I have a JVC SR-V10U Pro SVHS VCR. It's my last VCR - I have just this week given away or dumped all my others and kept this one because it's a pro unit with many specialized features and is also very low-usage.
And NOW I discover it's got an odd cyclical dropout on video! I thought at first it was one tape that had been edge-erased and thus lost the signal at intervals along the tape, but I now find that it plays back all tapes this way - audio and timing are fine throughout, but the video will be stable for perhaps 3 seconds, then slowly drop out to complete static, stablize, and repeat. It does this on every tape I test.
ANY clue what I might be looking at as the problem here? I don't really want to pay for pro service on something I use twice a year for tape capture. I can do nearly all basic cleaning and repairs myself, just need to know what to look at. Whatever it is has to be age-related, as the machine has only been used 20-30 hours total and only with clean, high-quality tapes.
Have you tried tapes in SP and EP both? It sounds like the control head isn't picking up the signal. Try cleaning the linear audio/control heads with a q-tip wet with alcohol. DON'T clean the video/HiFi heads on the drum.
Damn. I finally got around to cleaning the heads and it made no difference. The dropout cycle is almost exactly 7.5 seconds, from the initial collapse of signal until it recovers and plays normally for perhaps three seconds. With the TBC on, the audio tends to remain normal; TBC off, it acts like an erased patch on the tape. Have tested several tapes of varying recording speeds and sources but all (an all tapes that have ever been in the machine) are clean and low-hour.
You could try disconnecting and reconnecting the ribbon cable to the audio/control head assembly. Sometimes they don't make a good connection. Do both ends and be careful when connecting, have the cable ligned up straight with the connector and push down evenly, don't let the cable slant when connecting.