1986 Panasonic VHS Camcorder (advice welcome )

[cjhillman]

What it says on the tin... picked this up for £5 at a car boot last week and I'm gutted that i didnt pick up the other one now for £5 (we were traveling in a toyota aygo ) as this one only half works and all I can think of now is owning a fully working 80s VHS camcorder.





I can get the unit to power on (ish). Once you press the "Operate" button you can see through the view finder for a couple of seconds and it goes off. If you hold that button it seems to be ok and you can walk around messing with it zooming in and out etc. A couple of times ive pressed Eject and the VHS comes out but this seems to be where all the problems are... It doesnt always work (ive had it work twice in 2 days ) and non of the play/rewind functions seem to make anything work.
Any ideas? i've got it in bits but its a lot harder to figure out than my car haha. I really want to get this in the Capri and take it for a spin haha.

heres the view finder. I love that to set the date it started at 1986.

[shin2chin]

Afraid I can't help with technical advice but that thing is so cool. You will look like the boss whipping that out at family BBQs and gatherings. I'm jealous

[cjhillman]

Haha I watched a video of a guy who started using his again on YouTube and got the footage off via a component to usb cable/VLC. Just wish it worked properly , could do with a manual really but can’t find a free one online .

I’ve started to take it apart to see what the tapes doing. When you press eject it try’s but you can’t see what’s going on . Maybe if I could get the tape out and close it again I can see better .

[d1gbethdave]

If its got some kind of video out, you could probably ignore the VHS part, but you might have to 'force' it into rec mode. The look will be from the crt rather than vhs

[cjhillman]

Aug 10, 2020 17:09:20 GMT d1gbethdave said:

If its got some kind of video out, you could probably ignore the VHS part, but you might have to 'force' it into rec mode. The look will be from the crt rather than vhs

I’ll have a look tomorrow , I did thinking if I can find the right leads and use my component / hdmi usb connector and use the record in QuickTime maybe I can use it in the house.

I’ve taken one side off and can’t see any obvious reason for it not to eject the vhs . A shame really . I’ve noticed someone in Watford near me fixing camcorders but that might be overkill 😂. I'm surprised it’s not more mechanical that it is . I think if I could get it to eject one last time and take the vhs out I might be in with a chance .

[jpsmit]

No idea about camcorders but i seem to recall every vcr machine had a small hole that if you poked in a straightened paper clip,it would eject the cassette - is there a similar spot on yours?

[droopsnoot]

Aug 11, 2020 3:42:37 GMT jpsmit said:

No idea about camcorders but i seem to recall every vcr machine had a small hole that if you poked in a straightened paper clip,it would eject the cassette - is there a similar spot on yours?

I don't remember that, and I can't see one on my VHS player now. I *do* remember it on PC CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives.

Trouble is, when the tape "loads" it gets wrapped around various spindles and things (sorry for the excess technical terminology) and I wonder if it won't eject because it's stuck itself to them through being in place for a long time.

[cjhillman]

Well today I started to take more of it apart .




This side was a no go. I tried to take the battery area out as you can hear what sounds like a jammed motor down there.



Turns out messing with this metal spring part popped it right out. Although it doesnt always work.


Anyway, I got it out and could see it was struggling to eject without the tape. The mechanism seems to get jammed so I took some more of the tape deck out, couldnt find anything, when i put it back together it wont shut now



Stays on now so you can walk around looking at stuff but the tape wont go back in lol. Also turns out I don't have the right leads for the component converter. looks like it takes a white audio out but an AV Ariel type video out... might be a no go on that front.

[d1gbethdave]

I'm sure will be component out. Get some photos of connections

[cjhillman]

This is the Camera. The multi pin connector goes from the camera too....


This


This is the video Audio out i think The other say RF in and out.


This is the rear of the charger. it has these switches and a charge out for another battery.


Could do with a manual for this really.

[d1gbethdave]

The RF is so you connect to a TV, and tune in! Probably something difficult todo with a modern box. The video out should work as it'll be composite, the connector is a BNC,

[60six]

First thing I would think of is that the nylon gears have grease between them that over time turns into a sticky mess or disappears entirely. You could possibly make it think it has a tape in it by pushing the same parts that the cassette pushes against, then record the output on something else via the video out port?

Get hold of some molykote 111 www.univarsc.com/products/molykote-111-grease?variant=12110935687242&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&utm_term=&utm_campaign=DG+GSC+-+Brands&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_kw=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_grp=82191505587&hsa_cam=6719660559&hsa_acc=1959299330&hsa_tgt=pla-962895896604&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=387997576959&hsa_mt=&hsa_src=g&gclid=CjwKCAjwps75BRAcEiwAEiACMaDG44y51e5aHR3yxMiof89MpULS4dsp1ZiXyaio8J-FQSBoBeIsGxoC4pgQAvD_BwE

and grease up all the parts that make the eject mechanism, and also replace some springs as these go weak over time. As long as they fit is all you need to worry about - and as long as the spring is stronger, not weaker.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spring-assortment-set-54pc-Extension-Tension-Expansion-Compressed-Springs/113854447372?epid=6010664761

Check all the belts too - belts are harder to get as you have to remove them to get the exact size. It has to be the exact size as they work on tension. Too tight and things move too quickly, too loose and no movement at all.

Great purchase! I stupidly threw away a hi8 camcorder when I moved....

[cjhillman]

great advice thanks! I need to figure out what i'v done to stop the tape mechanism from shutting now. it seems to be getting caught on the tiniest part that it obesely locks too and is released by. Its hard to believe how many parts these things have in there!!!

The gears and I'm guessing belts seem to be behind the mother board which I'm struggling to get off so i put it back together now for the time being. I was hoping to see a belt had come off. The mechanism tries to eject the tape (with or without tape ) but fails. It definitely does now i've messed with it.
I'm suprised that the play, rewind , fast forward buttons don't do anything at all and the unit turns on and functions. I wonder how they work and what could have happened there? I'd like to think it was linked to the eject problem but they don't even try to do anything again with or without tape.

If you check out this video though you can see how easy the eject should work and the video quality through the camera ( a little bit after that). annoyingly the guy doesnt go through the play functions and its all in german.



Apparently its a BNC cable i need or converter. Going to see if I can borrow one from somewhere unless I can find something dirt cheap. I think in the end getting this to work stand alone would be the best though, with a tape. I don't like the idea Id have to be carrying my Mac Book around with me just to capture vhs stuff haha. It would be great at festival of the unexceptional next year

[d1gbethdave]

BNC will convert to phono, with a 50p adapter. Then you just need away of getting composite video into your mac, bear in mind you'll need some video software, and that you'll be playing the VHS and recording in real time.

[lightyearman]

That's amazing!