Canon vr-hf800
 

Hi I have a CANON VR-HF800 it works fine but it gets hot after playing for an hour is this normal

is there a way to keep it cool could i add a fan to it?

Overheating is normal for most Canon and Panasonic VCRs made during that era...
 

YES, this is completely normal for this model. I also have a Canon VR-HF800 as well, and it runs very hot as well. The high-heat temperature is coming from the STK regulator attached and mounted onto the switching power supply case, and it uses the whole power supply case as a form of heatsink, plus the components from the power supply sharing this same heatsink as well. Very poor design. It's also one of the hottest-running VCRs on Earth, due to a very-poor ventilated design, and sometimes I use this as a heater to warm my bed sheets instead as a VCR.

I've also heard stories from owners that used to own this model before stating that this high-heat power supply can create burns and crack up a tiny hole on the main board at top, and melt some metal pieces inside if placing it tightly in a bookcase. The STK regulator also has a high-failure rate, and it's no longer available for replacement.

You can only use a battery-powered fan as the only source. There's actually no room inside to put a fan, due to a very-tight and compact space Panasonic (the manufacturer of this Canon VCR) used between 1987 and 1990.

Some of them had TONS and TONS of surface-mount caps inside (often up to 50), like the 1989 Panasonic PV-S4990 S-VHS for example, that runs even hotter and worse than this 1987 Canon VR-HF800, along with high-expected rate of early failures in few short years, due to drying-up of the surface-mount caps AND the caps at the switching power supply. Replacing all 50 surface-mount caps and rebuilding the power supply can easily reach over $300 in repair bills.

Panasonic can be nicknamed as "PanaScam" sometimes, for deceiving customers believing that their VCRs they bought were rated #1 in reliability, as stated in Consumer Reports. The correct #1, most-reliable rating should be awarded either to Toshiba or JVC in the first place (pretty much tie I think), and then Funai and Sanyo next.
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ok thanks for letting me know.
i unplug it when i am not using it
could you recommend any other models that are good

It depends on what you like. Do you like 2-head mono, 4-head mono, Hi-Fi, or Super VHS? A 2-head mono is going to be the most-reliable, while Super VHS has the best picture quality.
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i was looking at a MITSUBISHI HS-U70 on ebay but it need some repair

Check out a JVC SR-V10U Super VHS. Built-in digital TBC that fixes color noise, pic stability and looks great. 2004 vintage. These were from their Pro line and usually did not get the customer abuse. One on Eby right now.

Here is the JVC spec page;
http://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/s...&feature_id=03

SR-V10U looks almost identical to the HR-S5900U I picked up a while back with box, packing, remote, & manual.

http://support.jvc.com/consumer/prod...2&archive=true


The HR-S9900U has the TBC.

http://support.jvc.com/consumer/prod...1&archive=true

Likely will need some extensive overhauling by someone who knows how to properly repair that mechanism I would pass on that one.

The HR-S9900U looks like a newer version of mine. The TBC got a fancy marketing name finally.

Mitsubishi is NOT so reliable, unless it's a 2-head mono model to start with. Rubber parts were HUGE common problems (some belts would easily turn to goo), and it's also difficult to change the idler tire. Also, there are some caps problem at the power supply, STK regulator failing, and occasional clock display flickering problem. It also has factory-applied glues on the circuit boards that would easily turn to brown-color and become conductive.

Once a full, complete rebuilt is in place with new belts, new pinch roller, and new idler tire, mechanically-wise, it's pretty solid and dependable for the most part, even better than Sharp's and Hitachi's own chassis mechanism, I think.

Mitsubishi, also known as MGA, received average reliability for the most part during the 1980s, according to Consumer Reports, and it was rated the sixth (#6) most-reliable Japanese video-electronic manufacturer by fame and quality reputation, after factoring in CRT TVs, projection TVs, Beta VCRs, VHS VCRs, LaserDisc players, and camcorders altogether.


1980s Japanese reliability by fame and quality reputation traditionally (ranked in order)*:

1. Panasonic/Quasar/Magnavox (most-reliable)
2. Toshiba
3. Sanyo
4. JVC/Zenith
5. Funai/Symphonic/TEAC/Shintom
   
6. Mitsubishi/MGA
7. Sony
8. Sharp
9. Hitachi/RCA
10. NEC
11. Orion/Emerson
12. Fisher (least-reliable)

*Source: 1980-1989 Consumer Reports Buying Guide
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i ordered the HS-U70 off of ebay got it for $30 with free shipping i ordered the kit from studio sound elec. for $15 i changed the pinch roller & the belt on the bottom of the vcr. i did not change the idler tire yet i will wait until it needs it it seems to work fine for now