Panasonic AG1970 piece of crap VCR

Today I attempted the repair of my Panasonic AG1970.
This is a professional S-VHS editor from the mid 90s.
Power supply repaired, I discovered other problems, that ultimately were not repaired, but this is a good troubleshooting vid never the less.

[voltvids]

The IC module that ultimately made me decide to scrap this unit, a VCR0369 is the comb filter IC, and I did accurately diagnose this part. Believe it or not it is still available according to some parts dealers. The part runs about 80.00 which is still more than I want to put into this beast, as there are still problems with the control buttons, even though the remote still works.

[Gljin]

You`ve GOT to be kidding...Panasonic always made rock solid VCR`s.

[tfd]

Hi Dave. You have outstanding videos. I successfully repaired a NV-F55 with your tips and it works like a charm. All the best!

[MovieGuy]

I remember 20+ years ago a shop I worked at was dealing with an AG-1970 that had power but was inoperable. Since at the time we were not a Panasonic authorized servicer, to get help from Panasonic to troubleshoot the issue was like pulling teeth as they wanted to charge an arm and a leg for technical help. Thus, we put the machine on the back burner for a few weeks to see if we could come up with a solution later. As time went on, another AG-1970 came into our shop with a different issue and I had the bright idea of using this machine as a guinea pig to help us troubleshoot the issue and help us get it down to what board was the problem. Sure enough, we found the issue in no time at all and was able to order a new control IC (I think) to get the unit working again. Anyway, I never liked Panasonic even before this issue since I worked for them briefly and they are one of the more crappier companies to work for. However, I was even more pissed with their lack of interest in helping to provide better service in general (our shop later became an authorized service for them and my boss felt they were a nightmare to deal with for warranty claims). I guess that says a lot since they aren’t really much a player in consumer electronics anymore.

[MagnusPaul]

I knew about Panasonic back in the day, when there were a line of their VCRs, that utilised a device called a Digital Scanner. This device looked like an oversized pencil or pen and one would scan a barcode in the TV Guide and point it to the VCR, push the transmit button and let it record a programme at the set time automatically. Sometimes one forgot to load a video cassette, then it did not record anything ! LOL. At the moment, I have a 30 year old Panasonic NV-SD3 VCR and had the unit from new. I need to service the tape transports with white lithium grease and replace the belts though, because these are a bit worn and my brand new video tapes are getting stuck inside and eaten... Even after correctly cleaning the heads and the drum, the VCR still has the eating bug ! 😅😂🤣

[MusicradioNetwork]

And speaking of VCR’s being dead, I got a Panasonic VCR at a yard sale for $2, and it’s a model PV-945H and it still works perfectly without any issues, and the picture looks great. It’s a perfect replacement from the Samsung DVD/VCR combo from around 2007 or 2008 which was Funai, but the Panasonic one was not Funai.

[andreasbartel]

oh, did not expected a write off. The one shown in this is NV-FS200 (consumer version) in Europe.

I have had three NV-F70 (a PAL 7 head HiFi with jog/shuttle - top of the line VHS of its time) from 1988.
One I bought myself 1988, the other two are bought "dead" from eBay. I just replaced three capacitors on the PSU. After that the PSU "started", autotracking was back alive and the color was reproduced "as new" again.
My onw did not survive due to my stupidity during a cleaning job I touched something on the big board wile it was active. Today you won't get the F70 cheap from eBay any more. Too many found out how to fix the PSU.
Then I got an another Panasonic HiFi of the period; all are up and running like new. The G-Deck is what needs to be handed gently.
I don't own a K deck recorder yet, but have two Z decks that are more troublesome than the old G deck.

[duncanmacleod]

The Panasonic 1980p ags are still thought of as the best VCR with EP tracking and with VHS-C tapes and also one of the worst VCRs ever manufactured. Definitely everything 12volt said is true. Great when they are running until they aren’t. They sell for over a grand refurbished.

[haweater]

I once found on the net the website of a repairman in Ohio, who works on AG1980 (etc.) exclusively, and charges a hefty fee to recap troublesome boards.

