Greetings. I have a Sharp VCR, model VC-H982. Total piece of junk. Only had about 30 tapes through it, and now the only way I get a picture, is when it's fast forwarded. When the unit is in play mode, all I get on the tv is the all-blue-image that the vcr displays.

If I could fix it easily, it'd be worth it, otherwise I'd have to get a new one.

jeff, January 2005

Best I clarify this...

"The [control head] is the static head, fitted ** a few inches to the right ** of the cylinder head drum."

It is not part of the cylinder unit.

Cobweb, January 2005

This is often a minor problem, ie. just the [Control Head] needs cleaning. If cleaning the control head cures it, you need to check the quality of the tapes which you are using, as it shouldn't be getting dirty that quickly.

If it was an older machine with several years wear, it could be due to a worn cylinder causing incorrect tension on the tape.

The [control head] is the static head, fitted to the right side of the cylinder head drum. You can clean it with standard tape head cleaning fluid. The video heads themselves, probably, don't require cleaning.

(Blue screen is automatically displayed if the VCR cannot synchronize the picture (rather than just show a noise on screen).

Cobweb, January 2005