VCRs that will last forever
 

Just picked up this Panasomic Omnivision VHS model PV-1200 VCR today at the Salvation Army. It reminded me of one of the ones they wheeled around on a cart with a TV when I was in high school, so I grabbed it for a whole $6.00. To my surprise, the damn thing works flawlessly! :) . Now, I just have to clean it up and it will see service with a TV as of yet to be determined.

Anyone have any ideas as to its vintage or know anything about them?

Of the 80s stuff, my experience is that the cheap GoldStar ones were the most reliable. Clean the idler tire once a year and she's good to go!

Here ya go buddy..

PANASONIC
VCRVHS, PV- 1200

Description:

Manufacture Years: 1979 - 1980



Additional Information:
F-stop:
Lens/Screen:




Retail
MSRP: $1,100.00
USED: $28.00
Wholesale
Mint: $15.00
Average: $8.00

Click here for a definition of Bluebook prices.


Mike

Here's a link to what was Panasonic's first VCR, or VTR as it was called. Looks pretty darn close to mine :)

http://matsushita.co.jp/corp/company...inp1977_1.html

You gotta think that for $1100 new back then, they built in the same quality into these as many companies did in stereo gear.

most of these will work well with just a cleaning,idler tire and sensing lamp.
they also seem immune to macrovision(copygaurd)

The picture/color quality is usually lacking on these old timers :(

My first VCR was a Sylvania top loader bought in 1983, even at the time I was disappointed in the picture.

Of course now compared to DVD even new VCR's pretty much suck! :D

Nice to see someone else wondering over to vintage VCR's :) I've been collecting them for quite a while. The PV-1200 is the third model I think. What tape speeds does it have available? I know they had a PV-1000 and PV-1100. I have a pair of Quasar/JCPenney twins that look just like this. They have 3 speeds on them and date from 1981. The earlier 2-speed VCR's are better in video quality because of the thicker heads. To get SLP, they give it thinner heads. They don't read as intense of a signal from the magnetic "track" as a full-sized head would. I have a 1977 JVC HR-3300 (the very first VHS) with an absolutely beautiful picture. It has the wider 2-hr heads.

New heads for these old tanks are relatively cheap ($30 or so). I'd seriously consider dropping new heads in it while they are still available. This will roll back the odometer significantly for excellent performance in its next 30 years.

Mike

This has 3 speeds. I was mighty impressed at how well it operates. Since you're more experienced than I with these machines, would you say that the build quality is superior to say today's offerings? I haven't even had the top off.

Today's offerings??? Kam you kooky old man who the hell still buys VCR's??? They've gone the way of the dinosaur, the record player and tape decks.

Now you may be able to tell me that RTR's and expensive TT's offer a better sound than CD players but there ain't no way you can say that a VHS tape provides a better picture than a DVD played on a progressive scan DVD player ;)

...

Last I heard Thor, they don't make camcorders that record on DVDs.....at least any that I can afford......

Besides which, if you have kids, a VCR is a must for all of the kids' tapes.

True if you have a library of old tapes but a DVD player can be had for like $50 now and DVD's cost the same as VHS so most people will be making the switch. I still have my VCR in the loop ;) I was just jerking your chain :)

Early VCR's
 

A repair manual from the 80's refers to these as "tank"-style machines, no doubt due to their weight and cast chassis construction. I had one several years ago and a neat feature were the book style circuit boards underneath. They're mounted on metal frames that, once released, fold open like a book to gain access to the underside of the reel table. My wife and I purhased a PV-1250 (I think) which was a button operated deck, not the piano-key transport, in 1981 and used it until 1989. It was given to her parents who still use it on occasion.
Speaking of cost: a 1979 Sears catalog lists their beta machine for $799 and if you want an optional color camera, (gasp), $1299. 'Course, the b/w was only $399, with a non-electronic "viewfinder"...

That's one of the big things with these VCR's....they are made of metal, not plastic. Sanyo started the trend in the 80's with their plastic base plates for the beta mechanisms (not sure about their VHS). Plastic tends to warp and bend where metal stays stiff and wards off motor vibrations better. Consequently Sanyo Beta machines are well known for sub-par performance. The point behind the VCR is to keep the tape as precisely aligned with the heads as possible, which a metal chassis is more apt to accomplish.

There are a lot of discrete components in these early VCRs as well. Today's may have slightly better circuitry, but it's all on silicon -- ICs can be packed more densely and more cheaply produced than individual transistors, RC networks, etc. A 1980 variant of today's circuits would be a small refrigerator in size if it could have been produced. Today they do that on what, 3 chips? However, when something goes wrong, which one would you rather work on? Modern VCRs are nonservicable one-time-use snap plastic and even if you could disassemble them, the parts aren't available from the manufacturers. Check out sci.electronics.repair and see what I mean. That PV-1250 could take a serious beating and still function. Not likely with modern junk.

old jvcs(of course), panasonics, and some sonys(for beta)

Last summer I got 7 VCRs for 35$ at a garage sale. The only one that still works (but I think only 4 of them worked at all when first I brought them home) is the oldest, a 1988 RCA. All I've had to do to it was to change a belt.