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  #1  
09-22-2013, 05:09 PM
jczarn jczarn is offline
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Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a while, just trying to take in all the information from this forum as I can. I have volunteered to help my church archive their relatively large (probably over 100?) library of VHS tapes. The tapes are of various types (some amateur, probably many out-of-print commercial small release, and some wide-release commercial). I have already acquired a TBC-1000 and a Magnavox MDR533H/F7 HDD/DVD recorder.

I have a Panasonic AG-1980 that I bought at a thrift store a few years ago, however it seems to have some issues. They are as follows:
1) About 75% of the time, the unit will eject the tape before it is fully loaded. It makes a squeaking/rattling noise as the tape is being loaded, but stops if/when the tape is fully loaded (after opening it up, it looks like the noise is coming from the plastic (cleaner?) arm that has a felt wheel attached to it.)
2) When I do get a tape to play, the colors appear very washed out (with some streaky areas of brighter color).
3) It seems to have a hard time tracking on certain tapes (though granted, it could just be the tapes themselves, although I thought this model was supposed to be pretty good at tracking old tapes)
4) Turning the TBC on appears to make the screen roll vertically regardless of which tape I am playing.
5) Front display is dim, but still readable (don't care as much about this)
6) There is some noticeable hissing coming from the power supply.

I already took the VCR to a local repair shop for a free estimate. Their VCR specialist apparently examined it and told me that they cannot repair it because some parts they would need are no longer available. I have tried several times to get a list of exactly what he found was wrong, but that particular tech never seems to be available when I stop in.

With this in mind, what do you think I should do? Should I try to send it somewhere like Jots or Southern Advantage (paying for shipping without knowing if the thing is repairable within a reasonable cost?) Should I give up and sell my unit on ebay for parts, and buy one that has already been refurbished? Or, should I try to trade it plus some cash to someone on the forum here to get a refurbished unit in return? What do you think would be a reasonable amount of cash to offer in addition to my broken unit for a refurbished unit? I have a masters in electrical engineering, and like to try fixing my own electronics, but from what I read, trying to DIY repair the AG-1980 might be a little out of my league, considering I don't have any VCR repair experience.

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance!
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  #2  
09-22-2013, 06:41 PM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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having it refurbished by someone that know these deck is a good way to go.
at least that way you know it is good
many ebay decks are a gamble and may also need repair.
Ag-1980's are complicated and i would not recommend a DIY repair job
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  #3  
09-23-2013, 09:57 AM
jczarn jczarn is offline
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Thanks for the input. I've read in several forum posts that the head Jots VCR tech retired recently. I've also seen some recommendations for Deter's repair work, but it seems he hasn't been active on any of the forums for about 6 months, and he hasn't responded to my PM. It seems Southern Advantage has developed somewhat of a bad reputation as well, based on what I have read.

Has anybody had any good AG1980 repair experiences lately? Even if I can find a tech, I am worried that the repair cost on this particular unit might be astronomical since it appears to have multiple problems. Is it likely that my unit is truly not repairable, as claimed by my local repair shop?
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  #4  
09-23-2013, 10:52 AM
NJRoadfan NJRoadfan is offline
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The unit can be fixed, but at what cost? The repair shop likely doesn't want to put work into an expensive repair only for you to say "forget it" midway through when more problems crop up. The units shows all the signs of capacitor failure, of which there are many. The parts aren't that expensive, but the labor surely will be.
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  #5  
09-23-2013, 03:47 PM
jczarn jczarn is offline
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Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I have emailed Jots and Stanton with the list of problems I posted above, asking if they think they would be able to repair my unit if I sent it in.

So far, the response I received from Stanton is:
"Unfortunatly no parts are available."

I'm not sure how they determined that without looking at the VCR itself, but it's not looking promising... if Jots doesn't come back with a better answer, I'm not sure what other options I will have.
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  #6  
09-23-2013, 03:58 PM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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southern advantage is probably your best bet for Ag-1980's
they have tons of used parts

Stanton i think wont try to find used parts - ive sent 2 decks to them and both time the same thing - no parts

this is going to be the big problem going forward - the techs that know these decks are all retiring.
no young techs are going to bother learning to fix VCR's
in 20 years it will be hard to find a working high end deck
forget tape degradation - it is deck degradation im worried about
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  #7  
09-23-2013, 07:44 PM
NJRoadfan NJRoadfan is offline
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The problem is these places aren't likely doing component level repairs. "No parts" might mean, "we don't have something we can just swap in and fix it". The only area parts becomes an issue is mechanical stuff in the tape transport and things like video heads, both of which appear to still be available. Don't expect things like the Y/C board or display board to be in stock new from Panasonic. Both can usually be repaired by replacing capacitors.

