Re: S-VHS cassette recorders

On 1/5/2025 12:48 PM, Jeff Layman wrote:

Might be interesting to see what's around at boot fairs - VHS tapes are often almost given away.

You may find that what's ON the tape is not what the label indicates!  :>
We stopped accepting VCR tapes as donations because, often, folks would
overwrite the original content -- often with "home videos" of "dubious"
intent...

I've got to get a decent SCART cable as the old one came apart in my hands. I can use component (phono connectors) as well. But S-VHS recorders predate HDMI, and my newest (4-years old) Panasonic TV has only HDMI and component input. An older TV has SCART, component, and a 4-pin s-video input. I'm pretty sure that I no longer have a 4-pin cable! It seems that the older TV can also use the SCART input to detect S-VHS if the recorder generates a signal on pin 15. It probably did that, but I always used to connect via a 4-pin s-video cable with a much older CRT TV.

You will do better with component (not composite) than S-Video.

That HR-S5000EK stopped recording around 1998 and I replaced it with a new JVC HR-S8600EK. I also brought that down from the loft and it worked perfectly after I removed a cassette I'd left in it! It jammed up a bit when I first turned it on, but I eventually got it out. As far as I remember that machine was still recording well when I replaced it with a Panasonic DVD-RAM DMR55E recorder (also analogue only; no HDMI).

I'm still using a JVC HR-S9911U for "tape-to-digital" transfers.
    <https://support.jvc.com/consumer/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026935>
No value for OTA broadcasts.  I don't think you can even set the *time*
on it, nowadays!
I've also got a Mitsubishi "industrial" (medical) VCR.  Both keep
avoiding the scrap heap -- despite the fact that I've not had to
transfer any tape to digital in recent years (but, you KNOW that
once I toss them, there will be a genuine NEED!  :< )

As you say, any rubber used must have been of exceptional quality as both machines have survived 12+ years in the loft with temperatures cycling from 0 to 40°C or more. By the way, I paid £699 for that ex-demo recorder in 1991 - the price for a new one was £999!

There are many "old fashioned" electronics stores that still sell tapes.
One, here, has managed to come up with a replacement for damn near any
belt I've had to replace -- as long as I could bring the old/stretched/broken
belt in with me for comparison!