Hitachi VT 14e (VCR)

[tobeknows]

Hello - I have a fault with my Hitachi VT 14e VCR player.

I've recently resurrected the player to find out the belts had perished. So I bought some new ones popped them on and the player and worked fine for two films. During the second film, the machine just stopped. I tried taking the tape out and reloading and got it playing again, but only for 5 mins until it stopped for good. It threads up perfectly fine, mode switch engages in the right position, the take-up spool engages but only for about 2 seconds then the machine goes into automatic safe mode (STOP). I've cleaned all the obvious rollers; mode switch; idler; sensors etc... checked the belts again with no success. It FF's and RRWinds perfectly fine. I'm kind of thinking it's an electronic fault. I've checked the boards for dry joints and changed the cap's in the power supply and still no change.

Any help would be extremely useful. Does anyone know this machine? It's practically the same as the VT11e.

Hope someone can help

Cheers Toby

[Welsh Anorak]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

The most common fault apart from the belts and idler is a faulty capstan motor. This applies to the ones with a flywheel on the top. If you select Play, then Pause, the machine should display a still frame and not return to the stop position. This over-rides the take-up sensor.
Very often the motor is happy with fast wind but not with play. Otherwise do check the machine has definitely reached the end of the loading cycle, then if so have a look at the various voltage from the power supply to see if any drop in play.

[Philips210]

I second Glynn's view on the capstan motor. I've seen this a few times where the tape stops after a period of time. I had one that was so intermittent that it would be fine for days and then the fault reappeared causing a lot of frustration.

Infact many Hitachi VCRs suffered capstan motor troubles including later models such at the VT520. It was a weak point on an otherwise decent deck. Easy enough to replace if you have a spare motor though.

Regards,
Symon

[tobeknows]

Thanks for getting back guys, really appreciate the rapid response. So I've also got a VT 11e which works fine (only it's mono). It has the same Capstan motor, I've swapped them around and they both work fine in the VT 11e, however, still show the same fault on the VT 14e. I'll check to see whether the voltage drops whilst activating playback. Any other ideas, please share.

Thanks Toby

[its ur aerial]

I would agree with the previous intermittent Capstan Motor comments and Glyn's suggested play/pause test is important.
As Symon commented, half decent machine in their day.
Ken, G6HZG.

[HamishBoxer]

Is the mode switch clean? Just a thought.

[Nickthedentist]

Capstan motor replacement workaround by Tim Jarman here: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=23089

If you want, I have a VT11 (same deck but top loading, AFAIK) languishing in a garage, and would be happy to donate its entire deck to you.

[Welsh Anorak]

So luckily we've ruled out the motor.

Question - does all appear well - locked picture, sound and tape being smoothly taken up (no post-pinchroller looping) - before it shuts back to stop?
If so, then the next step is to see whether it stops in pause. If it doesn't then we're looking at the take-up sensor not telling the micro what to do. Usually an obvious fault - magnet, wire off, that sort of thing.

A close look at the mechanism and the displayed picture can tell a lot befor reaching for the test gear.

[tobeknows]

Hi Glyn

All appears well before shutting back to stop. The threading seems totally fine. There isn't enough time to activate picture and sound as the take-up spool only moves for 2 seconds before going into safe mode (STOP). There is no pinch roller looping. All parts move correctly. !It does stop in play/pause mode!

Cheers Toby

[John123]

For reference, I've attached a few select entries for the VT11 from Television magazine (VCR Clinic). Hope that helps!

[tobeknows]

I can only assume the Idler is working fine as rewind and fast forward work perfectly Again I'm assuming this means it would have no trouble functioning play mode??

Cheers Toby

[tobeknows]

Thanks for your efforts John - these are definitely useful.

Toby

[Welsh Anorak]

Ah - you say it DOES stop in pause. That's unusual.
So is the head drum spinning correctly? That would cause a quick abort - check it rotates freely by hand.Otherwise I'm drawn to the micro not being told the loading cycle is complete.

You say it worked fine for two films after replacing the belts. I would be very tempted to replace the two loading belts again, checking the mechanism is free to complete the process and move the mode swith to the 'play' position without undue strain on the belts.
.
I'm still inclined to suspect a mechanical fault or possibl;y a power supply problem. The mechacon circuit is very reliable. Odd faults I've had on the VT17/19 were caused by nasty brown glue on the top circuit board becoming conductive, but this won't apply to yours.

[tobeknows]

Hi Glyn

Yes, it DOES Stop in play/pause mode. The head drum is spinning freely by hand. I've taken the belts from the working machine and still no change. I've tried moving the loading belt pully whilst threading the tape in case it's not reaching its full position, but still no change. I've tried gently pushing the mode switch lever into the play position whilst threading the tape, but still no change. I can only assume that because the issue started whilst it was playing a tape, it's not any of the above??

A few weeks ago an electronics mate of mine looked at the power supply and changed the caps that were low in value, but this didn't change anything.

I too am now drawn to the micro not being told the cycle is complete. Where exactly is this? I'm assuming it's the take-up sensor?

Cheers Toby

[Welsh Anorak]

No - it would get the signal from the mode switch, though my memory of this area is a bit hazy, simply becuse it's such a reliable machine and we looked after loads! If the take-up sensor was faulty the machine wouldn't revert to stop from play/pause as it's over-ridden in that mode.

I'll have a look if I've still got the manual and should be able to give you some pointers. Does the counter turn smoothly in play or don't you get the chance to find out?

A handy tool is the transparent cassette. Of course that's probably not something you'd have, but opening an old VHS cassette and removing the tape spools and windows, covering the tape sensor holes then reassembling it is helpful.

[tobeknows]

Hi Glyn - The counter displays a 1 second change before going back into stop mode. I’ve tried conning the machine without a tape so I can inspect the mechanics closer, again no further change.

Cheers Toby

[Welsh Anorak]

This is a tricky one. There are several things that can cause the deck to abort.
1. Loading incomplete in allotted time
2. Mode switch feeding back wrong info about loading state
3. Head not spinning
4. Capstan motor stalled.

Trouble is you've eliminated these! Is there a dew sensor - I don't think so but I might be wrong.
Time to get the meter out and manual and look at the various pins on the micro.

[tobeknows]

Glyn - really appreciate your time - thank you.

Is the micro one of the large chips possibly with a 10v supply?

Toby