Panasonic AG-1980 worth it for VHS-C?

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billct97

I thought I had read the VHS-C adapters (other brands) in general were poor but my comment was how solid this JVC adapter is!

Ah, yes, accurate on both. VHS-C adapters = mostly bad, JVC = good.

Quote:

I've also wanted to deploy some audio gear to better manage the audio but have not yet.
Question, can putting an amplifier in the audio record path work for adjusting levels or would that risk the video and audio being slightly out of sync?

Get a Mackie mixer for $99: https://amzn.to/3D0sHcU
That's cheap!
There's a $69 version, but it removed function/features.
Don't buy non-Mackie for under $100, you'll be sorry.
You'll need audio cables to convert RCA to stereo 1/4. The RCA in/out is bypass on the mixer.

Quote:

switch box I am using

Those are noise generators, more than not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinoman64

I've gone ahead and purchased a ag-5710 I had my eye on from eBay (I know).

As long as you know.

Quote:

I can return it. Seller claims it "accepts and ejects tapes" so that's already a lot better than 90% of what's on eBay. Wish me luck....

It's not always that easy.

Did you know that eBay gives the seller not only your shipping address, but also your phone number? And if you have alternate billing address (or phone number), eBay customer service is dumb enough to be social engineered to give those out?

Now imagine a crazy eBay seller
- writing you threatening eBay messages
- sending emails
- mailing threatening letters
- phone calls at 1 am

All screaming that you ripped him off, broke his "good" stuff, and stating that he "may have to fly down to visit you" at some unnamed time. Of course, the item was mail to you with no padding, in a free box he got from Aldi (complete with rotten banana smell). But it's your fault! Scammer! Scammer!

eBay does nothing about this.

Worth it? --- Especially since you know the odds for this item actually being good is so low?

Even if the seller is sane, the returns process (and actually getting the refund) can take more than a month. Meanwhile, you still have no VCR, and your funds are tied up.

Quote:

Obviously I'll be replacing ALL the caps if the mechanism is in good shape. To some it may be a waste of time, but if it wasn't a VCR, I'd be repairing something else for fun anyway. If it works out I'll have a working unit for less than a quarter of what a "professionally restored" one would cost.

Enjoy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarryTheCrab

Not too long ago I broke the rules and from EBAY got an absolute new-in-the-box JVC S7800u. P r i s t i n e .

I can see this. It's lower risk, less can go wrong with it. It doesn't happen over, but less than "never".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary34

I know Deter used to advice people to contact him before an eBay buy and then let him talk to the seller then ship it directly to him to avoid further shipping cost. I don’t think eBay is a bad place to buy a Panasonic 1980p from ideally if you contact someone that knows about them first and just plan on it needing a refurb. Buying a cheap 1980p from eBay seems a lot better than buying one “lightly used” from eBay and the seller wants the moon for it then you still have to refurb it. I don’t think Deter is an option right now.
Good luck.

That was definitely not recent. He/I/others are not accepting eBay-bought random gear/junk anymore. The pandemic era newbies ruined tons of gear, botched repairs, and it get relisted to eBay constantly.

He's still closed, from what I know. I think he got burn-out. It's happened to quite a few of us in recent years. Even 12voltvids tends to rant and throw stuff in his repair videos these days. Some of this gear is downright frustrating.

[Gary34]

These should be good for your Mix 8 if you get one.

https://amzn.to/4ippYbX

https://amzn.to/3Xs363w

It’s probably best not to get https://www.parts-express.com/1-4-St...r-Plug-090-314. It pulls too much on the input especially if you have thick heavy audio cables.

This could be a good choice too https://amzn.to/3DngjUc

Quote:

That was definitely not recent.

I read it in a post he made years ago. He probably has changed sense then.

-- merged --

That good to know about Deter not wanting to take eBay buys. I wonder if Deter still takes 1980s that have previously been refurbished by Tgrant.

[billct97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary34

That good to know about Deter not wanting to take eBay buys. I wonder if Deter still takes 1980s that have previously been refurbished by Tgrant.

On that topic... I bought my AG-1980 in 2018 from TGrant with the impression that they were a reliable source. Has that changed? Were units back then not being fully refurbished/caps replaced/aligned? I've been happy with mine except for the video I shared this week where the color was a bit weaker than on my JVC 9800.

[Gary34]

Did you leave your 1980 plugged in without a UPS?

A UPS would help but even if you did have the power running through a UPS Tgrant is not considered a reliable source anymore.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary34

This could be a good choice too https://amzn.to/3DngjUc

I use something like this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by billct97

On that topic... I bought my AG-1980 in 2018 from TGrant with the impression that they were a reliable source. ...Were units back then not being fully refurbished/caps replaced/aligned? .

