Uploaded March 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is a RCA Home Theatre 4-Head Hi-Fi Stereo VHS VCR from 1998 that I bought at a flea market last summer for $5. The unit has always played back tapes perfectly fine, and the slow-search functions worked as well. However, the fast rewind was a different story. Sometimes it would work, but most of the time it would move extremely slowly, if at all, and sometimes power off and eject the tape. I lived with this for a while, but recently decided to fix the problem. I immediately knew the issue was a bad belt, since I could hear the motor spinning inside even though the reels weren't moving. I took the machine apart (which was more difficult than I expected because of its design), and simply replaced the belt that connects the capstan motor with the idler gears. I had a similarly sized capstan/idler belt from a junk Magnavox VHS/DVD combo that was in good shape, so I put that in the old belt's place and the machine works perfectly now. Granted, I don't know just how long that belt will last considering its original source, but for now everything works as good as new. I plan on doing a separate video demonstrating this VCR soon.
This is a RCA Home Theatre 4-Head Hi-Fi Stereo VHS VCR from 1998 that I bought at a flea market last summer for $5. The unit has always played back tapes perfectly fine, and the slow-search functions worked as well. However, the fast rewind was a different story. Sometimes it would work, but most of the time it would move extremely slowly, if at all, and sometimes power off and eject the tape. I lived with this for a while, but recently decided to fix the problem. I immediately knew the issue was a bad belt, since I could hear the motor spinning inside even though the reels weren't moving. I took the machine apart (which was more difficult than I expected because of its design), and simply replaced the belt that connects the capstan motor with the idler gears. I had a similarly sized capstan/idler belt from a junk Magnavox VHS/DVD combo that was in good shape, so I put that in the old belt's place and the machine works perfectly now. Granted, I don't know just how long that belt will last considering its original source, but for now everything works as good as new. I plan on doing a separate video demonstrating this VCR soon.
![Lenovo ThinkPad X230 upgrades part 2: RAM/Storage upgrades and X220 keyboard [READ DESCRIPTION]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/btRFu3Wc5H8/mqdefault.jpg "Lenovo ThinkPad X230 upgrades part 2: RAM/Storage upgrades and X220 keyboard [READ DESCRIPTION]
2019 EDIT: Starting with T430 BIOS version 2.82, EC version 1.14, Lenovo has started to include a digital signature that prevents the keyboard patch from being done, or the battery whitelist form being removed. DO NOT upgrade the BIOS to any version newer than 2.81.
Welcome back to part 2 of my upgrades to the Lenovo ThinkPad X230 laptop! In this part we will be upgrading the RAM and storage, and replacing the X230s island style keyboard with the classic X220 keyboard, and performing an embedded controller modification to get the classic keyboards keys functioning properly. Enjoy!
Link to part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXcs43vXOu0
As always, thanks for watching! If I decide to perform the external GPU mod on this machine, I will make a follow-up to this video, but for now, this concludes the X230 upgrades video series! Be sure to stay tuned and subscribe for more videos about ThinkPads, electronics, and more!")
