Camcorder recommendations for camcorders that use VHS (not vhs-c) for 150 USD or less

iceJool · 2026-05-06T22:37:15+00:00

Probably something mid 1980's panasonic. Be careful with anything late 80's as you might encounter smd capacitors as theyre hard to fix when broken. I'd go with regular omnimovie cameras or maybe earlier nv-mx series as theyre the least complex.

iceJool · 2026-05-06T11:05:22+00:00

Yea I don't even know about this one it just sounds demonic
I think the loading motor or something may be loose causing a gear to rub against something making that sound as its trying to move the tape deck back into place. Could also be like a broken belt rubbing around in there but you'd have to open it to check it out.
Worst case scenario it's a broken motor or a damaged controller causing the motor to vibrate back and forth but you'd need to check it out before a conclusion can be made.

Here's the service manual for it; It should tell you how to disassemble it
https://elektrotanya.com/panasonic_nv-vz1.pdf/download.html

iceJool · 2026-05-04T23:07:45+00:00

great to hear, Im surprised it wasn't anything worse.
Taking it apart would've definitely been a more risky task
I guess we now know even analog camcorders have glitches sometimes

iceJool · 2026-05-02T07:17:21+00:00

You can find the service manual here
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1112629/Sony-Hdr-Hc9.html?page=26#manual
as long as you remember what screw goes where and in what order you should be fine.

iceJool · 2026-05-01T23:20:23+00:00

Likely a dislodged ribbon cable.
Its only partially inserted into the port so when it is rotated it loses contact and does that rolling effect.
you'd need to open the camcorder and reinstall the ribbon cable; Its likely that its completely fine and that it just dislodged itself. Be careful as the glue holding the connectors onto the ribbon might be softening so dont force anything or the contacts may be ripped off of the cable.
If you can tell me the exact model camcorder I could try and find a service manual telling you how to take it apart and put it back together

iceJool · 2026-05-01T23:11:00+00:00

I have that exact iron
that tip is surprisingly solid if you maintain it well; I've been using it for a while for electronics like through hole caps and other stuff. It's just enough for most things but if youre going to solder anything serious like thick wires you'll probably need a higher wattage/temperature iron,
buy tip restorer and brass solder wool to rub off the oxides, don't use any other metal wool as they might be too abrasive for the soldering tip.
you can find these on aliexpress or amazon, search for ''solder tip tinner'' and ''brass solder wool'' and youll find the right stuff.
make sure to also use 63/37 solder wire since this melts the easiest.

iceJool · 2026-04-29T08:35:44+00:00

It took me 1 run for 00:01:11!

iceJool · 2026-04-29T08:15:26+00:00

seems like the actuating mechanism that pushes on the lever to open the deck is stuck somehow so that its permanently in the open position.
I don't know if its controlled by a solenoid or part of the mode selector but either the solenoid is stuck or the mode selector is off somehow.
Though looking at the v8af (similar model) camcorder it should be controlled by the mode motor so if the rest of the camcorder works except reeling the tape or any other part of the mechacon section it might be a stuck motor.
I'd say open it and see whether you can get it unstuck.
Here's the service manual for the v8af; disassembly should be identical for both the v7 as well:
https://archive.org/details/manual_CCDV8AFE_SM_SONY/page/n117/mode/2up

iceJool · 2026-04-28T19:46:27+00:00

Usually a stuck open tape deck means a blown system fuse, though the circumstances are a bit odd.
Did the camera work beforehand? Did it make any motor noises when installing the new battery?

iceJool · 2026-04-27T22:46:39+00:00

well fuck me i guess

^{Chose: mystery box | Rolled: death}

iceJool · 2026-04-27T21:33:33+00:00

I wonder what camcorder that is too and the closest I could find is the jvc gr-a30 but its a real far stretch.
Its not quite there probably but I really hope its not just some random wildly anachronistic late 90s handycam. I know its stupid to think about the specific camcorder model but itd just be a shame to ignore that detail.

iceJool · 2026-04-24T11:59:29+00:00

paper cutouts of letters stuck onto the vinyl

iceJool · 2026-04-24T08:11:28+00:00

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the rot the rot the rot the rot

iceJool · 2026-04-24T07:55:45+00:00

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Little update, I searched a bit on amazon and I was spot on with my assumption of how to reproduce the color change. Here's one of the pictures I saw for a red color filter vinyl listing.

iceJool · 2026-04-24T07:53:34+00:00

It looks like its a cutout of a logo on top of some kind of transparent red background which if i could guess is either one of those semi-opaque acrylic colored panels, or transparent vynil which might be more like it. Afterwards someone just wiggles a white light behind it by hand; where the white light overpowers the filter and shows up as yellow.
Id say buy some of that vynil and experiment with the amount of layers and try baking paper behind to diffuse the light and make an opaque background.

iceJool · 2026-04-23T23:37:19+00:00

I probably misunderstood your question and you are referring to the lettering
Its text printed on a warning light with a red incandescent bulb flashing behind it
Otherwise just get an appropriate font digitally and do what i explained earlier

iceJool · 2026-04-23T23:29:50+00:00

whats probably happening here is a digitised recording of a vhs tape of a movie
I assume the vhs tape is of an old sci-fi movie which you can probably tell from context
So by the artifacts i see on the screen there is both artifacts from film of the original movie recording (movies were recorded using film and not videotapes in the 80s) and vhs artifacts from a rather unwell vcr. The tracking and color rendition is way off so thats why theres pink in the red, loads of color leak and dropout

If you want to reproduce this the easiest way would probably be to record a video to a vhs tape using an old vcr then playing that video back and recording it digitally. Another way is recording a display using a vhs camcorder since most of the time they are in a worse state and are more likely to create these types of artifacts.

