Model PV-HD1000, Panasonic's D-VHS recorder from 1999(?).

First symptom of impending doom was it ate a tape when I tried to load
it into the machine - tape case never dropped into its play position as
far as I can tell. Removed tape, and now when I turn it on, it turns
itself right back off (2 seconds). No change after replacing both belts.

From another message in this newsgroup I got the idea to press the
control buttons with the unit in standby, and see that code 5303 is
displayed when I press "play". When I then block the LH end-of-tape
sensor, the code changes to 5103, but when I block the RH end-of-tape
sensor, the code doesn't change.

Can anyone interpret these codes for me and confirm or deny I have a
sensing problem? Other ideas/suggestions welcome, too!

Thanks.