I haven't played any tapes in my Toshiba V-S443C Betahi-fi VCR (this is
Beta, not VHS) in several months. I just tried, and they don't play.
The machine tries for a second, then stops itself. When I got the
machine, it didn't rewind, but that is not so much of a problem because
another machine in the basement works for that! Now the machine won't
play or rewind, but it will fast-forward.

I have a feeling that something rubber inside the Beta box has
slackened. But before I open 'er up, how do I know that I will be able
to replace the rubber band, if it is that? Is it the kind of thing I
could get from an electronics supply store? I suppose it doesn't help,
so far as availability goes, that I'm in Canada.

Rutman replied:

there should be a plate door on the bottom of the unit. open it up.
replace the belt. any vcr repair center will have them. just an old
regular belt.

Thank you, that part was easy. Everything was accessible. The old
rubber belt had become disengaged and had deteriorated to a slightly
viscous state. I replaced the belt with a rubber band from some
organic asparagus. After that the tapes would advance perfectly, but
still no rewind.

while you are at it.. if you turn the unit the right
way, open it up, remove the tape loading mechanism..

Really, towards the front of the unit? It is attached by several
screws and I was afraid that if I removed it, I'd never be able to get
it back in place

you will find a rubber wheel.

I found a small (maybe 1/4 inch diameter) short (maybe 1/4 inch high)
rubber wheel, or maybe it is more of a foot, as it didn't rotate much.
The wheel itself seemed in excellent shape. I cleaned a bunch of dust
off it with a Q-tip.

this wheel needs to be replaced as well. its probably
old, and cracked. easy to find on the net.

I took photos of the inside of the unit. Should I put them on a web
page?

There is a rubber belt maybe 2 to 3 inches long. It positions the
mechanism on its carousel. Seemed to be in good shape.

There was a larger cylindrical rubber wheel, about 1/2 in diameter and
3/4 inch in height. I cleaned it with a Q-tip. There was amazingly
little black crud on it, considering the 20-year age of the machine and
the fact that this wheel is in contact with magnetic tape.

After this simple cleaning, tapes still wouldn't rewind. The engine
would come on for a couple of seconds, then turn itself off. If I took
the top cover off the unit, then tapes would rewind, but only very
slowly. For instance, it would rewind for 10 seconds or so, reducing
tape counter by maybe 8 (not 80), and then stop rewinding.

Solutions? Thanks!

--
Jonathan Berry