrino68]

Yep, I ruined the video head of a Philips VCR 2000 with a q-tip about 40 years ago.

[@realgarforreal]

fuck should have watched before :D

[@jeremypowell7727]

Well first off who's trying to put alcohol in the hole

[@alanyala7724]

อย่าเอาอย่างนะครับ ให้ใช้กระดาษบางๆ ทาบทีหัวแล้วค่อยๆหมุน kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKGvZGiibqZ4pNk

[@Corgi_Repairs]

oh well it would of been nice if i watched this before ruining my vhs player did find a scrap one to slavage a new head from

[@dazzfromaus4797]

I accidentally broke.a.video.head in an expensive pro vcr. Also if break.the heads on an expensive.professional machine.it.can cost.as much as $15 to 20 thousand.dollars for.reacement heads. Very expensive indeed.

[@bryanmelo9878]

Do not try this at home

[@BillLeibold-s5q]

Oh, just press a little harder buddy, you’re very very silly, and we must be hurting for business

[@ertanoktay1772]

pamuk ile video head silinmez ..insanlara yanlış örnek olma..

[@youhavenoprivacyandownnoth8289]

clicky baity thumby

[@tluva1020]

I mean.... If you're trying to fk it up it's not too hard