Oldest VCR you've owned?

[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?
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