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

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

HR-D225 -
Some of the problems I've seen:

Broken gears #12, 13, 14 on the side of the "cassette housing" or FL ass'y.
IC201 FL drive burned out
IC1, IC2 photo-interruptors on the reel sensor board
Photo-transistors #31 on the FL ass'y
Cassette lid opener lever #47
Door opener gear #23 not fully opening the door after wear and fatigue, jams on eject
R and L front-load "insert" switches
Rec safety leaf switch
Tape UL, AL position leaf switches
Reel idler ass'y
Reel clutch
Head-switching relay RY1 on the head connection board
More belts too since it is DC motor-belt-flywheel capstan.

Yikes... So, would you rate the HR-D225U less-reliable than the HR-7650U? I may consider getting another HR-7650U as a backup if there isn't any one better.

What about the HR-D750U and HR-D180U? Are they better than HR-D225U?

[Tony75]

I'm with Ed on the 830, i personally find that chassis of JVC quite reliable and very easy to work on. Actually they got easier to work on than the 830 in the later models, same mechanism, just mounted in the middle without a heap of circuitry on top of the mechanism to remove first.
My first VCR was a HRJ200, which uses this mechanism, it has been given a [B]lot[B] of use and has only given trouble once. Despite being a mono machine it is very very easy to program quickly for timeshifting, hence the lot of use.

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

What about the HR-D750U and HR-D180U? Are they better than HR-D225U?

They don't have as many hard to obtain parts as the older ones like the 225. 225 was made in 1983-84. 750-180 probably 1986-87 time frame.And I recall those do have linear power supplies and transformers. Rarely if ever a PS problem. My main issue with the 225 is not that it was so unreliable, it's the unique parts that did fail were not your general off the shelf components. We saw many of those and probably most of the things that fail in them. I could probably keep a HR-D830 going with less concern for some oddball gear or lever failing. A capacitor fail in the SMPS.. replace it! No biggie. A FL side gear snap off on a 225, forget it, unless someone has some old obsolete parts still in stock.

Here ya go.. HR-3300 VCR, the first VHS VCR, I think. Something worth collecting! But if you find one be sure it has the optional RT-3300 timer installed!



Was also sold by Mitsubishi as the HS-100U.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

My main issue with the 225 is not that it was so unreliable, it's the unique parts that did fail were not your general off the shelf components. We saw many of those and probably most of the things that fail in them.

So, the HR-7650U was indeed a more-reliable model than the HR-D225U that you exactly described. Thanks for the write-up, and I will be sure to avoid the HR-D225U. Of course, I would much rather prefer cleaning the rollers in the HR-7650U than changing broken gears in the HR-D225U.

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

They don't have as many hard to obtain parts as the older ones like the 225. 225 was made in 1983-84. 750-180 probably 1986-87 time frame.And I recall those do have linear power supplies and transformers. Rarely if ever a PS problem.

That's good news so far. Please list of all problems you saw in the HR-D750U, HR-D180U, and HR-D237U, and do you or not classify them as reliable? Why are they not #1 in your list, when they're supposed to be? Why the HR-D830U instead?

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by waltchan

That's good news so far. Please list of all problems you saw in the HR-D750U, HR-D180U, and HR-D237U, and do you or not classify them as reliable? Why are they not #1 in your list, when they're supposed to be? Why the HR-D830U instead?

If I recall (don't have the old service manual for those as reference like I do for the 225..) intermittent mode encoder switch can cause slack tape hanging out of cassette upon eject, intermittent ground on the bottom deck terminal board, power it on, squeals and shuts off (fixed with a star washer under one of the screws to ensure good grounding) slipping reel idler, loose entry and exit guides causing tape path error and mistracking, stuff like that.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

If I recall (don't have the old service manual for those as reference like I do for the 225..) intermittent mode encoder switch can cause slack tape hanging out of cassette upon eject, intermittent ground on the bottom deck terminal board, power it on, squeals and shuts off (fixed with a star washer under one of the screws to ensure good grounding) slipping reel idler, loose entry and exit guides causing tape path error and mistracking, stuff like that.

That doesn't sound too bad. Looks somewhat reliable to me for the most part. Most important to me is it has a linear transformer power supply inside. I refuse to take one with a switching power supply, like the HR-D830U, because it ALWAYS cost me $30-$40 to rebuild, and I get sick of that already, along with my frustrations with Panasonic's serious electronic aging issues. I have a 1988 Panasonic PV-S4880 being tear apart right now with a locked-up capstan motor and video board needing new surface-mount caps.

In my repair experience, I found the 80s Toshiba and Funai/Shintom decks to be the most-reliable and longest-lasting, which I first suspected 5 years ago. And now, Studio Sound Electronics finally admitted and confirmed Toshiba, Shintom, and Funai being the top 3, most-reliable VCR brands, so that's great news for me.
.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by Ed in Tx

If I recall (don't have the old service manual for those as reference like I do for the 225..) intermittent mode encoder switch can cause slack tape hanging out of cassette upon eject, intermittent ground on the bottom deck terminal board, power it on, squeals and shuts off (fixed with a star washer under one of the screws to ensure good grounding) slipping reel idler, loose entry and exit guides causing tape path error and mistracking, stuff like that.

Apparently, I can't get one of this, as the seller ran out-of-stock of the HR-D750U that I wanted in the first place. Now, I can choose the HR-7650U again, HR-D225U, or HR-VP700U only. These are the only models that interested me.