VHS VCR 15-year average reliability data (1978-1993)...

[holmesuser01]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

And the idler pulley ass'y too. Many of those.

I could go to the shed and find a few of these if I look for a minute...

Speaking of Akai VCR's...

I had one for a time that had a built in audio amplifier with speaker connections. I used it for a tweeter set-up on my TV for years. It got retired (haw haw) after the idler tire died, and I had nothing on hand to replace it. By then, Akai didnt want to know me for parts.

Speaking of Fisher VCR's I had a Fisher FVH-840 unit that ran for over 10 years, with a yearly replacement of the idler and clutches and belts. It ate a friends cherished tape once, and my friend has never let me forget it.

I bought this Fisher because it was Hi-Fi, and also had linear stereo, too. A local radio station came through the AFM circuitry loud and clear during the day, and was silent when they powered down at night. When I moved back to NC, there were no issues.

Bought an FVH-950 to replace the other Fisher. It lasted 1 year and 5 months before it simply died. I was hating Fisher at that point, so I bought a Sony with a flying erase head. It's still here today, with minor repairs.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by holmesuser01

I could go to the shed and find a few of these if I look for a minute...

Speaking of Akai VCR's...

I had one for a time that had a built in audio amplifier with speaker connections. I used it for a tweeter set-up on my TV for years. It got retired (haw haw) after the idler tire died, and I had nothing on hand to replace it. By then, Akai didnt want to know me for parts.

I remember seeing one or two of those come in the shop. Heavy beasts due to the power transformer for the audio amplifier section. Just add speakers and you had stereo!

Originally Posted by holmesuser01

Speaking of Fisher VCR's I had a Fisher FVH-840...
I bought this Fisher because it was Hi-Fi, and also had linear stereo, too. ..

I bought and still have a Mitsubishi HS-430U that 's hi-fi and linear stereo for all those old stereo tapes I made on the two linear stereo Panasonics I went through before hi-fi came out. Years ago I de-glued all the boards in the Mitsubishi. It even had glue around the drum stator board. They sure didn't want any parts falling out!

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

I bought and still have a Mitsubishi HS-430U that 's hi-fi and linear stereo for all those old stereo tapes I made on the two linear stereo Panasonics I went through before hi-fi came out. Years ago I de-glued all the boards in the Mitsubishi. It even had glue around the drum stator board. They sure didn't want any parts falling out!

Did you buy it new in 1985, and was the HS-430UR considered as a reliable model? Other techs have told me to to stay away from it.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

Did you buy it new in 1985, and was the HS-430UR considered as a reliable model? Other techs have told me to to stay away from it.

Yep bought it brand-new at the old Videoland on Preston Rd in Dallas, for $899 + tax. Very unreliable. I would only own one if I could fix it. Did not know that at the time though. I flat wore out the service manual fixing those for customers. I kept the service manual for it. Many things can and did go wrong: Tape path alignment, regulator IC , glue on the boards, idler arm ass'y, mode encoder switch, flip-down control panel ground wires, lamps that illuminated the tape well that could be left on all the time which made it run hot, just off the top of my head!

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

Very unreliable. I would only own one if I could fix it. Did not know that at the time though. I flat wore out the service manual fixing those for customers. I kept the service manual for it. Many things can and did go wrong: Tape path alignment, regulator IC , glue on the boards, idler arm ass'y, mode encoder switch, flip-down control panel ground wires, lamps that illuminated the tape well that could be left on all the time which made it run hot, just off the top of my head!

Thanks for the write-up. As far as I know, the early-1980s Mitsubishi had been extremely troublesome. I used own a 1982 HS-304UR, Mitsubishi's first front-loader, and it had a horizontal streak line in playback, and the right-reel motor didn't work. I also owned a HS-430UR, like you have right now, and the transport mechanism would get stuck trying to wrap it to video head. Put in some greese, and it worked okay now. Fortunately, I had a lucky buyer wanted to buy the HS-430UR from me for $700 shipped.

Do you still have your Panasonic AG-1830, and did you try to repair it? Is it still running today?
.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

...I had a lucky buyer wanted to buy the HS-430UR from me for $700 shipped.

hmmm..

Do you still have your Panasonic AG-1830, and did you try to repair it? Is it still running today?

Yes, still have, and no it is not working. Looked into it. Very modular construction and packed tight, boards loaded with miniature electrolytics not SMD and boards, tops of capacitors adj pots etc all covered with hot glue looks like. Too much trouble since I have other units that work fine. Was very disappointed with that AG-1830 that it had a variation of the G chassis and a SMPS. For some reason when I ordered it new from an outfit in NY I thought it would have a linear PS and the older mechanism similar to AG-1800. Had a beautiful rec-pb picture when it was new. I had just gotten a C-band satellite receiver and had excellent picture and audio quality, and needed S-VHS after seeing that.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

hmmm..

Yes, assuming your Mitsubishi HS-430UR is in mint, rarely-used, like-new condition, PLUS original box, remote, manual, and packaging, it does sell for $700 shipped on eBay easily. That's what I had. I originally paid only $65 shipped for it.

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

Yes, still have, and no it is not working. Looked into it. Very modular construction and packed tight, boards loaded with miniature electrolytics not SMD and boards, tops of capacitors adj pots etc all covered with hot glue looks like. Too much trouble since I have other units that work fine. Was very disappointed with that AG-1830 that it had a variation of the G chassis and a SMPS.

What went wrong with the Panasonic AG-1830? Describe the problem, and maybe I can help you troubleshoot it faster.

I also currently own a 1987 Canon VR-HF800, a clone-model of Panasonic AG-1820, and previous-year model of AG-1830, and it has served me well so far. While it does have the G-chassis mechanism and switching power supply (already rebuilt), and it's not S-VHS, it does NOT use any surface-mount caps or miniature electrolytics on the video/audio board, so electronics still work good today for the most part. Only the S-VHS units have them. In my opinion, the S-VHS feature by Panasonic, which was a lousy-design by them in the first place, decreased the reliability of the VCR by more than 60%, versus the one without S-VHS.

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

For some reason when I ordered it new from an outfit in NY I thought it would have a linear PS and the older mechanism similar to AG-1800. Had a beautiful rec-pb picture when it was new. I had just gotten a C-band satellite receiver and had excellent picture and audio quality, and needed S-VHS after seeing that.

Surprise, huh. Panasonic was well-known to cut corners in production easily, because making their VCRs smaller and lighter was their top priority. There was a Panasonic PV-4863 with 4-head Hi-Fi that looked just as small as the $30 Magnavox DVD player selling at Wal-Mart right now. It only had power, stop/eject, and channel buttons at the front. The REW, FF, and REC buttons were omitted. It does run really hot, unfortunately.

The AG-1800 and AG-1810 were probably the best VCRs ever made by Panasonic. Is your AG-1800 still running fine today?

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

I used own a 1982 HS-304UR, Mitsubishi's first front-loader, and it had a horizontal streak line in playback...

Worked on many of those and the linear stereo 4 head HS-330UR model too.