SR-W7U tape counter not working, picture breaks into pixels?
 

I two SR-W7U's in need of repair. One was purchased from the original owner, with box, manual, remote and Digital S tapes recorded in W-VHS. It worked great in May 2011 when purchased, tested out fine in October 2013 and again in May of 2014, but by June of 2014 the tape counter did not advance, W-VHS pre-recorded tapes have a severely distorted picture and VHS tapes would play perfect for thirteen seconds and then track out into pixels and then back again. The tape transport mechanism works, fast forward, play and reverse.

The other SR-W7U was purchased from some reseller called OMED in Nevada, it is actually serial number 24, the picture was fine when purchased in July 2011 and had some slight audio issues but currently only shows snow. These decks should work because they have not been used hardly at all and sat mostly in a temperature controlled environment. If this issue is due to lack of use then why do all the Sony SVO and JVC BR decks still work the same after sitting for a few years?

I called Starlit and they told me they do not repair these decks, along with Jots and even Stanton TV told me the no longer fix VCR's? I called T-Grant photo a few times, left a message, no one answered or called me back. I called Southern Advantage and he referred me to a fellow named Mike that works on Vintage Audio. Based on my brief conversation with Mike, he seems to know a lot about professional VCR's. I went though Google and made a list of shops that can repair electronics across the country but I am not including that list because I have not called hardly any of them yet.

The main reason for my post is because it seems no one has a scan of a SR-W7U owners manual. Since my SR-W7U seems to be toast, I cut up the pristine owners manual and scanned it into a searchable .pdf.

Maybe someone else knows someone who is specialized in repairing this deck?

One thing to try would be to try cleaning the stationary head that handles linear audio and the control track (to the right of the drum on VHS decks). If the deck can't read the control track properly or at all, tapes won't play, period. Its also where the tape counter gets its timing from. Next up would be the capstan. Inconsistent speed from the capstan causes all types of wonky playback issues. These were a common problem on Betamax decks.... the cause on those was leaking/failing caps on the capstan motor control board. Also note, the capstan may be belt driven on these decks (it is on the later JVC SVHS decks), its possible the belt broke or is deformed due to age. If that is the case, a belt replacement is a relatively simple and cheap repair.

A check of the pinch roller is always a good idea too.

Actually JVC Repair in Long Beach agreed to look at the decks but they said they have no parts and will not use used parts. If no parts are needed perhaps they can make a repair or at least find out what is wrong. I did look online to find and call other repair shops, I found a couple that seems promising, but I am hesitant to share them on this forum particularly since I have not done business with them. I also do not want to violate any forum rules.

You won't. In fact, I'm curious who you've found. :)