JCPenny 685-2285 VCR (Samsung made) Playback issue

[Jason F]

I have a Samsung-made JCPenny 685-2285 TV/VCR combo that I'm trying to
rescue so that my daughter has something to watch Disney tapes on while the
family TV is occupied.

Current symptoms:

Insert a tape, and it plays fine for maybe 3-5 seconds. Then it cycles
between video noise (similar to the picture while scanning) and a perfect
picture every half-second or so. At the same time, you can hear the audio
varying in pitch. Eject the tape, reinsert, and you get 3-5 seconds of
perfect video before the cycling repeats.

I'm guessing that it does not need cleaning, and I'm just witnessing a
tape-speed problem. Is this a backtension issue?

The unit has new rubber through and through.

Pictures of the deck (credit: diyvcrparts.com):
http://www.diyvcrparts.com/cgi-bin/web_store/web_store.cgi?page=mbk-79.html

 

[Sofie]

Jason F:
Probably not a back-tension issue but rather a glazed or worn pinch roller
that is causing the tape to ride up or down on the A/C head, or a dirty A/C
head...... thus the control track on the tape is not being read so the servo
can do it tracking job.
Since you said the unit has "new rubber through and through" that tells me
that the pinch roller (since it is rubber) has already been replaced......
so the next place I would look is at the A/C head..... it may be dirty,
loaded with gunk. First thing to do is visually inspect it and clean it.
Here is the order of faults, beginning with the most common, that could
cause the symptom you reported.....
**Dirty or clogged A/C head
**Worn or glazed pinch roller
**Bent arm or load lever
**Worn capstan bearing
**Faulty A/C connector on A/C head or main pcb
**Faulty back-tension (too much)
**Faulty servo circuitry
**Bad A/C head
**plus more
Be certain to check your tapes for edge-damage.