How can I use an old deceased VCR as a sophisticated appliance timer?
First, you might be able to repair the VCR and prolong its life. Why are you reading this section and considering such a transgression? Grrrr. OK, so you really want to just use its timer. There are two things you would have to do: • Trick the transport into thinking there is a recordable tape in place even though there is none. Then you don’t have to worry about your non-recorded tape from running out or wearing out. This shouldn’t be that hard. A cassette shell may come in handy for this. Depending on the VCR, it may be sufficient to block the start/end sensors. Some may require that the takeup and supply reels (inside the cassette shell or the reel tables of the VCR) be linked with a rubber band or old belt so that one turns the other during initialization. • Find a signal that can be used to control a relay, solid state relay, or optoisolated triac. If you are electronically inclined, this should not be too hard. If nothing else, the record LED or any switched power bus would suffi
