I know MacGyver will like this post, but I'd thought I'd put it up here for others to see too.

Got this vcr late last year, and finally got it home here not long ago. My unit had a broken flap door, but other then that it was ok. Plugged in a tape today just to see if it would play. VCR wasn't hooked up to anything, so I'm unsure of its playback quality. I did notice the HiFi tracks weren't being played from the tape that was in there. Didn't try others yet. Other then that the unit seemed to be functioning normally.

Took some pictures for John to see. I may paint the top lid black and get new rosewood side panels (with real wood) made up for this deck.

cool! so you managed to fix the door? also, do you have a cleaning cassette? i can't imagine why it wouldn't playback the Hi-Fi audio, other than it's heads being dirty. i also believe that, judging from experience with my copy, that this VCR can sometimes be finicky about tracking the odd tape. if you had it hooked to a T.V. when you played that same cassette, you'll likely find that that is the problem. it tends to shift to the linear audio track on a tape it has a hard time tracking to. just manually adjust it from the front panel. here are some pics of the pages of my HR-S8000U manual concerning features and controls:







http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/s...VC/DSCF0301.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/s...VC/DSCF0302.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/s...VC/DSCF0303.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/s...VC/DSCF0304.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/s...VC/DSCF0305.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/s...VC/DSCF0306.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/s...VC/DSCF0307.jpg



also, what shade of black do you intend to paint the top bonnet? gloss, semi-gloss, or flat?

oh yes! here is a highly recommended tweak for this superlative VCR:










i have replaced the stock isolator feet with large DENON CDP feet culled from a 1990 DCD-660, with extra thick pads taken from a 1990 SONY SLV-R5UC S-VHS. in order to fit them properly, i had to remove the bottom panel so i could cut away the molded stub feet that is part of the main plastic chassis frame that this VCR shares with it's step-down model, the HR-S7000U. once those were removed, the bottom panel naturally went back on, and i used four long screws and plastic spacers to mount the feet in the existing threads that the stock feet used. those spacers in question were culled from one of the DENON DCD-1500s that i stripped for spare parts for my legacy 1500 example. those spacers are the ones that went around the screws holding the top bonnet on. they, or some equivlient are nessisary in order to make the front feet clear the lower lip of the front panel, and of course the rears are so the feet will all be level. anyway, this is a highly recommended tweak for HR-S8000U owners. this is a magnificent 1988 direct drive S-VHS VCR that is one of the very best ways to enjoy the VHS format in it's sunset years...

Hi John. Not sure what shade of black or grey I'll get. Depends what I can find. Probably be gloss since most automotive paint is.

I have some spare feet I took off a Hitachi vcr, but those feet have notches for slots in them- so I doubt they will work on the JVC.

clip the pegs off with a pair of wire cutters. that's what i had to do with the DENON feet. also, i forgot to mention that i went to HOME DEPOT to get a tube of white lithium grease. i liberally greased the entire mechanism, topside and underside, all gears and tracks. i am happy to report that the result is a totally healthy VCR in top form. REAL rosewood, eh? how much do you figure it'll cost? also, will you have them shellaced, or just have bare finish? here's a preview of what BRAX's VCR may turn out like:



HR-S8000 (JPN MARKET, japanese consumer market equivelant of the U.S. HR-S8000U)





BR-S3600 ( possibly an industrial market variant)

QQQQ

It's digital gear in the analog forum.

ummm, the VHS video recorder IS an analog REC./PLAYBACK format, is it not? and also, what do you mean by "QQQQ" ?