Quasar VR-1000
 

So, I sat down Saturday morning with a cup of coffee, beginning some much needed time off by looking through ebay, and I spotted this Quasar VR1000, an RCA VBT200 VCR, and an RCA SFT100 CED player all from the same seller in Southern IL with only an hour or so left on each. The price stayed low because it was pick up only, so I got them and decided I would drive down there yesterday and pick them up.

They came from a small TV shop that now only sells appliances, but still had a lot of TV stuff in the back (an apparently some stored in a warehouse somewhere). The only old TV there was a kind of beat up 1980s RCA color portable that I decided to pass on. But I told him if he dug up any more old sets, or decided to sell some of the old test equipment in the back, to let me know.

The guy I met was the son of the original owner, but he worked there back when they were selling these units. He said that RCA made them buy a minimum of 12 CED players if they wanted to sell any, and that he didn't think they sold them all, that this one was likely never sold. But that the VCRs were likely trade-ins, that customers gave them back to the store and bought new units, rather than paying for repairs.

Of the two VX tapes I got, the tape in the blue case (the 100 minute one), is visibly moldy, but the red (120 minute) one might be ok. If anyone knows where I can get some more VX tapes, let me know. I also picked up a few CEDs. I haven't tested any of these units out yet, although I'm assuming they'll need new belts. The picture of the Quasar sitting next to the VBT200 really shows how much larger it is.

Sweet finds! I wonder if there is a good way to clean that moldy tape?

Of course you know, now that you have a (Quasar great) TimeMachine you gotta go back in time and bring back 3 dozen rebuilt/NOS 15GP22s from the early 60's. :D

I've always been into odd obsolete recording formats myself. Just this weekend I found a white wale of mine: a Playtape 2 track music cartridge player (the tapes are cassette sized 8-track like cartridges). I never thought to look on ebay for one (and often forgot the format existed), and happened to stumble on it locally...Haven't seen one in person since I was ~5-8 years old and that one was the only other one I ever saw in person...Now I just need tapes (and maybe belts)!

Nice finds!

Yes, neat finds! Ive never even heard of VX tapes or 2 tracks and Im older than many here.

Mat from TechMoan did a nice piece on this format. You might find some pointers for tapes there.

I still haven't seen a properly restored VR-1000. Every YouTube demonstration shows it spitting out bursts of static and distorted colors, like the drum isn't spinning as freely as it should. Very bothersome.

Adam,

I think you actually outbid me on the RCA VHS and Quasar Great Time Machine, believe it or not I was willing to drive from NC to Illinois to pick them up. Quasar VX'es are really that rare on Ebay that they are nearly impossible to find, and even worth the drive, I've only seen 2 on Ebay in the last year, which by those numbers makes them exactly as rare as Cartrivision machines believe it or not.

As for Quasar tapes, there are 2 or 3 sellers on Ebay that put up auctions for them, and they constantly get relisted because they never sell (probably because they want upwards of $15 a piece for them, its such a small niche format that I doubt many would pony up that price.

As an aside, the only other time I've head of people discussing the Quasar VX format was on a tape trading board 15 years ago, they actually found a master recording of the 1978 Oakland-San Diego NFL game (infamous Holy Roller game) and he bought the player for the sole reason of converting it to DVD format. He ended up throwing out the player because no one wanted it, no joke!

I had one of those decks back in the 80s. Loved the removable video head it had. Made cleaning a breeze.. May still have parts of it lying around here.. :)

SR

Interesting ... I always thought the Cartrivisions were way rarer.

I'm trying to fix the VBT200 first. I finally ordered that tape sensor lamp it needs yesterday, I'll make some progress with it once it gets here.

I was really just hoping I wouldn't win the RCA VBT200 VCR and SFT100 CED player and not the Quasar! I already have a working example of each, and while did want them if I was going to make the drive out there for the Quasar anyway, I really didn't want to have to make that long drive for just those.

Hello Adam! I'm Dan, the seller of those pieces. I joined this forum not long ago. Still digging through tons of stuff in my spare time. I list an item from time to time on Antique Radio Forum; don't think I've been on this site long enough to try.
Just wanted to reach out from Southern Illinois!

May be worth posting here too...I have an ARF account but almost never log on there and there are others that don't visit ARF either.

Hi Dan! I've been busy lately, haven't had too much time to work on stuff. I repaired all the mechanical issues with the RCA VBT200 I got from you, but there is still some problem with the color when playing a tape I haven't figured out yet. The CED player needs a stylus. And the Quasar I haven't even looked at yet.

Adam,

As for CED players, the stylus should be easy to replace by buying one on Ebay, also there is a guy that re-conditions old styluses, I forget the name of his website, but there should be a link to it on the main CED collectors page.

The RCA VBT200 color issue could be in relation to color sync if you are hooking the VCR up to a newer HDTV, I've seen similar issues on people demo-ing older VHS decks on HDTVs.

Let us know when you start working on the Quasar, I still have a lead on one on Ebay that I may buy, it would be interesting to get some insight on fixing them as it seems that all belt issues at this point.

Nice to see a thread about the VR-1000. My father bought one new in the 1970s, plus the timer. Guess he thought it would catch on, but VHS had other plans. He has about 35 tapes, unfortuantely many got moldy in a basement flood in the late 90s. We still have the tapes but no way of knowing how to get them unstuck (tape baking?). I think his most memorable tape is Superbowl XX (the classic '85 bears). Though the timer broke way before my time, I was able to find one new in box on ebay a few years ago and now use it as a clock on my shelf. its got that classic aluminum face finish.

He kept the machine all these years, even though at some point in the 90s it stopped playing tapes. I've on-and-off worked on it the past 7 years trying out my knowledge at figuring out what the issue is. I did find a crack in the PCB that was causing the drive motor to not function which was a major breakthrough for me. (I posted this on audiokarma in 2015, which was the last time i I had a chance to work on it)

Dont mean to hijack this thread however this is so close to the top of list i figure there's no point in having TWO Time Machine threads up. This week I took it out again, looking back at the schematic/SM to go point by point. Right now my issue is the SOLENOIDS are not activating. I dont know if its a transistor fault, or a 12V fault (one of the legs on the transistor does not read 12V when it should), or a leaky cap, or what. Only 1 main solenoid is working (there's about 6)

I picked one to start with - I believe the brake solenoid should be ON during playback (pulls away brake pad from roller when solenoid is activated)

So Looking at the moment at TR924. (S is standby, P is play mode, R is Rec mode * is RWD/FFD). in P, i get 0V from C leg. E and B read fine. I took the transistor out and tested it and it "seems" ok.
on the schematic, i am getting 23V from pin H10-3 to the Solenoid.
If the C leg is not getting the 12v how far back in the line do i need to go?

I'm amazed you had enough blank tapes to make recordings on that thing way into the mid 80s (Super Bowl XX being January 1986), from what I've heard the product was discontinued by 1979 or 1980, and I assume blank tapes and other accessories would have been gone from retail shelves by 1981.

Replacement parts will be hard to find I'd assume, I check regularly and there are usually only 1 or 2 Quasar VR-1000s up on Ebay at one time, if at all, and those are usually the same ones that were relisted 5-10x because the seller wants $400 for it.

As for tape mold, I've cleaned VHS tapes by some of the methods used on Youtube, aka running the tape in FF and take the top off the player and lightly press down on the reels with a Q tip dabbed in rubbing alcohol. It usually takes 2 or 3 passes and the tape is clean. However, some tapes are so mold laden that the reels won't move and will just snap off.