Oh my do I feel lucky, check out what I found!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/thedjnikki/vbt200.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/thedjnikki/P1010081.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/thedjnikki/P1010082.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/thedjnikki/P1010083.jpg

everything lights up! The vcr head was making a little noise wen it turned so I took it to a guy to have the head bearings oiled, now it doesnt turn tapes... He broke it! He said that the locks engaged that turns the tape and i need to have it unlocked???

No idea here, anyone good with these? Like i said it worked perfectly until i took it to this guy to have the head oiled. HELP!

...

im pretty sure. It played fine when i first got it, it was just getting noisy from time to time. Id love to get it fixed, i just dont know where to go.

Does the tape turn if you press down REW/FF? If so, then if the play mode doesn't turn, mostly likely the play idler next to the right reel will need to be cleaned. It's a complicated process.

VERY nice find!!!!!! My biggest thrill is getting something "as new in the box"!!! As said, keep oil FAR FAR away from VCRs. The only lubricating should be done with machine oil on a Q-tip, and only ONLY to melt the old, hardened existing moly grease where the factory used it on sliders, etc. One micro-drop of oil anywhere on the tape path will grab the tape, and often smash the heads out of the drum.

Charles

Did you replace any belts yet?? all older vcr vtr units were famous for going through belts, I used to charge $35.00 for cleaning and new belts. MCM electronics used to sell kits for each brand, and the price uas usally about $5.00 Take the unit out of the case, ond use q-tips soaked in 91% percent isyprophyl alchol (not rubbing) any drug store or wal-mart about $1.50 clean all pulleys capstens and guides, and heads, use dry q-tips ro remove residue relubricate spairingly on head bearings and shafte and guides. i use ZOOM SPOUT TURBINE OIL, available from hardware store. replace with new belts and I bet you have success

Did you replace any belts yet?? all older vcr vtr units were famous for going through belts, I used to charge $35.00 for cleaning and new belts. MCM electronics used to sell kits for each brand, and the price uas usally about $5.00 Take the unit out of the case, ond use q-tips soaked in 91% percent isyprophyl alchol (not rubbing) any drug store or wal-mart about $1.50 clean all pulleys capstens and guides, and heads, use dry q-tips ro remove residue relubricate spairingly on head bearings and shafte and guides. i use ZOOM SPOUT TURBINE OIL, available from hardware store. replace with new belts and I bet you have success
Replacing the belts do work, but they are not guaranteed to work because FF/REW and Play must turn at the same time. If FF/REW makes the tape turn but play does not, then it's not the belts, but the play idler itself. I already fixed three units with this same, exact problem.

the play button will not push down. The VCR Worked great before i took it to the repair guy, he must have screwed up something. Anyone do repairs that i can send it to in FL?

I am no VCR expert by any means; but, it sounds like the "technician" that "repaired" yours done a lot more harm than good. I'd search the Internet and see if there was a repair center out there that specializes in video tape equipment repair. Don't fool with the local TV shops unless you can find one that's been in business for a long time and has some respect for older equipment. There was a service center in Jackson, MS called Delta Electronics that did electronic repair work for schools and other commercial interest. I'm not sure they are still in business as it's been about 15 years since I've been there.

That is a very nice find and it makes me sick that someone damaged this machine to this level.

I am no VCR expert by any means; but, it sounds like the "technician" that "repaired" yours done a lot more harm than good. I'd search the Internet and see if there was a repair center out there that specializes in video tape equipment repair. Don't fool with the local TV shops unless you can find one that's been in business for a long time and has some respect for older equipment. There was a service center in Jackson, MS called Delta Electronics that did electronic repair work for schools and other commercial interest. I'm not sure they are still in business as it's been about 15 years since I've been there.

That is a very nice find and it makes me sick that someone damaged this machine to this level.

oh believe me i was angry, the guy actually accused me of telling him it was broken, when all that was happening was a little noise when tapes were played. Every single function on the VCR worked perfectly too. I just hope some day I can find someone that will actually fix it so it operates perfectly again.

Cool!

What amazes me is that someone could afford to spend US$800 or more on this VCR 30 years ago and just leave it in the box.

What amazes me is that someone could afford to spend US$800 or more on this VCR 30 years ago and just leave it in the box.

I got a Sony SL7200 Betamax that way... A guy bought it because he heard that VCRs were the great new thing, but he just left it in the box until I got it from him for a really cheap price while I was repairing his TV! He also had an Aston-Martin in his garage that he bought and said he never drove because he didn't like how the side view mirror were. Go figure....

Charles

Check to see if the sensor lamp is still running. Do you see a light bulb on inside the VCR compartment when you turn on the unit? If not, then either your sensor lamp is broken or there's a loose connection. If play cannot be pushed down but you hear only a clunking sound, then it's the sensor lamp.

Mint in the box shows up quite often on eBay, but a brand new, factory-sealed, never opened is truly rare. I successfully bought four brand new, factory-sealed, never opened older VCRs so far:

1984 Sharp VC-489U 4-head Hi-Fi VCR (Sharp first 4-head Hi-Fi, $2,500 MSRP)
1989 Toshiba SV-F990 SVHS VCR (Toshiba's flagship SVHS, $3,000 MSRP)
Two 1991 Mitsubishi HS-U82 SVHS VCRs (Mitsubishi's flaaghip SVHS, $1,500 MSRP)

I am thinking of selling 1 of new in box Mitsubishi HS-U82 SVHS. PM me if interested and make your offer.

What amazes me is that someone could afford to spend US$800 or more on this VCR 30 years ago and just leave it in the box.

Well, I have at least that amount in new, sealed CDs sitting on my shelves,
who doesn't?

Sealed CDs? Is it because you are into vinyl and won't even listen to digital? :D

It is strange that the VBT sat unused for all these years. It does happen though. I read stories here at audiokarma alot where people score new in the box gear from people who bought it and used it once or twice. Makes little sense, and could be a lie some of the time, but again this does happen.

Just tonight I was browsing through old boxes of LPs from a relative who passed away in 1989. These boxes haven't seen the light of day since about 1997. I came across this LP.,.wait let me find it...."Chucho Avellanet's Entre Los Dos" on the UA Latino label. This record was never opened. I opened it and its totally in Spanish. Sounds good, but I don;t understand it.

Point is, there are lots of NIB things left out there!

that fortune you had! however the unit is not built by RCA seems rather Japanese

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It was made by Panasonic/Matsushita. They made most of the first generation VHS VCRs.

I was sure, but it was not the JVC the first who developed the system VHS?

One thing I could see would be some big company deciding to outfit each of its locations with the latest technology, and it just never being put to use. Or, a store that didn't turn over the merchandise too quickly and didn't want to take a loss on it-the last time I was in one of our local TV shops he still had some NOS Zenith 13" sets from the early 90s, with faded price tags over $200. I think he finally had a sale and cleared that shelf.

I was sure, but it was not the JVC the first who developed the system VHS?
Sony invented all the basic details of what became the VHS and Beta VCR formats, the M-load and U-load tape threading, azimuth recording without guard bands, and other details. After Sony released the Betamax, JVC released the first VHS VCR with two-hour recording time. RCA wanted to sell a VCR that could record a USA football game on one tape, so they got Matsushita (parent company/owner of JVC) to add the slower, poorer-quality four-hour recording mode (LP) to the VHS format, and they built the VBT-200 for RCA. Matsushita also sold essentially the same model as the Panasonic PV-1000 in the USA, and there were several other clones of this machine and the next two years' successor versions, including the PV-1200 with the follow-on, poorer-yet six-hour recording mode (SLP/EP).