VCRs that will last forever

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Kiwick

The one from 1986 with the orange toothed capstan belt, right?

I used to have one, the loading motor had a plastic thingy which coupled the motor shaft to a longer shaft with a brass worm gear on it, the plastic thingy cracked in half, i managed to glue it back together only to find that the whole loading mechanism was jammed, i finally had to junk the VCR.

That's a different chassis. It's part of the G-chassis family, and it's the one Andy don't like (G-Chassis but with nylon teeth belt instead). It's available from 1987 to 1994. It's mostly found in Panasonic AG models, like AG-1820, AG-1830, etc. The nylon teeth belt runs even slower than the already slow rubber belt. Andy probably would go paranoid if he sees this chassis coming in for repairs. I have a Canon VR-HF800 with this chassis.

I picked the Panasonic AG-2100 that will last forever because it's a 2-head mono, linear power supply (heavy transformer), made in 1984, commercial-duty construction, Panasonic was rated #1 in reliability, no record function, no tuner, and no clock display on front. A VCR without clock display, tuner, and record mode last even longer as it takes less wear from the power supply and fewer circuit boards needed to run. VCP lasts longer than VCR, depending on the design.

[Kiwick]

Originally Posted by waltchan

That's a different chassis. It's part of the G-chassis family, and it's the one Andy don't like (G-Chassis but with nylon teeth belt instead). It's available from 1987 to 1994.

Mine had "Jan-86" dates on the motors.

[Electrohome]

I got 4 RCA VBT-200s from 1977-78 and my VBT-200 from 10/23/77 works just like it did 30 years ago when I was trying to copy a Macrovision-coded tape for a friend of mine and I had failed to get good playback on the newer VCRs, but the copy had good playback on the VBT-200 as well as my 1982 Panasonic Omni-Vision. I also got a few 1984-86 Sony Betamaxes that play pretty good with my large 1500+ collection of Beta tapes which date from the original 1975-76 K-60s, yes, w/1970's TV shows with the original 1970's commercials on them to the latest 1990's L-750s. I also got these 1970's Betamaxes-
4 Sony SL-7200s-1 is new in the original box!
4 Sony SL-8200s-1 is new in the original box!
4 RARE Sony BII-Only SL-8600s-1 is new in the original box!
1 1977 Zenith Betamaz-like the SL-8200
1 other 1970's Betamax
My parents still have their original 1988 RCA VHS VCR they got as a Christmas present in 1988-just the remote is long gone though. It didn't really have the best picture for recording in EP/SLP speed, but it was a pretty good machine. It's at my grandmother's in Kirkland Lake now.
I also have, yes, both an NES and a Super Nintendo and LOVE the Mario Bros. games and Tetris:-)
Also, I am looking for any 1970's, 1980's and 1990's Beta and VHS tapes that have old commercials on them too that people may also want to get rid of for my trading and collecting hobby too-please and thanks.
Those new VCRs as everyone just about says here sure don't last and don't compare to the older VCRs at all.

[Grainger49]

Every five years you can replace the head. I did on mine, 2 screws after opening and drop it in place.

Well, that is if you can find a head.

[superdeez]

Back in about 1999, I found an ancient JVC VHS unit, and an ancient Sanyo Beta unit! The tag said $20 for both but I haggled and got it down to $15. (Which, coincedentally, was my allowance at that time, me being only 14).

Both units top-loaded, and both had apparently had remotes that plugged into the front, however, only the remote for the Sanyo was still there. One thing I really found odd about this JVC unit was that it had one of those "push-button" tuners that was common to the first digital units and it only got VHF! Apparently, the reason the beta unit was still around was because the people who sold it were using it as a tuner for the VHS unit. The other thing I thought was odd was that the power switch was manual, and it resembeled a light switch with three positions for OFF/ON/TIMER.

The whole reason for this couple selling both units was that the JVC had stopped playing/recording tapes, so I took it apart when I got home (not even knowing if it worked yet), and found that I could stretch three large rubber bands I found in our kitchen in place of the broken belt! Slipshod work yes, but I was only 14. That unit played/recorded perfectly after that for two years.

The Sanyo powered up just fine and had knob-type VHF/UHF tuners, with backlit channel displays and a digital clock on the front that almost looked like someone had pasted it on as an afterthought. It only had 300 ohm input/output jacks, while the JVC had A/V jacks and a coax plug. Unfortunately, I was never able to test out the Sanyo's tape deck as I never had access to any beta tapes. If connected to antennas, however, it worked great!

My whole reason for purchasing them was because my RCA TV had been taken away by my parents, and I could eaisly hide this setup in the closet and connect it to my 17" Colour Commodore Monitor that my folks thought I just had my old NES connected to.

The VCRs were killed by lightning striking their antenna in late August, 2001. That same month, my folks waited till i had left for school and put my NES, all my games (Zelda, Mario 1/2/3, Kid Icarus, Maniac Mansion, etc.) and that Commodore display out at the curb. Both the display and the NES worked fine. Such a shame.

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by superdeez

Back in about 1999, I found an ancient JVC VHS unit, and an ancient Sanyo Beta unit! The tag said $20 for both but I haggled and got it down to $15. (Which, coincedentally, was my allowance at that time, me being only 14).

