Thanks to Plazman30 (Andy) and cntrlwiz (Dave) for posting the pictures and the Awesome fix for the VR507. Being able to solder myself, the entire repair took about 20 minutes. The pictures really helped out.
I bought this Kenwood VR507 with a home theater system. I have only had this problem in the past 8 months... (the unit was in storage for over a year prior to that). After trying new batteries, I found out that the remote control operated every other device except the receiver... I determined that the problem was with the receiver, but did not know what the problem would be. (note the VR507 does not have RF, only IR) Like everyone else on this thread...It worked intermittently, and the odd banging on the unit would get it to work for a short time. I was ready to go out and purchase a new unit and scrap this one. Thanks to the fix I don't have to get up from my comfortable couch to turn the knob up at quiet parts and do the same again when the sound becomes deafeningly loud during the crash scenes. You have saved me (and many others) tons of money and time. Take a bow and accept a wave of gratitude!!