Here's the deal: while I've not torn my two TRV250s apart, both have worked continuously for 18 months. The 'trick' is that I DO NOT REMOVE THE TAPE! Yes, the power reset (removing the battery) sometimes works, and the 'clapping' technique sometimes works (hold in right hand, clap to left), undoubtably there is a small part in the TRV250 that somehow gets displaced... whether a small spring weakens or just the tightness of the design was meant to hold that part in place, at some point PROBABLY if you either ignore the injunction NOT to place force on the tape cage when inserting the tape OR when the tape cage is moving out of the TRV250 body, it is blocked... that part gets displaced. So, get the TRV250 working and leave the tape in it, downloading to your PC or VCR or DVD recorder to store the recording. HOWEVER, I just bought another TRV250 from eBay, that also chews up the tape, it works for a few seconds and then the message appears because the tape is caught in the tape transport mechanism. By the way, the cleaning of the head and capstan, et al, doesn't really help. I bought this last one so - if I couldn't make it work like the other two, I could tear it apart and find the cause of the problem... except now with the tape jamming I can't be certain that the C:31:22 message relates to the same fundamental problem. When I tear it apart - I have the Sony tech manuals, just not a great work area - I'll post again.

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