Oldest VCR you've owned?

[Ed in Tx]

Worked on a bunch of 7650s in the day. Congrats!

Probably in need of all things rubber. The rubber rollers that pull the tape into the FL mechanism used to get build-up from oils etc from so many tapes put into it, and stop front-loading, just sit there with the tape half-way in and run until it times out and ejects the tape. Usually a good cleaning of the rollers and sliding surfaces of the slippery tape whatever it was they used on the bottom of the tape holder. Head-switching relay was another common problem. Anyway now you have a unit to play all those old linear stereo tapes!

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

Worked on a bunch of 7650s in the day. Congrats!

Probably in need of all things rubber. The rubber rollers that pull the tape into the FL mechanism used to get build-up from oils etc from so many tapes put into it, and stop front-loading, just sit there with the tape half-way in and run until it times out and ejects the tape. Usually a good cleaning of the rollers and sliding surfaces of the slippery tape whatever it was they used on the bottom of the tape holder. Head-switching relay was another common problem. Anyway now you have a unit to play all those old linear stereo tapes!

I know about these rubber roller issues, in fact I cleaned one before from the used unit. Very simple job for me, fortunately, and not too annoying.

This new-in-box JVC HR-7650U, surprisingly, has worked very well and trouble-free so far, logging-in 6 hours of use already.

There were some new-in-box, never opened VHS VCRs I bought before with problems (my entire list of all the new, factory-sealed VCRs so far):

• Worst one was definitely the 1984 Sharp VC-489U 4-Head Hi-Fi. Immediately out from the factory-sealed, unopened box, the tracking knob and picture sharpness knob didn't work, a capstan motor IC failed after only 1 hour from use (STK6942), idler tire became slippery that required cleaning after 6 hours from use, and clock display had uneven, stuck-lit brightness problem. I replaced the STK6942 already, and it failed again 4 hours later. Then I replaced the STK6942 for the third time, and this time I repeatedly press the FF and REW buttons multiple times because the STK6942 attempted to fail again for the third time, until a big burn smell came out from the main board, and the circuit successfully bypassed the STK6942 IC. It has worked fine since, except the higher-speed FF and REW video search didn't work anymore. This unit spent more time fixing and tearing apart than using. Sold it a year later for $400 shipped with a non-working tracking and sharpness knob, due to its poor reliability.
  
  
• Second worst would be the 1990 Panasonic PV-4062 4-Head Hi-Fi. The video failed after only 15 minutes from use. Replaced all the surface-mount caps underneath the green hybrid IC board at the video board, and it works fine now. Ordering the surface-mount caps were difficult and costly to replace. Sold it a month later for $550 shipped, because I knew the Hi-Fi audio board is going to fail soon (another surface-mount caps issue), and I didn't want to keep it.
  
  
• Third worst would be the 1990 Mitsubishi HS-U82 S-VHS editing. Immediately out from the factory-sealed box, video-head drum had bearing noise issue, and the shuttle "on" button on the remote quit working after 15 days. Sold it for $1,500 shipped on eBay, due to its precious value, and buyer still doesn't know about this problem.
  
  
• Forth worst would be the 1992 Symphonic VCR-7860 4-Head, which I still have. Nothing goes wrong so far, except some of the caps in the switching power supply are leaking after only 1 month from use, and it made my whole room smell. Haven't had the time to replace them yet.
  
  
• Fifth worst would be the 1993 Panasonic AG-1280P Super 4-Head, which I still have. Nothing goes wrong so far, except the capstan motor often locks up and would not work on SLP speed only after only 2 months from use.
  
  
• Sixth worst would be the 1984 Panasonic PV-1330R 2-Head. Video head drum had some dried-up, hard to hear bearing-noise issue after only 15 minutes from use. Resold it for $450 shipped on eBay, and buyer still doesn't know about this problem.
  
  
• Seventh worst would be the 1989 Toshiba SV-F990 S-VHS editing. Capstan motor failed after only 1-year from use. Replaced all the surface-mount caps on the capstan motor board, and it works fine now. Sold it for $1,500 shipped on eBay, due to its precious value.
  
  
• Eight worst (or best) would be the 1990 Zenith VRS950FC VHS/VHS-C compatible 4-Head (still have), 1991 Panasonic AG-1260P Super 4-Head (sold), 2000 Panasonic PV-V4520 4-Head Hi-Fi (sold), 2000 Panasonic PV-VS4820 S-VHS (sold), 2000 Panasonic PV-HD1000 D-VHS (sold), 2002 Panasonic AG-2570P 4-Head Hi-Fi (still have), 2002 Hitachi VT-FX6510A 4-Head Hi-Fi (sold), 2003 JVC HR-HS30000U D-VHS (sold), and 2004 Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U D-VHS (sold). No problems reported.

