Panasonic AG-1970 with external TBC vs. AG-1980
 

I have a panasonic ag-1970 that is working well but I want to get the best out of my captures so I purchased an ag-1980. I had read somewhere on the forums that the 1980 was better all the way around and has a much better TBC than the 1970. The 1980 that I purchased was off ebay and when I got it home it is having problems with color and showing diagonal lines after a second or two. But it does seems to track better. I have $150 in the unit currently. It will cost $125 for basic service which may or may not fix my problem plus shipping. Would I be better off trying to return the 1980 and purchase an external TBC or taking a chance and getting the 1980 fixed. :unsure:

the 1980 is hands down better than the 1970
ANY 1980 you buy WILL need service (unless it comes from Southern Advantage or forum member Deter)
if you paid $150 for a broken unit you overpaid.
try to get a partial refund from the seller and then have it serviced.

an external TBC is needed no matter what VCR you use.
internal VCR TBC's and external TBC's do 2 different things.

The 1980 was sold as being "in working order". The price I paid was $100 for the machine and $46 for shipping. Do you think I would be better off to ship the 1980 back to him and get the $100 refund or take a chance and let Southern Advantage give me a quote? I'm afraid if i'm not careful I will have a fortune in this project.

ask the seller for a partial refund because the unit is not as described and it will help with the service bill.
if they refuse start an ebay case, escalate it and make them pay return shipping and get a full refund.

$300 for a fully working AG-1980 is not bad
consider any AG-1980 on ebay to need service, unless it comes from Southern or Mhtradingpost

The $100 is about right. You'll put about $200-300 more in the machine to get it in working order.
It is a better unit, as volksjager says. :)

sounds familiar...
 

What admin said...I've been down the path with this, too. Ultimately, it's probably worth having a -1980 serviced by the right shop.
Here's a repair link to the (fe)eBay member referenced above:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PANASONIC-AG...item27c3518b0e

Here's a more-than-reputable shop that can handle refurbishing your deck, too:

http://www.stantontvrepair.com/index.html

Hope this helps you.