Hitachi VT-MX100E VHS Recorder Issue

It is highly probable the loading and lacing mechanism has failed in some way, perhaps due to the usual rubber belt fatigue, hence you being unable to activate any function or eject. I've over 12 VCR's of varying ages but none post 1982 in my collection, all but one needs/needed attention with regards to belts or hardened grease. You're going to have to open up the unit and have a look for the fault.

As this is a relatively "newer" and sophisticated type VHS player, it's best to wait for the likes of John (Jayceebee) and Red_to_Black (Baz) our resident VCR experts to come along and assist you. The service manual for this deck is in the site data library, so they will be able to consult that to offer you their sage advice.

Hi, although the badge says Hitachi this machine was manufactured by Philips and is fitted with the "Turbo deck". E1 on the display indicates that the machine is looking for an input from the lower scart connector you should be able to change this to E2 or a progamme number with the P+ and P- buttons just to the right of the display but as the tuner is analogue it wont pick up anything.

What you need to do first is see that the modulator is switched on and giving an output somewhere in the middle of the UHF band. To do this press and hold the stop/eject button on the remote and you should see M and a three digit number on the LED display. Change it to 591 using the numbered button on the remote, this will change the modulator output to 591 MHz which is UHF channel 36. Now with the VCR connected to the TV use the tuning controls on the TV and look for a test signal. The full instructions are on page GB36 of the manual.

Another thing you will need to do if you want to use this machine as a modulator/source is to disable the auto power off feature, by default these machines auto power down after a few minutes in the stop/EE mode if no function is selected, see page 37 in the manual (directions for use section) for more about this feature .

I have tried to do all of the above but alas to no success and still have the same problems...

I opened up the actual recorder and managed to remove the cassette just would like to know if there is anywhere of working out what is going wrong and how to fix it?

Has the tape laced up or has the cassette just dropped into position ? These Philips decks along with most other "modern" ones lace up as soon as you insert a cassette and keep the drum spinning until you select play or something. Also, as with most other "modern" decks, if the cassette record protect tab is out, the deck will go straight into playback after you insert the tape. 

That might help diagnose the issue, also it may be worth carefully ejecting the tape by hand and trying another as the last generation of VHS decks were a lot more fussy about cassettes especially E-240 type or if the tape partially rewound.

This machine also has a "child lock" feature, it is not clear from the photos in the earlier post if this has been activated, clearer photos of the display would help here.

The Philips Turbo deck has a fairly well defined fault pattern/history, these later versions are feature rich however and it could be just "pilot error" aka "finger trouble" 😉 to be fair to the OP however without the machine being actually in front of me and in view of the fact that the OP is of admitted limited experience (UKVRR) it is difficult to know where to start giving more detailed technical advice here.

For now I would suggest to the OP of printing out the operating instructions and giving them a very thorough read first. I don't mean any disrespect or malice by this btw 🙂

Posted by: Red_to_Black

For now I would suggest to the OP of printing out the operating instructions and giving them a very thorough read first. I don't mean any disrespect or malice by this btw 🙂

None taken at all! I've looked over the operating instructions, tried unlocking the child lock however, nothing seems to happen... no key symbol appears or disappears.

I've inserted a tape into the cassette and observed the player in action. It loads and takes the tape perfectly fine, the loading belt and motor are operating and the drum does move however stops after a few rotations. 

I am more than happy to upload a video to demonstrate the VHS and how it works. I would really like to get this working.

Posted by: hitachitv 

I am more than happy to upload a video to demonstrate the VHS and how it works. I would really like to get this working.

Please do, video of the symptoms will tell us a lot. I have to admit that as this seems to have happened after transporting I wondering if the printed circuit board has sustained some transit damage. Can you see any cracks?

This is the video of me inserting the cassette into the player:

Video

I also pressed the play button, and as you can see it does not begin to play

If you need anymore videos please let me know.

