I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.org states that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?

truepurple wrote in message
...
I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.org states that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?



Change the pinchwheel , or as a confirmation before getting one, try turning
the pinchwheel upside down, if it is possible


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/

"N_Cook" wrote in message
...
truepurple wrote in message
...
I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.org states that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?



Change the pinchwheel , or as a confirmation before getting one, try
turning
the pinchwheel upside down, if it is possible


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/





I'd be looking at power supply caps.

Mark Z.

Your links don't work for me and am not sure how to get them to work.
Are these emails I need to send to get some kind of automated message?
BTW I use google groups to use this newsgroup.

Otherwise I don't know anything about pinch wheels or power supply
caps, how to turn one upside down or "check it out"

Is it the case that VCR motors usually fail spectacularly like vaccuum
motors or what ever else?


On Jun 10, 4:47*am, "Mark Zacharias"
wrote:
"N_Cook" wrote in message

...





truepurple wrote in message
....
I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.orgstates that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?

Change the pinchwheel , or as a confirmation before getting one, try
turning
the pinchwheel upside down, if it is possible

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/

I'd be looking at power supply caps.

Mark Z.

"Mark Zacharias" wrote in message
...
"N_Cook" wrote in message
...
truepurple wrote in message
...
I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.org states that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?



Change the pinchwheel , or as a confirmation before getting one, try
turning
the pinchwheel upside down, if it is possible


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/





I'd be looking at power supply caps.

Mark Z.

Also, if there is a regular squeak, check that the guide rollers are free to
rotate, and that the back-tension band is not worn out. The fact that you
have this squeak that corresponds to the effect on the screen, is probably
the key to the problem. However, that said, sometimes, symptoms such as this
are caused by tape friction as a result of wear on the lower head drum. This
is especially the case, on machines where the tape remains wrapped during
wind / rewind operations. If it is that, then there's not a lot you are
going to do about it. The cost of a lower head drum assembly, if you could
even still get one, is likely to be prohibitive. Occasionally, if you've got
nothing to lose, a degree of recovery can be achieved, by using metal polish
to shine up the dull worn area on the lower drum. Note that this is the
*fixed* duralumin part of the drum, *not* the chrome rotating part

Arfa

Please, someone explain links like this "news:hjLXl.
..." Everyone has so far used in
there reply. I assume there is information in these links if I would
be told how to use them. Without that, the replies I am getting are
just not enough data to do anything at all with.

Each of you suggests different things to check, but I have no idea how
to check any of it and none of you have given instructions for how to
do so.

On Jun 11, 5:20*am, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
"Mark Zacharias" wrote in message

...





"N_Cook" wrote in message
...
truepurple wrote in message
....
I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture..
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.orgstates that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?

Change the pinchwheel , or as a confirmation before getting one, try
turning
the pinchwheel upside down, if it is possible

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/

I'd be looking at power supply caps.

Mark Z.

Also, if there is a regular squeak, check that the guide rollers are free to
rotate, and that the back-tension band is not worn out. The fact that you
have this squeak that corresponds to the effect on the screen, is probably
the key to the problem. However, that said, sometimes, symptoms such as this
are caused by tape friction as a result of wear on the lower head drum. This
is especially the case, on machines where the tape remains wrapped during
wind / rewind operations. If it is that, then there's not a lot you are
going to do about it. The cost of a lower head drum assembly, if you could
even still get one, is likely to be prohibitive. Occasionally, if you've got
nothing to lose, a degree of recovery can be achieved, by using metal polish
to shine up the dull worn area on the lower drum. Note that this is the
*fixed* duralumin part of the drum, *not* the chrome rotating part

Arfa

On 6/11/2009 5:00 AM truepurple spake thus:

Please, someone explain links like this "news:hjLXl.
..." Everyone has so far used in
there reply. I assume there is information in these links if I would
be told how to use them. Without that, the replies I am getting are
just not enough data to do anything at all with.

Don't worry your little head about those links; they're put there by the
news client (aka newsreader, email program, etc.) of the person
replying, and are links to these messages on some system. Generally
they're useless, so just ignore them.

The other links in these messages, though, like
http://www.repairfaq.org, are clickable links. Click on them and you'll
be magically transported to that web site.

