How to Get a Tape Out of a Dead RCA VCR
- 1). Unplug the RCA power cord from the electrical socket and pull the plugs on the audio-video cables connected to the back panel of your VCR. The plugs pull straight out.
- 2). Remove the screws securing the top of the VCR to the cabinet. On an RCA VCR, there is one screw on each side, a screw at the back near the top and two screws on the bottom where the sides of the top attach to the underside of the cabinet.
- 3). Slide the top backwards off the VCR and set aside.
- 4). Unscrew the silver-colored metal bracket that holds the cassette from the inside bottom of the VCR. Lift the bracket gently with the cassette still inside.
- 5). Untangle the video tape from the rollers and VCR heads, if the tape is snarled inside the machine. Your fingers must be dry and clean, or the videotape will stick to them.
- 6). Slide the videocassette from the opening in the front of the metal bracket, guiding any loose video tape through the bracket as well.
- 7). Push the button on the right edge of the VHS cassette with the top of the cassette facing upward. Lift the rectangular gate on the leading edge of the cassette and hold it open. The gate is spring-loaded and will snap downward if you do not hold it in place.
- 8). Turn the left gear wheel on the underside of the cassette counterclockwise to wind the tape back inside. Work slowly to avoid twisting or turning the tape.
- 9). Release the gate on the cassette once the tape is wound inside.
- 10
Insert the cassette in a working VCR and press "Stop" on the front control panel immediately after the tape is pulled inside automatically. Rewind the tape to the beginning and test playback.
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