Some simple repairs can help you restore a broken videotape.
It's common for a videotape to break and become detached from its reel. When this happens, it typically can be repaired using materials most people have lying around the house. While it's a good idea to replace older videotapes with DVDs, videotape repair can help you get more mileage out of your older tapes. It's especially important to repair rare and out-of-print videotapes of movies that have not been released on DVD.
Instructions
1. Wash your hands and dry them thoroughly.
2. Lay the videotape down on a table or counter with the transparent windows facing down, and unscrew the screws that hold the case together. If your tape has a rivet at the center, you will need to drill it out using a drill--use the drill's slow speed or the heat may melt your tape. For best results, drill the rivet down the center so that it breaks in half.
3. Remove the screws, but do not open the case. Hold the tape case shut with your hands and turn it over so that the transparent windows are facing upward.
4. Pull the top half of the case gently upward. Cut the sticker on the back of the tape in half with a craft blade if necessary, but do not remove the flip-up cover on the front face. Place the front face of the case down on the counter.
5. Make careful note of where everything is located inside your video tape. Look at a diagram or at another tape if necessary.
6. Trim any areas of the tape that have a jagged edge. Note that the tape has a slightly shinier side and a slightly more matte side. Make sure that you match these and align them properly.
7. Cut a piece of tape that's exactly the width of the video tape and tape your trimmed pieces together. Tape the end of the tape back on the reel if it has become detached. Place the reel back inside the videotape case.
8. Thread the tape through the pegs inside the video tape casing. You will see a peg on the left with a thin piece of film above it; another peg, covered by a plastic or metal tube, will be directly above and to the left of that. On the right, you will see two pegs close together, also covered by plastic or metal tubes. Thread the tape on the left side of the case. The tape should be threaded on the right of the lower peg on the left (first peg), then run directly along the left of the small piece of film. Then it should be threaded along the left of the top left peg (second peg). Run the tape along until you reach the left most of the two pegs on the right. Place it over the peg on the left (third peg), then place the tape between it and the peg beside it (fourth peg). Place your fingers inside the two reels of videotape and turn them in opposite directions until the tape at the top of the cassette becomes taut.
9. Make sure that all parts of the videotape are properly seated. Push up the flip-up cover of the front assembly and slowly and carefully place the front cover back down on the back half. The case should snap together easily so that front and back are flush with each other. You may need to press the button on the side to get the flip-up cover to hook into the rest of the cassette.
10. Turn the tape over and replace the screws.
11. Place the cassette in a VCR, and fast-forward the tape all the way to the end, then rewind it all the way to the beginning. View the tape to see if the repair was successful. If you experience any difficulty, immediately turn off the VCR and disconnect it from the power source.
Tags: flip-up cover, video tape, along left, become detached, cover front