Slightly off topic, but I have to say that I'm pleased that more younger people are interested in old TVs. Without new hobbyists, this whole vintage TV thing could disappear.

I always thought I was the only kid who was the least bit interested in old TVs & stuff, as I'd show up at the SCARS (Southern CA Antique Radio Society) swap meet in the early 80s at age 14, and everybody else was 65 it seemed (no, Colortel and SteveD, not referring to you).

Welcome to this board, and the hobby!

Charles

[Hi Ho]

I have an old Tatung VCR from th early 80's that worked until a couple years ago. The problem it has now seems to be simple but I haven't bothered to fix it. There are a couple videos in the PhotoBucket gallery showing what it does.

Back in 1996 I upgraded to a Sharp VCR with all the bells and whistles. I have been using that almost daily since then and it is still as good as new. I really like the fact that the clock sets itself.

I will soon be transfering all of my old home movies onto DVD and when I finally get a DVR, I won't have much use for a VCR. However, I will probably keep it around soley for its self setting clock.

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

BTW, I don't think DVDs are quite as cheap as VHS cassettes yet; at least they aren't at the stores I frequent. I can get RCA and other brands of blank VHS tapes at Big Lots for 98 cents apiece; I haven't yet seen blank (recordable) DVDs that cheap anywhere. I can get CD-Rs designed for data storage at dirt-cheap prices as well (I bought a spindle of 30 Imation CD-Rs at Big Lots last year for something like $3.99), but I wouldn't try to record video on them. I am not really sure what the difference is, if any, between CD-Rs designed for data storage and disks meant for video recording, although I have successfully transferred still images (jpeg) to CD-R from my computer's hard disk.

I just bought a 50 pack of Verbaitim DataLife+ DVD+R's for $20 at Newegg. That's about 40 cents per disc. Those are among the best discs you can buy.

[waltchan]

This topic may be old, but in general, 2-head mono VCRs usually last the longest. If I have to choose a VCR that will last forever, it would be Panasonic AG-2100.

[grimer]

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[bgadow]

One of the things I always look for at the flea market are boxes of old home-recorded video tapes. The oldest I have are some beta from around 82 that I bought along with a Sears top-loader. (that still works quite well) A bunch of 80s stuff I'd like to find on tape.

[jfrog1983]

The well known and SLOW G-chassis! I've got 2 Magnavox VCRs with that chassis, and what's odd in these is the video head drum, where the motor is INSIDE the drum with a brass sleeve full of oil instead of ball bearings, think fluid dynamic bearing from a newer hard drive.

I've also got an AKAI that I've never even seen anywhere, it looks like it has it's own chassis design too.

Got 3 Panasonic PV-1545's from 1984, one has a bad power supply, other has a really dim level meter and the third works pretty well but the power supply is showing signs of going bad...

A Panasonic PV-1730 where I already had to pull apart and reoil the brass sleeve in the video head drum, and works fine but is pretty beat up and shows signs of needing new heads soon.

Also got some nice 1990's Sonys, but looking for that direct drive Hi-Fi stereo one mentioned earlier in this thread.

Finally, got a professional Panasonic deck with a modular chassis that only records in SP speed with a nice direct drive mechanism.

Oh, I got a couple portable units kicking around too!

[Ed in Tx]

My old Panasonic AG-1830 video faded into oblivion because of the electrolytic capacitors in the video module among others I am sure, I gave up on it (I have a brand-new upper drum in the package, thinking it would last forever when I ordered that from Panasonic about $90 at the time...) , I have a Mitsubishi HS-430U I keep going because it will play my few years accumulation of old linear stereo tapes I recorded on a Panasonic PV-1780 I think it was, one generation before Hi-Fi audio and MTS Stereo, when simulcast stereo was popular on cable and with TV and FM stations. Had JVC HR-S5800 and HR-S6700 VCRs in the system for a while but they can get unreliable from little use. Then I bought a Mitsubishi HS-U770 which the mechanism plastic FL guides cracked and failed, and I had to put in a whole new updated mechanism, so it still works, that's one still in operation today. I picked up a JVC HR-S5900U for less than $100 that is so simple mechanically is has little to fail and makes a very nice pic. Cheap but effective. Works every time. I have lots of S-VHS tapes I've recorded off of C-band satellite and OTA since '89 when I bought the AG-1830. Have about 75 Beta tapes but I have no Beta machine to play them on any more. I repaired VCRs for a living, most all brands in and out of warranty for almost 25 years.

[waltchan]

No AK members know what I do, but I am more of a VCR collector than a TV collector. I have more than 50 VCRs. Some are part units. Most are Hi-FI, high-end units. I have so many things to say about VCRs, but no one is interested in VCRs anymore. I hate keeping everything to myself. Need help, ask me, and I may know the answer.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by jfrog1983

I've also got an AKAI that I've never even seen anywhere, it looks like it has it's own chassis design too.

Akai made their own VCRs up until 1989.

[Ed in Tx]

I seem to remember a couple of Akai branded VCRs from early-mid 80s that were rebadged JVCs, the JVC HR-7650 was one, don't remember the model #s of the Akai versions. We (employer at the time) were warranty service for Akai in those days. I worked on my share of those 7300-7350 Akai two piece portable beasts that were definitely unique to Akai.