JVC HR-S9600EK black horizontal streaks, damaged heads?
 

Hi all

new to this forum. I have a JVC HR-S9600EK VCR. It is used and was working ok. I played VHS that I suspect was a bit dirty. Then a played a good SVHS tape and I had streaks. I opened and cleaned the head with alchohol and q-tips, but then I realised this might damage the heads. So I cleaned again with paper and alchohol.

Now I get black horizontal streaks in areas where the picture is black. see attached video. do you think the head is still dirty, or damaged. Can you find parts for it?

One more thing. After cleaning I might have touched something. When I insert the tape, it starts playing the tape faster (sort of fast forward) with no picture and then shuts down. I unplugged it and left it to rest, then after a couple of hours it was back to normal. Any idea what happened. I would like to restore this VCR as it is very good. I have a HR-S7600 as a backup

Help needed. maybe it is just a minor fault

Black streaks can be a telltale sign of head damage.

Thank you for your reply. I think I cleaned it incorrectly. :(

can you suggest what to do to repair this? where can I find parts etc. What can I try to repair the existing head? can a piece of q-tip be stuck to the head?

Anyone can help to resolve the problem would be great

Tried to send video to tgrantphoto.com and they were not helpful at all :(

TGrant probably told you he can't really guess at it, as it could be anything. That's true.

I've always dreaded head damage, as VCR repair is often outside my expertise. I use them, I don't really build or repair them. Different skill sets. Those who repair/build equally probably cannot match skills or power users.

If not damage, sometimes heads can be magnetized. They must be demagnetized properly. Q-Tips are cloth, and it is winter, so you probably have static in the air. This is rare, and novice users have knee-jerk stated it to be a cause when it was not. I've only seen it twice in 20 years. I "fixed" it with a head cleaner, not knowing what it was; a last-ditch effort to fix "dirty" (not dirty) heads. The 2nd time, some years later, I knew better.

Could you have damaged it? Maybe. The JVC heads are more resilient than others, and my static issues were both with Panasonic worldwides.

Good luck.

Thank you lordsmurf

since I do not have very technicians here in Malta,

what do you suggest I could do? shall I dismantle the drum and clean properly?

Xrodney
I willl relate two experiences regarding damaged/ dirty tape heads. Many years ago a tech in our tv/vcr shop cleaned the heads of a slightly dirty head on a VCR using cotton headed Q tip. The picture from the vcr went from marginal to complete noise. The Audio remained OK. Even though the coincidence of cleaning and making worse was so strong (indicating debris) I could not see any cotton stuck on the head. One of the other guys took a look at it later and finallly found some cotton strands stuck in the coils/ferrite was able to remove it and picture returned to normal.
That is why I now keep a loup around and when cleaning a video head (especially with my crappy eyes). I get a good look at the coils on the flying heads before and after cleaning. I use cotton only (if at all) to clean the dirt buildup on the drum (yes the dirt directly before the heads and after can case signal loss) but I avoid contact with cotton on the actual head.
Now for the controversial story and method which I do not recommend or discourage. I can only tell the story. I had a part time job for a tv repair shop years later which the owner offered a rebuilt video head service as opposed to just cleaning. Well I had to ask what in the world is a rebuilt video head ? Turns out the shop which was in the same building as a jewlery shop had acess to their ultrasonic cleaner you know mild detergent in water. One time he had a head he could not get to work properly and in desperation took it off and put it in the ultrasonic cleaner for 20 minutes of so, let it dry and reinstalled it. It worked for him so it became one of his regularly offered services.
I don’t know if this gives you any ideas but definitly get some magnification on the coils so you can get a good look at it.
Scott

Hi Scott

Thanks for the reply. I am new at this and learning. Will removal of the frum to inspect better the heads cause any other problems? Will it need any other settings later?

Did you see the video i posted?

Yes. Did it look like what could be called classic dirty head symptoms? I dont know. I dont remember a symptom of the horiz black streaks in a vertical band partway across the picture like that caused by dirty video heads.

Is removing the frame to access the heads necessary? I am not familliar with this specific model. It is possible there is some sort of rf shield above the heads that might get in the way of looking/cleaning which r&r would not mechanically misalign the head if you did it for access.
I have seem many times r&r and have done several times r&r the video drum/head assembly without mechanical realignment and not causing problems. I havent worked in repair of VCR for 30 years. I never removed a head just to clean it only to try another known good part.