I've had this VCR for just over a week, after getting it off ebay. Unfortunately, I'm already running into issues.
It all started when I plugged a SCART -> S-Video / composite adaptor into the VCR. I'm pretty sure that's just a co-incidence, but I will be going over the adaptor with a multimeter later to see if something is amiss. When I plugged the adaptor in, the tape that was playing fine suddenly started going on high-speed fast-forward (plugging in the adaptor while a tape was playing was pretty stupid, I'll admit). The buttons on the front panel didn't respond to me franticly trying to stop the tape, so I pulled the plug from the wall.
When I plugged it in again, I observed the following issues:
- There was no video or audio being outputted.
- The 'seconds' counter on the front display was increasing too quickly.
- The front panel buttons didn't respond beyond making the button's symbol appear on the display (ie: pushing the 'fast-forward' button would make a fast-forward symbol appear on the front-panel display, but the tape would continue moving at the same speed and there was no other change).
- The only way I could eject a tape was by powering the machine on and repeatedly pressing the eject over and over. After two or three tries of this I could get the tape to eject.
I thought that was going to be the end of things, but I wanted to double-check to see if there was any audio coming out of the RCA jacks (I was connecting it to the TV over SCART). I carried it into the room with my HiFi, and connected up the RCA audio, and low-and-behold, it started working. (Or, at least, the audio was playing and all the front-panel buttons are working as expected - I can't check the video as there's no TV in this room).
I then carried it back into the room with the TV, and much to my annoyance it had stopped working again. Not the same issues as before, something much more simple: every time I put in a tape, it would immediately eject it.
As a last resort, I carried it back to the room with the HiFi, and the blasted thing is working again! Right now I have it running in that room, playing the audio through my HiFi. My plan is to play the tape through till the end, in case that resets something.
This VCR is made in 2002 I believe, so is probably stretching the definition of "vintage", but I think there are several folks on this forum who have good knowledge of servicing VCRs and might be able to help, or who may be familiar with the symptoms I have described?
This seems to be a rather 'cursed' VCR...