This was from a recent pick-up of similar JVC/Ferguson and associated clones. I'd kinda put it low on my priorities as I was more interested in the Ferguson 3V30 and Nordemende V100 however....
It's in incredible condition! The screws on the bottom had clearly never been removed before. Looking underneath the main capstan belt has failed but it's to be expected. Inside is very clean:
Even the idler wheel seems good. Applying power:
The clock is very dim (my phone is compensating) however the tape sensor bulb is working when I press down the switch:
So I figure why not just try fast forwarding and rewinding a tape:
Which it does with ease!
I've also noticed that in the 7 minutes the machine has been powered up the display has got brighter!
So not a bad start at all!
Very nice. No Ferguson equivalent but there was one in Thorn Rentals, model 8940.
John.
@jayceebee I remember the 8940 very well as I had two ex-rental ones during my teens (which I used for copying dodgy tapes for my mates at school!) One had a DER badge the other had Baird. I remember the DER one had a bulb for the tape sensor but the Baird had an infrared LED with a prismatic lens.
We knew that model in Australia as the JVC HR7200. A basic and very reliable VCR with good picture quality.
Not surprising that the display would brighten after running for a while. It's a vacuum fluorescent display, basically like a CRT.
We knew that model in Australia as the JVC HR7200. A basic and very reliable VCR with good picture quality.
Not surprising that the display would brighten after running for a while. It's a vacuum fluorescent display, basically like a CRT.
I gave one a gentle "boost" once, it came up well!
Here's a tip when replacing the belts on these VCRs, if the take up spool belt is intact remove it:
Flip the machine over and loop it around the tape loading parts, tape sensor lamp and the feed spool:
This will secure the tape loading gears in place so they don't move while you're replacing the tape loading motor belt.
All belts replaced, a good clean of the heads and tape path and it's working really well.
I'm currently recording a YouTube playlist of Total Dramarama for my 9 year old as he has a 00s Goodmans TV/VCR combi unit and loves VHS tapes. The weird thing is the recordings from this JVC look better on the Goodmans than recordings actually made on the Goodmans.
Have to say I'm very impressed with the reliability and picture quality of this machine! I've been using it for watching my old tapes. The composite video output doesn't seem to work, but that's not really an issue as I've been using it with my Pye CT450.
Here's a weird thing I don't know if anyone can shed some light on; if I clean the heads using isopropyl wipes the playback will look like one of the heads is dead. However, if I play a very specific early 90s Maxell tape in it, the problem will go away after about 30 seconds. None of my other JVC/Fergusons do this and only that one Maxell tape will solve the problem. 🤔
