How to find new Panasonic AG-1980?

[Slushly]

Hello everyone, I'm looking to buy a new 1980 and I'm not really concerned about price. I know how expensive that's gonna be. Does anyone know someone or somewhere I can buy one? I need it for a test.

Not interested in hearing opinions that refurbs are just as good or offers for refurbs. I just want a new one.

[lordsmurf]

So you want a new item that hasn't been produced in 20 years?

And even if you do find a "new" boxed unit, do you realize that caps/parts aged, used or not? Therefore, it's not really "new" in any way.

[Slushly]

What's new is the drum. I need an untouched drum and I would be recapping myself.

[aramkolt]

I've seen new replacement head drums pop up occasionally, but not very often.

I will say that I've yet to see a worn out AG1980 drum for the purposes of playback and I've refurbished about 20 of them. I've read that the true test for drum wear is to make a fresh recording, then play it back on the same machine. I'm more interested in their playback ability, so I haven't really done much in the way of recording testing.

What makes you think your current head drum is bad? Do you have a capture sample?

[Gary34]

I know curiosity killed the cat but I’m kind of wondering what the test is. The 1980s aren’t the same from year to year. The 1980p ags are different than the regular 1980s.

[latreche34]

You will be better off looking for a new old stock video drum, Finding a new VCR could take years if ever.

[lordsmurf]

To add some perspective here:

I was aware of the AG-1980P in the late 90s and early 00s, but those were $2000+ decks, at a time when the JVC were ~$500. Not $2000 now, but $2000 back 20+ years ago. People gripe about gear costs now, but they have no idea.

In the mid/late 2000s (about 2007), I was forced to acquire my own unit used (as it was no longer produced or sold new). It lasted about 3 years with light use, before I had to get a Jots repair/recap. I have literally never owned an AG-1980P that didn't require repairs/refurbs within a few years. Never, not a one. The deck is a money pit. Of all the repairs to date, Deter's work has lasted the longest (though his earlier work did fail me once).

I have never seen a "new" in-box unit.

I keep my eye out for VCRs worthy of buying, and that sort of unit is on my radar. Somebody tried to sell a used in-box unit for a stupid price, $5k+, some years ago. But that was an eBay idiot that didn't even know why the VCR was sought after, random price on a random condition VCR. Nobody ever bought it, at least not from eBay. He may have found a local sucker.

I have come across a unit that was cosmetically perfect, and did work well for all of 6 months. I bought this from somebody I've known for almost 20 years, and it was her backup unit, that she bought new. It's rare to find a situation like this.

I do have an original box somewhere, but I think the padding disintegrated. I think it's silly, but if anybody ever wanted to buy my box, I'd sell it. I know there are VCR collectors on this site. I have boxes for most models of JVC S-VHS VCRs, and some Panasonics like the AG-1980P.

[aramkolt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary34

I know curiosity killed the cat but I’m kind of wondering what the test is. The 1980s aren’t the same from year to year. The 1980p ags are different than the regular 1980s.

The "test" for wear that I was referring to is in general for VCRs (not specific to the AG1980), several threads suggest that head wear is most noticeable in making recordings as opposed to playing back recordings. I guess that kind of makes sense since magnetizing a tape appropriately is probably more dependent on the condition of the heads than reading from one. There's a lot more leeway in reading a tape since a lot of the electronics can compensate for less than ideal signals due to slight mistracking or slight variations on the playback versus recording VCR. I've yet to find an AG1980 that has obvious head wear when it comes to playback, so I haven't really done the test myself.

As for the AG1980 vs 1980P, I kind of think that's a myth. Try finding a single AG1980 without the "P" at the end of the model number sticker on ebay or really anywhere on the internet. All the units I've ever seen are "P" variants.

There is one variant that no one really likes to work on that can be identified by the TBC having a bunch of extra wires coming off of it, but even those still have a "P" in the model number though, see below. I probably should have taken a picture of the back side as these wires are attached all over the place.

Extra Wires TBC.jpg

[Gary34]

Quote:

The "test" for wear that I was referring to is in general for VCRs (not specific to the AG1980)

I should of been more clear. I was wondering about that test the OP was talking about. I know he wouldn’t be testing head ware since it would be on new heads. I was just being nosey.

When I got mine refurbished they wrote 32 34 microns on the top of the drum because they measured it. The guide rollers, caps etc… will go out before the heads. I’ve seen videos where people supposedly get new old stock 1980s but that’s a huge hunt.

I think if you want the best 1980 then you should talk to Deter and tell him money is not a problem at all. I want the best you have. It you tell someone that knows these well and is a trusted refurbisher that money isn’t a problem then you’ll get something really good and it’ll save you a whole lot of time.

[latreche34]

People get sometimes crazy and nostalgic about something, that's all, There is no such test.

[Gary34]

I stumbled onto a boxed “new” Panasonic 1980p ag and I thought about this thread so I’m posting it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/19679171835...mis&media=COPY

I realize it’s probably not really unused because they don’t even have the original power cord but that’s the point that is made in this thread. The seller also has quite a few items and probably doesn’t know much about the Panny.

[latreche34]

There is no indication it's new, I can clean something to look as good or better than that one, but I'm not into scamming people, The storage condition for that unit doesn't look great by looking at the box, so it was clearly stored in a non climate controlled environment, such as a garage, an attic or a backyard shed. So this will most likely needs a thorough mec cleanup and lubrication, full board recap and hope it is not used heavily so you don't need mechanical parts.

[Gary34]

I agree. I’m mainly trying to point out that the original box doesn’t mean anything.

