Greetings,

I've been running Sony SLV-N71 VCR's for years.

One failed this week. When I attempted play-back, I got a mixture of play-back
image and audio/video static.

Perhaps most importantly, when I set the remote to 'video' with no tape playing,
I get a blue screen, some audio static, and a weird (and loud) 'scratch-scratch'
sound that repeats endlessly. When I set the remote to 'TV', I get the normal
reception images (tuned from a cable box).

I assume this is a serious problem. If it might be repairable, even requiring
cannibalized parts, I'd like to know about it.

I'm not tremendously adept at electronic repair, but I'm willing to try, can
solder a little, etc.

Thanks,
Puddin'

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

On Jan 23, 3:36*pm, Puddin' Man wrote:
Greetings,

I've been running Sony SLV-N71 VCR's for years.

One failed this week. When I attempted play-back, I got a mixture of play-back
image and audio/video static.

Perhaps most importantly, when I set the remote to 'video' with no tape playing,
I get a blue screen, some audio static, and a weird (and loud) 'scratch-scratch'
sound that repeats endlessly. When I set the remote to 'TV', I get the normal
reception images (tuned from a cable box).

I assume this is a serious problem. If it might be repairable, even requiring
cannibalized parts, I'd like to know about it.

I'm not tremendously adept at electronic repair, but I'm willing to try, can
solder a little, etc.

* Thanks,
* Puddin'

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
* *- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

Clean the heads. Sounds like a head clog.

G²

On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:09:55 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Jan 23, 3:36*pm, Puddin' Man wrote:
Greetings,

I've been running Sony SLV-N71 VCR's for years.

One failed this week. When I attempted play-back, I got a mixture of play-back
image and audio/video static.

Perhaps most importantly, when I set the remote to 'video' with no tape playing,
I get a blue screen, some audio static, and a weird (and loud) 'scratch-scratch'
sound that repeats endlessly. When I set the remote to 'TV', I get the normal
reception images (tuned from a cable box).

I assume this is a serious problem. If it might be repairable, even requiring
cannibalized parts, I'd like to know about it.

I'm not tremendously adept at electronic repair, but I'm willing to try, can
solder a little, etc.


Clean the heads. Sounds like a head clog.

Cleaned the heads. Twice.

No help.

P


"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:09:55 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Jan 23, 3:36 pm, Puddin' Man wrote:
Greetings,

I've been running Sony SLV-N71 VCR's for years.

One failed this week. When I attempted play-back, I got a mixture of
play-back
image and audio/video static.

Perhaps most importantly, when I set the remote to 'video' with no tape
playing,
I get a blue screen, some audio static, and a weird (and loud)
'scratch-scratch'
sound that repeats endlessly. When I set the remote to 'TV', I get the
normal
reception images (tuned from a cable box).

I assume this is a serious problem. If it might be repairable, even
requiring
cannibalized parts, I'd like to know about it.

I'm not tremendously adept at electronic repair, but I'm willing to try,
can
solder a little, etc.


Clean the heads. Sounds like a head clog.

Cleaned the heads. Twice.

No help.

P


"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc



Most often the control-track head is a bit dirty. This is the lower gap on
the audio-control head. Seen it on this series often.

BTW this was considered a throwaway model. Sony never had parts or service
literature on the SLV-N series.

Mark Z.

On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:01:53 -0600, "Mark Zacharias" wrote:

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:09:55 -0800 (PST), wrote:



Clean the heads. Sounds like a head clog.

Cleaned the heads. Twice.

No help.


Most often the control-track head is a bit dirty. This is the lower gap on
the audio-control head. Seen it on this series often.

I've checked and cleaned it 3 times. It's clean as a whistle.

BTW this was considered a throwaway model. Sony never had parts or service
literature on the SLV-N series.

As I've discovered in recent days.

I've got the front and back off the unit. Inspected the bottom of the main
board. No burnt components, visably cracked solder joints, etc.

I'll keep looking, 'though I don't know what I'm looking for. :-(

Thx,
P

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

I'm wondering if your scratch-scratch sound is similar to my poping noise.
My noise occurs while the VCR is in a standby power state. It makes a
"pop-pop" noise in the TV speakers. Which I have assumed is the VCR power
supply shutting itself down, then re-powering itself up. I can actually
watch the motors rotate after the power appears to return from the short
shutdown. (I can see my clock display return at approx. the same time.)
Of course mine only happens when it is in the stand-by (off) power.. it
works fine when playing tapes. The pop-pop occurs about once every two or
three seconds... I'm working on a SVL-N750


"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:01:53 -0600, "Mark Zacharias"
wrote:

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
. ..
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:09:55 -0800 (PST), wrote:



Clean the heads. Sounds like a head clog.

Cleaned the heads. Twice.

No help.


Most often the control-track head is a bit dirty. This is the lower gap on
the audio-control head. Seen it on this series often.

I've checked and cleaned it 3 times. It's clean as a whistle.

BTW this was considered a throwaway model. Sony never had parts or service
literature on the SLV-N series.

As I've discovered in recent days.

I've got the front and back off the unit. Inspected the bottom of the main
board. No burnt components, visably cracked solder joints, etc.

I'll keep looking, 'though I don't know what I'm looking for. :-(

Thx,
P

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:40:29 -0600, "G B" wrote:

I'm wondering if your scratch-scratch sound is similar to my poping noise.
My noise occurs while the VCR is in a standby power state. It makes a
"pop-pop" noise in the TV speakers. Which I have assumed is the VCR power
supply shutting itself down, then re-powering itself up.

