VHS and VCR Help

I recently uncovered some old home movies on VHS and tried watching one of them. It played for about 10 minutes, then it locks up. It will not RW or FF, I even tried manually rewinding it, its one of the hardest physical things I've ever had to do in my life. I was wondering if it could be locked up (stuck together) or even worse, have mold on it. What can I do to fix this? It played all the way through about 5 years ago. Also, good a new belt for my VCR fix its super slow rewind? These home movies are very precious to me, as they are from when I was a toddler and even younger. The reason why I am thinking about mold, is that I live in a trailer in Georgia, so the humidity fluxuates throughout the years.

 

are the tapes locked up or is the vcr locked up?

 

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if it were me...I would take the VHS case apart and check the tape for warps, etc..
another suggestion is to buy one of those VHS to DVD recorders...they're cheap and work great!

 

If I recall, I think there's a little hole in the bottom of the tape that you need to push in with a pin or something into to unlock the reels.
If you don't unlock the reels, they become very hard to turn.

Maybe the locking mechanism in the tape broke, and the reels aren't unlocking.

 

Agreed regarding opening up the tape. Just be sure to flip the tape over after removing the screws from the back and lift the front side off slowly and carefully. All of the mechanisms are connected to the back piece of the tape. There is a little plastic piece that sits in between both tape spindles, and it sounds as if it may be jammed. Once you have it opened up you should be able to tell what the issue is.

 

yes, great advice...I've fixed many VHS tapes years ago...it was hell when a machine decided it wanted my tape for lunch!

 

The tape is locked up.

 

Update- The rewind is pretty much dead, and there seems to be some flutter as tapes play. Can a new belt solve these problems?

 

I agree, I think the tape shell is just jammed somehow. If the tape ever experienced a drop or fall, that could jam it or break internal parts. I've repaired many jammed cassettes or tapes where the machine ate part of the tape and stretched and broke the tape.

The VHS tape cassette always seems to be "jammed" unless you push in the little button on the bottom. Are we clear that you have pressed in that button while trying to turn one reel manually?

If there's mold on the tape, I think you would be able to see it on the edge of the tape pack through the VHS cassette windows. Just a light blueish or greenish or gray dusting. I have seen a couple like that. I suppose there could be mold on areas not visible through the windows.

I would try placing the original tape reels into a different shell (cassette). Is the cassette shell screwed together, or is it heat/glue sealed? If it is glue sealed, that marks it as a cheaper type and I would put the tape into a shell with screws.

Here's a video on how to repair a VHS tape showing how to disassemble it (a shell with screws) and reassemble it. But in your case I would disassemble the old shell and place the tape reels into a new, or newer, cassette shell. Just discard the tape and reels from the "new" shell to be used.



There's some chance that a shell from one brand won't work with the reels of your original. In that case you'll need to find a cassette exactly like your old one, or do something more difficult (which will have to be a different message).

But look at this video, open your cassette up, and see if something is jammed that you can unjam. I am 99.99% sure the actual tape can be saved one way or another. But, if the cassette is jammed now, and you unjam it, this one is likely to jam again.

If your machine is not fast winding, a new belt will help everything including normal playback and loading the tape in and threading it.

You could try playing your tape on any other machine that is known to work. If you don't have another machine, get one at a thrift shop for about $10 these days.

 

As other posters have said, there's a locking mechanism inside the tape shell that keeps the reels from unwinding when the cassette is not in the VCR. They're like pawls on the bottom edge of the tape reels and they release when the tape elevator in the VCR lowers the tape onto a post that pokes into the cassette releasing the pawls.
Occasionally, it's possible for a soda/sticky spill to bind the tape itself or the reels. As mentioned, if you separate the shell, you'll see the guides/rollers that the tape should follow, and you can release the hubs and turn them manually and verify there's nothing foreign on the tape itself.
Regarding a new belt, it's more likely that there's a clutch/gear mechanism with a rubber tire that drives the forward/rewind action. If your other tapes seem to play/wind as expected, then it probably is a problem with that specific tape.

 

UPDATE - The rewind is pretty much shot. It'll rewind for 3-4 seconds and from what I can tell, its not belt driven, to me, it seems like the way an autoreverse tape deck works, and the reverse motor is out. Should I just buy a tape rewinder?

 

Get it repaired correctly or get a working used machine.

 

Have you tried lube?

 

That could possibly be the problem, where would I find lube?

 

I don't know. Perhaps someone with more experience can give you a hand with that.

 

Best post to take out of context ever.

 

Go to Goodwill and buy a used (working) VCR for $10. These things break and -- particularly if they're 25-30 years old -- are not worth fixing, in my opinion. If the pinch roller, loading ring, or belts are shot, they're more trouble than they're worth. Cheap old working machines are plentiful.