NeXT
Veteran Member
You know if someone could make an ATSC converter look like those old Philips/Jerrold/General Instruments cable boxes it would be great.
Yes a combo unit, that's what I was thinking. These were often made in styles not found in regular TVs. Such as, in the case of yours, white plastic (never found on regular TVs of that era) and commands arranged in the style of a remote controller. It has a wooden swivel? Now, I'm not sure if that is a design feature normally found on these kind of sets. That seems pretty odd to me.I thought it's a pretty ordinary TV in my opinion, a white 1995 G&E TV with a built in VCR.
Which ones? It does not look like a 60's television to me. I think that it could pass off as a 70's monochrome set, but 60's?It's pretty cool that my 1986 TV has styling that resembles TVs from the 60's!
What's the picture? I'm guessing that it loads the tape, but fails to turn the reel. Are you able to rewind or fast forward? I don't recommend that you mess with a broken VCR with a cassette that you like.Now it will make a split second static sound with a picture jitter when I try to play a tape, then nothing else happens.
Of course. These were devices that were meant to last a couple of years without breaking. Back then when spare parts were available you could fix many issues. But today, new parts will have to be made if people want to keep their machines running.I usually have bad luck these years with used VCRs. (I can't afford new)
If I remember correctly, "tape eating" is most often due to a bad capstan belt. In most models, the capstan motor also runs the drive gear via a belt. If the belt is bad, what happens is that the capstan takes tape out of the cassette, but because of the loose belt the drive gear doesn't have time to put it on the take-up reel. This results in the infamous "eaten tape" when the cassette is ejected from the mechanism. Other reasons for this bad behaviour can be a broken drive system (for example, a dried-up rubber drive wheel if that's what the VCR uses) or a misaligned mechanism. In computer-controlled mechanism alignment, which I'm guessing is what 100% of VHS VCRs made after the 70's have, a broken or dirty "mode switch" is the most common culprit.Used VCRs only last for up to a few months then they die on me. Mechanical failures or tape eating is what happens. I don't know how to fix them so I take them to the recycle center.
Yes. I came to the realization that this era was over in ~2017. I had a cathartic experience in 2016 after buying a TV series on VHS. With no working machine to view the cassettes in good quality (4 heads, hi-fi), I spent a month or two fixing my old Sears (Sanyo) VCR from the early 90's. I managed to keep it working for the duration of the 7 cassettes (approximately 18 hours). Watching the cassettes profoundly affected me, I will never forget that year of 2016. Unfortunately, the VCR failed not too long after and in 2017, after failing to acquire another one of similar quality, I came to the realization that the VHS era was definitely over. Because of the evil influence of recycling centers and propaganda, I cannot even find a good broken unit to fix, and even if I could there's the problem of the ever-diminishing quantity of spare parts. But, I continue to keep everything that I have that's broken. In the hope that one day, myself or someone smarter than me will figure out a way to make them sing again..I will miss the good old days of casually watching VHS movies. I just stopped watching them this year because I'm tired of my VCRs breaking so often and I'm not made of money. I much preferred VHS over DVDs because the tapes are a lot more durable than discs.
I bet these are the adjustments on the flyback transformer, nothing odd 'bout it.The two little holes you see on the bottom left are labeled "focus" and "screen" with adjustment screws inside. Looks like an odd design idea if you ask me.
What's the model?I have the smaller version of that same TV without the VCR inside of it.
You gave me a great project idea! I was about to rescue my old 70s 13" color tv from storage for my office, and I have an old 80s cable box and an ATSC converter. Would be fun to combine the 2. :DYou know if someone could make an ATSC converter look like those old Philips/Jerrold/General Instruments cable boxes it would be great.