Panasonic 1980 with grainy picture: Is this VCR in good shape?
 

I'm looking at a Panny 1980 on ebay and the description of the condition is:

Item has been tested as follows:
VHS powers up display illuminates.
Cassettes eject and load successfully.
All transport functions appear normal.
Jog/Shuttle Control is operational.
Front cover opens revealing tape slot and controls.
Search sound operational.
All controls and buttons are functional with no sticky, missing, or otherwise damaged keys.
Sound appears normal.
Video appears very grainy.
Most likely just needs a head cleaning.
Includes VHS and power cable.

I just went through the 10 pages of the video repair threads here on the board and didn't see a problem like this discussed before. Is the seller correct? Is this an easy fix?

Also, this topic gave me an idea. How about a new set of sticky threads for this section of the boards where people can look at all the issues with some of the more popular s-vhs models, and how to address said problems? Like there can be one thread for the Panny 1980 that lists and addresses common problems the machine has.

Don't care. Never use it.

Listing this is f'ng stupid.

This is almost as stupid. The power cable is a standard PC cable. It includes a VHS? What VHS?

These are all good to know, but not most important. So far, nothing has been said about how it works.

This person has no idea what they're talking about. Either that, or he/she is outright lying, and hoping the buyer is gullible. Cleaning a head on a VCR does zilch. VCR heads rarely needs cleanings.

Remember those "head cleaners" they used to sell everywhere? Best Buy, Walmart, etc? Useless.

I've been using VCRs seriously for 20 years now. Rarely have I needed to clean one. In the case of Panasonic AG1980 VCRs, it's definitely caps when anything is wrong. So it likely needs anywhere for $250 to $400 in repairs. Most video errors are obvious, like this one, when the unit has issues.

There's a tiny chance it's fine, but I doubt it in 2013. You're gambling, and the odds are very against you.

The most important issue is how the TBC functions. A bad TBC causes luma, chroma and IRE errors when engaged. And it must be tried on several tapes, as some may appears "fine" when they are not. Commercial tapes are the easiest to test with, as any IRE error that exists tends to make itself known with a tape that has anti-copy. (Although in some cases, it's just the tape. Keep note of that. So try several.)

The "comets" issue is another major one. Again, not mentioned. If it has "grainy" video:
- the comets are likely there
- the TBC may or may not work as desired
- and and chroma/luma/IRE is likely off (wrong values)

Don't buy this one. :unsure:

Yes, this is a good idea. I'm trying to work on this site more this winter, and I want to spend a lot of time on adding and updating capture-related information. VCRs, capture cards, workflows, etc.A list is being compiled here, and I just added two items for this issue. A warning about eBay seller, and one about common VCR issues.

Good idea. That's what it takes -- people like you help make this site better. :congrats:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231080842478

Looking at the pictures, I am going to assume its been taken apart at least once since it appears to be in a workshop. With ebay, assume that everything is broken. There is no video sample, so one can't say for sure whats wrong with it. Grainy is very vague description, it could be anything.

If you expect to have the unit professionally repaired, I'd try and snag one as cheap as possible and budget the extra cash for servicing. Here are a couple of fixer/uppers. Both have dim/dead displays, so assume they all need to have their capacitors replaced.

www.ebay.com/itm/261314743527
www.ebay.com/itm/390686176073

Thanks for the input LS. This definitely helps when it comes to paying close attention to a seller's description in regards as to whether or not they know what they're talking about. TBH I was on the fence about that item but still wanted some input, as well as using this example as a segue regarding my idea. I'm glad you like my idea and have already taken steps towards it. I look forward to the new things this site will have to offer in the future.

NJ, thank you as well for providing your input and your examples. I don't plan on using a repair service though.

With a AG-1980 its "Caveat Emptor". Go to the local casino and spin the roulette wheel, it'll be about the same odds as getting a 100% working unit. That being said, aside from a dim display, my "untested" AG-1980 works fine.

The most important thing is to buy from somebody honest and knowledgeable. :)

We recently purchased a Panasonic AG-1980P from volksjager, who claimed it was in good condition. He gave details on how the videos performed, how it performed mechanically, and I think we asked some questions. Given that he's an excellent member of this site, with obvious knowledge of VCRs, we had no reason to not trust him.

Originally, the idea was to give me my unit back, and use the new one for the business. But when the deck got here, it worked so well, that I've claimed it for myself! It's now my personal unit, for hobby use only. I've not had a Panasonic deck just for me in years, and I'm looking forward to it! I now have a JVC 9800, an SR-V10U, and the 1980 just for myself. Not sharing!