Correct. He was doing a lousy/incomplete recap job, only replacing "bad"/failed caps, not all caps (ie, failing caps not yet fully failed). Furthermore, he was cheaping out on the caps used, according to Deter/others (because of them having seen his prior work).

Deter refused to service one of my TGrant decks, it was internally a mess.

Many of us were initially happy, then pretty pissed once we learned what was (not) done. He wanted big bucks to re-repair decks that he should have re-capped fully/properly the first time. We felt fleeced. You see TGrant buyers from time to time, posting on this forum, and sometimes others.

At some point, after the backlash, before/during the pandemic, he supposedly now fully re-caps decks, but wants $1400 for it, which is insane.

[billct97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Correct. He was doing a lousy/incomplete recap job, only replacing "bad"/failed caps, not all caps (ie, failing caps not yet fully failed). Furthermore, he was cheaping out on the caps used, according to Deter/others (because of them having seen his prior work).

Yeay... So far the AG-1980 hasn't given me any trouble so fingers crossed. The display is bright and everything responds as if it's a healthy machine. Time will tell. If it's just a recapping that I might have to do myself someday, that's not beyond my skills as long as they aren't surface mount. Does anyone have handy a list of which caps should be replaced? Any common issues to look out for? I cleaned the heads on the JVC (the right way) but am terrified to open the AG-1980. I should probably just rip the band aid off and realize there's nothing to be scared of in there.

On side note... I had thought all I had was 125 VHS tapes, 2 quality VHS decks, a bunch of low end, low usage VHS decks for FF/RW/risk mitigation and a decent workflow. I should be in good shape. In the last few weeks I now have 4 VHS-C tapes from my neighbor, a dozen 80's and 90's VHS borrowed from a friend who archives audio, 2 tapes from a thrift store (no mold) and a tape of 90's TV shows from my sister in law. Plus my sister in laws low end Sony VHS and the neighbors VHS-C camcorder. I can see how this hobby can get out of hand! LOL.

[dinoman64]

Update: Received my AG-5710 in the mail, its very clean. Somebody has had the front face off because the cassette door was trapped shut, had to take it off and install it properly.

Opened the unit up and it looked pristine, even the little sponge for cleaning the heads looked like new. The machine would accept a tape then immediately eject it. The guide rollers where not pulling the tape out of the cassette. You could hear the loading motor slipping.

I got it working and playing tapes by temporarily super-gluing the infamous loading motor coupler which was cracked, and greasing the pinch roller assembly as it was so dried out it wouldn't move. No audio at the moment. Video looks ok, some weird noise.

Power supply squeals pretty bad, needs caps. The whole machine needs all the caps replaced but we already knew that would be the case.

The head drum is audibly noisy when it spins up, possibly the bearings, might just be down to bad caps though.

Tape path looks good while playing, but when seeking in reverse the tape crumples a bit on the audio head, will have to address that but I don't want to mess with the guides if I don't have to.

Over all, I think I got a pretty good deal on a possible low hours unit, I guess I'll know for sure once it's re-capped. Not bragging here, I'm just happy that it appears to be a good repair candidate and not a pile of junk.

Also, as far as these being difficult to work on, I got it playing and ejecting tapes in under 2 hours. The mechanism comes out with 3 screws.

[aramkolt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinoman64

No audio at the moment.

I haven't really run across "no audio" in the 30 or so machines I've worked on - usually audio section doesn't need to be touched, but could be bad power supply caps making a voltage missing that is only needed for audio specifically I suppose.

[Gary34]

Glad you are happy with it. Let us know how the refurb goes.

[jbd5010]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Even 12voltvids tends to rant and throw stuff in his repair videos these days.

I wonder how 12voltvids feels about these VCRs...
https://youtu.be/ho_GIFR2NhA?t=634
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYzVgr_B3l4

I'm going to attempt a re-cap of my AG-1980. I don't do electronics for a living, but I've done my fair share of hobby work and I'm willing to do it a bit at a time over the course of a few months and be very methodical and deliberate about it. My unit actually seems to function just fine, no obvious image problems, so I think it's a good candidate for a "proactive"/"preventative" re-cap. The one symptom I notice is the intermittent high-pitch whine that corresponds to the flashing of the clock on the front display - so I think problems are imminent.

[aramkolt]

In the AG1970 repair video, he mentions the AG1980 saying it had the same type of ceramic boards that like to fail, but luckily the AG1980 does not have any of those ceramic boards. He does hate SMT caps in general though since they cause so many failures in general in vintage electronics.

