Reel to reel video: how to direct signal to TV
 

New to this forum! I have noticed that some of you have worked with reel-to-reel video formats. I have purchased five machines and have had no luck with any of them. Each of them is missing the RF adapter box that presumably makes this easy.

I have tried five different tapes on 3 SONY AV-3600s, 1 SONY AV-3650 and 1 PANASONIC NV-3110.

I have used the PL-259 video out and connected it to the "cable-in" on a CRT television. Have tried the whole gamut of channels. I have adapted the PL-259 cable to an RCA and plugged into the "Video in" on the back of the set. No results.

I have cleaned the video heads and baked tapes but have not even had the slightest hint of a picture.

Is there something I am missing here. Something head-slappingly stupid I am overlooking? I find it hard to think that all five units are going to produce no signal--but maybe that's what happens to them after 50 years.

Any guidance appreciated.

What do you mean by the "cable-in"? You need to connect the video output of the VTR (usually PL259 or BNC) to a video input, typically a yellow RCA socket on modern-ish TVs. No tuning is required. Audio is a separate conenction from the VTR to the red/black RCA sockets.

It's very easy to cause permanent damage to the tapes by baking them and the heads by cleaning them in the wrong way.

"Cable-in" was something I had seen someone suggest a dozen years ago in this forum. Said that the NV-3120 produced a signal on channels 5 and 6, but that may have been using an RF unit.

Thanks, I will stick with the RCA video in.

I attempted to play two different tapes without cleaning the heads of each machine. I then attempted to clean the heads of two of the five machines using 99% alcohol and softly moving horizontally across the heads and removing some black deposits. Nothing alarming.

I then attempted to play the same two tapes on those machines where I had used alcohol.

I baked one tape in which I have no interest for 8 hours at between 130 and 140 degrees F in a food dehydrator.

So far, not a hint of a signal from any unit. Narrowing it down to the TV's RCA Video connector and the Video Out on the R2R unit will make my experiments easier. Thanks for that!

Quick, ancient check for video. Grab an earphone and put it pin to pin, shield to shield on the video line. Easy on the male end of a RCA. Listen for a buzzing noise. That is sync noise and you should at least be that far.

Thanks--Going to try that now!

If you connect the video output to a video monitor (or the video input of a TV) you should see something when the VTR is playing. It may not be a good picture, or even anything that looks like a picture but there should be something.

One concern is that some TVs will only switch to the video (RCA) input if a video signal is actually present.

Some TVs also will put up a blue screen if video input isn't close enough to being a proper video signal. There's often a menu option to turn off blue screen in the TV. You may want to try connecting the video output from a known good video source (DVD player, game console, known good VCR).

These old half inch RTR VTRs often do still somewhat work as found.

I've had success with using an outboard RF modulator with my AV series Sony VTRs when i didn't have a monitor handy on my TV ; I have since aquired the proper modulators for my AV3600 and AV8600 decks.
But another thought - are the tapes you are trying to play actually recorded in the same format as your VTR you are using? Slight chance you may have "skip-field" tapes and your VTRs mentioned are full-field machines.

Max

First, check your video connection
 

I would first try feeding any known video output into the VTR Video In connector. The fancy screen many DVD players show when turned on will work. Or just play a DVD/VHS. Use an RCA to PL-259 (Amphenol) cable to connect the DVD/VHS yellow output plug to the big Video In connector on the VTR, and a similar cable between the Video Out connector of the VTR and your TV-monitor´s RCA Video In.

Then, power on your VTR and press the REC button (the heads will start spinning, you don´t need to have a tape threaded). Also switch the "Input select" lever to "Line". If you can see the picture from the DVD/VHS on your screen, your connections are OK. (You may also want to try feeding some audio. Will need two separate RCA to miniplug cables for that.)

After checking that the video goes to the screen, unlock the REC button by just moving the mode selector on the VTR away from the "Stop" position and back. The REC button will pop up, the heads will stop turning, and you should see "snow" on your screen (if your TV/monitor doesn´t switch to blue screen, as Electronic M. says). But by now you know that the connections are OK, (and the electronics on the VTR look good too) and that the playback picture (if any) will go to your screen.

It may help demagnetizing the heads (fixed and rotary) and the tape guides also. Keep any tapes several feet away from the demagnetizer. And turn off the VTR before using the demagnetizer.

Second thing to do, or maybe first
 

Yes, maybe this was the first thing to do.

I have never seen worn heads on these machines, but many broken ones.

You can feel them with your fingertip to get an idea of their condition.

With the power OFF, move the lever to the REW position, and by turning the supply reel by hand, you can have the head drum spin slowly. Put your finger gently against the side of the head cylinder (where there is a recess in the black plastic piece that surrounds the video heads, near the erase head) while turning the supply reel (don´t move your finger up and down), and you should feel the two heads pass your fingertip as you turn the reel.

For each turn of the supply reel, wou will feel about 6-8 soft touches on your fingertip. That is, the head drum will do 3-4 revolutions, and you will have felt both heads in each one. If not, one or both heads may be broken.

Use a magnifying glass to look at the tip of the head. The surface that touches the tape should be a smooth curve. Any chipped appareance (or not protruding from the cylinder surface) means a broken head.

If your mechanism is slipping a little, you can´t move the heads this way, and need to do some light surgery. Loosen the two screws holding the black head cover with the Sony logo, and lift it.

Then you will see the silver head cover. Obey the printed warning: any strong downward pressure will permanently distort tne cylinder. Unscrew the cover (don´t use a magnetized screwdriver, and don´t let the screws fall into the machine) and wou will see the bar with the two heads at its ends.

Now, use wour finger to place the heads where you can inspect them.

Check the eight little brushes on the center of the cylinder. They carry the weak RF playback signal from the heads to the amplifiers, so must be perfectly clean. There are two sets of brushes. The tiny wires should ride in the middle of the golden slip rings (ask the old Sherlock for his glass). Carefully relocate any stray wire over the slip ring. You may put a drop of cleaning fluid on the slip rings and make the heads turn a little, to get the best contact.

Don´t touch or move the two coils hanging at the 12 o´clock and 6 o´clock positions, nor the metal vertical bar that passes below them: they are for the video switching and servo reference.

Cover the heads again when you are finished. Clean and demagnetize the heads, the guides and the drum surface.

And if you feel on the mood, unscrew the pich roller (don´t lose the spacer below it) and apply ONE drop of light oil to the spindle. Clean your hands, store the oil can a mile away, and replace the pinch roller. If the oil gets into the rubber, you are in for trouble.

For each reel table, remove the screw at its center, lift the reel table about 1/8 inch, and put 1-2 drops of light oil in the inside. Wait until the oil descends, and lower the reel table again. Replace the screw.

This in the ONLY oil your VTR ever needs (when they were used often, Sony did recommend oiling them every 6 months). Every several years you would oil some other parts inside, but believe me, it is rarely needed even with everyday use.

And remember: never leave the selection lever in other position than STOP.