If folks can keep 50+ year old TVs working despite parts being long out of production, surely they can keep a VCR with electrical issues running. Heck, there are quite a few quadraplex VTRs still in service, mostly for playing back archival material for tape transfers.
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  #8  
09-24-2013, 10:47 AM
Jpass992 Jpass992 is offline
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Don't go with Jots Electronics! My Dad sent his JVC HM DH30000U there and they destroyed the machine! If you want competent repair techs, go to Southern Advantage, I sent my AG 5710 there last year and they fixed it pretty good (had to send it there two times).
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  #9  
09-25-2013, 12:58 PM
jczarn jczarn is offline
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Does anybody have a direct email address for Southern Advantage?

I have tried twice (once a couple months back, and again a few days ago) to use their online quote request form, and have never received a response (yes, I've checked my spam folder).

They have an ebay listing for AG1980 repair service, but it seems a little steep at $285 plus shipping, especially considering they charge you $99 if they decide they can't fix it.
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  #10  
09-25-2013, 01:27 PM
NJRoadfan NJRoadfan is offline
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Its likely best to call them and get a real person on the phone. As for the $99 diagnostic fee, thats standard practice in the repair industry. The person who benches your unit still needs to get paid for his time to take your unit apart and see whats wrong with it. Given the amount of work required to repair every issue in these machines (including capacitor replacement), the $285 doesn't sound completely unreasonable.
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  #11  
09-25-2013, 01:42 PM
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kpmedia kpmedia is offline
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These VCRs are definitely worth repairing.

The local "repair shop" was just a hack shop from the sound of it. This isn't a consumer machine where you just toss out parts and put in new ones, and charge a sap (sorry, "customers") to do this. You have to actually *repair* it. Wow, what a concept!

The color issues and TBC problem you're describing is bad caps. We've had that problem ourselves. They need to all be replaced, preferably with better ones that won't do that exact thing in another 5-10 years.

The tracking issue is bad alignment.

The power supply hissing happens to all units/ After the capacitor heats up, the hissing goes away. It sometimes also sounds like a cricket (chirping). This might be a problem caused by bad caps, but when the caps are replaced and known-good, it's just the way it's built.

We had all of our repaired by Jots -- where we'd gone since the 1980s -- but what's-his-name retired, and he was the only one left to do S-VHS VCR repair work. It ran around $350, so Southern Advantage isn't that expensive. They've got a reputation for doing good work too.

BTW, 100 tapes is a very small archive. My personal one is several hundred!

I would NEVER shop eBay for services like this. Luckily SA is on there, but it's generally a bad idea. (example: Web hosting) Quality business have a good website where detailed info is found. In theory, anyway. (Jots never did.)

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  #12  
09-27-2013, 01:39 PM
jczarn jczarn is offline
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Just wanted to give a quick update.

I got a hold of Southern Advantage on the phone, spoke with a nice gentleman who apologized for not returning my "contact us" form submission. He was able to look up the information I had sent.

He said the $285 service they list on ebay is mainly for replacing/repairing the front display, and for alignment and cleaning etc, and would not include the replacement of the video-related capacitors (which would clearly be needed for my unit).

Given the symptoms I described, he said the repair would probably cost about $380 + $20 return shipping. Does this sound reasonable and worth it? I knew this was going to be expensive, but I wasn't expecting a price quite that high.

I had been in contact with Stefan Ionescu (ebay user ID sionescu1995) regarding the AG1980 repair services he was listing at the time for $235, but I have no idea if his work is good or not.
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  #13  
09-27-2013, 02:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jczarn View Post
Given the symptoms I described, he said the repair would probably cost about $380 + $20 return shipping. Does this sound reasonable and worth it? I knew this was going to be expensive, but I wasn't expecting a price quite that high.
That's not unexpected, no. For that error, that's the going rate.

Now is it expensive? Yeah, I hate paying for repairs -- especially my car. They're ALL expensive. Using repairmen (or maintenance men) always sucks precisely because it's expensive. Plumbers, AC, cars, house contractors, etc. But if that's not your expertise, you're screwed, then end. It doesn't get cheaper. It is what it is. Just suck it up and pay it. That's what I do. Try to make a few bucks elsewhere, doing what you do know how to do. It'll all even out in the end.

So yes, I'd consider using Southern Advantage.

Quote:
I had been in contact with Stefan Ionescu (ebay user ID sionescu1995) regarding the AG1980 repair services he was listing at the time for $235, but I have no idea if his work is good or not.
Offhand, I have no idea who that is. If he wants to contact me, we can likely vet him. I

f he's somebody one of us knows, or can track down online, it'd be a nicer lower-cost option to have. (Anybody doing work like this is undoubtedly online in some other capacity -- often this forum or the VideoHelp forum.)