12VoltVids seems to speak highly of the SLV-R1000 and I've refurbed a couple of those - they are really good at creating flagging on just about any tape - so they are good to test external line-TBC performance, but pretty unusable unless your capture card or chain corrects those. That'd actually be a good one to try with a hardware DV converter since I think they do act like a line TBC, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[billct97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Correct. He was doing a lousy/incomplete recap job, only replacing "bad"/failed caps, not all caps (ie, failing caps not yet fully failed). Furthermore, he was cheaping out on the caps used, according to Deter/others (because of them having seen his prior work).

Deter refused to service one of my TGrant decks, it was internally a mess.

Many of us were initially happy, then pretty pissed once we learned what was (not) done. He wanted big bucks to re-repair decks that he should have re-capped fully/properly the first time. We felt fleeced. You see TGrant buyers from time to time, posting on this forum, and sometimes others.

At some point, after the backlash, before/during the pandemic, he supposedly now fully re-caps decks, but wants $1400 for it, which is insane.

Head cleaning day for my AG-1980 (TG purchased in 2018). The attached pictures confirm what you guys have been saying. Hopefully they got the ones that matter!

[Gary34]

Are you using paper on the video heads? I tried chamois swabs before and didn’t like them. I might of got bad chamois swabs. I’m not sure. I use paper now for the video heads and not often at all.

[billct97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary34

Are you using paper on the video heads? I tried chamois swabs before and didn’t like them. I might of got bad chamois swabs. I’m not sure. I use paper now for the video heads and not often at all.

Printer paper soaked in 99.9% Isopropyl alcohol on the video head, light pressure, turning counterclockwise. Foam swabs on the audio head and rollers - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN648GDZ...fed_asin_title

I've been playing foreign tapes a bit more so thought it would be a good time for a cleaning. Looking at the picture it was needed!

[Gary34]

I’m Pretty sure you know this but give it a little time to dry before playing a tape. Make sure you don’t go up and down.

[billct97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary34

I’m Pretty sure you know this but give it a little time to dry before playing a tape. Make sure you don’t go up and down.

[Gary34]

Deter just opened up shop until the end of April then he is closing for the year.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billct97

The attached pictures confirm what you guys have been saying.

I forgot about those stickers. Yeah, that SOB. "others OK" = BS, half-assed job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary34

Deter just opened up shop until the end of April then he is closing for the year.

I saw that today, too.

He closed around July last year, said he'd be gone until end of year. End of year came, went. So 9 months, no Deter. All those poor 1980 owners were SOL, or had to DIY, though newcomer Aramkolt has filled some of the voice. (Deter is still available for PM/email, at least from me. He's just not doing refurb. He didn't disappear.)

Deter does excellent AG-1980P work, so anybody considering him should take advantage of this window now, ASAP. If he gets too many requests, he may close that window early. I've let him repair all of my 1980s for at least 7 or so years now.

I know he's getting as burnt-out as I am at hardware refurb. Those AG-1980P are such a PITA that even I won't touch them -- though that's mostly due to my MS, robbing me of dexterity over the years, fine tasks like soldering are hard. But age catches up with all of us, eventually, and in different ways.

I remember when I first met Deter in the late 2000s, and he knew nothing about any of this stuff. I taught him as much as I could, both in public and private, and he just ran with it. I really do think he knows more about AG-1980P internals than I do now! (But I still have some knowledge/tricks on usage.) I know people say "the student become the teacher", but it's so odd to see that student-teacher then essentially retire! So, in a way, I now feel the need to educate the next-next generation, and I think Aramkolt will be that person.

[dinoman64]

I'm certainly finding out how much of a PITA these are lol. Those connectors are so tight I thought I was gonna break them.

So far I got the power supply, head amp, and RF board recapped. I think I might be developing a sensitivity to solder smoke, gonna need some better ventilation.

I've heard aramkolt say that recapping the audio II board hasn't made a noticeable difference to anything. I might skip this one to avoid that daughter board with all the SMT caps. Hopefully my no-audio issue isn't related to this board, if it is, I'll inspect and fix it.

[jbd5010]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

So, in a way, I now feel the need to educate the next-next generation, and I think Aramkolt will be that person.

LS, do you know if anyone has done a photo guide or video guide (even partial) of recapping these? I haven't found anything on YouTube or anything comprehensive/consolidated here or elsewhere. I did find the spreadsheet of capacitors and Digikey/Mouser part # cross references posted by Mr Pete in 2022.

While almost anyone with soldering abilities could do it using the service manual and enough time/determination, the lessons learned the hard way, and from working on many units, are most valuable. If well-documented by those experienced in these repairs, the info will help others now and in the future restore these VCRs and hopefully keep more of them in working order for years to come.