VCRs that will last forever

[jfrog1983]

Studiosoundelectronics.com is where I source the parts, you are correct.

It doesn't bother me that the Mitsubishi units I like are the unreliable ones, I guess I like the way the mechanism sounds on those mid 1980s Mitsubishi units, these are the ones that use the capstan motor to load and eject the tape and the motor is mounted at rear right corner of the chassis. I will be happy with either a HS-400UR, a 410UR or a 430UR. That one you showed me on ebay seems to be a bit high for a non working unit that needs belts, I have seen pristine stuff like this at thrift stores going for $15 at the most. Maybe I can talk the seller down, who knows...

How are you finding this stuff on ebay? I search for it and it doesn't come up, only a bunch of newer VCRs and remotes and medical grade VCRs. I tried searching for "mitsubishi vcr".

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by jfrog1983

Studiosoundelectronics.com is where I source the parts, you are correct.

No surprise. They were the inventor of online DIY VCR repair kits. I have already sent him more than 1,000 e-mails since the beginning of 2001. Very nice guy with very detailed e-mails. I am rated by him the most number of e-mails sent he ever receives from a buyer.

Originally Posted by jfrog1983

How are you finding this stuff on ebay? I search for it and it doesn't come up, only a bunch of newer VCRs and remotes and medical grade VCRs. I tried searching for "mitsubishi vcr".

The ad title says "Mitsubishi VHS," so it will not show up in eBay search if you type in "Mitsubishi VCR." I used to own a Mitsubishi HS-400UR before, but it arrived with only "EEEE" at the clock display, making the unit totally inoperative, no response, unrepairable, and the VCR told me it was extinct. VCRs should never do this. I wasn't able to fix it due to its bad design, so I tore the whole thing into pieces to relieve my anger.
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The only Mitsubishi VCRs I have in my collection today are HS-423UR S-VHS and HS-U82 S-VHS. I used to own a HS-300UR (very first), HS-304UR, HS-400UR, HS-422UR, and HS-710UR (portable) before.

I worked and finished restoring a Mitsubishi DD-6000 DVD player (Toshiba-made) today. It was the first progressive-scan DVD player ever made in history, and it was Mitsubishi's last Made in Japan DVD player. It retailed for $750 new. The most embarrassing thing I saw was it uses a brushed spindle motor instead of brushless spindle motor found in their earlier decks, something that got into my mind for the whole day.

[jfrog1983]

I bet that "EEEE" problem was the glue problem those older Mitsu VCR's seem to have, shorting out the circuit board parts making the unit die.

I am gonna start messing with changing video head drums on my own, I have like 2 VCR's now that need a new upper cylinder, that video concepts (Mitsubishi HS-400UR or HS-410UR), and a Toshiba I found today.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by jfrog1983

I bet that "EEEE" problem was the glue problem those older Mitsu VCR's seem to have, shorting out the circuit board parts making the unit die.

Glad I don't have any early Mitsubishi VCRs. I just cannot recommend early Mitsubishi VCRs for the super long run.

Originally Posted by jfrog1983

I am gonna start messing with changing video head drums on my own, I have like 2 VCR's now that need a new upper cylinder, that video concepts (Mitsubishi HS-400UR or HS-410UR), and a Toshiba I found today.

Replacing the upper cylinder requires a little star screwdriver to remove the shaft in the video head drum. Sometimes, soldering is required to remove a circuit board on top of the upper cylinder. Not sure about Mitsubishi, but early Panasonic VCRs made before 1982 have the easiest video head to change, in my opinion.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

Glad I don't have any early Mitsubishi VCRs. I just cannot recommend early Mitsubishi VCRs for the super long run.


Replacing the upper cylinder requires a little star screwdriver to remove the shaft in the video head drum. Sometimes, soldering is required to remove a circuit board on top of the upper cylinder. Not sure about Mitsubishi, but early Panasonic VCRs made before 1982 have the easiest video head to change, in my opinion.

Problem I almost always ran into on the Panasonic-made machines was the new upper cylinder, even the OE Matshushita replacements, not fitting snugly to the hub, making the upper cylinder a bit eccentric unless you got real lucky. This would result in a lot of flutter in the linear audio on playback. I resolved that by making a test tape at SLP with color bars and a 3kHz tone recorded on it, on a machine that exhibited very low wow and flutter. I would then play that tape back with a wow/flutter meter plugged into the VCR audio output, and with the uper cylinder screws barely snug, with a plastic screwdriver handle very lightly tap the upper edge of the cylinder as it was running. Yes it sounds crude, but it works! After a few taps the upper cylinder would land at a position where the flutter would drop to less than .1% which is very good, and tighten the screws down at that point. This same tape with the 3kHz tone and W/F meter was a good diagnostic for a bad take-up clutch that plagued those Pannys in those days. The clutch would get sticky and worn, and make very rough almost vibrating takeup torque, which made higher than usual flutter so bad sometimes the linear audio would sound garbled. With the test tape and the W/F meter I could catch those clutches as they were beginning to get sticky and fail even if the unit wasn't in for that particular problem, go ahead and replace while on the bench: "Preventive maintenance".

[jfrog1983]

I didn't know you had to remove the whole shaft. Ed was telling me all you have to do is desolder, and remove the 2 screws on top of the drum, and maybe use a hairdryer if it doesn't come off easily.

Luckily none of my Panasonic VCR's need new drums, even the PV-1545 that was given to me from the previous owner that bought the thing new in 1984.

Now, the power supplies on these are a different story, the caps are gonna need replacing soon.