Panasonic DMR-EZ48V tracking issue or something else?
 

I have a Panasonic DMR‑EZ48V that I recently took out of storage after not being used for over ten years. I was able to watch one VHS tape without any issues, and the picture quality was excellent.

When I inserted a second tape (a 120‑minute VHS), I first rewound it to the beginning. Upon pressing play, the screen displayed only gray noise, with no visible image. However, while the tape was still in play mode, pressing the fast‑forward button allowed the image to appear. As soon as I returned to normal play mode, the display reverted to gray noise with no picture.

I opened the unit and carefully cleaned the heads, but this did not resolve the issue. I then tested the same tape in a TV/VHS combo unit, where it played normally. Additionally, I have tried other tapes in the Panasonic since this issue began, and they all produce the same gray‑noise result during playback.
What would you recommend to diagnose or resolve this issue?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Hello and welcome. When you cleaned the heads did that include the audio/control track head?

Thank you for your followup question. Yes, both the video head and the audio head were cleaned.

Note: Steps that lead to issue:
1. First tape played fine with good video quality
2. Inserted 2nd tape
3. Rewound 120 min tape to beginning
4. Started to play - nothing but GREY NOISE (no sign of any image)
5. Pressed FF still in play mode - I can now see image from video.
6. Stopped FF - nothing but GREY NOISE (no sign of any image)
7. Cleaned video and audio head - nothing but GREY NOISE (no sign of any image)
8. Stuck

Thank you again.

From here its hard to know what has happened. Are you skilled at manually cleaning the tape path? Do you understand the risks of damage to especially the tiny, fragile video heads when cleaning? Are you using correct cleaning gear? In rewind the full length of tape scrapes against all the heads. So a faulty tape can cause problems just by rewinding. What brand tape is it?

Thank you again. Great question. The 1st tape is a TDK tape. Note, the 2nd tape was placed the 2nd tape in (also a TDK) and I had the grey noise, I also placed the 1st tape back in and it now also experienced the issue.

As for my experience. I have been working on electronics for over 40 years. Mainly working with computers, building, troubleshooting, and upgrading. For the past 15 years I have been working for large computer company supporting enterprise customers in the cloud (AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud). I feel very competent the process of cleaning vcr tape heads. All this said, I am always learning, especially from those that have experience. So I always appreciate your help and advice.

Here is the latest information. As I thought this may be a tracking issue,

1. I hooked the video (RCA) to an analog TV monitor.
2. I opened the case of the VCR
3. I started to play a video
4. I screwed the P1 and P2 guides up and then down. Nothing made a difference as I only saw grey noise, with no sign of any image.
5. While the tape was playing, I pressed FF and I could now see the video image, but still had noise rows (about 2-3)

This is very strange that I was able to play the 1st video just fine for the entire 120 minutes. Turned the unit off for the night, The next day I turned it back on, inserted the 2nd tape, rewound the tape and pressed play. Grey ever since.

If it sounds like this unit is toast, what new unit would you recommend that I look to purchase? I have about 20 videos to transfer to digital. I would be looking for something in the $300-$400 range.

Thank you all