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Old 24th March 2012, 15:35   #1  |  Link
legrant
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Need some help sourcing a VHS part...

Hi there,

I bought a Panasonic NV-FS200B S-VHS from a respectable trader on Ebay and the unit worked well for about an hour. I've had the unit assessed by my local Panasonic dealer and they've told me that the heads need replacing but they cannot get the part.

I know this is an old unit but somewhere there must be a replacement head unit sat on a shelf of a warehouse gathering dust in the hope that someone like me will need it one day.

Has anyone any got any suggestions or contacts that may be able to help...

I'm based in the UK.
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Old 24th March 2012, 15:43   #2  |  Link
Ghitulescu
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One doesn't realize after one hour that the heads need replacement. These are made to last at least 8000 hours and no consumer deck I know even reach the half before other Panasonic symptoms kick in (like PSU).
Maybe it's the other common cause of Panasonics (and not only) the head amp capacitors. Replace the SMDs with blue tantals and live happy.
If however the heads are so worn that need replaced, you may pick up any SVHS from Panasonic (and copycats like Blaupunkt) from flea market, despite various numbers they are the same (FS1, FS88, FS100, FS200, HS1000 etc). To be absolutely sure check Domberg first. The original costs IIRC some 350€ and IMHO it is not worth replacing them.
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Old 24th March 2012, 16:52   #3  |  Link
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I agree with Ghitulescu. I have a NV-FS 200 myself and have worked a lot with it. The heads are probably among the best there are, Amorphous Pro Head (the same used in professional studio S-VHS decks). They last really long, I as well don't think you can wear them out without something else needing replacement before that.

So, of course we cannot say for sure that the heads are not worn out and need replacement, but it seems unlikely that the heads really are worn out.
You said it worked for about an hour and then stopped? That sounds a lot like a capacitor problem. The unit has probably not been used for a while before you bought it. If it's not the power supply unit, it might be the head amp capacitor, Ghitulescu mentioned it. Replacing capacitors is no big deal and not very expensive (maybe you can even do it yourself).
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Old 24th March 2012, 18:48   #4  |  Link
legrant
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Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies and I can now see that I didn't explain myself correctly. The machine does work but there is a problem with the picture. I've uploaded this short mute clip to YouTube so you can see the problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANlwW3kbniY

As you can see the Panasonic picture has disruption/artifacts/noise but the other VT, a cheap domestic Matsui unit playing the same tape, does a much better job.

Would you guys say that this is a head issue?

Sorry to have misdirected you all but hopefully you can now see the issues.
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Old 24th March 2012, 19:13   #5  |  Link
TheSkiller
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Well, I'm not exactly sure what could be causing this but the first thing I'd do is check the drum and all the parts that come in contact with the tape for obvious dirt.

I would clean these parts anyway if I bought a used deck. When I got my NV-FS 200 it did have some white and black "comets". The reason was excessive dirt on the head drum. The difference however was that these comets were randomly placed all over the picture, not at the same spot all the time like yours.

Don't use a cleaning tape, they are useless and might even make things worse.
You can clean the head drum with a plain uncoated piece of print paper (cut it to a reasonable size) and Isopropyl alcohol of 99% alcohol. Put some of it on your piece of paper so that it is wet but not dripping and push it gently against the side of the head drum. Use your other hand to turn the head drum carefully from above.
The other parts like the capstan and so on can be cleaned using a Q-tip soaked in Isopropyl. Don't touch the head drum with the Q-tip though.

This is very effective, I have cleaned countless decks and camcorders this way.


You can do without the Isopropyl alcohol but it's not as effective and most of all without it the head drum doesn't turn easily when the piece of paper is pushed against it.


So in a nutshell, have a good look inside first.

Last edited by TheSkiller; 24th March 2012 at 19:15.
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Old 24th March 2012, 19:25   #6  |  Link
Ghitulescu
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It may sound hilarious but I can't watch youtube from this PC. I'll reply when I can.

However, the worn head behaves the same as a dirty one. This also fits the scenario 1 hour ok then problems.

While servicemen from Panasonic generally have seen a lot of VCRs and thus better identify a problem, they work by the book, they don't have the time nor the responsability to step outside those instructions.

