Ferguson Videostar 3V30 Tracking

[amtrakuk]

If I play pre reorded videos the picture is "OK" but the picture deteriorates gradually from the top and the bottom to a noticable granier band in the middle - side to side is OK. To clear this up i'm manually adjusting the user tracking adjustment. The pre recorded video last night I had to adjust to the far left - the picture was quite impressive even on a 40 inch LCD!

Nearly all the tapes other than ones recorded on the deck itself need tracking to be adjusted and 80% of the time to the left.

Two questions. Is there a problem with the back tension causing the gradule deterioration from the top and bottom? Could there be an additional pot needing adjusting to bring the middle of the tracking pot to a more favorable position?

Any comments would be welcome.

Thanks in advance

[ben]

I seem to remember this problem.
First thing to do is check the back tension is in spec.
Next, set up the roller guides on the drum.
Then, then look at the AC head adjustment and centre the tracking.

Note that if the drum has been replaced at some point and not seated correctly this band of noise will be impossible to remove (I had this once on a VCR whose chassis was bent! Also heard of one case where there was a splash of solder under the drum which cocked up the angle). This would, fortunately, not seem to be the case here, as you say you can adjust the noise out by moving the control.

You will ideally need test gear and alignment tapes to get this done accurately.

[samjmann]

Hi agree with all Ben has written.

There is a 'tracking-preset' inside the unit shifts the range of the front control. To see if this has been adjusted try this:

Make a fresh recording, if you have no signal, put the front TV/AV switch to AV. Play back the recording, the most 'snow-free' point will be when the tracking control is at it's centre-point. If not the internal tracking pre-set has been tweeked.

If all is well then as Ben has stated, the Audio-Control-Erase head will need to be loosened on its slide plate, then with the tracking at centre, and playing a good pre-recorded tape - slide the ACE head to the point where the picture is at it's clearest and most stable.

DO NOT on any circumstances adjust any screws on the ACE head other than the two that clamp the head to the chassis.


The chances are the video heads have been changed, and the above procedure has not been followed.

Cheers, SJM

[amtrakuk]

Thanks Ben. I dont have a service manual for the 3V30 dispite looking on ebay, does anyone have a PDF or know wher eI can buy a copy for a reasonable cost?

The history of the recorder is unknown however there is a few drop out flashes across the screen on all tapes so it would suggest the origional drum <maybe>

[amtrakuk]

Thanks Sam i'll give it a go. The problem is not a deal breaker by any means but it "would be nice" and is rather annoying the deck is not performing as good as it can be.

I'll prob be posting pics with arrows to confirm before I adjust anything

Another odd thing it does is a "double clonk" when it has unthreaded. Sometimes the solinoid does a "dum de-dum" when unthreading is complete. The guides seemed to be in the correct home position.

[samjmann]

Yes that's a good idea, make a note of everything before adjustment! The loading belt was a real source of problems on these decks, it's always the first thing to change. There's a copy of a servicing guide for the 3V29/30 attached. This was already on this forum on another related thread.

Regards, SJM.

[amtrakuk]

Thanks for your feedback - I couldn't resist trying the ACE head adjustment. Adjusting the screws with the balck springs under, using a good known recording I managed to clear up the audio and cleared up the picture quite a lot. Interestingly the locktight on one of the screws was cracked. It took a while for me to realise the changes made to the ACE head took a couple of seconds to take affect.

Unfortunatly I do not have a scope so its just adjusted by eye.

Just need to sort the dum de-dum solinoid and a "struggling" rewind which I thinkis the idler tyre - Fast forward is fine.

[amtrakuk]

Originally Posted by samjmann

Yes that's a good idea, make a note of everything before adjustment! The loading belt was a real source of problems on these decks, it's always the first thing to change. There's a copy of a servicing guide for the 3V29/30 attached. This was already on this forum on another related thread.

Regards, SJM.

Thanks very much for the PDF - it seems to answer a lot of questions.

[Welsh Anorak]

I used to find the tracking on the 29/30 had to be slightly offset from the centre position for prerecorded (and test) tapes. You could correct this, but if you did its own recordings needed adjustment so I left well alone.

[amtrakuk]

Yeah it did make home recordings on the deck a bit interesting but the tracking was to the extreme. It’s now fine.

God knows you must have had the patience of a saint to service these, adjusting one thing throws everything else out. It’s almost like a fine balancing act.

[Welsh Anorak]

...and these were the easy ones!

[amtrakuk]

I seem to have it running the best I can without a scope or specialist tools. Reading the PDF the drop outs will only be cleared with specialist tools. We've popped a Miss Marple on and Joan Hickson is looking fine!

[dj_fivos_sak]

Hi. There are two ways to center the tracking. One is by adjusting the tracking preset variable resistor on the servo board and the other one is by physically shifting the position of the audio/control head. To do this properly you need an alignment tape and an oscilloscope. You can get it perfect by eye too but doing so will be time-consuming. Don't touch the tilt and the azimuth screws of the A/C head unless you really have to.

Regards,

Fivos

[Welsh Anorak]

Remember at this age and probably wear it's likely to be a bit of a compromise. You can spend hours chasing your tail and end up where you started - or worse!

[Mooly]

I remember posting on this some years ago... and its even more moons ago now. Post #6

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...70&postcount=6

[samjmann]

Yes, adjusting the ACE head is not for the faint hearted! Tilting the head from side to side will adjust the tracking point and the sound azimuth as well. The head has to be perpendicular to the baseplate, or the tape will creep up or down and curl on the guide.

Adjusting this correctly was almost a 'dark-art', and many engineers had their own way of going about it. Without a scope you will struggle. Personally I found that it was more difficult setting up on LCD Tv than a CRT, when you didn't have a scope available.

If it seems OK now I'd be inclined to leave it as it is, you could make matters worse by further tweeking!

Back in the day, I used to service time-lapse VCR's for security recordings. The tracking had to be spot-on so as the tapes were fully transferable to the security dept. After a head change you had to do a set up to guarantee compatibility. Doing 10 units sometimes a week, I got it down to 20mins start to finish. The first one's I did took considerably longer....

SJM.

[craigie2k]

Brilliant Machines the 3v30. I had the BAIRD 8940 which was a linear stereo version of the same deck, which also had a tracking fault. It always had a line at the top of the picture, no matter what I did with the tracking.

After some initial 'tweaking' it turned out that one of the tape guides, the first one after the erase head was half a turn out!

With a good belt change, a clean with isopropyl, a re-grease in the right places and a rub of sand paper on the idler wheel, it worked perfectly for years!

Best Wishes with it

[kevinaston1]

Do you still need the SM?

PM me with your E-mail address - the file is 50+MB


Kevin

[See_Mos]

I can't remember, which JVC was it based on?

I still have one or two manuals left over from my days repairing videos

[dj_fivos_sak]

The 3V30 is a rebadged JVC HR-7300.

Cheers