However, I see now that you're using Google Groups to read these
messages. (This is *NOT* a Google Groups group; it's a Usenet newsgroup,
which long predates Google's ****ed-up implementation of a sorry-ass web
interface to a long-standing information interchange medium). So you may
have to copy and paste those links into your browser (aka web program)
to use them.

You'll figure it out.


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

Dave, what usernet group web interface would you recommend?

What does a pinchwheel look like, how would I change it? How would I
turn it upside down if possible?
..
How would I determine if power supply caps are responsible?
..
How do I check that the guide rollers are free to rotate?,
..
What does a "back-tension band" look like and how do I know if it is
worn out?
..
" However, that said, sometimes, symptoms such as this
are caused by tape friction as a result of wear on the lower head
drum."
..
How do i check if this is the case?
..
" Occasionally, if you've got nothing to lose, a degree of recovery
can be achieved, by using metal polish
to shine up the dull worn area on the lower drum. Note that this is
the
*fixed* duralumin part of the drum, *not* the chrome rotating part "
..
How would I do that? How would I tell the difference between those two
parts of the drum?
..
Another thing is, the sound I hear is a slightly similar to the sound
it sometimes makes when I insert a tape fully rewound or rewind it and
it reaches the beginning, as it settles in to play.

I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.org states that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?

truepurple wrote:
Dave, what usernet group web interface would you recommend?

What does a pinchwheel look like, how would I change it? How would I
turn it upside down if possible?
.
How would I determine if power supply caps are responsible?
.
How do I check that the guide rollers are free to rotate?,
.
What does a "back-tension band" look like and how do I know if it is
worn out?
.
" However, that said, sometimes, symptoms such as this
are caused by tape friction as a result of wear on the lower head
drum."
.
How do i check if this is the case?
.
" Occasionally, if you've got nothing to lose, a degree of recovery
can be achieved, by using metal polish
to shine up the dull worn area on the lower drum. Note that this is
the
*fixed* duralumin part of the drum, *not* the chrome rotating part "
.
How would I do that? How would I tell the difference between those two
parts of the drum?

The short answer to your question is that if you can't figure out how to
do any of those things, you are probably too inexperienced to attempt
the repair yourself.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

On 6/11/2009 6:50 PM truepurple spake thus:

Dave, what usernet group web interface would you recommend?

None. Use a mail/news client (I use Thunderbird, available free; there
are lots of others out there. Pick one you like. Just don't use
Micro$oft's Outlook Express.)

And it's "usenet". Goes back to the first days of the internet way back
when.


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
On 6/11/2009 6:50 PM truepurple spake thus:

Dave, what usernet group web interface would you recommend?

None. Use a mail/news client (I use Thunderbird, available free; there are
lots of others out there. Pick one you like. Just don't use Micro$oft's
Outlook Express.)

And it's "usenet". Goes back to the first days of the internet way back
when.


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

Just as a matter of interest David, what exactly do you see as being the
problem with using OE's newsreader client ? I have been posting on usenet
for many years, and have always used OE for posting to and reading from
basic text groups like this one, although I do use xNews for some other
groups, where its 'on-the-fly' decoding abilities are useful.

In all of the time that I have used OE, it has never caused me the slightest
problem. I know people on usenet often say "don't use OE ...", with a dark
sort of tone as though there may be some secret hit sqaud that's gonna come
after you, but I have never managed to get anyone to specify exactly what
dire consequences you are going to suffer by using it ??

Care to elaborate ... ? Just curious ... :-)

Arfa

David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 6/11/2009 6:50 PM truepurple spake thus:

Dave, what usernet group web interface would you recommend?

None. Use a mail/news client (I use Thunderbird, available free; there
are lots of others out there. Pick one you like. Just don't use
Micro$oft's Outlook Express.)

And it's "usenet". Goes back to the first days of the internet way back
when.

In fact, Usenet actually predates the Internet. It used to be sent via UUCP.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

On 12 Juny, 20:05, David Nebenzahl wrote:
None. Use a mail/news client (I use Thunderbird, available free; there
are lots of others out there. Pick one you like. Just don't use
Micro$oft's Outlook Express.)

While the design of usenet is nice and using a news client confortable
I find it much more practical nowadays to use a web based interface
like google groups. While not the best it has many advantages like not
depending anymore on unreliable news servers and can be accessed from
everywhere without any special configuration or installation
requeriment.

On the other hand I never had a problem with outlook express.

