JVC SR-V10U remote not working?

[Theogen]

I recently got a JVC SR-V10U and a TBC from LordSmurf.
It arrived Friday of last week 6/3/2022.
On Saturday afternoon I set it up and used my remote (JVC LP20303-009) to disable the playback overlays on the screen so I could record.
I ran a few recordings and all seemed to be working well.
After a few recordings I went to go back into the menu and look at what other options there were, but after opening the menu the remote seemed to stop responding.
I tried replacing the batteries and no luck.
Then I powered back up my old VCR (JVC SR-S3900U) and the remote worked perfectly with that one with both sets of batteries.
I then powered off the VCR for the night and on Sunday I went to record some more videos and the overlays had reactivated since it had been powered off for the night.
The remote still would not work with the V10U, but still worked fine with the S3900U.

I did try to contact LordSmurf through email and PM but I'm assuming he's still backed up on responding to those.
Does anyone know what would cause the VCR to stop receiving Remote commands and what would be needed to fix it?
Or if there is another way to enter the menu without using the remote?

I also downloaded the service manual and it appear the V10U is similar the the S3900U so I could possibly use it for parts but as I'm not sure what is wrong and I likely would mess up the alignment from LS so I am reluctant to start ripping stuff apart.

-Theogen

[lordsmurf]

Yes, email/PM backed up some, but also took week off to spend with family.

Remotes can be fluky.
Which exact model remote are you using? The LP20303?

As far the V10 deck itself, and my refurb work and re/aligment, the key is to not disturb anything. If you're extremely careful, you can remove the top lid, and then pull off the front deck plate. Under the red translucent plastic is the actual sensor attached to the mainboard.

I have seen where the translucent plastic has aged, become more opaque, and the IR would not pass. Maybe not for all remotes, but any remote that is weak, or aged itself.

As I often mention, remotes are actually consumables, and fail eventually. Not just abuse, but simple use. And again, some remotes are just weak. Maybe the model, maybe just the unit.

Right now, I test all decks with (somewhat) new LP20303 and LP20465 remotes. No issues at all with your deck. It's usually the pre-V10 7800 and 7900 that are most stubborn, all the sensor issues. I've had many V10 decks through the years (decades, actually), and recall only 1 being bad, and maybe 2-3 being stubborn.

As a friend use to say, joking about tech support, "click harder". Funny enough, with the remotes, sometimes you have to really hold in a button firm and long. Never on the units itself, but the remotes.

// Aside: FYI, the eject button, on the unit, can be stubborn.Aagain mostly the pre-V10 HR 78/900 series. Ironically, those 78/900 could be better internally, but somewhat inferior externally. It was a variation on the 3/4800 exterior, but worse. At this late date, this is mostly trivia, unless you're trying to repair a bad unit. Some of those issues can be irreparable. Nobody should use this info to avoid a good deck, regardless of (recommended) model. //

Also remember not hold the remote too close, or too far away. Like The Three Bears, there is a "just right" distance.

[Theogen]

Yes the remote is a LP20303-009.
It still works fine with my S3900U VCR.
I will try removing the front deck plate.

-- merged --

I removed the front plate and tried with the receiver exposed and it still did not work I have attached a video of what I did. On the PC the window on the left is the V10U and the right is the S3900U.

Do you believe replacing the IR Receiver would fix this issue?

[RobustReviews]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theogen

I removed the front plate and tried with the receiver exposed and it still did not work I have attached a video of what I did. On the PC the window on the left is the V10U and the right is the S3900U.

Do you believe replacing the IR Receiver would fix this issue?

Possibly.

It would be an easy diagnosis, but if you're having to ask these questions it could be out of scope.

It could be a whole host of things from IR receiver failure to complete failure of system silicone or anything in between.

Either way, it's clearly faulty.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobustReviews

Either way, it's clearly faulty.

If that were true, I'd have never sold it. That's eBay, not me.

There are many variables, for situations like this. Obviously it worked when it arrived. But then something happened. It's merely a case of isolating what happened, and correcting it.

[RobustReviews]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

If that were true, I'd have never sold it. That's eBay, not me.

There are many variables, for situations like this. Obviously it worked when it arrived. But then something happened. It's merely a case of isolating what happened, and correcting it.

I'm not entirely convinced by that statement, but I know you have a serious issue with eBay - sometimes it does come across as "The lady doth protest too much" and I know I'm not alone in that view.

eBay is a wide gamut, I've just sold around £8000 worth of video machines on eBay over the last few weeks, no issues, they're good machines and the only machine that has had an issue I had uplifted the same day for return and refunded as soon as I knew it had been collected - so we're not all terrible. I'm not convinced it is faulty, but I'm happy to deal with it.

Either way, you don't have to like eBay. I wonder, do you buy machines from eBay at all?

How is this diagnosed then? I would suggest checking the voltage on the IR sensor as a first pass, what about you?

