VCR video drum making strange noises?

[hysteriah]

Hi. My favorite VCR (Philips VR 1000) is making these strange noises that sounds almost like birds chirping (see the atached video file). Is there a way to fix it? I can't notice any distortions in video or sound quality when playing a tape, yet... but I guess it's just a matter of time...

Can I lube it with something to make it silent? Anything I can do to prevent it from breaking down totally?

[latreche34]

Possible tape to drum contact that makes that noise, does it do it with all tapes?.

[hysteriah]

Yes, it happens on all tapes... I can even hear it after ejecting the tape, as the drum spins it's last rounds before it stops...

[latreche34]

Never heard ball bearings squeak, they do hum when they get bad, I think it's the capstan motor shaft, get a small funnel attach a rubber hose to it and try listening by hovering the funnel around the VCR parts while listening to the other end of the rubber hose.
It doesn't hurt to put a dab of oil around the capstan shaft base and see how it goes.

[hysteriah]

Aha. It would be great if it turns out to be the capstan, instead of the videodum that is making the sound I guess I'll try your procedure tomorrow. Thank you very much

[Quasipal]

Any noise from this area needs to be attended to as it can mean metal surfaces are starting to generate friction. If the head drum is removable you can clean the shaft and inside of the drum where the shaft goes with fine lube. Barely any mind! Apply it on a cotton bud for better control.

Had this a couple of times with various models.

[latreche34]

I wouldn't advice removing the video drum as a realignment will certainly be required, It is better to find the source of the noise before start taking stuff a part, unless something that he can lubricate without taking it a part.

[hysteriah]

I'm sorry for being so late with updating this thread. The sound certainly comes from the videodrum... and it's getting worser every day. I think I'm forced to remove the drum and try to lube it... but yes... I'm aware of the problem that it'll need realignment afterwords... but I think it's the only choise I have.

Any advice on how to perform realignment after removing the videodrum and putting it back on a unit like this???

[hodgey]

My VR1100 is also occasionally making similar noises so wondering if you have made any progress?

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hysteriah

Can I lube it with something

Preferably not something random like KY or Crisco.

[hodgey]

@hysteria did you ever get to lubing the drum and seeing if it helped?

-- merged --

Okay, I may have managed to fix this on my VR1100 (though will have to run it a bit to see if it's just a fluke). I took off the drum motor, and cleaned the carbon brush with a bit of isopropyl alcohol, and put all of it back together. That seems to have made the squeaky noise go away, though will have to use it a bit more to be sure. I don't know for sure if it was the brush, or if it was the drum motor making contact with something (though former more likely, don't know if the cleaning had an effect either, or repositioning it was sufficient.)

If you decide to do this - be V E R Y careful with it It's small and fiddly and easy to lose, and the spring is a bit fragile. It's composed of a spring which presses down on a carbon thing that makes contact with the drum. On this the carbon thingy and the spring were two separate parts so had to turn the drum upside down to get it out, but on other VCRs (like the LG in the image) the carbon thingy and the spring may be bonded together as one part.

Also note that the rotation of the motor assembly impacts the head switch position, so you may have to loosen and tighten the screws and move it slightly after checking the image to get it to the correct spot. It won't move much unless you also remove the brass retaining thing it's screwed into, but I found there was enough wiggle room just by holding it to the sides to make a difference. Ideally one would just re-adjust the head switch point normally afterwards, but on the JVC made VCRs that requires a special service remote (or codes for it, which I have not been able to locate). Other manufacturers don't require service remotes for this stuff.

This is from a LG-made deck, but it looks about the same on the JVC with the motor assy off, red ring shows the spring that's part of the carbon brush.
brush.jpg

[latreche34]

Did you remove the entire drum or just the stator? The green round PCB that mounts on top of that brass collar with two screws is called the stator which holds a bunch of electro-magnets. The magnetic ring has several north and south magnetic poles make sure you put it in the same position.

[scharfis_brain]

I had the same issue with my Panasonic NV-HS1000.

It was very easy to remove the entire head rum by just removing one skrew.
Then I put ONE drop of very light oil on the shaft.

After reassembly any noises were gone and video alignment issues (noise, jitter) due to fluctuation of drum speeds were gone.

[hodgey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by latreche34

Did you remove the entire drum or just the stator?

Just the stator. Wanted to check if that did it before disassembling the rest. As long as you leave the Brass thing it mounts on (don't know what it's called) in place it won't impact the rotation sensing alignment much. I have done that on another VCR (a newer Panasonic one), on that one was like half-way up the screen far off when I got it so the service head-switch auto-adjustment did not have enough range so I had to reposition the stator manually to get it close enough. The ring will normally go on one way I think (at least it did on the LG deck in the picture.) I'm not sure where it would be best to put oil if you want to lube it as well.

I don't know if this is an unique issue to these VCRs, or if it's something that all drums with the brush mounted in this way are susceptible too. Older VCRs like the NV-HS1000 has the carbon brush on a stick above or below the drum, but on newer ones they made tings more compact.