Excessive Dropouts I'm getting a large amount of dropouts in playback. tape palys clear in other machines. Used both a dry and a wet cleaning tape. thanks

Could be because LP record mode was used.
Alo it may be tape dropouts.
Dropouts occur after too many record/erase cycles.

Al

When's the last time you cleaned the heads AND capstan? (Google it) Look at the edges of your tapes. Any irregularities will show up as warble or dropouts on the left channel. Also treat and store the tapes like you want them to last forever. It's pretty much covered on the cardboard insert that comes with a blank tape.

It sounds to me like a stuck gear causing the clicking sound. Pull off the top and see if you can hear it and see where it is coming from.

you need to clean image unit if you dont have any expertise dont do it

A machine reset (unplugging- (x1 wk)) temporarily seemed to fix; some probls returned after 24 hrs.

Technician series text suggest probl may be Tape Load reel (gears, worn belts), tape slack sensor,
mode switch, etc. In other words, machine needs overhaul due to lack of maintenance. [ But where to get necess parts???!! ]

Audio & picture still perform well. Suspect snow dropouts due to tape age (at least late 1980s) & oxides.

/K_M

i have the JVC MiniDV Digital Video Cleaning Cassette. I began having trouble when I was shooting DV24P and when I went to playback I noted audio dropouts. I'm using SONY Premium DVM60 tapes. I began having Head Cleaning Required message. I have ran the Cleaning Cassette and the message disappears, but even trying a brand new tape, switching to DV playback i get the error message. Luckily, the shoot i was on the master audio was being captured by a secondary device and we were able to simply use the video from my camera. Since then, I was able to play & capture both the video & audio previously recorded in HDV30P and I didnt receive an error message. Now though I cannot record any DV audio without dropouts. When I tested just moments ago, I was able to record HDV and both video & audio were clean, but during playback I still received the Head Cleaning message. Is the record head different from the playback head? Can you manually clean the heads by removing the plastic door cover with a lintfree cotton swab and rubbing alcohol (obviously disconnecting and removing all power & powering off prior to cleaning), the same way any previous machine heads were cleaned in our stations? I think I may have got a batch of bad tapes that may have gunked up one of the heads some where and its getting missed by the cleaning tape. Is is possible that the head has been scratched, and will require replacement. If yes, is there any way to look at the head and detect this?

It could be that.. you generally want a timebase corrector to properly record from analog tape to some other medium. But maybe not. Most tape-based devices also include a tension sensor, to detect the end-of-tape. If you're using tapes that are too old, cheap, etc. it could be that you're seeing this triggered.

I recommend trying the same VHS recording with a good quality, fresh tape. If it's still kicking off, you at least know it's due to the camcorder having issues with sync or something on the tape. If it works, blame the old tapes.

It's probably camcorder dependent, but I have done tape restorations using Digital8 and DV equipment, and have never known a camcorder to cut itself off due to dropouts or other problems on the tape -- mine just play through. So I think it's at least possible that it's just the tape.

"Cleaning with a wet tape cleaner" begs even more questions.  What did you use as a cleaning agent, and how long did you run the tape?  Your answer should be "100% pure alcohol" and ran it for no more than 10 seconds.  If you ran the tape too long you may have worn down the heads.  If this is the case, throw the camera out.  If you used something other than alcohol, or too much, you may have damaged the pinch rollers.  My suggestion is to open the tape door and leave open in a warm dry area for a day or two to reduce moisture.  Then insert an tape which was not damaged and see if you can record and playback.

take it or ship it to video tech service. they will clear it and go from there. it may need some tension adustments in addition. The guy there is super cool.

Before you send it out to be fixed, when was the last time you cleaned the "heads"? I suggest you buy a "cleaning tape" first. Sony makes an excellent one. Follow the instructions that come with it. Takes 5-10 seconds. There are two methods in cleaning the heads, "Wet" and "Dry". Dry uses a small amount of special abrasive on a tape that is designed to remove and trap dirt and oils. Wet uses an alcohol solution to remove the dirt. you can use either. I prefer the wet because it is less damaging to the heads but it is also harder to do and takes more time and I have have a lot of patience. With the wet you can also clean the tape guides where you can't with the dry. For the general public use the dry tape system about every 25 hrs of recording or playback time. This should fix your problem. If it doesn't then you know you need to have it professionally cleaned and repaired.