Zenith VCS442 VHS VCR - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

I would suggest you replace your AV cables.
After a few years the cables can go bad.
If this doesn't fix the issue, try playing the tape in another VCR.
If that works, it's probably time to replace your VCR with a VCR/DVD combo player.

Hi there,
souds like a problem with the main drive motor (most have a couple or a seires of belts).
It's a trip to the repair shop for you I'm affraid

lost remote for my vcr

A VCR is an analog device from input to tape. You cannot record "digital channels" to such a device.
If you have cable or satellite box, it is often possible to record from the RCA outputs of the box. Copyrighted material will still be blocked by circuitry within your VCR.

You will need more than an owner's manual, you need a service manual. This is not something the maker expects a customer to adjust. It likely involves some screws near the heads--but don't screw it up or you might as well buy a new player. In fact a new VCR may be cheaper than a manual and smaller than your model, too. -Ken

Comcast is full of it.

If you have a cable box, plug the box directly into the cable feed, then place the VCR inline between the cable and the TV. Leave the VCR on Channel 3 or 4 and use the box to select the channel. You could also use the video and audio out lines from the box and run them to the VCR.

decided not to buy one

there are three creases in the head , have you made sure those are cleard?

Connect with RCA cable to RCA jacks\plugs::
output [player] audio to INPUT [recorder]
OUTPUT [player] Video to INPUT [recorder]
*************************************************
Place blank tape in RECORDER, Tape that you want to record from into PLAYER.Press Record [recorder machine], wait one second, press PAUSE.( thats to give record tape "breathing" space.) Set up your player tape to start playing. When you know what you want to record, press PAUSE again to begining recording. Press PAUSE after the recorded section to install 2nd tape, etc. etc.
NOTE:: some VCRs use PAUSE 2nd time to release and continue recording, while some machines you must press RECORD button again to release PAUSE. you must expirement before begining your project.

1ST) see if the power is being turned off on the machine from the power source.Do you have a time screen? A screen that tells the time, is it blinking ? You could have a loose connection to the AC plug. Does the machine have a "back up" memory battery ?
2nd) Sound on only 2 channels thru VCR is a circuit problem.

Got pets or young ones? This problem just smacks of having something lodged inside. Could also have come from a label coming off inside, too...accordianman

This is automatic, as the record speed can only be manipulated, not playback unless youhave that setting which I have never seen,

If you can turn the machine on and off, you have the code. your volume control (button) could be damaged, stuck in one position.
Get a can of that "compresed air" and place it inbetween the rubber (if it is rubber) volume control. see if that loosens it up.

one way is to connect an antenna to INPUT of VHS, place a tape, press play, STOP and switch VCR\TV switch to TV. u should be able to change the channels from the VHS. If that don't work, u may have switch problems.
If this works, tell the boss..........FixYa.com
P.S. The 'blue screen' means that you don't have a signal to the antenna inpur\TV protion of VHS.

Problem seems to be related to the "write protect" tab on the tape not being sensed. Is the tab removed? That would explain things there...accordianman

Hi when you switch it on does anything light up like the display or standby light if not then it is going to be the internal fuse needs replacing these are cheap to buy it is located where the powe lead goes into the unit and it is a glass fuse take it to shop to make sure you get correct fuse let me know how you get on.
If the video lights up and you get standby light or any light check that the lock function on the controll isnt activated as this will cause the controll to fail let me know how you get on ok

If you have a cable or satellite converter all inputs are converted to channel 3 or 4. If your vcr is attached to this output you will only get whatever the converter is tuned to. If you have cable, try connecting the cable that's now on the input to the converter to the input of the vcr and then add the channels automatically. However, the converter also descrambles premium channels, so you cannot get them into the vcr without going through the converter first, and some digital cable channels will not work on all vcrs. If you use the converter, always leave the vcr on channel 3 or 4 or use the converter video/audio outputs. You will not be able to record one channel and watch another without some additional hardware including an rf switch, rf splitter, and more cables.

Yes, it is a mechanical problem. While the tape is in fast forward the gears are engaged and locked to provide drive to the spindel on the right, however when you press the rewind button without hitting stop, the gears try to engage the spindel on the left without stoping and reversing (changing rotational positioning), this causes the motor to stop (this emulates a tape jam)the tope is left in and the unload mechanism never spools the tape back in because the motor has stopped. To free the tape, what I do is open up the unit and find the main motor check to see if the belt has slipped, if it has not try to manually spin the motor to engage the unload mechanism and eject the tape.

It is working as designed. The purpose of your cable box is to take in a wire containing all of the possible channels you might watch, and then extract *one* channel, and force it to appear as channel 3. If you connect the cable directly to the VCR, then the VCR's "tuner" (ie, channel selector) has an opportunity to extract any channel it wants. But... as you point out, your VCR won't be able to "see" any of the digital channels. So... if your goal is to be able to watch any of the digital channels, the signal must pass through your cable box, which will put the selected channel on channel 3. There is no value in going from the VCR to the cable box, since the VCR's tuner will have already filtered out all but one channel. It would be helpful to make a list of what your useage goals really are, since there are so many different ways to hook these things up. Are you interested in: - watching digital channels? - recording digital channels? - watching one channel while recording another? - using higher quality video signals (composite, s-video, component, etc) rather than RF (ie, channel 3) And so on. Keep in mind that you have *three* tuners: Your cable box, your VCR, and your TV. It sounds like only your cable box can tune in the digital channels. If your cable box puts out any non-RF signal, then the best choice would be to go: Coaxial Wire -> Cable Box -> Video Connection -> VCR -> Video Connection -> TV, with the VCR and the TV both set to "video". Then you would only use the cable box as a tuner, the VCR would only see the tuned channel (via video in), and the TV would see the same channel (or whatever tape you are playing) on its video input.

use your line input's aka rca jacks