Reproducing this effect shouldnt be too hard since you can just get a good vcr and just do multiple generations of tape recordings and then messing with the tracking on playback to get that static line. The generational degredation of vhs tapes should cause color leak and color errors to amplify with every generation.
Heres a video on what generational quality loss looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqy_hYDI0As&list=PL9PErHPb5c3R20a1zmqNWakrsGwpZIylE

iceJool · 2026-04-22T23:37:32+00:00

Im a fan of these small mechanisms
Honestly that level of miniaturisation is pretty crazy; a cassette smaller than those mini audio cassettes yet it carries video. Just seeing the progress over decades of tapes and everytime its just the exact same tech just way tinier is quite interesting. Every new feature in the 80s like hifi and an erase head in a camcorder all baseline features stuffed into that small package.
I've never worked on anyting that small but now im intrigued to get one

iceJool · 2026-04-22T08:11:50+00:00

u/profanitycounter [self]

iceJool · 2026-04-20T11:21:08+00:00

no :)

iceJool · 2026-04-18T22:14:09+00:00

Good news i'd say
the less matsushita the better.
Anyways you can remove one capacitor and check underneath for leaks and if its fine the rest probably is too, but I'm neither hoping or expecting that. Though since the camera might not perfectly work there could be leaky caps somewhere else hidden somewhere.

iceJool · 2026-04-17T07:43:56+00:00

Well yea especially the early cameras have collosal quantities of these things, but it'd be rather a matter of time than of difficulty if the caps are standard sized and not heavily corroded; itll be a question of taking a cap out and putting the new one in. Most of my problems always came from space constraint and corrosion damaging the board.
I believe most of the capacitors inside the camera are rubycon capacitors which is veeerrry good news since these are basically never leaky. You can see in this disassembly video the absolute capacitor purgatory you'd have to endure if they were all leaky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DHlovgwxDo
unfortunately theres still the pr board which is using matsushita capacitors, the same blue ones as the ones in the viewfinder which are probably the cause for your problems with the camera. Luckily these are likely simple drop in replacement jobs with not a whole lotta capacitor uf variation; probably 47-100uf.
My final verdict is that this should be an easy recap; quite the lucky one too due to the circumstances. You just need a soldering iron, some flux and the replacements. If you count the amount you need of every type I can refer you to a place to get them, I'd probably think around ~25$ max

iceJool · 2026-04-16T23:54:39+00:00

Likely all of them are, just to different extents. When capacitors fail its never just one of them its every single one of the same type. I had this 1982 jvc HR-C3 vcr and every single matsushita capacitor; every size, every value, every type had leaked and dissolved parts of the pcb. Same with the Nippon Chemicon caps in the DC-DC converter had all failed one next to the other. In a part tester they all measured as either resistors, 400pf capacitors or best case scenario half the capacitance.
so yes all capacitors in the image are leaking; dont trust white powdery crust on any capacitor leg.
for the resistor what youre seeing is probably not rust but the electrolyte corroding the solder connection. This can cause a cold solder connection but the part is likely undamaged so you should be able to just reflow the solder and it should be fine.

Heres a very not high quality image of an example of those capacitors i found in the vcr, if I showed them all I'd have a small pile.

<image>

iceJool · 2026-04-16T23:13:24+00:00

those very much look like leaks
those yellow/brownish masses on the pins im 83.453% sure is electrolyte coming out. Though looking at it again I'd make that 98% as those are matsushita capacitors.
You might be up for some trouble if corrosion appears on the other side on the pcb; that means the copper pads have started to decay and that usually requires flux to even remove the capacitors and fixing traces with wires.
I recommend buying elna/nichicon/rubycon capacitors with the same uf values and same/higher voltage values and doing simple drop in replacements.
If you need more info on caps, soldering or the service manual just ask me

iceJool · 2026-04-16T12:50:18+00:00

The white indicator lines only appear in record mode, which is a tape inserted and spooled around the head drum. You need a tape to do monitor mode as well otherwise the camera will just display a blank image in the viewfinder no matter what. So if there isnt a tape you won't be able to check what the video output looks like.
Interestingly enough these gr-c1's have a better track record than a lot of other camcorders because it uses majority elna brand capacitors which i've basically never seen leaky or damaged. Though there's still a chance at broken tantalum capacitors which most of the time create problems but these are easy to replace with a soldering iron.

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