# My Last VCR Went Belly Up



## debodun (Oct 11, 2020)

The tapes get jammed and it a pain to try to get it out of the machine. 

I though maybe there was something wrong with just that cassette, so I tried 2 others and they one got stuck too. There's no one that repairs VCRs anymore. All my entertainment is on VHS tapes. I looked on FB Marketplace and only one for sale locally (40 mile round trip) for $25 and didn't even say it worked.


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## StarSong (Oct 11, 2020)

eBay or Craigslist are probably your best bet.


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## Camper6 (Oct 11, 2020)

debodun said:


> The tapes get jammed and it a pain to try to get it out of the machine.
> View attachment 127637
> I though maybe there was something wrong with just that cassette, so I tried 2 others and they one got stuck too. There's no one that repairs VCRs anymore. All my entertainment is on VHS tapes. I looked on FB Marketplace and only one for sale locally (40 mile round trip) for $25 and didn't even say it worked.


It's a common thing with tape drives.  It's the take up rubber spool.  Try cleaning the spool with rubbing alcohol.  Use cotton on a long wooden skewer.

All tape drives pick up the oxide on the tapes and then they slip.

At one time they used to sell cleaning tapes that you ran through the machine.  They were blank and made of fabric.

Another trick you might try is to do a full rewind by hand because sometimes the tapes get wound up too tight to go forward.

I'm still using VHS on my second set.


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## Pepper (Oct 11, 2020)

Amazon still sells cleaning tapes for VCR.  I know, as I bought one.


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## ClassicRockr (Oct 11, 2020)

Actually, we bought a DVD Player/Recorder some years ago. We also had my MIL's VCR. I hooked up the VCR to the DVD Player/Recorder and transferred all VCR tapes onto DVD discs. Put a blank DVD into the Player/Recorder, put a VCR tape into the Player/Recorder. Hit "play" on the VCR and "record" on the DVD. Got rid of all of our VCR tapes as well as the VCR itself.


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## squatting dog (Oct 11, 2020)

ClassicRockr said:


> Actually, we bought a DVD Player/Recorder some years ago. We also had my MIL's VCR. I hooked up the VCR to the DVD Player/Recorder and transferred all VCR tapes onto DVD discs. Put a blank DVD into the Player/Recorder, put a VCR tape into the Player/Recorder. Hit "play" on the VCR and "record" on the DVD. Got rid of all of our VCR tapes as well as the VCR itself.



I still have mine.   Note, be sure to close CD at the end of the recording or it won't play in most players. (found that out the hard way)
Had to buy a second player/recorder as I had given the original one to my brother.


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## Devi (Oct 11, 2020)

squatting dog said:


> Note, be sure to close CD at the end of the recording or it won't play in most players. (found that out the hard way)



Not sure what you mean by "closing" the CD at the end. Could you explain?


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## ClassicRockr (Oct 11, 2020)

Devi said:


> Not sure what you mean by "closing" the CD at the end. Could you explain?



True. I don't think this thread is about CD's.


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## Devi (Oct 11, 2020)

ClassicRockr said:


> True. I don't think this thread is about CD's.



Understood. I just wanted to understand what was said about "closing the CD".


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## squatting dog (Oct 11, 2020)

When you record a vhs tape onto a record-able CD or DVD if you like, you must close the program so it will play in any CD player. If not, it will only work on the machine that has that particular program. When you record these tapes, at the end it will ask if you want to close them. I sometimes left them open as I wished to add some more recordings to the disc. That led to me forgetting to close them at the end, leaving me with a bunch of discs that would only play in the original brand recording machine.
Later, I bought another machine and closed them so now I have all my discs working anywhere. (DVD player, CD player, computer, even playstation)


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## Devi (Oct 11, 2020)

Ah, thanks @squatting dog!


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## fmdog44 (Oct 11, 2020)

Blockbuster has them


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## debodun (Oct 12, 2020)

fmdog44 said:


> Blockbuster has them



Smart@$$!


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## Nathan (Oct 12, 2020)

Recording a VHS library to CD/DVD can be quite a hand's on task.   My solution was to simply buy used copies of movies I really really wanted from ebay.


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## StarSong (Oct 12, 2020)

Nathan said:


> Recording a VHS library to CD/DVD can be quite a hand's on task.   My solution was to simply buy used copies of movies I really really wanted from ebay.


LOL Nathan.  I like your style!


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## Furryanimal (Oct 12, 2020)

https://www.lifewire.com/dvd-recorder-vhs-vcr-combination-1846611


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## debodun (Oct 12, 2020)

$600!


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## hollydolly (Oct 12, 2020)

debodun said:


> Smart@$$!


Good thing you don't live in the UK. Blockbusters hit the wall years ago


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## hollydolly (Oct 12, 2020)

ClassicRockr said:


> Actually, we bought a DVD Player/Recorder some years ago. We also had my MIL's VCR. I hooked up the VCR to the DVD Player/Recorder and transferred all VCR tapes onto DVD discs. Put a blank DVD into the Player/Recorder, put a VCR tape into the Player/Recorder. Hit "play" on the VCR and "record" on the DVD. Got rid of all of our VCR tapes as well as the VCR itself.


When DVD's first become en Vogue, some people were making money from transferring VHS tapes onto DVD's .. I remember paying £10 per tape to a woman who lived near us in Spain to get precious  VHS recordings onto DVD


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## StarSong (Oct 12, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> Good thing you don't live in the UK. Blockbusters hit the wall years ago


Here, too.  That's why all the LOL emoticons.


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## win231 (Oct 12, 2020)

You have a VCR?  How's your Model "T" running?


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## Gaer (Oct 12, 2020)

I have "Seabiscuit" stuck in mine!  My VHS/DVD player isn't attached though!


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## Camper6 (Oct 13, 2020)

win231 said:


> You have a VCR?  How's your Model "T" running?


I have a VCR.  I also have a PVR.

With the  VCR you can save the tapes.
With the PVR it's on a hard drive in the cable box system.


If the battery is dead on a Model T you can hand crank the motor to start it.

Come to think of it.  Does it even have a battery?

Everything becomes obsolete over time.  It doesn't mean it's not useable.


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