Scored a Sanyo Betacord today
 

If the word "Score" applies to an obsolete 50 lb Boatanchor that plays a dead format.

Anyway, it's a Sanyo VTC-9100A from 1979.
It's in OK condition, has a few minor bumps and bruises and it still works!

It has issues F/forwarding and Rewinding and no doubt it could use a good cleaning, the picture is pretty noisy.

Here's some pictures, including one of it playing an old Sci-Fi movie from the 70's.

Sweet! that is almost as primitive as my first generation 1978 Zenith jr-9000W which I scored for 1$ about a year back, and found the external matching "digital"(more like a good mechanical clock) timer for recently. My mechanism needs some coaxing to work, and has no color, but is in good enough shape to display a monochrome picture.

It is cool to have something like the CT-100 of VCRs in ones collection IMO.

Tom C.

Very cool, definitely no newer than 1980 I would say.

While I don't really call myself a VCR collector, I'll grab any top loader I see these days, provided the price isn't nuts. That Sanyo looks like a real nice find to me. I think the oldest beta machine I have is a Sanyo-built Sears from about '81, about this same size. Still worked well last time I tried it.

I paid $5.00 for it.
I don't really know what to do with it, another large, heavy piece of gear I don't have room for or need.

I used to stock idler tires for the FF/REW clutches on these Sanyo's. Also the belts. They ate them.

Great find! You dont see many beta machines anymore.

Anybody got one of the "Other" early-day format VCRs...IIRC, there were a couple more than Beta & VHS...Seems like JVC (?) had sumpin' called V-Cord, & there was even ANOTHER format...I NEED to go & rescue my Panasonic 1980 2-4 hr toploader VHS machine from my Church...Assumin' they ain't tossed it, that is....(grin)

JVC was VHS. V cord was Quasar, maybe? I saw one once. Also saw a Cartrivision player that ran one time. Was playing an old recording of something with commercials.

Sanyo had V-Cord II, and Quasar had their VX-format Great Time Machine, both in 1977 if I remember right.

The British program, Secret Life of Machines, showed all the formats that were available at one time. It seemed there was about seven at the time.

Gawd, I miss that show.....(grin)