VCRs that will last forever

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

Yuck!!! Glad I never own a NEC or Sony VCR. I would go paranoid if I get problems like this similar to yours. 85% of the time, all the vintage VCRs I bought and added to my collection since the last 8 years only require new belts, cleaning, and lubrication. Luckily, these problems never show up in my Panasonic, Canon, Funai, Orion, and Sharp VCRs.

Just a hint, NEC and Sony VCRs were rated below average in reliability by Consumer Reports during that time-frame.

Being exclusively in the VCR service business here in Dallas all during the '80s and '90s, that's one reason I dumped my subscription to Consumer Reports.. CR didn't know what they were talking about half the time! I found too many errors in their reviews on the limited things I knew something about. Figured they might not be too accurate on other things too.

I've repaired HUNDREDS of Panasonics with dead power supplies and many mechanical problems, Canons too in their heyday, Funai (D503 anyone? Warped sensor prisms, sticking reel drive clutches.. mode switches, cheapo plastic tape guides that break off... made lots of money fixin' those Funai-Symphonics), Sharps, even some Orions (the Emerson TV-VCRs made by Orion come to mind...)

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

I've repaired HUNDREDS of Panasonics with dead power supplies and many mechanical problems, Canons too in their heyday, Funai (D503 anyone? Warped sensor prisms, sticking reel drive clutches.. mode switches, cheapo plastic tape guides that break off... made lots of money fixin' those Funai-Symphonics), Sharps, even some Orions (the Emerson TV-VCRs made by Orion come to mind...)

So, which brand did you like?

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

So, which brand did you like?

I like the older Matshushita-built machines with the die-cast chassis up until the G chassis which was clunky, slow, and troublesome. I like the JVCs even with their usual problems, some of the Mitsubishis.. HS-U69 S-VHS is an excellent machine, the Mit HS-U52 regular VHS darn near looks like S-VHS has excellent rec-play picture. They ALL break and have their problems though. They provided me with a good living for 20+ years. If they didn't break I wouldn't have made a career of it.

I own and have pretty much distilled it all down to the 3 in my house now; a JVC HR-S5900U, a Mitsubishi HS-U790 (that I had to replace the whole mechanism in), and a Mit HS-430U because it has hifi and Dolby linear stereo for my old tapes I made on a pre-HiFi Pana PV-1780 in '83-84. I have a Mit HS-U52 I fixed up for a guy, even ordered a new remote for it, and he never came to get it! (Been here 2-3 years, just lost interest in it) I like a lot of the older Sony VHS machines too. Yeah they have their issues but I can work on them. I guess it gives me a bit different perspective picking those for familiarity and ease of repair since I can probably keep these running into the foreseeable future. Sony and JVC might actually have parts for older machines too. Mitsubishi- if it's more than 5 years old forget it... usually "Part NLA".

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

I like the older Matshushita-built machines with the die-cast chassis up until the G chassis which was clunky, slow, and troublesome.

What about Canon standalone VCRs (not portables) like VR-HF600, VR-HF710, and VR-HF720? They all were made by Panasonic, used aluminum die-cast chassis, and linear power supply (heavy transformer) instead of switch-mode power supply?

I also own a Mitsubishi HS-U82 SVHS that was brand new in the box. Any comments you want to say about HS-U82?

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

What about Canon standalone VCRs (not portables) like VR-HF600, VR-HF710, and VR-HF720? They all were made by Panasonic, used aluminum die-cast chassis, and linear power supply (heavy transformer) instead of switch-mode power supply?

I also own a Mitsubishi HS-U82 SVHS that was brand new in the box. Any comments you want to say about HS-U82?

The Canons standalone (and portables) were basically rebadged and painted different color Panasonic Industrial machines AG-1800 I think on your 600, nice heavy-duty machine.

HS-U82 I recall basically same mechanism as HS-U52 I have but does it have the Piezo heads that auto track the tape for noiseless video on FF-Rev search? Trying to remember if it was that one or the HS-U80.. one came in with the slip-ring commutator on top of the cyinder to drive the Piezo heads was completely worn out, and no longer available. The customer really cried about that. (Without my file cabinets full of service manuals I begin to get a little fuzzy on remembering all the details.) Keep the pinch lift cam mechanism lubed, an eye on the brake pads as they wear out and make the tape snap off the hub at the end of Fast rewind sometimes because it doesn't stop fast enough, and back-tension band, pinch roller. reel belt.. normal wearing parts stuff. Maybe give the rotary mode encoder switch a little shot of DeOxit.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

HS-U82 I recall basically same mechanism as HS-U52 I have but does it have the Piezo heads that auto track the tape for noiseless video on FF-Rev search? Trying to remember if it was that one or the HS-U80.. one came in with the slip-ring commutator on top of the cyinder to drive the Piezo heads was completely worn out, and no longer available. The customer really cried about that. (Without my file cabinets full of service manuals I begin to get a little fuzzy on remembering all the details.) Keep the pinch lift cam mechanism lubed, an eye on the brake pads as they wear out and make the tape snap off the hub at the end of Fast rewind sometimes because it doesn't stop fast enough, and back-tension band, pinch roller. reel belt.. normal wearing parts stuff. Maybe give the rotary mode encoder switch a little shot of DeOxit.

Yes, same mechanism. HS-U82 has this Piezo heads with noiseless video search.

[waltchan]

I wonder if anyone has any opinions with Fisher VCRs in general? Consumer Reports rated Fisher the worst of the worst brand, doubling the repair rate from the second worst brand, which was Hitachi. However, Consumer Reports rated Sanyo the second most reliable brand after Panasonic. With Fisher VCR's worst repair record throughout the whole 80s, it prevents me to buy a used Fisher Studio Standard Hi-Fi VCR on eBay, although I would like a Fisher, since Fisher only made high-end VCRs. What is the difference between Sanyo and Fisher, and why was there a very huge gap in reliability difference?

[breetie]

--waltchan:

I just finished restoring a Mitsubishi HS-U80, HS-U82 and an HS-U65. It took some doing, the HS-U80 had suffered terrible indignities at the hands of someone who attempted to fix it, but apparently gave up half way through disassembly. I had to buy an HS-U51 (it may have been an HS-U52 now that I think about it) to salvage the parts from. In any event, it just got a new head, so the machine is amazing, for what it is. I had a few S-VHS tapes some friends made of my R/C races. I had no idea the image was as clear as it was in S-VHS. I was impressed, I honestly didn't expect that from it.
At any rate...are there any notable differences between the HS-U82 and the HS-U80 from your perspective? And, would you happen to know a website or forum post that deals with the various technical capabilities of both as an itemized list? I've been looking for a history on Mitsubishi's machines, as well as production dates and various changes in design that might have occured with these models.