We'd be more than happy to create a list of recommended repairmen for this deck (and others).

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  #14  
09-27-2013, 03:19 PM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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ive had bad dealings with sionescu1995 on ebay
also bad is Son & Donny Tran AKA AV-collection / Sony-AV collection
both bought "for parts not working" decks from me and then put up huge stinks when they could not repair them.
i usally sell broken ag-1980deck for like $50
1995 bought 2 5710's from me for $100 for both
Southern Advantage offers a warranty and is a well established company
i would recommend using a real company, not these fly-by-nights doing it from their moms basement

you can try Stanton TV too - they do free estimates
they where unable to repair either on my 2 W-VHS decks, but those truly are hard to find parts for.

if i where you i would just buy a nice JVC or a Mitsu HS-HD2000U
those deck are usually in much better shape and have way less problems
there is a nice 2000u ending tonight on ebay - you might be able to score it for $175 starting bid
the Mitsu is one of my favorite decks, it has the JVC TBC with a better transport


AG-1980's where industrial decks used by studios and schools and most have a ton on hours on them by ham-fisted non video people.
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  #15  
09-27-2013, 03:35 PM
jczarn jczarn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by volksjager View Post
you can try Stanton TV too - they do free estimates
they where unable to repair either on my 2 W-VHS decks, but those truly are hard to find parts for.
Unfortunately, they replied to me and said they cannor repair the AG1980 because there are no replacement parts. I wonder if they lost their tech that could actually do component-level repairs...

Quote:
Originally Posted by volksjager View Post
if i where you i would just buy a nice JVC or a Mitsu HS-HD2000U
those deck are usually in much better shape and have way less problems

there is a nice 2000u ending tonight on ebay - you might be able to score it for $175 starting bid
the Mitsu is one of my favorite decks, it has the JVC TBC with a better transport
Looks extremely tempting, but it doesn't come with the remote, and looks like it would be very difficult to obtain. I'll have to keep this one on my watch list. Thanks for the tips!

Quote:
Originally Posted by admin View Post
We'd be more than happy to create a list of recommended repairmen for this deck (and others).
I think that would be extremely helpful for anybody who's looking to get an AG1980 repaired. It seems like a lot of shops that repaired them in the past have just recently decided to stop accepting them, so it would be nice to have list that is somewhat up-to-date (and perhaps even some relative rating of cost and satisfaction).

You guys are great - thanks for all the help!
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  #16  
09-27-2013, 04:30 PM
volksjager volksjager is offline
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there are Mitsubishi HS-HD2000u remotes on ebay - search RM-85001
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  #17  
09-28-2013, 09:51 AM
Jpass992 Jpass992 is offline
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If you're looking for a good deck, I have a JVC HR S6900U. It is one of the VCRs on the list of transfer VCRs. Last year, I had the machine completely realigned, belt changed, and had the power supply overhaul. It comes with the original box, and the original remote. The picture quality from that machine is truly amazing. PM me if you are interested.
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  #18  
09-30-2013, 10:39 AM
jczarn jczarn is offline
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I ended up nabbing the Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U for the opening bid ($175) and was able to obtain a remote for $17 buy-it-now. The VCR itself was listed as "rarely been used since new" and "excellent clean working condition," so we'll see if that is true or not when it arrives.

I'm probably going to hold off on repairing the AG1980 for now. I'm going to give the HD2000U a shot and see how well it does. I'm guessing it will perform well for SP tapes in decent condition. I'm guessing the AG1980 might be needed, though, if I encounter extremely worn tapes, or tapes recorded at slower speeds, right?
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  #19  
09-30-2013, 11:18 AM
NJRoadfan NJRoadfan is offline
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My AG-1980 gets used with troublesome tapes, mostly EP speed and VHS-C tapes in the Playpak adapter. I also managed to snag a JVC DigiPure SVHS deck that actually tracks EP tapes properly, but I still don't trust it with VHS-C tapes.
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  #20  
10-03-2013, 09:21 AM
jczarn jczarn is offline
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Has anybody had experience with these guys?

http://www.mntechcenter.com/panasonic/brd3.htm

$130 flat rate labor for Panasonic VHS decks... they specifically list the AG1980.

Their BBB history has 1 complaint and no other reviews. The 2 google reviews available are somewhat negative. The 1 yelp review is 5-stars.

They claim that their techs are all former Panasonic employees of the official Panasonic Service Center that apparently used to operate in the same building...
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