"Jeroni Paul" wrote in message
...
On 12 Juny, 20:05, David Nebenzahl wrote:
None. Use a mail/news client (I use Thunderbird, available free; there
are lots of others out there. Pick one you like. Just don't use
Micro$oft's Outlook Express.)

While the design of usenet is nice and using a news client confortable
I find it much more practical nowadays to use a web based interface
like google groups. While not the best it has many advantages like not
depending anymore on unreliable news servers and can be accessed from
everywhere without any special configuration or installation
requeriment.

On the other hand I never had a problem with outlook express.

Maybe the news server thing depends on where in the world you are. Over the
years, I have had several ISPs ranging from quite small outfits, up to big
boys like Virgin Media (formerly NTL), whom I am with now, and I can
honestly say that I have never had any issues with their news servers being
unreliable or slow to keep up to date.

I can't really comment about web based newsgroup access, as I've never used
it. I can see the possible advantage of being able to use it on any machine,
anywhere you happen to be, in the same way that web based e-mail has this
advantage. However, setting that one 'advantage' aside, it seems to me that
access via a news client is a much more straightforward way to use what is
after all, a very simply structured side to the net, going back to the days
when it was all a lot simpler.

The only other comment I would make about being a web based newsgroup user,
is that your posts may well not get seen by too many people as, due to the
amount of spam and general poor usage that has beset a lot of groups lately,
many long term users have blanket filters in place, to remove any post,
legitimate or not, from web based sources, where most of this abuse comes
from.

Arfa

On 6/12/2009 5:52 PM Arfa Daily spake thus:

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

On 6/11/2009 6:50 PM truepurple spake thus:

Dave, what usernet group web interface would you recommend?

None. Use a mail/news client (I use Thunderbird, available free; there are
lots of others out there. Pick one you like. Just don't use Micro$oft's
Outlook Express.)

And it's "usenet". Goes back to the first days of the internet way back
when.

Just as a matter of interest David, what exactly do you see as being the
problem with using OE's newsreader client ? I have been posting on usenet
for many years, and have always used OE for posting to and reading from
basic text groups like this one, although I do use xNews for some other
groups, where its 'on-the-fly' decoding abilities are useful.

In all of the time that I have used OE, it has never caused me the slightest
problem. I know people on usenet often say "don't use OE ...", with a dark
sort of tone as though there may be some secret hit sqaud that's gonna come
after you, but I have never managed to get anyone to specify exactly what
dire consequences you are going to suffer by using it ??

Care to elaborate ... ? Just curious ... :-)

Well, I've personally not had any problems with OE either, but that's
because I've never used it. But I have read enough horror stories (about
viruses, trojan horses, etc., picked up through OE) to not want to even
try it.

Besides, it does suffer from other well-known problems, like mangling
long URLs by chopping them up. (This may have been fixed in a later
release, but was still a problem, so far as I know, as late as last
year's current version.)


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

Arfa Daily wrote:
[...]what exactly do you see as being the problem
with using OE's newsreader client ? I have[...]always used OE
for posting to and reading from basic text groups
[...]it has never caused me the slightest problem.
I know people on usenet often say "don't use OE ...",[...]
but I have never managed to get anyone to specify exactly what
dire consequences you are going to suffer by using it ??

http://groups.google.com/group/micro...th.every.penny
http://groups.google.com/group/comp....xp ress&fwc=2
http://groups.google.com/group/24hou...-this-*-*-flaw
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.s...utlook.Express
http://google.com/search?q=cache:jA9...*+unable#ss3.1
http://google.com/search?q=cache:I4N...&strip=1#quila

On 6/13/2009 11:14 PM JeffM spake thus:

Arfa Daily wrote:

[...]what exactly do you see as being the problem
with using OE's newsreader client ? I have[...]always used OE
for posting to and reading from basic text groups
[...]it has never caused me the slightest problem.
I know people on usenet often say "don't use OE ...",[...]
but I have never managed to get anyone to specify exactly what
dire consequences you are going to suffer by using it ??

http://groups.google.com/group/micro...th.every.penny
http://groups.google.com/group/comp....xpr ess&fwc=2
http://groups.google.com/group/24hou...-this-*-*-flaw
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.s...utlook.Express
http://google.com/search?q=cache:jA9...*+unable#ss3.1
http://google.com/search?q=cache:I4N...&strip=1#quila

Thanks for that. It's worth quoting a bit of some of those messages:


The root problem is that outlook express is a decent email client, but
totally and horribly *SUCKS* as a news reader. Think about it for a
moment. Something as trivial as someone on the other side of the world
having their clock mis-set causes thousands of OE users to fiddle with
kill filters, post angry flame messages, and whine endlessly about the
evils of "future posting."

