VHS VCR 15-year average reliability data (1978-1993)...

[holmesuser01]

Originally Posted by N2IXK

I replaced a LOT of idlers on Fisher decks, too. Particularly this guy:



The Hitachi/RCA idler (RCA #164113--isn't it scary how some of these numbers stick with you even 25 years later?) was another "fast mover", but at least it was designed in such a way that it could be swapped out in seconds with no tools. One shop I worked at had a tech who had small enough hands that he could reach in through the front-load door and swap those idlers out without even taking the cover off...

I stocked these parts for years. Also, belt kits for them.

Those were the days.

[leadlike]

Sad to see RCA so low on the list. My Dad bought at least 2 Selectavision VCRs circa 1984, and we used them for over 15 years, throwing them out in still-working condition.

It isn't the age they had on them that is so impressive, but rather the miles. Dad dubbed videos (legally selling/trading public domain stuff) and we had a library of 5-7 thousand VHS tapes-most of them having run through those two decks! The only problem we ever had on them was a lightning strike took out both displays, and we used them for years without the display.

That ended in about 1990 when we casually mentioned them to a guy who repaired VCRs, and his eyes got all wide and he said he could get a pair of repair kits for cheap and just snap them right in! Good to his word, we had "like new" VCRs a few days later, and it became my first VHS deck, my brother getting the other.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by holmesuser01

I stocked these parts for years. Also, belt kits for them.

Those were the days.

And the idler pulley ass'y too. Many of those.

[holmesuser01]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

And the idler pulley ass'y too. Many of those.

I could go to the shed and find a few of these if I look for a minute...

Speaking of Akai VCR's...

I had one for a time that had a built in audio amplifier with speaker connections. I used it for a tweeter set-up on my TV for years. It got retired (haw haw) after the idler tire died, and I had nothing on hand to replace it. By then, Akai didnt want to know me for parts.

Speaking of Fisher VCR's I had a Fisher FVH-840 unit that ran for over 10 years, with a yearly replacement of the idler and clutches and belts. It ate a friends cherished tape once, and my friend has never let me forget it.

I bought this Fisher because it was Hi-Fi, and also had linear stereo, too. A local radio station came through the AFM circuitry loud and clear during the day, and was silent when they powered down at night. When I moved back to NC, there were no issues.

Bought an FVH-950 to replace the other Fisher. It lasted 1 year and 5 months before it simply died. I was hating Fisher at that point, so I bought a Sony with a flying erase head. It's still here today, with minor repairs.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by holmesuser01

I could go to the shed and find a few of these if I look for a minute...

Speaking of Akai VCR's...

I had one for a time that had a built in audio amplifier with speaker connections. I used it for a tweeter set-up on my TV for years. It got retired (haw haw) after the idler tire died, and I had nothing on hand to replace it. By then, Akai didnt want to know me for parts.

I remember seeing one or two of those come in the shop. Heavy beasts due to the power transformer for the audio amplifier section. Just add speakers and you had stereo!

Originally Posted by holmesuser01

Speaking of Fisher VCR's I had a Fisher FVH-840...
I bought this Fisher because it was Hi-Fi, and also had linear stereo, too. ..

I bought and still have a Mitsubishi HS-430U that 's hi-fi and linear stereo for all those old stereo tapes I made on the two linear stereo Panasonics I went through before hi-fi came out. Years ago I de-glued all the boards in the Mitsubishi. It even had glue around the drum stator board. They sure didn't want any parts falling out!

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

I bought and still have a Mitsubishi HS-430U that 's hi-fi and linear stereo for all those old stereo tapes I made on the two linear stereo Panasonics I went through before hi-fi came out. Years ago I de-glued all the boards in the Mitsubishi. It even had glue around the drum stator board. They sure didn't want any parts falling out!

Did you buy it new in 1985, and was the HS-430UR considered as a reliable model? Other techs have told me to to stay away from it.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

Did you buy it new in 1985, and was the HS-430UR considered as a reliable model? Other techs have told me to to stay away from it.

Yep bought it brand-new at the old Videoland on Preston Rd in Dallas, for $899 + tax. Very unreliable. I would only own one if I could fix it. Did not know that at the time though. I flat wore out the service manual fixing those for customers. I kept the service manual for it. Many things can and did go wrong: Tape path alignment, regulator IC , glue on the boards, idler arm ass'y, mode encoder switch, flip-down control panel ground wires, lamps that illuminated the tape well that could be left on all the time which made it run hot, just off the top of my head!

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

Very unreliable. I would only own one if I could fix it. Did not know that at the time though. I flat wore out the service manual fixing those for customers. I kept the service manual for it. Many things can and did go wrong: Tape path alignment, regulator IC , glue on the boards, idler arm ass'y, mode encoder switch, flip-down control panel ground wires, lamps that illuminated the tape well that could be left on all the time which made it run hot, just off the top of my head!

Thanks for the write-up. As far as I know, the early-1980s Mitsubishi had been extremely troublesome. I used own a 1982 HS-304UR, Mitsubishi's first front-loader, and it had a horizontal streak line in playback, and the right-reel motor didn't work. I also owned a HS-430UR, like you have right now, and the transport mechanism would get stuck trying to wrap it to video head. Put in some greese, and it worked okay now. Fortunately, I had a lucky buyer wanted to buy the HS-430UR from me for $700 shipped.

Do you still have your Panasonic AG-1830, and did you try to repair it? Is it still running today?
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