MANUAL HEAD-CLEANING

The video heads can actually become clogged with contaminants that you can't see but can block the video or give you a snowy picture. If the Cleaning Head doesn't get the job done, you'll need to do a Manual Cleaning.

Quick Clean Start: To be done before doing the heads. Using a can of compressed air you can blow out the unit once you get it apart. You don't want to blast the full pressure inside the unit. Gently use enough pressure and blow the unit clean. It doesn't have to be spotless. It's likely the unit wont be that dirty to begin with. 

TOOLS: 
*You'll need the phillips to take the unit apart. 
*Chamois tipped cleaning sticks. (you CANNOT use Q-Tips for this)
*Cotton Swabs
*Head Cleaning Fluid 

Getting Started: 

The video drum/upper drum is the large tilted assembly the tape wraps around and is divided into two halves (see figure 4 above). The lower stationary  part of the drum is called the lower drum.  It houses the servo motor that spins the upper drum.  As you rotate the upper drum by hand, you can see the video heads at the bottom of the drum. They are the slots you see.. These are tiny electromagnetic coils that read and write to the tape. The video drum is quite tough, but you must be very careful touching the heads. They are very sensitive. NEVER touch them with your bare hands. 

Let's Do It: 

Get Chamois stick wet in the cleaning fluid. Using very little pressure place the chamois onto the video head. Rub lightly across the head in a horizontal motion. A vertical motion can break the head. Turn the head and do each one the same way. When your done, let them dry before putting the unit back together. That's it for the video heads - pretty easy huh. 

Now to clean the drum. You can use the cotton swabs to clean the upper drum area. The swabs just need to be damp. No need to soak them. You will continue the horizontal motion and stay clear of the video heads you've already cleaned. Pay special attention to stay away from them. Clean the lower drum the same way, but turn the heads away from the area you cleaning on the lower drum. Helps prevent damage to them. 

Last, we clean everything else in the tape path using the cotton swabs and cleaning fluid. Do NOT get the fluid on the belts or rubber tires. You'll be cleaning the idler, breaks, guide post, tension arm, and so on. (I hope to have photos to the areas added soon. 

Put the unit back together. Hook it up, and see what you have. Picture quality should be better. You can do this in conjunction with the head and video adjustments. 

scifi

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