VCR's On Craigslist

[jmm83]

Hi
I was thinking about buying these vcr's that someone is selling on CL
Do you think they are any good

she says she does not know if they work or not
but to make her an offer so i offered $25 but i have not heard back from her so she might want more for them

so should i buy them or pass on them?

[andy]

...

[Electronic M]

If for the lot that is reasonable. If $25 a piece I'd skip all but the beta. Not sure what the thrifts are like where you live, but out here you can get a wide variety of VCRs including S-VHS-ET decks for less than $7 a piece at any thrift and most work (the only thrifts that don't carry TVs to test them allow returns so if it tests bad at home you ain't stuck with it).

[Ed in Tx]

I've worked on every model there. Years ago, not recently.

The NEC VHS will likely need the idler clutch tire assy like mentioned before, and also likely the entry and exit tape guide base ass'ys which tended to come loose,the brass pressed into in aluminum gets loose. Newer and replacement ones added a small set-screw at an angle to keep in place and alignment.

The JVC has a brass guide post pressed into the bottom of the ent and exit guide bases and they would fall out and be rolling around inside the unit. Also one particular capacitor in the power supply fails and then it won't power up.

The Hitachi common problem was the reel clutch coming loose unclipped off it's shaft on the bottom of the deck and eating tapes.

The NEC Beta.. been too many years! Mechanical nightmare! All I remember is going to an NEC school about 1983 to learn how to work on their Beta units, and I still have the certificate.

[jmm83]

oh
I guess all of them are probably going to need some kind of repair to get them working

she did email me again today asking me whats my price per vcr
& i told her i can get them between $7 to $10 from the thrift store or goodwill
and i said i don't know if they work or not so i told her between $30 to $50 for all

[andy]

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[centralradio]

I have the NEC model.I always had issues with it besides the clutch idler .
I had FM radio stations inter modulating with the HiFi audio which was fixed with a modification of the circuit also problems with the angle guides . The VCR worked great when it work and not on the bench.

Also you can find VCRs at fleamarkets cheap under 10 bucks or less.

Yes get the betas since they are getting rare.

[jmm83]

I never heard back from her so i guess she does not want to sell them to me
maybe she did not like my offer

I would not pay anymore then $10 a vcr in an unknown working condition
i think she wants more then that but I'm not going to pay it