'90's Magnavox BPC VCR braking problem

[Jeffhs]

I looked at Magnavox's web site yesterday, and found that everything made in the last 10-20 years or so with that name on it is actually made by Funai. In fact, "Magnavox" is now a trademark of Philips Electronics Corporation and is being used under license by Funai.

What a shame to see a once-proud American TV/stereo manufacturer's name on Pacific Rim import electronics that do not last longer than the warranty period, but that's the way of it these days with all of the older brands -- Zenith, Admiral, Emerson, et al., where these brand names are placed on cheaply-made TVs and audio gear without a second thought. I remember the original Magnavox (I have a friend whose parents owned a Magnavox 19" b&w remote TV and a Mag stereo console years ago), and they were excellent sets. The only thing I ever had against Magnavox televisions was that they used PC boards, even in their large, fabulous 3-way entertainment units of the '60s; I have read here that these sets ran extremely hot, which only added to the problem of making the boards extremely brittle, especially around high-power tubes such as the horizontal output. Also, these sets made the electric utility companies rich because of their very high current consumption -- many of them probably drew perhaps 250-300 watts with the stereo on full blast (as was very likely the case in homes with one or more teenagers). If it were possible to operate the TV and the stereo in these consoles simultaneously (I think they were made with a switching arrangement so that such operation would be impossible--you could use either the TV or the stereo, but not both at once), the current draw would increase, of course; I think a console such as this could draw close to 400 watts under these conditions.