Clearly from that video footage you can see the tape is not lacing. The tape should be taken up by the guides and laced around the drum as I've indicated. As to why it could be as I mentioned earlier, belts or hardened grease, you'll need to look closer to see if anything is slipping, locked or maybe damaged cogs. I've not read the manual and I'm unfamiliar with modern players such as this, I'll leave that to the John and Baz as I'm, up to my neck with a first gen 1972 N1500 VCR repair.

A very common problem on these decks is the gear on the long shaft that's driven from the loading motor that meshes with the worm wheel splits, when the higher loads come on it just slips. You were able to get a kit of the two gears but these are quite scarce now. Always worth a look. Norman

That video tells us a lot and as Chris says the tape is not being laced around the head drum, also as Norman quite rightly states the tiny gear needs a look. Without a tape inserted follow the shaft back to the pulley which the belt from the loading motor is attached to, rotate the pulley not the motor and see if you can see a small split in the gear where it is pushed onto the shaft. Failing that put a finger on the gear to stop it turning and try rotating the pulley, if the pulley can be turned with relative ease and the gear doesn't then a new gear/pulley assembly is the required.

I hope I'm explaining this well and you get the idea, Philips normally supplied deck parts as service kits A, B etc. Not sure which this one was, if I remember correctly It was originally part of a large kit but because of it's unreliability it was available in another kit along with just the worm drive and the pinch roller. Another complication was that there were different Turbo Deck versions which looked similar but had different gears, thankfully the one were talking about was the same on all versions.

Please make sure you've disconnected from the mains before doing anything.

Just thought I would add that there could be many possible issues going on here, I particularly don't like the way the carriage bounces up and down after it lowers but lets check the easy things first.

Posted by: Jayceebee

Just thought I would add that there could be many possible issues going on here, I particularly don't like the way the carriage bounces up and down after it lowers but lets check the easy things first.

Thank you for your help!

When moving the pulley it does turn the gear however, only partially and then stops. When I hold the gear and pull the pulley it does not spin either.

Not the easiest of machines for a novice to start with!

 Usually I always found if the worm or attendant drive gear split then by nature of the being bevelled one or other (depending which one had split) slid along its shaft and then tended to make a god-awful noise as they were out of mesh by a small amount. To be honest I mainly had the worm gear split 9 times out of 10, I only had the drive shaft split on the odd occasion, I still always replaced the pair though that came in the kit.

Looking at the video it is hard to tell what is causing the carriage to bounce, it could be just out of timing, or a multitude of other things causing the mech to jam, or as JC above possibly suspects a cracked main board or even an electronic fault.

One other thing is some of the later decks did not particularly like the light getting at the end of tape sensors with the top removed, although the OP still has the same fault with the lid on.

Ok, so from what you are telling us it appears the drive gear is fine. Could it be the belt from the loading motor to the pulley slipping? I doubt it but it might be worth a try removing it and dropping it into some boiling water, drying and re-fitting it as a rough and ready test.

If that fails then the deck needs to come out, the carriage removed and then winding the pulley by hand to see what, if anything is jamming. Could be the carriage itself, the reverse lever or main cam gear misalignment. For these you will need some experienced help I would think, as the machine is made by Philips and as usual for this manufacturer it has some odd quirks. One of these is the procedure to refit the carriage correctly.

Edit. Post crossed with RtoB and yes, these decks are not friendly to the inexperienced. By the way where are you located in case there are any forum members nearby who might be willing to give it a look over?

Is it worth going into the service mode JC ? that might tell us a bit more by reading the error code of what is blocked.

I doubt it as the rev arm makes no attempt to move and as the cassette indicator appears in the display it seems to show the deck init switch is functioning . Also as the OP hasn't been able to switch on or confirm the presence of a modulator output I think we may be giving him/her information overload.

I noticed the arm never moved and the way the carriage sprung back looked like the main cam could not move any further, it could simply be the carriage is out of timing with the main deck, othoh everything else is driven from the main cam, the possibilities are numerous.