This keeps coming up when I try to load up a take
so I put in another tape and it worked then I went back to the tape that was giving me the error and it was working fine.

So I was able to get my footage off of the tape.
I was wondering if any of you had this problem and could it be the take?

I am using Fujifilm tape but I don't think they are really all that good. I just needed something last minute and thats all that was at the store

If you switched brands without cleaning in between, it's possible the new tape uses a different lubricant than your prior one and it may have gummed up the heads a bit. Standard advice is to stick to one kind of tape if possible and if you do switch, clean before and after.

Looks like an intermittent problem. Try cleaning the contact, the four holes beside the switch at the back of the tape.

If you switched brands without cleaning in between, it's possible the new tape uses a different lubricant than your prior one and it may have gummed up the heads a bit. Standard advice is to stick to one kind of tape if possible and if you do switch, clean before and after.

Tape lubricant would have nothing to do with the error the OP was seeing. Lubricant issues simply clogs the heads. I have seen this once or twice with my VX-2100. It is quite alarming when it happens. Like you, I later tried the same tape and it was fine.

Does anyone know exactly what has to happen within the tape mechanics to generate this error?

Looks like an intermittent problem. Try cleaning the contact, the four holes beside the switch at the back of the tape.

Aren't those contacts only used if you have the Sony tapes with the memory chip inside? I tried one of those when I first bought my VX-2000 and didn't see any advantage to them (and the extra cost) so I stuck with standard non-chip tapes. On all my Sony DV tape those four holes are filled with plastic as opposed to gold contacts.

Tape lubricant would have nothing to do with the error the OP was seeing. Lubricant issues simply clogs the heads. Maybe yes, maybe no. Seems to me it could affect the entire tape path, but you may be right.

I have a PD170 before acting like that. Looks like an intermittent tape mechanism, posible motor getting weak, or rubber belt getting loose, who knows.

Jun

I've had some tape messages on my VX2000 when in humid environments, and I've had what must have been a bad tape once that kept giving me an error. I finally put in a new tape and message never came back.

had it a couple of times with my 170, but used to get something similar with my 300sp rig - usually a slack wound tape (ampex always seemed to cause this).