Sanyo Betamax VCR -- sort of alive

Another dumpster find: a Sanyo Betamax VCR player/recorder. Came with a remote and original box but no manual.



The thing has a label on top saying something about the 1984 LA Olympics. So it's about 30 yrs old.

Decided to give it a try. Bought a betamax tape from eBay. Used of course. Put it in, hit play. There was some noise that sort of resembled that of a tape being loaded, but louder. Hit rewind. More noise. Hit eject. Got a jam! Took of the cover. The tape is chewed up and ripped.

Question(s): Is it likely that the whole mechanism is screwed up and I might as well scrap the unit, or sell it as "for parts"? Or is there a reasonable chance that there was something wrong with the tape? Is there also a chance that the mechanism can be fixed by, say, lubricating it?

Hey Ilyaz, I know you said it was a beta, but you can try this, it's what I found for a vhs eating tapes.

How can I stop my VCR from eating tapes? - Yahoo Answers

The answer is old, but might help. The first one, an the second sound the best. I tried a search for the same thing using betamax but all the links I could find were dead. Even the one to a forum for electronics.

an man I feel old, I remember when those first came out, an you could rent them from places like Errols (Pre Blockbuster..lol), same with laser discs! Man those discs cost a ton way back then.

Nice find tho! I'd try another tape before opening it up an trying to fix things. Assuming the tape was cheap enough.

Good luck!

Sirscrapalot - Home is where the heart is. - Pliny the Elder

Take the cover off the VCR, as well as the metal cover on the bottom of the unit.
Look for broken belts.
There are rubber wheels on plastic pulleys that dry out and crack, too.

Look for tape residue on the posts and the rubber wheels the tape runs over.
This residue can be cleaned off with alcohol & q-tips.
The aluminum drum you will see is the tape head assembly.
WARNING! WARNING! DO NOT touch the little heads on the side of the drum.
Do NOT lubricate the VCR

Ultimately, they are not usually worth repairing. But...There are still some old fools out here that can still do it.

I had an old VHS a couple years ago, finally just scrapped it. All kindsa goodies in there, even the inner casing was aluminum cast. The yard I was dealing with wouldn't even give dirty aluminum so I stripped it clean. Took awhile and wasn't worth it, but a learning thing it certainly was ; )