digitalFAQ.com Forum - Review: AVRepair.com to fix AG-1980P

Back in March I posted about encountering "wavy-colour-lines" with my AG-1980P unit. As usual, members of this forum were helpful in guiding me in ways to repair the unit.

Unfortunately, TGrantPhoto was not an option for me as they don't accept orders from Canada or payment via a Canadian credit card.

After some searching I found a site called AVRepair.com and I contacted them regarding the issues with my AG-1980P.
Shortly after sending the email, Cameron from AVRepair got back to me with a knowledgable, friendly, and very detailed email regarding what was most likely wrong with my unit and the steps he would take to fix it.

Cameron mentioned that he used to work at Panasonic in Secaucus, NJ and that their VCRs were one of the things he worked on. He's been repairing machines for well over 30 years. AVRepair has repaired hundreds of AG-1980 units for the University of Florida, law enforcement, duplication houses, and professional clients.

He referred to "bullet proofing" my unit by stripping down the mechanics, removing the old dried grease, replacing defective pieces, and replacing all the 'bad caps'.
I know the forum members are familiar with the correct process to repair these units, but I wanted to list off specific details Cameron mentioned in his email to demonstrate that it seemed clear to me that he knows what he's doing when it comes to fixing professional VCRs.

I protected and packaged up my unit and shipped to AVRepair on April 12. I received the repaired unit May 25. The VCR was even packaged up better than I had sent it to him. It was wrapped in this bubble wrap I've only seen a handful of times. I think it's called "Supertube". Very thin strip of bubbled air. The unit was wrapped several times in the stuff. Oh, and it was even wrapped in clear plastic, like you'd find when you purchase a new machine! Unit also appeared cleaner than when I sent it to him like the exterior was void of dust/oil.

I know it's only been a few days since I've had the machine back and I've only run three 2+ hour tapes, but there's a HUGE difference in the performance of the machine. No more wavy lines. No loss of quality when toggling the TBC switch. It also runs almost silently. Simply put: It's a thing of beauty.

When I sent off my previous AG-1980 to another repair place last year, I did not notice a performance increase of this caliber, which is why I had to write this review. Also, with so few professional repair shops around, I think it's important more people know about AVRepair. Especially for those of us who are operating outside of the United States.

Cost of repair was $400USD. Shipping is a flat $25, but that was waived as I handled the shipping both ways via Fedex.

I had a great experience with AVRepair and I'm loving my repaired AG-1980P. :congrats: