Calling other Panasonic NV-FS200 / AG-1980 users

[JoseD]

Hi. I've recently acquired the FS200, inspired by some of the experience shared on this forum's posts. Also did a huge google search but detailed comparisons are hard to come by.
Anyway...
To start of, the unit arrived with a tape inside. Not good for transportation!! On top of that there were probably some heavy shocks on transportation, cause I can see a bump on the underside of the VCR.
Surprisinglly the image is still very good though, specially on newly recorded material.

I have a few questions, if you have one of these units please reply:

1- When I push play, with any tape, I allways hear a creacking noise for just a moment (not more than 2 seconds). Is this commun on this VCR on can I assume it was damaged during trasnportation ?

2- The video heads on this unit are of special amorphic material. If I wanted to clean them, will a normal head cleaning tape do the job or I risk damaging the heads ?

3- I've found head cleaner reaplacements specifically for this unit while googling, didn't knew these were available, anyone can comment on this ?

This forum rules BTW

Cheers
José

[orsetto]

The now-older Panasonic AG1970 and AG1980 (or NV-FS200 etc) do tend to make alarming creaking sounds when they load and unload a tape, also when switching from STOP to FF/REW. If you bought one second hand it is likely to have been used heavily by the previous owners, these were workhorse decks for wedding videographers, etc. Source of the noise is usually worn or dried-out belts or idler wheels. If the noise bothers you, you can have the unit serviced but at this point getting GOOD service for a VCR is difficult to impossible- I have thrown away a ton of money trying to get older JVCs and Pannys repaired, only to receive totally shoddy workmanship with problems recurring days or weeks later. Consumer VCR repair is now pretty much a "lost art". Mind you, I live in NYC and have access to big-name professional service shops- still no good. I finally gave up and searched out the few remaining new VCRs that are optimized for DVD transfer work. If as you say your NV-FS200 is working OK otherwise, I suggest just living with the creaky noises: these Panny AG/NV series decks can go on for years working loudly but perfectly.

The DynaMorphous Metal Heads are made of tougher material than standard VCRs which is one reason a beat-up old Panny AG/NV deck can still be a good unit- the heads are practically indestructible. One good way you *can* destroy them is by clumsy cleaning with a Q tip- be very careful! You're much better off getting a "wet system" head cleaning tape, these will work well with reduced risk of head damage during cleaning. There is no "special" head cleaner required for the NV-FS200, standard wet system cartridge is fine. Just DO NOT use a "dry" head cleaner on one of these older recorders- they can make things worse.

[lordsmurf]

. Consumer VCR repair is now pretty much a "lost art". Mind you, I live in NYC and have access to big-name professional service shops- still no good.

Anybody in Dallas / Ft. Worth should try JOTS ELECTRONICS.
Used to get my repairs/maintenance done there. Excellent service and work.

[Marvingj]

The South is a little slower about tech there are a lot of Vhs Vcr experts here try, Charlotte,NC . There so so so so many I can't mention them all. Email me me and I can recommend several.

[JoseD]

Wow, replies, after all this time, was starting to lose my faith

I've tested/used the machine a bunch of times and here's my results/questions:

First off I can confirm the experience posted by other users of this forum. The resolution, specially vertical lines is better, and less noisy than the usual VHS rain on vertical lines, though overall the picture might still have some noise. Note that I'm talking about results with noise filter off and sharpness control midway. You can adjust them but obviously the less noise the less detail...
The colors are less intense, though the tones are more natural. I found an old original AC/DC Live at Donington to produce the most natural skin tones I've seen on it, and I've played it on various machines through the years.

Regarding head cleaning, what a nightmare it was!!!!
I've used a wet/dry cleaning tape and after applying the liquid and passing about 4 times (I'm a perfectionist...) I let the machine idle for about an hour to allow for liquid to evaporate (an hour is probably too much but hey..). So I eagerly turn on the machine and .... holy sh*it!! NO picture at all only rainy noise!!! But the sound was ok. I though the bloody thing had totally screwed the video heads. So I remembered some of the posts around this topic I had read around here and decided to let an almost new tape that was recorded only once run for 3 hours. The image gradually, but very slowly, started to appear and after passing it one more time it's back more or less like it was...
Those momentaneous big rainy noise 1-2 second intervals I was experiencing are still there and the most worrying thing is that they don't allways happend at the same place! I don't think it's auto tracking as I've put it on manual with same results. So it must be a problem on the transport mechanism
Can someone please confirm if they experinced this problem, maybe just on older tapes, to help me decide if it's worth trying to get the machine repaired (probably damn expensive)...

Cheers and a great Christmas / new year time to all