JVC HR-D400U reel sensor bad?
 

I have a JVC HR-D400U that's in pretty nice condition and powers on but does not accept a tape, it will take it in and then eject it and won't play. I cannot find a free service manual on the web for it. I'm not using it for capture and it's not the best deck but it looks great and I'd at least like to get it working fully.

I took it to a VCR repair place and the guy said there was a problem with a reel sensor and that he could not fix it, he may have said something about the metal strip but it was a while ago I might not be remembering correctly. I've gotten better at electronics repair since then and I want to try taking a crack at it. Is a reel sensor a part that can be repaired like a photodiode or a bulb or would I have to get an entire replacement part?

Nice how? Cosmetics means little these days. A pretty non-functional deck is useless, and I see lots of those. So don't get too attached due to cosmetic shape.

Who was the repairman? Because some are knowledgeable/reputable, some are incompetent idiots.

At the late date, when other stuff could now be wrong as well, I would suggest a full reanalysis with the service manual.

Don't really remember the repairman it was just the only VCR repair place left I could find in Dallas. It's not really an amazing spec deck either, I'm just an electrical engineer, when something's broken I've got the urge to fix it. Now to find a service manual.

In DFW?
Was it Jots? (They closed back in Jan 2019.)

I think it was Amni