Why should it be so difficult to delete a single message? Other news
readers have no problem dispatching individual messages in different
ways. The rest of the world is not going to stop making errors, and
everybody else isn't going to quit (intentionally or unintentionally)
posting messages with future dates just because you choose to use a
broken news reader. If you feel you must have some feature only
available in OE then you need to recognize that you've chosen a news
client that doesn't handle future dated posts very well due to it's
poor design, and stop whining and complaining about it. Otherwise get
a real news reader and enjoy usenet.

OutlookExpress is free, and worth every penny of it.

==================================================

I see two hyphens there - it's the notorious broken sig dash that
Microsoft seem incapable of correcting, and TheRed is posting her
entire messages underneath it. Outlook Express victims can't be
expected to know anything about it; it's necessary to use a real
news-reader to understand the problem. Until I did that, I didn't
know that there was such a thing as a 'signature' that wasn't just
another bit of text. I can remember being surprised and delighted at
the way real news-readers work; till then I'd just assumed that OE
was showing me usenet as it really is and that everyone had to mess
around trying to make sense of it all.

I have yet to try a news-reader that's worse than OE.


And finally, if any was needed, further reasoned argument that
top-posting and sloppy quoting SUCKS:

It should be noted that Micro$oft programs in general encourage you
to top post, do not encourage QUILA[*] and do not properly mark
quoted text. Seasoned email users generally do not therefore use
Micro$oft programs. However top posting discourages proper reading of
emails so the proper flow of question, answer, counter-question etc.
does not occur. This makes technical support via top-posting
inefficient and tedious!
[*] QUILA = Quote and in-line answers


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
On 6/13/2009 11:14 PM JeffM spake thus:

Arfa Daily wrote:

[...]what exactly do you see as being the problem
with using OE's newsreader client ? I have[...]always used OE
for posting to and reading from basic text groups
[...]it has never caused me the slightest problem.
I know people on usenet often say "don't use OE ...",[...]
but I have never managed to get anyone to specify exactly what
dire consequences you are going to suffer by using it ??

http://groups.google.com/group/micro...th.every.penny
http://groups.google.com/group/comp....xpr ess&fwc=2
http://groups.google.com/group/24hou...-this-*-*-flaw
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.s...utlook.Express
http://google.com/search?q=cache:jA9...*+unable#ss3.1
http://google.com/search?q=cache:I4N...&strip=1#quila

Thanks for that. It's worth quoting a bit of some of those messages:


The root problem is that outlook express is a decent email client, but
totally and horribly *SUCKS* as a news reader. Think about it for a
moment. Something as trivial as someone on the other side of the world
having their clock mis-set causes thousands of OE users to fiddle with
kill filters, post angry flame messages, and whine endlessly about the
evils of "future posting."

Why should it be so difficult to delete a single message? Other news
readers have no problem dispatching individual messages in different
ways. The rest of the world is not going to stop making errors, and
everybody else isn't going to quit (intentionally or unintentionally)
posting messages with future dates just because you choose to use a
broken news reader. If you feel you must have some feature only
available in OE then you need to recognize that you've chosen a news
client that doesn't handle future dated posts very well due to it's
poor design, and stop whining and complaining about it. Otherwise get
a real news reader and enjoy usenet.

OutlookExpress is free, and worth every penny of it.

==================================================

I see two hyphens there - it's the notorious broken sig dash that
Microsoft seem incapable of correcting, and TheRed is posting her
entire messages underneath it. Outlook Express victims can't be
expected to know anything about it; it's necessary to use a real
news-reader to understand the problem. Until I did that, I didn't
know that there was such a thing as a 'signature' that wasn't just
another bit of text. I can remember being surprised and delighted at
the way real news-readers work; till then I'd just assumed that OE
was showing me usenet as it really is and that everyone had to mess
around trying to make sense of it all.

I have yet to try a news-reader that's worse than OE.


