I have an old Sears LXI VCR with remote. Only it no longer has said remote, as it has gone away into the deepest, darking hiding spaces a 3-year-old can find. As a result, I can no longer program my VCR. Thanks to the last power outage, it now goes from channels 2-13 only, which brings a bit of a problem when you run your TV through your VCR. Do any universal remotes bring programming abilities to the table? Or is there some sort of monkeying with it I can do to have it recognize channels?
When the power went out, the VCR reverted to the factory settings. It now thinks the input source is “TV” or “Air” which is why you only get those channels.
You can look on the back of the unit and you may find a switch that says “TV - Cable” or some such lingo. If not, you’ll have to get a universal remote that might have all the functions of the original. These remotes are really cheap now. Can’t hurt to try.
A hobby of mine is buying electronics at thrift stores, garage sales and such and fixing them up. I almost never get the original remote with a used VCR. Most One-For-All/URC type remotes can barely do the basics like “play”. Better quality ones can be set up to do advanced functions. Radio Shack is practically the only place where you can be sure of finding such a remote nationally.
I get 2nd hand remotes from thrift stores all the time, going by brand (esp. original maker). Some times they work, sometimes they don’t. Both in the sense of “function” and “operate a given VCR”. (I can bring back nearly any remote to life if it hasn’t been actually mangled.)
But you are in fairly deep do-do. Sears LXI type stuff are absolute junk made by who knows what. You aren’t going to find LXI branded remotes in thrift stores because so very, very few would buy that sort of stuff. (And given Americans cheaping out on electronics in recent years, that says a lot.) I mean, this is the lowest of the low quality wise.