Once I learned fully proper alignment***, the K Mechanism on my AG-5710 works nicely in manual (turn the gear with my fingers) mode.
I only have
three issues. One I am pretty sure I understand. The other two, not so much:
1) Once I've got a tape in play mode, when I go to eject, the arms withdraw but
the tape takes forever to retract. I assume that's an issue of worn brakes in some way. After #2 and #3 are solved I can go check that.
2) When inserting a tape (junk tape for now!), the cartridge does not go all the way down by itself. I must press on it to get the last 1/4" of drop. It doesn't resist me... just doesn't go down.
WHY?
3) When ejecting, as noted in #1 it takes a while for the tape to fully retract. But then: it NEVER ejects.
In fact the front lid hasn't dropped. (Not sure exactly when that happens. Should it drop before the cartridge begins to rise up?) So now I have a tape stuck in the VCR.
Thoughts?
Keys to proper alignment of Panasonic K-Mech:- leave the motor off the unit until fully aligned AND the cartridge mechanism is placed.
- align everything until the markers are correct and mode switch as well
- THEN tweak off a bit to get the side cartridge-load-gear into its position. It has a large bump that meshes into a hole on the side of the main gear. Mode switch turns about 20-30 degrees. Flip the mechanism over: plenty of examples showing exactly which dot on the gear must point sideways.
- that gear gap meshes with the SECOND cog on the cartridge mechanism. NOT the first (some documents say the first!)
- NOW install the cartridge loader (which will be in fully disengaged mode to accomplish the proper mesh
- TEST and ensure you can fully load/unload manually. Rework until that works.
- NOW install the motor and the rest.
