VCR Suddenly Displaying Fixed Distorted Horizontal Line

[cpt.shotwell]

Hi y'all - my Aiwa VCR, which up until today had been playing tapes without issue, has developed this static-positioned distorted horizontal line across all tapes I've tried. It actually appears more like clustered small vertical lines spread out horizontally across the screen. Standard play, EP or LP, commercial tapes/any tapes - some form of this distorted line exists, in the upper half of the screen.

Here is a link to a video with an example of the problem - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/o786m...=w38u8h44&dl=0

I have thoroughly cleaned the head and all guides and areas the tape interacts with. Adjusting tracking does not help. Some tapes worse than others, although haven't sorted out a pattern.

Are one of the heads just wearing down? Possibly something deeper stuck there? Hoping there might be some insight from someone who has experienced this before.


Cheers

[old_tv_nut]

A fixed vertical position would be related to a problem at a fixed position on the head drum, not a head. Looking at the position of the disturbance on the screen should give you an idea of where around the drum the problem is.

[old_tv_nut]

Second thought: instead of a defect on the stationary part of the drum, could it be a defect in the signal coupling mechanism from the rotating drum to the rest of the circuitry?

Hopefully soeone with more experience will chime in. Good luck!