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobustReviews

serious issue with eBay - sometimes it does come across as "The lady doth protest too much" and I know I'm not alone in that view.
eBay is a wide gamut

You're in UK. eBay UK is vastly different than eBay USA. The European gear market isn't crap (yet), and is somewhat like eBay USA in the late 2000s and early 2010s. In USA, it's literally a video gear dumping ground, especially for VCRs. That said, the issues with the European eBay markets have been accelerating in recent years. (Australia has lower volume trading, so it's always been a bit wacky. I know our Aussie members know this.)

Quote:

I would suggest checking the voltage on the IR sensor as a first pass, what about you?

There's no reason for that level of detail, when the remote has worked flawlessly during the entire testing, refurb, and re-testing process. And again, it was working when it arrived. Something happened. There, not here. It's just a matter of figuring out why, maybe how.

As carefully as I pack gear, nothing shipped is immune to the hamfisted morons that tend to work at shippers. Drop damage is always possible. When you have this much plastic (mainboards, especially), cracking becomes a worry.

And before you claim, "I've never had problems," that's because you live on the tiny island known as UK (where I have many friends), which is smaller than my state, by less than half. Shipping in-state rarely has issues. When you ship across states, it's like shipping from UK to Moscow (or farther), in terms of distance. Not close whatsoever. You must pack accordingly.

With respect, I would suggest this is an area where you have no expertise.

[RobustReviews]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

With respect, I would suggest this is an area where you have no expertise.

Like electronics diagnosis and repair?

[hodgey]

Maybe silly question but are you sure the vcr or remote hasn't just been accidentally changed to use the alternate remote codes?

[RobustReviews]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hodgey

Maybe silly question but are you sure the vcr or remote hasn't just been accidentally changed to use the alternate remote codes?

I think that's far from silly.

Every day is a school day huh? I'll wear the L on that one.

[Theogen]

After work today I will check the alternate remote codes then maybe break out the O-Scope and I can compare the signal from the receiver on both of the VCRs.
I'll just have to see if I can find the pinout for the receiver if it is not printed on the circuit board.
I'll post what I find.
Thanks everyone for the help.

[RobustReviews]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theogen

After work today I will check the alternate remote codes then maybe break out the O-Scope and I can compare the signal from the receiver on both of the VCRs.
I'll just have to see if I can find the pinout for the receiver if it is not printed on the circuit board.
I'll post what I find.
Thanks everyone for the help.

It's quite likely just an LED, should be very easy to see if it's responding.

If you've got a scope this should be trivial to test. Try Hodgey's suggestion first though.

[Theogen]

The V10U was on A for the alternate codes and the S3900U would not tell me what it was on.
I then put the O-Scope on the V10U and pressed the menu button.
Probing from the right pin and the left pin I saw a signal but it was only 258mV Peak to Peak and has significate noise showing.
From the right pin to the center pin I saw 5 Volts

On the S3900U I saw the same pattern in the signal but it was 5.2V Peak to Peak and looked much cleaner at that level.

I have attached images of my probe attachments and O-Scope Images.

For the S3900U the clip on my ground was a bit large and I put it on the bracket instead of the pin to prevent shorting connections.

[Theogen]

From my probing and looking at spec sheets the IR receiver in this VCR has Signal on the left VCC in the center and GND on the right. Most IR receivers I can find online have VCC and GND swapped.
Does anyone know of any compatible IR receivers that are still available(The models in the service manual seem to be discontinued)?
I have ordered a few different new ones and if needed I can find a way to twist the two legs and insulate them.
I also found a $25 JVS S5900U on ebay and I'm guessing that will have the correct sensor in it so that is also on the way.

[RobustReviews]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theogen

From my probing and looking at spec sheets the IR receiver in this VCR has Signal on the left VCC in the center and GND on the right. Most IR receivers I can find online have VCC and GND swapped.
Does anyone know of any compatible IR receivers that are still available(The models in the service manual seem to be discontinued)?
I have ordered a few different new ones and if needed I can find a way to twist the two legs and insulate them.
I also found a $25 JVS S5900U on ebay and I'm guessing that will have the correct sensor in it so that is also on the way.

You might just have to busk that one with whichever components are available.

It's only a generic jellybean part, and you've made a very good diagnosis of this fault.

[hodgey]

Hopefully the replacements work (unless it's only the capacitor next to it that's gone bust), would almost be a shame to gut a 5900U unless it's damaged in other ways already. If not they most likely used the same ICs in the cheaper decks from the same years too.

[Theogen]

So the 5900U that I ordered from Ebay that was listed and for parts won't power on has a bad fuse for the AC input. It looks intact, but fails a continuity test. So I will try putting in one of the other IR receives that I got from Amazon. I will probably see if I can find a fuse for the 5900U and see if it still works. Internally it looks very clean and all the caps I can see don't appear to have popped.

[Theogen]

Soldered on a new IR Receiver From amazon and made sure to swap the leads so VCC and GND went to the correct locations and the V10U is fully working with the remote now.
Also replaced the fuse in the 5900U and it powered up(I have not tried to play anything in it yet).
The original fuse was a 1.25A/250V and I replaced it with 1A/250V fastblow fuse since that is what I found at the hardware store.

Again thanks for the help/advice on this issue.