Sony Hi8 EV-C2000 tape jammed?

[Darkstar1]

Hi ,I have Sony EV-C2000 which i have not used for quite a while ,I played a tape in it and then rewound it a couple of times when all of sudden the tape jammed whilst being rewound. I managed to eject it but the tape it self was stuck in the machine ,so I took the lid off and managed to release it albeit a bit mangled. I then put an old tape in to see what was happening every so often the problem would reoccur and the tape would over spool.What i did notice was that the tape drum kept spinning whether the tape was being played rewound ff etc only stopping when the tape was ejected. Not being any sort of expert on vcrs and the camcorder not doing this I wondered if this continual spinning was part of the problem. Any help would be much appreciated

[aramkolt]

Continuous spinning of the head drum is normal - It creates a very thin film of air that allows the tape to pass over the head drum with much lower friction. Not too dissimilar from an air-hockey table I suppose.

If tape is spilling, usually means there's either a tension issue, pinch roller issue, or brake issue (which is technically a form of tape tension too I suppose).

Maybe post a video showing the mechanism as it spills the tape, that could give some clues.

[Darkstar1]

Hi thanks for the reply if the head is supposed to keep spinning it eliminates one problem will check out the other possibilities and get back to you.
Gary

[latreche34]

If tapes are sticky they can cause tape spill as they go around the head and cause the head to stop spinning and throw a code for the system control to eject the tape with some of it left outside the shell.

[timtape]

I tried a basic Sony Handycam and the head drum spun up in play, fast winds, cue and pause. When I pressed stop the drum slowed to a stop.

Maybe your deck is different but I doubt the drum is meant to keep spinning continually when no operation is selected as it eventually wears out the drum and its heads, as well as the tape itself. Maybe in the deck's menu is an option to keep the drum rotating continuously or not. I think normally even pause mode will time out, as the spinning drum is rubbing on the same short length of tape and would eventually damage it as well as itself. You might be advised to read the Owner's Manual on this.

AFAIK it's not true that the tape rides on a cushion of air around the head drum. Just the opposite. The slots milled in the drum's highly polished outer circumference are there to allow any trapped air to escape, and allow intimate contact of the tape with the drum and particularly with the tiny heads which actually protrude a little from the drum surface. It's similar to treads in a car's rubber tyre allow water to escape from under the tyre and prevent the tyres 'aquaplaning' in wet weather.

As for the reason a tape will wind OK and then suddenly stop and throw a loop is not clear in your case. Maybe there is some foreign matter on one short section of the tape's surface. It doesnt take much. Tape manufacturers said never to even touch the tape's surface with a fingertip lest the oils cause problems.

Back in the 80's when Video 8 first appeared these were high precision devices, as were the tapes. It takes very little to cause problems. Cleanliness of tapes and player internals is really important. Even high humidity can be enough to completely stall the spinning drum against the tape, which is why VCR's and camcorders included a 'dew sensor' to disable the functions when high humidity was sensed.

[latreche34]

The OP never stated the drum keeps spinning when stop is pressed, he said stops spinning when the tape is ejected, this could mean that he did not allow enough time to see the drum comes to a stop, instead ejecting immediately from a stop or from the playback which is the same thing, the system control takes the mechanism to a stop automatically then ejects the tape if eject is pressed during playback.

[dpalomaki]

On my Sony EV-S7000 the drum starts to spin when a tape is inserted, stops immediately when a tape is ejected.

If the machine is in STOP mode with a tape inserted the tape tension is relaxed and the idler backs off the capstan, the drum will continue to spin for several (~5) minutes and then stop.

In PLAY PAUSE mode the capstan idler remains in contact with the tape and capstan. After several minutes in pause it will resume playback.

Per the User Manual after ~5 minutes in RECORD PAUSE mode the system will enter STOP mode

If the drum has stopped spinning with a tape loaded, pressing EJECT will cause the drum to spin briefly while the tape ejects.

[timtape]

Quote:

Originally Posted by latreche34

The OP never stated the drum keeps spinning when stop is pressed, he said stops spinning when the tape is ejected, this could mean that he did not allow enough time to see the drum comes to a stop, instead ejecting immediately from a stop or from the playback which is the same thing, the system control takes the mechanism to a stop automatically then ejects the tape if eject is pressed during playback.

I take your point. I'd assumed he'd also pressed stop and had noticed that the drum also didnt stop. Often I just want to stop the tape, and walk away to do something else, rather than eject it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpalomaki

On my Sony EV-S7000 the drum starts to spin when a tape is inserted, stops immediately when a tape is ejected.

If the machine is in STOP mode with a tape inserted the tape tension is relaxed and the idler backs off the capstan, the drum will continue to spin for several (~5) minutes and then stop.

In PLAY PAUSE mode the capstan idler remains in contact with the tape and capstan. After several minutes in pause it will resume playback.

Per the User Manual after ~5 minutes in RECORD PAUSE mode the system will enter STOP mode

If the drum has stopped spinning with a tape loaded, pressing EJECT will cause the drum to spin briefly while the tape ejects.

Thanks for that info. Not surprised they designed it for the drum spin to time out like that in those modes.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by latreche34

The OP never stated the drum keeps spinning when stop is pressed, he said stops spinning when the tape is ejected, this could mean that he did not allow enough time to see the drum comes to a stop, instead ejecting immediately from a stop or from the playback which is the same thing, the system control takes the mechanism to a stop automatically then ejects the tape if eject is pressed during playback.

Correct.

This is not proper care of a VCR, but I sometimes do it for an intentional troubleshoot.

I actually strongly dislike auto-play on ingest (when record tabs broken), as it doesn't always fully load the time. So, very often, I'll load the tape, and press STOP as soon the PLAY arrow shows. I'll give it a few seconds, then play. It does make a difference. Not always, but some % of the time. My worry is always more-fragile tapes, as this impatience isn't worth the second saved.

FYI, it's not about the tape itself, in terms of the tape that was pulled from the cassette. It's about the tape left in the cassette, then spools, and how that settling can affect the guides. Stuff is still moving, and even half of a mm is enough to screw something up.

Be more patient.

[latreche34]

Back in the day these machines especially VCRs were designed for convenience of use not to save on wear and tear, As the matter of the fact functions like this were advertised as good features, oh look, automatic playback, just insert the cassette and kick back and enjoy the show, back then no one though keeping the tape laced up when fast forwarding or rewinding is a bad thing, they want quick access when they hit play.