[KlonoaTorqueBow]

Howdy,

I'd like to say that your 3/4" VCR repairs helped me out a ton back in the day. From what I learned from watching many of your videos saved a VO-4800 that I used to have.

I have one of those Panasonic (NV-8420) portable units. It looks just like an "economy" model AG-6400, albeit nearly verbatim build-structure from what I can tell opening up both, for picture reference.

All it does is try to play the tape, pauses, there's a humming sound, then it de-threads and rewinds a bit before it reverts to STOP. All other mechanical and electrical functions work perfectly. I just can't get it to properly move any tapes at all.

You're a huge channel, possibly the biggest for this kind of thing, and I was wondering how I could go about getting your 2 cents or more about what the problem(s) might be.

Thanks,
Nineball69

[douglashoff]

Hitachi was guilty of using these crap modules also. An example was the RCA VPT695HF. There were a lot of those "fish caps" also.

[thehistoryofchingfordwater]

I've got a clicking. When it works, it works fine. But then cuts off. Any idea? Thanks.

[haweater]

12:36. "So to recap...". Great groaner as a pun.

[hawleygriffon]

Okay, so I got up some nerve and opened a bunch of VCRs today. The Panasonic AG-1980 I inherited from a friend doesn't load tapes but is beyond my ability to repair. Looks like it will have to be sent in to the last local shop to see if they can help. If not, it's down to the TO repair/restoration place. I checked the boards and maybe I'm just lucky...no bulged or leaky caps! So, I guess it's a mechanical problem? The Zenith VRE550HF SVHS deck was nice. All direct drive motors and very little rubber. If there were any belts, I could not get at them. I have the rubber repair kit for that one, so I'm keeping it for now. Everything seems to operate as normal on MOST tapes but every once in awhile it gets finicky and eats one. But that is a rare occurrence. Next was the Hitachi VT-730A editing deck. Also nice kit but something is jammed somewhere and the tape inside is stuck. I need some help with that one. Oh yeah, the Zenith was made by JVC as all the motors, etc. have JVC stickers on them. Any help much appreciated...thanks...

[markmarkofkane]

No intro? Did I find one of your earliest videos? Still interesting to watch. I found this by YouTube suggestion. Late, huh?

[dudedude]

Hi Dave, did you need to desolder this video board from the main board? How is it connected? Is it ok just to pull it?

[ayaseshinomiya]

I probably wouldn't use the word "bad" when describing *all* Panasonic VCRs, as from my memory they produced lots of consumer-marketed VCRs [the "PV" models] that were fantastic. In all the years of scouring thrift stores I would have to say Funai was the worst VCR manufacturer as I have never ever seen a Panasonic AG-19x0 VCR at any thrift store I've been to and all of the Funai VCRs I've tried at thrift stores ate tapes or had some other thing wrong with them. Unfortunately I worked at a broadcast TV station as a video technician and bought into that Funai garbage for the facility, and ended up with two of their VCR/DVD player combinations. These units were barely over $300 each and both broke down with relatively few hours compared to the 1984-99 Panasonic "PV" VCRs we owned over the years. Keep this in mind if you plan on buying one of those Funai VCRs as that company is full of shitty VCRs, and some of them are monaural only. Also watch Past Time Tech's video demonstrations of Panasonic "PV" VCRs - Teddy can tell you he hasn't had a Panasonic "PV" VCR break on him.

[OriginalFinnish]

This is actually a highend consumer unit not a TV station pro model. Those are a complete different beast.

[martijnappeldoorn]

Strange that the similar looking nv fs200 doesn’t use smd capacitors on this board, normal through-hole caps there
My unit had been in (a cold) storage for several years, so not ideal!!, but working perfectly.”, no leaky caps on the mainboard or any of the modules, didn’t check the power supply, as its working fine (for now)
Maybe they used different parts for the european/PAL version?

[SonnyKavanagh]

It's a shame that these were built as they were looked like a beautiful well built unit very disappointing for you not getting it repaired nevertheless great video as always.