Realistic Compact Moviecorder Model 150 Repair

[IrateSpoonbill]

Apologies if this is in the wrong section, I am new to these forums. A few days ago I got gifted a Realistic Compact Moviecorder Model 150 to be able to record VHS-C. Everything works fine but the belts are melted into a liquid and I have no clue what I need to do to access the pulleys. I've tried to find answers online to no avail, I simply get directed to old catalogs.

This being a gift I've been wanting to fix it but since I can't find the way to replace the belt I've been growing fairly frustrated. Has anyone here serviced this camera or anyone similar to it? Thank you in advance.

[GAhere]

Welcome to the forum!

I will preface this with I have not worked on this model of camcorder..

Camcorder designs can be pretty tricky to get into the mechanical section and will require a lot of patience, small tools, skill and perhaps some luck with the position of the sun, moon and stars.

Precision screw drivers will be essential as most all of the screws will be very small.

Most everything will be in layers, to get to the belts you are going to have to figure out what layer can be removed without causing a lot of work in retiming the entire mech. Sometimes you might get lucky and there may just be enough space to carefully wiggle the belts past obstructions. If you must take apart the layers, take good photos of each step, these will assist you in reassembly.

The bad thing with Radio Shack was they didn't make their own equipment so service manuals may not be available for your exact model. The upside though is it may have been JVC, Hitatchi, Panasonic or other popular brands back then and if that is the case one of those brands service manuals might be available and helpful if you can figure out how to cross reference the models..

One service manual source is https://www.servicemanuals.net/en/camcorder-video-camera-service-manuals?orderby=5&pag...d&pagenumber=1

Note, I have not used that site but it does seem to list a lot of camcorder brands and models..

Be aware, not much value in those units, lots of Realistic model 151 and model 152s on Ebay for $35-$75 as asking prices, whether they sell for that or not is a nother ball of wax.. On top of that VHS-C was not known for being robust or trouble free so the belts may be not all that is wrong with it..

[IrateSpoonbill]

Welcome to the forum!

I will preface this with I have not worked on this model of camcorder..

Camcorder designs can be pretty tricky to get into the mechanical section and will require a lot of patience, small tools, skill and perhaps some luck with the position of the sun, moon and stars.

Precision screw drivers will be essential as most all of the screws will be very small.

Most everything will be in layers, to get to the belts you are going to have to figure out what layer can be removed without causing a lot of work in retiming the entire mech. Sometimes you might get lucky and there may just be enough space to carefully wiggle the belts past obstructions. If you must take apart the layers, take good photos of each step, these will assist you in reassembly.

The bad thing with Radio Shack was they didn't make their own equipment so service manuals may not be available for your exact model. The upside though is it may have been JVC, Hitatchi, Panasonic or other popular brands back then and if that is the case one of those brands service manuals might be available and helpful if you can figure out how to cross reference the models..

One service manual source is https://www.servicemanuals.net/en/camcorder-video-camera-service-manuals?orderby=5&pag...d&pagenumber=1

Note, I have not used that site but it does seem to list a lot of camcorder brands and models..

Be aware, not much value in those units, lots of Realistic model 151 and model 152s on Ebay for $35-$75 as asking prices, whether they sell for that or not is a nother ball of wax.. On top of that VHS-C was not known for being robust or trouble free so the belts may be not all that is wrong with it..

Thank you for the response! I am well aware of the lack of resale value, this is more so just a personal project. When I turned on the camera everything seemed to work well, everything I could check without belts of course. The eject button worked once or twice while I was testing it before it just broke on me.

Looking back I should've added that I do have the tools and belts, it is a small hobby of mine to tinker with older devices. I was able to open it up and clean up all visible residue, I more so needed help with how to access the drive belts. I am almost certain that the pulleys and gears are under the video head but I can't get under there. I've tried unscrewing some of the more obvious screws but they seem to also lift up the PCB boards. Anyway, I apologize for forgetting to add this information on the post and thank you for the sources, I'll make sure to look through it before I continue.

[GAhere]

Don't think you will be able to access the belts from top side (cassette door), most times you must access from the underside of the mech.

Generally, to get to the underside of the mech, one will have to remove all of the circuit boards that surround the mech which allows one to remove the circuit board under the mech and that operation must be done with the utmost care as there are often very fragile and short ribbon interconnects.

Tried to cross reference your model to the actual manufacturer, but no dice.

There was a company called PRB and later Prime Electronics that I used to buy VCR parts from which had a nice belt cross reference, they were bought out by another company, Russell Industries..

Russell Industries does have PRB/Prime catalogs and parts listed, but that website hasn't been updated for 15+ yrs..

http://russellind.com/downl.htm

Couldn't find Realistic or Radio Shack in any of the camcorder cross references.. If that info was there then you could cross the belt kit required to the actual manufacturer.. Once you have that you could find and use the service manual for the actual manufacturer..

Used to have to do that for Sears, Monty Ward ect..

OK, well I tried a different route..

Using a search for batteries..

If the search is correct, it was made by Hitachi which also made RCA and other brands..

Couple of possible models may have used the same battery style with their own part numbers listed in the picture..


[Attachment 92386 - Click to enlarge]

Now you would have to see what models those battery PNs go to..

Then if know one else can answer your question here on how to access, you might be able to find the service manual which should have the info you seek.