And finally, if any was needed, further reasoned argument that top-posting
and sloppy quoting SUCKS:

It should be noted that Micro$oft programs in general encourage you to
top post, do not encourage QUILA[*] and do not properly mark quoted text.
Seasoned email users generally do not therefore use
Micro$oft programs. However top posting discourages proper reading of
emails so the proper flow of question, answer, counter-question etc.
does not occur. This makes technical support via top-posting
inefficient and tedious!

[*] QUILA = Quote and in-line answers


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism


Well, I'm sure that all of those are very real 'problems' for the more
pedantic users, but for the average user, who is used to using OE for doing
his e-mailing, the main one that is going to cause any real issue, is top
posting. Whilst I agree that top posting is a pain in the arse when applied
to newsgroup posts, I really don't think that it is an issue for e-mail
where, in general, it is two people 'talking', who already each know what
they said, and what the reply is referring to. I actually think that in this
case, it is more appropriate to have the reply on top of the original
message.

I also think that a lot of fuss about the foibles of MS programs, is born
out of Gates bashing ...

Still, I know that this is a contentious subject, and I don't want to get
dragged into a drawn out argument about it. I was interested to see what the
perceived problems were, and that has been answered for me. Thanks for that
gentlemen.

Arfa

On 6/14/2009 5:22 PM Arfa Daily spake thus:

--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

Still, I know that this is a contentious subject, and I don't want to get
dragged into a drawn out argument about it. I was interested to see what the
perceived problems were, and that has been answered for me. Thanks for that
gentlemen.

One problem is obvious above: the fact that OE is too stupid to
recognize a valid sig and strip it out of replies. (I know of no other
mail/news client that does this.) That alone is enough to disqualify it
in my view.


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
On 6/14/2009 5:22 PM Arfa Daily spake thus:

--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

Still, I know that this is a contentious subject, and I don't want to get
dragged into a drawn out argument about it. I was interested to see what
the perceived problems were, and that has been answered for me. Thanks
for that gentlemen.

One problem is obvious above: the fact that OE is too stupid to recognize
a valid sig and strip it out of replies. (I know of no other mail/news
client that does this.) That alone is enough to disqualify it in my view.



But I would guess that most users don't consider that to be worth getting
upset about, it's so minor in the grand scheme of things. Although some
people post with sigs that are full of nonsense, or pretentious twaddle,
most don't bother with them at all. I usually just strip out all that
rubbish with a couple of clicks, and if it is amusing or 'relevant' to the
post's subject, then I might just leave it in anyway. Not really that much
of a hardship that I would disregard a piece of software that in general
works adequately otherwise.

Still, as I said, this could easily get long and drawn out, with people
passionately trying to persuade me that I should ditch OE as a news client
immediately, so thanks for the insights. It's interesting to know where
these things spring from. :-)

Arfa

Back to the subject, would someone please help?

Do you guys think it might be the motor? repairfaq.org said motors
usually go out in a more definite fashion, but it might have been just
talking about vacuum motors, it is hard to be sure.

Would someone please give me some specific instructions that a novice
can use to check out some of the a potential causes of this problem?

On Jun 9, 11:11*pm, truepurple wrote:
I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.orgstates that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?

Arfa Daily wrote:

The only other comment I would make about being a web based newsgroup user,
is that your posts may well not get seen by too many people as, due to the
amount of spam and general poor usage that has beset a lot of groups lately,
many long term users have blanket filters in place, to remove any post,
legitimate or not, from web based sources, where most of this abuse comes
from.

Indeed, I myself have all gmail posts filtered in most of the newsgroups
I read. Likewise any which the address ends in .cn, 126.com etc.

Ron

Ron wrote:

Arfa Daily wrote:

The only other comment I would make about being a web based newsgroup user,
is that your posts may well not get seen by too many people as, due to the
amount of spam and general poor usage that has beset a lot of groups lately,
many long term users have blanket filters in place, to remove any post,
legitimate or not, from web based sources, where most of this abuse comes
from.

Indeed, I myself have all gmail posts filtered in most of the newsgroups
I read. Likewise any which the address ends in .cn, 126.com etc.


Don't forget 163.com, as well.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense!

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Ron wrote:
Arfa Daily wrote:

The only other comment I would make about being a web based newsgroup user,
is that your posts may well not get seen by too many people as, due to the
amount of spam and general poor usage that has beset a lot of groups lately,
many long term users have blanket filters in place, to remove any post,
legitimate or not, from web based sources, where most of this abuse comes
from.
Indeed, I myself have all gmail posts filtered in most of the newsgroups
I read. Likewise any which the address ends in .cn, 126.com etc.