Not certain why it would do that ...

I can actually
watch the motors rotate after the power appears to return from the short
shutdown. (I can see my clock display return at approx. the same time.)
Of course mine only happens when it is in the stand-by (off) power.. it
works fine when playing tapes. The pop-pop occurs about once every two or
three seconds... I'm working on a SVL-N750

I doubt it's the same problem, but I wouldn't be surprised to find
that it's the same component(s) causing the problems. My N71 seemed
OK until I switched to "video" or tried to record.

P


"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:01:53 -0600, "Mark Zacharias"
wrote:

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:09:55 -0800 (PST), wrote:



Clean the heads. Sounds like a head clog.

Cleaned the heads. Twice.

No help.


Most often the control-track head is a bit dirty. This is the lower gap on
the audio-control head. Seen it on this series often.

I've checked and cleaned it 3 times. It's clean as a whistle.

BTW this was considered a throwaway model. Sony never had parts or service
literature on the SLV-N series.

As I've discovered in recent days.

I've got the front and back off the unit. Inspected the bottom of the main
board. No burnt components, visably cracked solder joints, etc.

I'll keep looking, 'though I don't know what I'm looking for. :-(

Thx,
P

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc


"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

Puddin' Man wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:01:53 -0600, "Mark Zacharias" wrote:
snip

BTW this was considered a throwaway model. Sony never had parts or service
literature on the SLV-N series.

As I've discovered in recent days.

I've got the front and back off the unit. Inspected the bottom of the main
board. No burnt components, visably cracked solder joints, etc.

I'll keep looking, 'though I don't know what I'm looking for. :-(


You know, if it was me, I'd be looking in thrift stores for a 'new' VCR.
I've bought a couple lately for less than $5. At that price, if you
run into a problem unit, you either chalk it up to bad luck and buy
another one; or you fix it...provided you were able to find one of the
better-made models.

Seriously, they're practically dime-a-dozen these days. Unless you're
determined to fix this one, a better one is probably less than $10 away.

jak
Thx,
P

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:45:27 -0600, jakdedert wrote:

You know, if it was me, I'd be looking in thrift stores for a 'new' VCR.
I've bought a couple lately for less than $5. At that price, if you
run into a problem unit, you either chalk it up to bad luck and buy
another one; or you fix it...provided you were able to find one of the
better-made models.

Seriously, they're practically dime-a-dozen these days. Unless you're
determined to fix this one, a better one is probably less than $10 away.

Thanks, but I was aware of all that.

SLV-N71's have the feature set I need. I have several of them. This
is the 2nd that has failed in precisely this fashion. If I could
learn to repair this problem, they'd likely work 'till I'm in the grave.

And I hate cheap VCR's. And the last thing I need is another remote.

P

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

Puddin' Man wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:45:27 -0600, jakdedert wrote:

You know, if it was me, I'd be looking in thrift stores for a 'new' VCR.
I've bought a couple lately for less than $5. At that price, if you
run into a problem unit, you either chalk it up to bad luck and buy
another one; or you fix it...provided you were able to find one of the
better-made models.

Seriously, they're practically dime-a-dozen these days. Unless you're
determined to fix this one, a better one is probably less than $10 away.

Thanks, but I was aware of all that.

SLV-N71's have the feature set I need. I have several of them. This
is the 2nd that has failed in precisely this fashion. If I could
learn to repair this problem, they'd likely work 'till I'm in the grave.

And I hate cheap VCR's. And the last thing I need is another remote.

Actually, I hold out for more expensive VCRs; but I'll take a cheap one
if it's for a secondary system. The thrift inventory is such that the
good ones come along with regularity. You can even specialize in
particular brands--even specific models--if you're patient.

Oh, and don't worry about another remote. Likely you won't get one....

BG

jak
P

"Take Yo' Hand Out My Pocket (I Ain't Got Nothing What Belongs To You)!"
- Rice Miller, who probably never even _heard_ of GW Bush, Paulson, etc

Hi!

One failed this week. When I attempted play-back, I got a mixture of
play-back image and audio/video static.

Perhaps most importantly, when I set the remote to 'video' with no tape
playing, I get a blue screen, some audio static, and a weird (and loud)
'scratch-scratch' sound that repeats endlessly. When I set the remote to
'TV',
I get the normal reception images (tuned from a cable box).

Well, with many things that don't work properly...I'd look for something
that would be common to large areas of the circuitry. Have you checked the
voltages coming off the power supply to make sure they're stable? The
voltages may be printed on the circuit board, if the power supply is on a
separate board. If they're not, you'll have to guess. That won't be as bad
as it seems, since the voltages should be stable when you measure them.
Unstable output means a problem or poor design.

Just about every VCR power supply I've ever seen runs hot when the unit is
on and doing something. This can take its toll, especially on components
like electrolytic capacitors where heat will dry them out.

If you're willing to try, I see no reason not to. Try to figure out exactly
what functions don't work, and look for things in the circuitry that would
be common. You might draw a map of how things interact with one another if
you can figure that out.

If you do find that the fix won't be cost-effective or easy, I second the
recommendation to look for other VCRs in secondhand stores and thrift shops.
Older ones in particular are well built, some have impressive features and
capabilities, and more of the components are separate, which makes figuring
out which part does what that much easier. Newer VCRs tend to have very
integrated assemblies, and may even have only one circuit board with a few
ICs on it. In fact, if you want, you might buy an old broken VCR and build
your skills by fixing it first. It would only cost a few dollars to find
out.

William