Quote:

There is no indication it's new,

I think the OPs definition of “new” is unused. In the pictures it says it was opened and pretested by Ocean Systems. To me that seems like they are trying to give a reason for the tape being off. Who knows how much that has been used. If it hasn’t been used much I wonder why is the cord not the original cord. A lot of eBay sellers probably wouldn’t mention that isn’t the original cord.

Quote:

I can clean something to look as good or better than that one, but I'm not into scamming people, The storage condition for that unit doesn't look great by looking at the box, so it was clearly stored in a non climate controlled environment, such as a garage, an attic or a backyard shed.

There’s clues on this listing like the dust on top of the box. You can see his thumb print in some pictures and they aren’t there in other pictures. If he would of wiped that off then the poor storage conditions wouldn’t of been as obvious.

Quote:

So this will most likely needs a thorough mec cleanup and lubrication, full board recap and hope it is not used heavily so you don't need mechanical parts.

Here’s his description:
This comes with the original box, the unit itself, the foam, and a power cord. The power cord is not originally for the unit itself.
The unit powers on but shuts off after a couple seconds.
I am listing as parts and repair due to this. I figured someone would be able to fix this.

It’s probably not a given that caps are all that are wrong with boxed units.

I wonder about boxed gear. I had talked to someone that bought a boxed TBC 1000 and had to replace the caps then he replaced them and it still doesn’t work. It makes me wonder how often boxed gear doesn’t work.

[dpalomaki]

The box looks like it has sat in an attic for more than a few years before it was "found" by the "Central Ohio Finds" outfit that listed it.

No remote, manual, cables, plastic bag to keep the Styrofoam particles from entering the mechanism, but with a replacement power cord.

It is listed as not working and "for parts" which sounds honest. Price looks way too high for that condition Wonder if the immediate power off is due to a tape jammed inside?

[Gary34]

Quote:

No remote, manual, cables, plastic bag to keep the Styrofoam particles from entering the mechanism

Good point. There’s a good amount of clues it’s used.

Quote:

Price looks way too high for that condition

The 1980s always seem like they are overpriced on eBay. A lot of times the sellers see prices and don’t seem to realize that they aren’t worth much unless they are refurbished.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary34

Good point. There’s a good amount of clues it’s used.

It's about as "new" (virgin) as a wrinkly gray-haired hooker.

FYI, when a person lays a VCR upside down, you know he/she is an idiot. Unless it's in the process of being worked on, VCRs should never be placed upside down. Lots of VCRs are ruined in the mail this way, because boxes are not properly labeled with "this side up" arrows.

The seller is a clueless recycler, his/her/their username reveals that, along with selling tons of random junk. Never buy VCRs from those people.

[Gary34]

Haha but she said she was.

[dpalomaki]

Always a good idea to view what types of other items a seller is offering. In this case the seller was doing almost clothing and collectable merch. The 1980 was the only VCR and there were only a couple other technology items among 1000 or so items. Obviously not their forte. And a reason to be cautions.

Again, they did not overstate the condition, although the price is way out of sight for a parts only box. So flog the seller for the asking price, but not the stated condition.

Did Panasonic mark the box "this side up"?

[Slushly]

The "test" is I plan to do a fair, unbiased vhs-decode vs traditional capture comparison. I have high quality 1m video s cables, aiw card, just got the vcr (i have new panasonic caps for the tbc im going to solder), next thing i need is the external tbc. I built a domesday duplicator with custom immersion gold solder points for better contact. This will be my test VCR. Nobody from my understanding has made a fair comparison between the two. They use low grade vcrs, bad capture cards, etc. I think with the progress of vhs-decode, it would be nice for the community to decide what setup truly looks the best. Only way to do that is by doing this.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpalomaki

Did Panasonic mark the box "this side up"?

Yes, but it was often too tiny to notice, even when looking for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slushly

The "test" is I plan to do a fair, unbiased vhs-decode vs traditional capture comparison. I have high quality 1m video s cables, aiw card, just got the vcr (i have new panasonic caps for the tbc im going to solder), next thing i need is the external tbc. I built a domesday duplicator with custom immersion gold solder points for better contact. This will be my test VCR. Nobody from my understanding has made a fair comparison between the two. They use low grade vcrs, bad capture cards, etc. I think with the progress of vhs-decode, it would be nice for the community to decide what setup truly looks the best. Only way to do that is by doing this.

Correct, no good comparisons to date. Just lots of composite/VHS junk, often blatantly misleading.

The whole vhs-decode process has gotten very "development hellish" lately. Every time I look, they're discussing some new hardware/mod/tweak/whatever. I can't even follow along anymore.

What really amuses me is how they're finally adopting dedicated hardware for tasks -- which is something they (especially the head cheerleader Harry) heavily criticized me for in recent past years. How dare I suggest vhs-decode will need more than just a thrift store VCR, Aliexpress CX card, and Linux scripts! Blasphemy!

My fear is what I described in a post on VH yesterday. Whatever you do to test, they'll move the goalposts. "Oh, that's outdated, do this now" ... but that "outdated" was actually new just a few months earlier. I've seen this game before.

I was going to do this with my Panasonic AG-1970 deck (as the decode deck), but then it failed, and I lost interest, no time anyway (at that time, last year).

But now I'm in process of winding down a lot of my "for others" projects, including some long-term difficult projects (as seen in a recent Reddit post, and taken vastly out of context by the peanut gallery there). I'm also reducing my VCR refurb work. I need a break, before I break.

But this? Well, this might be just the sort of video-related fun I need.

What sort of deck are you using as your vhs-decode VCR?
Same for the non-decode deck?

I have an idea how we can cooperate, and I can test this again my full test library of tapes.