VHS Video head swap just for funsies - Shorter Edit

[@reel_images]

Thanks for filming and sharing, I really like when KZbinrs post mistakes of things that went wrong. It helps others out for what to be careful of when trying the repair.

[@katttmandoo]

I am struggling to get apart a toshiba 4 head to check a belt that I think is causing issues… I have taken all apparent necessary screws and am struggling to remove the 2 cables to the mother board… I need a working vcr to digitize home movies and I think the belts wore out

[@PeteRFNY]

Hi there - great video! I was wondering if there was an instruction video available for swapping out the audio head on a VCR. I have one unit that plays my old NON-HiFi tapes great but I think the audio head is shot because the tapes all sound muffled (despite multiple attempts to adjust the azimuth). I hand another (both Sonys) that sounds great but I cannot get the video to look good no matter what I do. How difficult is it to swap out the analogue audio heads on these VCRs?

[@Electronicle]

@PeteRFNY hey thanks! Well to replace the audio head you also have to replace the control head..its all in the same part. Its not hard to replace if you have an identical replacement part, however you will need to align it properly otherwise the tape won't track properly and at the very least the audio won't sync up with the video. 12voltvids did a video about this. He purposely screwed up the alignment of all the heads and then showed how to realign with no equipment other than a screwdriver. I'd take a look at his channel. I don't have the link on hand but I know its there. He was a sony tech for many years. Also I just thought of this, 'newer' vcr's usually skimped out on the linear audio portion figuring you'd just be using hifi audio. Linear audio can sound 'ok' on a good machine, but most of these combo units and cheaper vcr's from the 2000's often have awful linear audio quality. Other than redesigning a new audio preamp, there isn't much you can do. Years ago I had a Panasonic with linear stereo and It actually sounded pretty good...not as good as a cassette tape but definitely not awful like it sounds on modern decks. Sorry I know this is long winded and hope it was of some help, but if interested definitely check out 12voltvids. Best of luck!

[@PeteRFNY]

@Electronicle Haha understood! These units are both Sonys and look like the same model but with different numbers. If you take the lids off, the insides are identical. One sounds fantastic but looks terrible. The other sounds terrible but looks great (I'm playing 40-year-old tapes on it that look freaking amazing but the audio is muffled). Hence my conundrum. I'll take a look and see how adventurous I want to get. Thanks for the helpful feedback! 🙂

[@Electronicle]

@@PeteRFNY I wish you the best. Don't be stupid like me and use your cherished unreplaceable tapes as test tapes while you tinker. That was many many years ago but I'm still kicking myself for it. You could try swapping the video drum/head to the bad video machine. Maybe it just has a bad head.

[@Illutorium]

So what's are be model of a this VCR?

[@zilogz8042]

is it possible to read with a vhs player from a vhs writer head placed in a dumb vhs cassette ? if so you do a video showing how to send digital videos from a computer or a dvd/cd player separate channels (audio video) through a writer head to a vhs player.

[@Electronicle]

Do you mean as in the same thing you'd use to play a cd-player in a tape deck? Unfortunately no. The tape has to wrap around the video drum. Maybe I'll make a video explaining how video tape recorders/players work. There are however some great videos made by others that you may want to look up. Its really interesting. I apparently can't put links in comments, but do a quick search. Technology Connections did a good one.

[@zilogz8042]

may bye several vhs write heads arround a vhs read head?@@Electronicle

[@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.

[@Electronicle]

not without designing your own control circuitry. BTW some vcr's don't thread the tape to FF or RW. Earlier units (aka older) won't thread to FF or RW.

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

@@Electronicle sono i videoregistratori dotati di sistema di caricamento half loading,quindi la videocassetta in forward e rewind va con il caricamento parziale,perche l'unica testina tecnicamente interessata e' quella di controllo

[@metingokbulut837]

🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷💯💯💯💯👍👍👍👍

[@carlhamill5203]

Just a quick question...if you remove the heads will the tape still wind on.

[@Electronicle]

It'll usually try but without the top of the drum it will jam.