The patient is a JVC BR-S611U. This is an old professional SVHS edit
VCR. It loads okay, and positions the tape in the "half loaded"
position. No response to play, fast forward, or rewind. On eject, the
tape is not retracted back into the cassette. Using an empty cassette
shell, I can see that there's never any movement of the supply or
take-up reels.

Any suggestions on how to proceed? This went to a shop, which claimed
there was a power supply problem and the deck was not worth repairing.
The owner is a friend of mine and asked me to have a look at it.

Hi David...I have had patients with a similar problem. This sounds like
either a a
href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=11&k=power%20supply"
onmouseover="window.status='power supply'; return true;"
onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;"power supply/a issue or a
mode switch issue. As you have seen, there are many fuses in the power
supply, and I assume you have checked that they are not only working,
but also that they are of the correct rating. If so, the best way to
rule out a power supply issue is to swap in another power supply board
if you can get access to another machine. In my opinion, the Achilles
heel of both the BR-S811U and BR-S611U is the mode switch. It is very
sensitive to correct positioning, and if the unit gets knocked, the
machine will half-load, then give an error signal (like error 32) and
eject the tape. The switch is under the transport and is a small board
held in place with one screw. Hope that is of some help.

VCR Gymnast wrote:
Hi David...I have had patients with a similar problem. This sounds like
either a a
href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=11&k=power%20supply"
onmouseover="window.status='power supply'; return true;"
onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;"power supply/a issue or a
mode switch issue. As you have seen, there are many fuses in the power
supply, and I assume you have checked that they are not only working,
but also that they are of the correct rating.

Yes, I've checked them. I'm not sure what the correct test point
voltages are, though, so I can't verify anything else about the power
supply.

In my opinion, the Achilles
heel of both the BR-S811U and BR-S611U is the mode switch. It is very
sensitive to correct positioning, and if the unit gets knocked, the
machine will half-load, then give an error signal (like error 32) and
eject the tape. The switch is under the transport and is a small board
held in place with one screw. Hope that is of some help.

Hmm! We might be on to something here. I'm getting warning code 72
when I load a tape. I didn't include this information in the original
post because I hadn't realized this deck had a warning code display at
the time. Is there a reference somewhere for what these codes mean?

David Brodbeck wrote:
The patient is a JVC BR-S611U. This is an old professional SVHS edit

VCR. It loads okay, and positions the tape in the "half loaded"
position. No response to play, fast forward, or rewind. On eject,
the
tape is not retracted back into the cassette. Using an empty
cassette
shell, I can see that there's never any movement of the supply or
take-up reels.

Check/ clean /replace Mode switch. almost sure to be that.
IC protector on drum motor ic has caused me the occasional problem in
jvcs.

-Ben

b wrote:
Check/ clean /replace Mode switch. almost sure to be that.
IC protector on drum motor ic has caused me the occasional problem in
jvcs.

I'm having a little trouble finding the mode switch. VCR Gymnast said
it's a small board under the transport, secured with a single screw.
I'm looking at the underside of the transport, and I'm not sure where it
is. I see a small, vertically mounted board, just forward of the drum
motor, with two microswitches on it and a three-conductor cable...is
that what I'm looking for?

That is it!! See if the microswitches are being properly activated. I
will let you know what error 72 is, but it will probably go away once
the mode switch is operating correctly.

VCR Gymnast wrote:
That is it!! See if the microswitches are being properly activated. I
will let you know what error 72 is, but it will probably go away once
the mode switch is operating correctly.


The one closest to the bottom of the VCR (i.e., farthest from the
transport) is actuating fine, and checks out electrically. It's not
clear to me when the one above it is supposed to actuate. It never
moves, and I can't seem to spot the lever that's supposed to move it.

I know what you mean. I suggest to loosen the screw just enough so you
can rotate the board slightly counterclockwise (I think). After each
small rotation, try to re-insert the cassette. The second microswitch
gets activated during the full load, which is why you haven't seen its
action yet. Keep posting on your progress.