The owner at Studio Sound Electronics claims that the 1980s Sharp were more-reliable than the 1980s JVC. However, I disagree with him (but I may be wrong). Some of the early-80s Sharp units were very-troublesome and clunky, actually. He probably forgot and factored in the 1988-1993 chassis version too much and not enough on the older 1979-1987 units. Can anyone verify?
.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

The owner at Studio Sound Electronics claims that the 1980s Sharp were more-reliable than the 1980s JVC. However, I disagree with him. Some of the early-80s Sharp units were very-troublesome and clunky, actually. He probably forgot and factored in the 1988-1993 chassis version too much and not enough on the older 1979-1987 units. Can anyone verify?
.

I'd bet I saw 100 JVCs for every 1 Sharp that came through the shop, and we were authorized service for both brands. I am sure JVC sold many more VCRs than Sharp, too. '80s JVCs? They went through several revisions and new mechanisms and they all had their issues. Used to see several later '80s JVCs a week with the brass guide posts on the bottom of the tape entry and exit guides fallen out loose inside the machine. Mode switches were a problem. Bad grounds on the deck terminal board, power supply problems.. kept me busy.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

I'd bet I saw 100 JVCs for every 1 Sharp that came through the shop, and we were authorized service for both brands. I am sure JVC sold many more VCRs than Sharp, too. '80s JVCs? They went through several revisions and new mechanisms and they all had their issues. Used to see several later '80s JVCs a week with the brass guide posts on the bottom of the tape entry and exit guides fallen out loose inside the machine. Mode switches were a problem. Bad grounds on the deck terminal board, power supply problems.. kept me busy.

Thanks for the write-up. So, is he right the whole time stating that Sharp was more reliable than JVC, based on what you described? JVC decks look and operate better than Sharp to me, but I guess smoother operations sometimes mean more trouble.

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

Used to see several later '80s JVCs a week with the brass guide posts on the bottom of the tape entry and exit guides fallen out loose inside the machine. Mode switches were a problem. Bad grounds on the deck terminal board, power supply problems.. kept me busy.

Yes, that's the JVC MBK-45 and MBK-78 chassis that Studio Sound Electronics like to call, produced from 1989 to 1994. He also agree that it's an unreliable chassis. There's also a problem with the gear pulley in the middle of the capstan motor flywheel cracking and falling off for the ones used a polystyrene nylon teeth belt. They also used switching power supplies that frequently failed, and a surface-mount cap issue on the video drum motor board that made pictures look half-snowy.

Some people like to rename JVC as the "Junkie Video Company," based on how many defective units JVC put out there.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

Thanks for the write-up. So, is he right the whole time stating that Sharp was more reliable than JVC, based on what you described? JVC decks look and operate better than Sharp to me, but I guess smoother operations sometimes mean more trouble.

I think JVC sold a lot more VCRs than Sharp at least around here. If the sales numbers were equal don't know. I remember going into a Kroger store to do some grocery shopping and they had a pallet of JVC VCRs on the floor for sale. Very common and available.

Pulleys falling off the capstan motor.. I remember those little white plastic pulleys for the ribbed reel drive belt that would crack and slip of just fall off. I think I may still have a few in my old tool box. And reminiscent Mitsubishi! MCM sold a nice brass pulley kit for those Mitsubishis. They relied on the capstan motor for FL drive, so they would usually first fail with loading or unloading a tape.

All that old stuff... obsolete. Like buggy whips.

[technoman9]

I have a GE 1VCR4002X from 1983 and a Sanyo Betacord VCR 4500. The GE my parents got me from the Thrifty Shopper a few years ago. It came with the original owners manual and two, count 'em, two wired remotes! It started to eat tapes the minute I used it so I ordered a belt kit from Studio Sound. The kit worked, but getting to the bottom belts was a sheer pain in-the-you-know-what.

The Sanyo I found in what I'd describe as a true junk store for only ten bucks. Also found a whole bunch of Beta tapes with their labels still on their sheets, and even five of the early Magnetic Video Corp. movies, dated from 1978. The Sanyo needed belts too, but was MUCH easier to work on than the GE. Over the past couple of years I found a wired remote for it, ordered a reprint of the owners manual from Mr. Betamax, and even scored the original service manual off eBay.

I still use both from occasionally to time-shift since we don't have cable. Except I wonder my machines count in this list because I acquired them only a couple of years ago, and both were manufactured and sold quite a few years before I was even born.

[technoman9]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

All that old stuff... obsolete. Like buggy whips.

No, not obsolete! .....VINTAGE. Like a real fine 409.