I can't really work anymore (maybe temporary, maybe not), due to health, outside of consulting and a few smaller projects, so I needed to break away and bring my stuff home. I have a perfect workflow here now. The three VCRs, an old AVT-8710 TBC, SignVideo detailer, BVP4+ proc amp, and an ATI AIW x1900 PCIE WinXP dual-core system tweaked for 15Mb/s MPEG-2 Blu-ray captures (my capture format of choice), with 3TBs of temp capture space.

So that worked out very well. I just hope it holds out for the 500+ tapes I plan to feed it in the coming year!

Longevity is always an issue with these decks. If it goes out, that's easily another $250-400 for repairs.

I can understand why, given it's popularity. I was leaning towards getting one originally, but based on more info. on it (such as yours), I'm gonna go with one of the JVC models instead. I plan on transferring my vhs-c tapes into donor vhs tapes now, so I don't need to worry about the JVC models eating them. A common problem with vhs-c adapters I've heard.

Yes, that would be fine if the VHS-C are SP mode. Do that.

Depending on how many you have, it's also cheaper to just pay a service. (I think I've mentioned that already, however.)

I had to drill out the VHS tape giving trouble here, and it's still sitting in another room. I may take picture of that one. Not sure yet. Most VCR tapes have screws, and I'd rather show how that's done. The screwless tapes are a huge, PITA. Thankfully, few tapes like this exist, and those are mostly from the 80s. I've only had to do it twice in 20 years!

the AG-1980 is an awesome deck
but beware many have been rode hard and put away wet.
grainy or dark video or diagonal red/blue line is 100% bad caps - avoid these decks they cost too much to fix

transport issues are not as bad -
i have fixed a bunch of decks where simply the lube dried up on the pinch roller and it would not move.
or the little plastic dink on the roller that engages the cam breaks off
this is an easy fix you can do yourself.

LS ive run into the screwless tapes too - usually TDK super avilyn
just drill out and put the tape in a normal shell
if anyone needs donor tapes i have a bunch- i can send for the cost of shipping

the JVC decks are great too
just shop around - you can find good deals
here is a list of every US model TBC equipped deck im aware of:

Panasonic AG-5710
Panasonic AG-1970
Panasonic AG-1980
Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U
Marantz MV-8300
GoVideo SDV-650
JVC HR-S7500U
JVC HR-S7600U
JVC HR-S7800U
JVC HR-S7900U
JVC HR-S9500U
JVC HR-S9600U
JVC HR-S9800U
JVC HR-S9900U
JVC HR-S9911U
JVC SR-V10U
JVC SR-V101U
JVC SR-MV30
JVC SR-MV40
JVC SR-MV45
JVC SR-MV50
JVC SR-MV55
JVC SR-VS10U
JVC SR-VS20U
JVC SR-VS30U
JVC HR-DVS1U
JVC HR-DVS2U
JVC HR-DVS3U
JVC SR-VD300U
JVC SR-VD400U
JVC HM-DH30000U
JVC HM-DH40000U
JVC HM-DH5U
JVC HM-DT100U
JVC HM-HDS1U
JVC SR-W5U
JVC SR-W7U

the unit i sold KP/LS is one of the nicer ones ive found it was made in 1999
another member bought 2 from me that were made in Aug 2001 and where extremely nice

ive found the newer the better when it come to AG-1980s
newer units will most likely have had less use.
AG-1980's where made from 1995 unit 2001
the first 2 digits of the serial number are the month and year:
like A1 would be Jan 2001 and J5 would be Oct 1995

You have mentioned the service LS, and I understand that for 6-8 vhs-c tapes and only 3 vhs tapes I should just have them sent out, but after reading this article about 2 months ago that people posted a bunch of their experiences of what goes on behind the scenes at their jobs (I think it was reddit but can't confirm) and finding out how UPS and FEDEX treat their packages I am very weary about shipping out my priceless memories.

Plus I'll admit that as a hobby I do enjoy learning all this stuff and trying it out for myself. I still can't get over how cool it is fixing the color in some of the older footage from just the dvd rips of the footage and just messing around with virtualdub.

Yep, that was it! A late 1980s or early 1990s TDK. I hate those screwless tapes. This tape has more issues. Getting it open was the easy part.

In 13 years (since 2001), we've never had issues. Just pack the tape well, and it's always fine. If you read too many articles like that, you'd never want to drink water (bottled or municipal), eat anything you didn't grow yourself, etc. Yes, bad things happen, but it's almost always fine. Don't let the under-1% scare you from the 99%+ that's fine.

Like I tell others, if you want to DIY, we can tell you how. But it's often cheaper AND easier to just send it somewhere reliable (like us).

These are the JVC VCRs I suggest:
JVC HR-S7600U
JVC HR-S7800U
JVC HR-S7900U
JVC HR-S9600U
JVC HR-S9800U
JVC HR-S9900U
JVC SR-V10U