Oldest VCR you've owned?

[HiFiCanada]

Originally Posted by AUdubon5425

I've used Studio Sound Electronics - they have a good catalog and I've been happy with their service.

They seem to have everything but don't sell to Canada yet.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Here is another source, in Michigan:

http://www.kenselectronics.com/lists/belts.htm

And, one that is not too far from me here in California:

http://electronicplus.com/content/Pr...t=be&subcat=be

I do not know if either ships to Canada, though.

[dieseljeep]

I do not know if either ships to Canada, though.[/QUOTE]

I thought NAFTA was supposed to end that foolishness.

[OvenMaster]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I thought NAFTA was supposed to end that foolishness.

Only for business to business deals. Business to consumer transactions, no. Unfortunately.

[Combwork]

Originally Posted by Tim R.

I currently own a Mitsubishi HS-300U VCR from 1981. It's really heavy and built like a tank. It still works well after 30 years, although one day I need to open it up and do a little TLC.

I don't have a picture of it (it's at home, a long way from here), but the video below has the same model. Surprisingly there was zero info anywhere about this VCR, except for the Youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH4xylRiBng

Not shown is the optional brick-sized remote and its receiver, which plugs into the back of the VCR and has a few feet of cable so you can position it for best reception. Mine came with both, which I guess is a rare find.

It's a great setup and goes well with my Zenith TV of about the same vintage - also working great, despite my Grandma using it daily for 25 years.


What is the oldest VCR you have? I have yet to find anything that predates this beast.


-Tim

A Grundig VC2000 from the late 70's. Like audio cassettes the V2000 cassettes could be turned over. The last generation were two speed with Hi-Fi stereo, giving up to 16 hours recording on a single cassette. The video heads laid down a guide track as they recorded so not only did they track automatically, a tape could be recorded on one machine and played back on another without any tracking error.

Much better spec than Betamax or VHS but too late on the market. That plus problems with the first generation units, and a basic misjudgment of how important the video rental market would be led to relatively low sales.

I don't know if this format was marketed much outside Europe.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Combwork

A Grundig VC2000 from the late 70's. Like audio cassettes the V2000 cassettes could be turned over. The last generation were two speed with Hi-Fi stereo, giving up to 16 hours recording on a single cassette. The video heads laid down a guide track as they recorded so not only did they track automatically, a tape could be recorded on one machine and played back on another without any tracking error.

Much better spec than Betamax or VHS but too late on the market. That plus problems with the first generation units, and a basic misjudgment of how important the video rental market would be led to relatively low sales.

I don't know if this format was marketed much outside Europe.

Was that unit sourced by Matsushita, or built by Grundig? There was an odd unit sold under the Quasar name. IIRC, it was a V1000. I never saw one in operation. It didn't go over at all. Mid 1970's.

[Combwork]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Was that unit sourced by Matsushita, or built by Grundig? There was an odd unit sold under the Quasar name. IIRC, it was a V1000. I never saw one in operation. It didn't go over at all. Mid 1970's.

I think it was a collaboration of Grundig and Phillips. Did Grundig or Phillips have much of a market in the USA? If not "Sourced by Matsushita" might mean that they bought the right to sell modified models to test the US market.

[Eric H]

My first VCR was that same model under a different brand name, I think it was Sylvania or Magnavox.

[waltchan]

My oldest VCR I have right now and currently in use is a 1982 JVC HR-7650U 4-head Dolby Stereo VHS, placed below my main computer, Blu-Ray player, and LCD TV/Monitor. I selected this VCR because it's the tallest one I have, and it helps adjust the viewing angle position of my monitor.

It even has its own wireless remote control, front-loading system, and FF/REW video search. Not bad for a 1982 VHS VCR.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by waltchan

My oldest VCR I have right now and currently in use is a 1982 JVC HR-7650U 4-head Dolby Stereo VHS, placed below my main computer, Blu-Ray player, and LCD TV/Monitor. I selected this VCR because it's the tallest one I have, and it helps adjust the viewing angle position of my monitor.

It even has its own wireless remote control, front-loading system, and FF/REW video search. Not bad for a 1982 VHS VCR.

I replaced the used one with a brand new, never opened, factory-sealed one (not kidding). This 1982 JVC HR-7650U is by far my most-favorite VHS VCR model, due to its ruggedness construction and unique look. Cost me C $339.99 + C $85.30 shipping (US $435.16 shipped). I was lucky because seller re-listed it again for $110 more.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280882322489

Seller (now the largest vintage JVC VHS VCR dealer on Earth) has 10 different new-in-box models for sale:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_nkw=...0&_ssn=sahand0

Of all 10 models, I think only the HR-7650U is worth buying. The others are worthless mono units, with some models from the mid-90s.

Breaking off the 30-year old factory tape was a blast. Will attach some pictures later from my actual new unit.

[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?
.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Excellent find!

[1993ctc175]

I have the Oldest VCR in my Collection.

Sony SL-5800 (1980)

Zenith VR9760 (1980)

RCA VFT 650 (1981)

and, I think that I have one more

RCA VFT 450

I have not played with them as yet

Cheers!!

[mrfoxboy]

Well the oldest I have is a 1977 Sony SLO-340 BI betamax deck. Very nice considering it's age. It won't record from the camera input :/ It is in my parents' basement

My oldest machine in service is my JVC HR-D130U. Bought that puppy in the summer of 2010, as it was only $5. A little cleaning got 'er running. It's from 1984 according to the internet. It has manual tracking, linear mono audio, 4-head, and those big SP video heads JVC was known for. It has the best SP video quality I've ever seen. Unfortunately it is not functioning fully. It threads tape for play, but it seems the take-up reel doesn't engage and the capstan doesn't want to spin. The motors run strong, however so I think it is bad belts. i've made many tapes on that deck...

A little newer runs my Quasar VH-5857K. She is mint, and has as many bells and whistles as a VCR could have when made on August 2, 1985 (it is written on a sticker in the back). HiFi, Simulcast, three-speed SP-LP-SLP, slo-mo, frame-advance, audio dub, and a host of other features, it is my favourite. It's a 4Head as well.

Cheers!