Ivc ~ ivc-871p ~ 1" video recorder service manual

[TRADEMARK-X]

Greetings!
I am new to the forum (or any forums), so bear with me if I’m a bit lost….

I have acquired an IVC 871P (PAL) open reel colour video recorder from about 1972 (pictured) & although been sitting in a cupboard for the last 35years unused, I was very surprised to find that it still worked with decent picture! However it was very noisy as the bearings are all pretty dry of lubrication, so I set about removing all 4 motors & have re-lubricated the bearings along with any other pivoting points, guides etc. It’s a lot better now but the bearings in the scanner drum still need attending – I dernt attempt to remove & dismantle it without some kind of service information, which is my main issue. That is what brought me here really – does anyone on here know where I may get a paper copy or scan of a service manual for the IVC 871P video recorder, especially the scanner drum & electrical schematics / setup procedures? They are so old that I can’t find anything on the usual internet search etc. Also does anyone have a pinch roller for one of these machines – it’s about 30x19mm with ¼” shaft size, though that’s unimportant as can be modified to suit.

Cheers,
Mark Barry…

[TRADEMARK-X]

Greetings!
I am new to the forum (or any forums), so bear with me if I’m a bit lost….

I have acquired an IVC 871P (PAL) open reel colour video recorder from about 1972 (pictured) & although been sitting in a cupboard for the last 35years unused, I was very surprised to find that it still worked with decent picture! However it was very noisy as the bearings are all pretty dry of lubrication, so I set about removing all 4 motors & have re-lubricated the bearings along with any other pivoting points, guides etc. It’s a lot better now but the bearings in the scanner drum still need attending – I dernt attempt to remove & dismantle it without some kind of service information, which is my main issue. That is what brought me here really – does anyone on here know where I may get a paper copy or scan of a service manual for the IVC 871P video recorder, especially the scanner drum & electrical schematics / setup procedures? They are so old that I can’t find anything on the usual internet search etc. Also does anyone have a pinch roller for one of these machines – it’s about 30x19mm with ¼” shaft size, though that’s unimportant as can be modified to suit.

Cheers,
Mark Barry…

[Electronic M]

If no one on here knows I'd check with Richard of labguysworld.com he'd be one of the more likely people to have service literature.

[TRADEMARK-X]

Thanks Electronic-M,
I will certainly try to contact him as noticed his site before. I've been using the machine a lot & am starting to get some white 'comets' all over the image, so fear the video head is on it's last legs - although they just slot in from above, I doub't anyone has one!
Maybe it's now just an ornament - shame....

Cheers,
Mark...

[kf4rca]

The last one I saw was at WCIV. They used it to delay the GONG SHOW.
Those are type A machines (alpha wrap). They have a tension servo to control skew. Head switching occurs at the bottom of the picture unlike type C machines (omega wrap) where it occurs on the inactive lines in the vertical interval.
The real pitfall was the time base corrector. At the time TBC's were not very good. They had maybe one line of correction. They used glass delay lines rather than digital techniques to control off-tape error.
There was a station in Columbia SC who had the IVC automation system. It was 6 decks in a console which would play back-to-back commercials. It worked pretty good but the technician had to be pretty nimble on his feet when there were 10 second spots in the break!
At another station I worked at across town, they had IVC500 studio cameras.

[ppppenguin]

"A" is usually used to refer to the Ampex 5000 and 7000 series machines, not the IVC. These Ampex VTRs have the same drum size and video track layout as C format. The A and C machines all have alpha wrap. Many years ago I put a tape recorded on an Ampex 7003 on a C format machine. It sort-of worked. Since there are almost no working A format machines in existence it should be possible to modify a C format machine to play A format tapes.

The IVC 1" machines are very different. Omega wrap, smaller drum.

For completeness, B format was a Bosch 1" machine with segmented helical scan. Very good pictures but never really caught on because it couldn't do the "stunt" modes of the C format.

[kf4rca]

Threaded up the Gong Show many times. It is an alpha wrap. The tape crosses back over itself around the drum. It was important not to allow the tape to run off the end of the reel as reverse threading it was difficult.
I can tell you that my VPR80 is an omega wrap. The tape does not cross over itself. Beta decks and 3/4 are also omega wraps. The tape does not cross over itself.
The best IVC machine I ever saw was the IVC 9000. It was a 2 inch helical machine with stereo audio and recorded on the super hi-band standard.
It was a slant deck similar to the Ampex AVR3. It was a teleproduction machine with editing. Picture quality (S/N) was better than quad (hi-band).
Unfortunately, it was compatible with nothing else.
A production house here had one. Might be a few left in Hollywood.
If you're looking for video heads, you might contact AheadTek:
http://www.aheadtek.com/

[ppppenguin]

All cassette formats must be omega wrap. It would take a very warped mind to design a lacing mechanism to do alpha wrap. I think all cassette formats used a 180 degree wrap, certainly U-Matic, Betamax, VHS and their derivatives such as Betacam and M format.

The VPR80 was a very late C format VTR. It may be omega wrap but I can't see how you can get the same track layout as other C format machines which were alpha wrap.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by ppppenguin

All cassette formats must be omega wrap. It would take a very warped mind to design a lacing mechanism to do alpha wrap. I think all cassette formats used a 180 degree wrap, certainly U-Matic, Betamax, VHS and their derivatives such as Betacam and M format.

The VPR80 was a very late C format VTR. It may be omega wrap but I can't see how you can get the same track layout as other C format machines which were alpha wrap.

I may be wrong, but I think the Quasar Great Time Machine may have been an alpha wrap...It definitely was the product of a sick mind. IIRC the 2 reel spools were coaxial and the head drum protruded into the cassette instead of the tape being removed from the cassette and threaded onto the drum.

[ppppenguin]

This normally reliable reference says the Great Time Machine was alpha: http://www.labguysworld.com/Quasar_VR-1000.htm

Philips 1500 (first domestic cassette VTR) and 1700 were also coaxial spools in a cassette. The wrap was ordinary 180 degree omega.

[kf4rca]

Have you ever heard of Cartrivision? (see atached)
Ask me anything you want about VPR80. Our station had 6.
All type C tapes are interchangeable. Besides Ampex, Sony, RCA, Hitachi also made a type C machine. The Hitachi needed external compressed air (like quads).
When I got back from Ampex school, two other stations in the market were having problems with theirs.
WPBA TV30 (PBS station) had an open 10K resistor in the drum servo, keeping it from spinning up.
The Weather Channel's machine had a blown TL084 op amp in the reel servo.
WPBA was a disaster of a TV station. One of the tasks of the engineering dept. was to put out plastic trash cans in the control room whenever it rained.(I am not making this up!)
The lady GM wanted to pay me for the repair job but I told her to put it toward the roof! The station was known as the Dirty 30 because of the dust bunnies located in the bottom of the racks!
I got a really nice Weather Channel mug for their repair job.
Both of those stations had engineering depts. but I don't think they were component level.