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  #16  
Old 02-16-2010, 04:47 PM
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Eric H Eric H is offline
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It'd be great if you could get the picture quality of the newer decks (VHS and picture quality= Oxymoron) and the build of the older decks.

The last VHS player I bought was a Sony, probably about 10 years ago, it worked fine for years, and still does tho I don't use it anymore.

Got a Panasonic VHS/DVD recorder about 3 or 4 years ago to copy tapes with, figured I'd be lucky if it lasted a year but it's still going strong (and running nearly constantly)

I finally had to take it apart and clean both the laser and the VHS heads ( an old tape clogged the heads badly, the laser was dusty and wouldn't recognize some blank discs) but honestly, you can't imagine the number of tapes that have been run through it, and the amount of DVDs burned, both have to be in the thousands by now!

things are built lighter, simpler and cheaper now but sometimes they work great, I think it helps to stick to major brands like Sony, Panasonic, HP, Dell, & forget the bargain basement junk.

Sony's not what it was but it's still a cut above most others, Panasonic builds good quality TV's, Samsung has become a respected brand of late.
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  #17  
Old 02-19-2010, 12:32 AM
Dude111 Dude111 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV
Would you "put up with" paying $1900 for a 19-inch color TV today?
Well if i had the $$$ i probably would bud

I am a purist and i demand GOOD QUALITY,something that alot of people do not grab the concept of anymore
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  #18  
Old 02-19-2010, 05:55 AM
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Sandy G Sandy G is offline
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One wonders what a TV built to R-390A-style milspecs would be like...And cost...
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  #19  
Old 05-10-2010, 12:43 AM
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Eric H Eric H is offline
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Update: I got this beastie working!

As I thought, there was a spring loaded lever that pulls the tape up against a head that was gummed up.
I cleaned and lubed it, cleaned the rubber parts and it works good now!

All the rubber is in great shape for 31 years old, there was some cigarette smoke residue inside but not bad, possibly it helped preserve the rubber parts.

Now, what to do with a 40 pound, 31 year old, mono, VHS player?
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  #20  
Old 05-10-2010, 05:22 AM
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Sandy G Sandy G is offline
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Lament on what we've lost ?!? (Grin)...
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  #21  
Old 05-11-2010, 04:18 PM
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rpm1200 rpm1200 is offline
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Hey, silly question... what's APLD do on a VCR?!? On an audio cassette deck it's a music search system. I.E. if you activate APLD and hit rewind/ff, it will find the next blank spot between songs and start playing there. It was a common feature of Sharp's tape decks (& boomboxes!) of the late 70s through 80s. I once saw a cool APLD sticker on a tape deck, "The Sharp Eye is quicker than the hand." Kinda like this ad...
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  #22  
Old 05-11-2010, 08:59 PM
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Yes, it means Automatic Program Locate Device, says so right on the tape door.
I haven't tried it to see if it works yet.
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  #23  
Old 05-12-2010, 10:47 AM
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rpm1200 rpm1200 is offline
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I wonder if it's a different name for index search. (Search for the beginning of each recorded program...)
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  #24  
Old 12-21-2010, 04:10 AM
waltchan waltchan is offline
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This was Sharp's very first VHS VCR...

Wow, I'm surprised nobody knows this Sharp VC-6800 VCR.

This was the very first VHS VCR ever made and released by Sharp, along it being the world's first front-loading VCR ever made in history. It was also the first VCR ever made with a time remaining counter (how many minutes left till end).

Sharp was the only VHS VCR manufacturer to put a gold-color video head (not chrome like all makers) from 1979-1981. I don't know if this was better or worse, but I do like the color. This one uses a pulley motor with a flat belt to spin the gold-color video head, the only VCR I saw.

I used to own one back in 2006 that I bought from eBay for only $30. Put in new belts and kept it for 1 year, and I sold it back for $300 on eBay. The buyer bought it but never used it and put it in storage. I'm surprised to find another VC-6800 as I told him there will never be another VC-6800 listed again on eBay. It's an ultra-rare model.

The OP can sell this on eBay with a $300 buy it now price plus shipping at anytime, and it will sell. No, I think $500 is more appropriate.

Last edited by waltchan; 12-24-2010 at 02:05 PM.
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  #25  
Old 12-22-2010, 05:48 PM
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Eric H Eric H is offline
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Walt, are you sure about the model on this Sharp?

I had it apart lubing and cleaning but I didn't notice the head being Gold, do you mean the drum or the heads themselves, seems like Gold or Gold anodizing wouldn't last long on the rotating drum.
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  #26  
Old 12-24-2010, 02:04 PM
waltchan waltchan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric H View Post
Walt, are you sure about the model on this Sharp?

I had it apart lubing and cleaning but I didn't notice the head being Gold, do you mean the drum or the heads themselves, seems like Gold or Gold anodizing wouldn't last long on the rotating drum.
Oh yes, the Sharp VC-6800 was the first VCR ever released by Sharp. In 1980, the VC-7400 was the second. In 1981, the VC-8500 was the third. In 1982, the VC-9400, VC-9500, and VC-9600 were the forth and the first ones with the regular, chrome-color video head.

The VC-6800 I used to own before came with an owner's manual and service manual.

I also used to own a 1981 VC-8500 in 2003 that was completely smashed, broken, and shattered from shipping. I was forced to throw it out without playing with it. This one was the last Sharp VCR model with a gold-color video head. So far, I have not found another VC-8500 on eBay for 8 years now (dang).

I have heard that the gold-anodizing video drum head had a very high cleaning rate, but it is very durable. People who used to own a 1979-1981 Sharp VCR didn't keep it for very long because they were tired taking it in to a repair shop and clean the video head every year. The video head drum itself is the most heaviest, most amount of metal ever found in a VCR.

Lastly, I currently own a portable 1981 Sharp XA-900 (not 2002 XA-905/XA-920) Professional Series VCR, the first Sharp XA model, with the gold-color video head inside. Not really my favorite one, but it's better than nothing since I haven't found another VC-8500.

Last edited by waltchan; 12-24-2010 at 06:27 PM.
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  #27  
Old 12-24-2010, 06:12 PM
waltchan waltchan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric H View Post
Now it's still somewhat balky but it'll play a tape, the picture is snowy on half the screen because there isn't enough tension on the feed reel to keep it snug against the head, if I put a little drag on the tape with my finger I can get the picture to come in clear, I'm guessing another gummy lever somewhere keeping it from working right.
Do not adjust the tension band yet. Clean the video head prior to adjusting. It was adjusted at its best from the factory when it was new in 1979. I had this same problem.

Last edited by waltchan; 12-24-2010 at 06:19 PM.
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  #28  
Old 12-24-2010, 07:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waltchan View Post
Do not adjust the tension band yet. Clean the video head prior to adjusting. It was adjusted at its best from the factory when it was new in 1979. I had this same problem.
I don't need to, I fixed this unit some months ago and it wasn't anything out of adjustment.

Dried grease on one of the levers that tensions the tape was keeping it from moving at all, I took it apart, lubed it and it works good now.
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  #29  
Old 12-16-2023, 12:10 AM
DVtyro DVtyro is offline
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Marc Wielage with Rod Woodcock say this was indeed the first front loader. Huh, so not everything about VCRs was invented by Sony or JVC
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  #30  
Old 01-01-2024, 02:06 PM
Dude111 Dude111 is offline
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A good article there!!

I hadnt ever seen Betamax. Why was 'BETA' in the name??

Were they testing it and VCR is the final product while BETAs were the testing phase?? (As most BETA stuff is)
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