[Adam]

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.