EDIT: TheSkiller was faster.
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Old 24th March 2012, 22:16   #7  |  Link
2Bdecided
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Did you play the tape on the Matsui before or after the Panasonic?

If before, try it again. It might now be damaged. Probably not, but maybe.


I've seen (what looked like) exactly this problem before - but as I had 160 VCRs to choose from at the time, I just passed over the faulty deck. About 1 time in 5 the problem would disappear (on the same tape). Very strange.

Cheers,
David.
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Old 26th March 2012, 09:21   #8  |  Link
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I've seen the youtube.

First issue: the tape has a problem, and you'll see it for yourself if you unlock the protecting cap - a longitudinal deformation (fold, wrinkle or scratch). No deck is immune, but some can mask it better than others. Of course, it also may be that the Matsui had a problem after the head, or the Panny before the head - that is the tape was ok before playing in the Matsui, but defected after.

The noise you see is caused by an insufficient head-band contact. Maybe your VCR has tape tension issues (these aggravate the drop-outs as well). Remove the cover and see if the tape curves when you FF then STOP (or PLAY then PAUSE). It should remain tense, or at least straight.

So, use a new tape, and if the symptoms persist, then you might have a bad head, so you need to change the upper cyl.
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Old 26th March 2012, 10:14   #9  |  Link
legrant
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Bdecided View Post
Did you play the tape on the Matsui before or after the Panasonic?

If before, try it again. It might now be damaged. Probably not, but maybe.


I've seen (what looked like) exactly this problem before - but as I had 160 VCRs to choose from at the time, I just passed over the faulty deck. About 1 time in 5 the problem would disappear (on the same tape). Very strange.

Cheers,
David.
Hi David,

I played the tape before and after on the Panasonic and I get the same result. It also happens with other tapes. Completely agree about the point where sometimes the problems disappears - lately the problem is always there :-(

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghitulescu View Post
I've seen the youtube.

First issue: the tape has a problem, and you'll see it for yourself if you unlock the protecting cap - a longitudinal deformation (fold, wrinkle or scratch). No deck is immune, but some can mask it better than others. Of course, it also may be that the Matsui had a problem after the head, or the Panny before the head - that is the tape was ok before playing in the Matsui, but defected after.

The noise you see is caused by an insufficient head-band contact. Maybe your VCR has tape tension issues (these aggravate the drop-outs as well). Remove the cover and see if the tape curves when you FF then STOP (or PLAY then PAUSE). It should remain tense, or at least straight.

So, use a new tape, and if the symptoms persist, then you might have a bad head, so you need to change the upper cyl.
It does it on every tape I have (maybe they're all duff!) When I get it back from the Panasonic I'll open it up and have a look.

Thanks for the pointers. I'll report back.
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Old 27th March 2012, 14:18   #10  |  Link
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghitulescu View Post
I've seen the youtube.

First issue: the tape has a problem
Certainly a tape with a problem can look very like that - but a deck with an undiagnosed fault (even one that doesn't physically damage the tape at all) can look exactly like that.

Cheers,
David.
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Old 27th March 2012, 15:41   #11  |  Link
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Bdecided View Post
Certainly a tape with a problem can look very like that - but a deck with an undiagnosed fault (even one that doesn't physically damage the tape at all) can look exactly like that.
I believe you, despite I haven't seen myself such a case. Always the tape was faulty, when the line corrector kicked in. My experience is not that extensive, though.
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Old 27th March 2012, 17:49   #12  |  Link
mpucoder
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There are a number of things that can cause that - dirty slip rings, bad head rotational position sensor, head switching electronics, tape tension, capstan slipping, incorrect tape speed. If it's a pro machine tip height could be off.

Tracking could be off a little, if it's got a choice between auto-tracking and manual try to adjust it manually.

If you're running it through a TBC what does it look like without the TBC (especially without adv sync driving the unit)?

Last edited by mpucoder; 27th March 2012 at 17:58.
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Old 27th March 2012, 19:21   #13  |  Link
Ghitulescu
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Quote:
Originally Posted by legrant View Post
It does it on every tape I have (maybe they're all duff!) When I get it back from the Panasonic I'll open it up and have a look.
What does it do, the drop out compensator (that ugly band), the noise (those white lines), or both?
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