Don't forget 163.com, as well.



yes that one also, plus on other groups, a variety of internet nutjobs

Ron

Well clearly some of you know something about VCR's. Arfa, David,
anyone else, would you guys please help me fix this VCR, or at least
figure out what is wrong with it?

Regarding emails and usernet groups. I always check my emails via my
browser. It would be a pain to have to download and install some email
software. Then sign up to a new email account, and have to delete all
those emails that don't relate to what I am asking about, just to ask
a question here. If I were to be a part of the usernet group through
a email like gmail or hotmail or what not, but directly through the
email part of it in a online fashion, would I have to worry about that
being screened out by many people?

On Jun 9, 11:11*pm, truepurple wrote:
I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away. But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.orgstates that when a motor dies, it usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on tapes?

"truepurple" wrote in message
...
Well clearly some of you know something about VCR's. Arfa,
David,
anyone else, would you guys please help me fix this VCR, or
at least
figure out what is wrong with it?

Regarding emails and usernet groups. I always check my
emails via my
browser. It would be a pain to have to download and install
some email
software. Then sign up to a new email account, and have to
delete all
those emails that don't relate to what I am asking about,
just to ask
a question here. If I were to be a part of the usernet
group through
a email like gmail or hotmail or what not, but directly
through the
email part of it in a online fashion, would I have to worry
about that
being screened out by many people?

On Jun 9, 11:11 pm, truepurple
wrote:
I got this vcr some years ago, it was one of the most
expensive in the
store. I am a bit of a environmentalist too, so I would
much rather
fix then replace. Add to that the fact that even finding a
VCR that
records is in itself difficult now adays...

Anyway here is the problem.

If I have been recording for awhile(hour or so?), the VCR
starts
recording a strange kind of noise onto the tape. The
picture shifts or
jitters at spots like tiny hooks are pulling at the image
misaligning
it in spots horizontally. This happens only for a moment
but at
regular intervals every 4 seconds or so?(not sure of exact
time) the
sound is slightly distorted too at the exact same spot as
the picture.
As playback goes on, this effect gets stronger. It is not
the tape.

When it is recording, at the point where it starts
recording the noise
onto the tape, I can hear a kind of squeaking rubbing
sound that is
difficult to explain at regular intervals equal to the
noise/
distortion on the tape which just like the recording
itself gets
louder as it continues recording.

If I dont use the vcr for some time this effect goes away.
But more
then say a hour or two of nonuse is required before I can
get a half
hour/hour of record time relatively noise free.

Talking to repair shops, I get the old "Probably not worth
the money
to repair, but if you come in, we will do what ever, then
charge you
(lots of money)" chestnut. General opinion points to it
possibly being
the motor, and that buying a new motor would be
prohibitively
expensive.(for the value of the item in question)

http://www.repairfaq.orgstates that when a motor dies, it
usually
dies spectacularly. Does this apply to VCR motors too?

If it is the motor, Does the motor have to be exactly for
that model?
Or could a similar motor be made to work? Could I just
open it up,
find the motor,(not entirely sure what to look for) and
clobber it
with a bit of bike chain lub?

Another issue is that the VCR does not accept tapes feed
into it well
all the time. The solution usually to push it in lightly
for a short
bit of the distance.Otherwise the tape gets stuck at a
spot three
quarters back or so, as it struggles to pull it in for a
time till it
gives up and spits it back out. Sometimes it doesn't spit
it back out
all the way though, leaving me to actually have to tilt
the vcr
foreward to get the tap to come out via gravity (otherwise
I can't
push it in or eject it) The pushing it in a bit method
works fine for
now (if I remember) but I worry that it might get worse
eventually.

Is the motor that is responsible for drawing in the tape
different
then the one responsible for playing and recording on
tapes?

I am not familiar with this unit, but I have seen VCRs with
everything from two to five motors. The low end uses one for
the head drum and the other for everything else including
the loading mechanism. The five motor setup has one each for
head drum, capstan, loading, supply reel, and take-up reel.
Most common is three motors: head drum, capstan/reel drive,
and load/unload. Could you say which arrangement you have?

David