hi guys
I was given a dead hitachi vcr and having fixed it all up there is no
picture on video playback. It has sound and all other functions work ok.
Tv/sat inputs all come out ok just no video playback, anyone have any
suggestions?
Have thoroughly cleaned heads and everything.
Thanks
Rich

Greetings Rich..

First of all it should be stated that as inexpensive as these VCR decks
are now days, you MUST have a lot of time on your hands! I believe I've
seen the local Sam's warehouse store selling the decks for around $25 -
$30 now. Other discount warehouse type stores will also offer the same
with nearly all these decks now coming in from China. The point of this
is to ask yourself whether it is cost-justifiable to put in all this
effort when you can buy a brand new deck for not a lot of green backs.

Additionally, it can be rather hard to travel the highways and byways of
the electrons without [at least] a good idea (at the logic gate / analog
level) of what makes a VCR tick. Of course, a manufacturers schematic /
parts list in hand wouldn't hurt either. Even better Rich, a service
manual for the specific piece of electronics under repair. Years ago,
besides the manufacture were the Sam's Photofacts people that used to do
this - no longer. Why? I suspect that it's hardly worth it any longer
when the entire deck (new) is now selling for around $30.

If at all possible, I would attempt [at least] to get technical
schematics from Hitachi for your specific model. Short of that, I would
inquire if parts for this deck (especially any specialized parts) ARE
still available from Hitachi. If not, you need to ask yourself whether
it's worth continuing or not. As an alternative, there are several very
good books on general VCR repair listed below. They can often get you
rolling in the right direction of repair and alignment. They're
certainly worth being on your bookshelf IF you do this very often. You
may want to inquire with your local public library since they MAY have a
copy for you to check out. These books will also detail the test
equipment that is necessary to do an effective job at not only
troubleshooting and repair but alignment too.

Hitachi - customer support / service center
http://www.hitachiserviceusa.com/Customer.asp

Hitachi Customer Support - e-mail
http://www.hitachi.us/Apps/WebFormPr...global_support


Some sources of information as an alternative -

The Self Service Website
http://www.fixer.com/

VCR Troubleshooting & Repair
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...112150-0100753

VCR Repair Books
http://www.diyvcrparts.com/books.html

Good luck..

Cheers,
G.



Rich wrote:
hi guys
I was given a dead hitachi vcr and having fixed it all up there is no
picture on video playback. It has sound and all other functions work ok.
Tv/sat inputs all come out ok just no video playback, anyone have any
suggestions?
Have thoroughly cleaned heads and everything.
Thanks
Rich