Video

1988. I ordered some rubber rejuvinator. I'm also going to order some new capacitors for the power supply. I'm hoping that will fix it. Also need to fix the little door that covers the axillary audio. It was broken during shipping. Also ordered some contact cleaner. The buttons don't work so well. Also some 3-in-1 oil for the reel barrings.

Sure.

@@olepigeon Thank you.

Sure.

Sure, so long as you link and credit the video.

Sure, just make sure to credit and link to the video.

Sure, just make sure to credit and link to the video. Please use the video description for any comments.

Sure.

Just make sure to credit and link to the original, please.

Sure. Just be sure to credit and link back to the original video.

Sure.

@@olepigeon Thanks a lot!

Just make sure to credit and link to the video.

That's fine.

Sure. Happened in Milpitas, California. Highway 237.

@@olepigeon Thank you so much

Sure. Here're a few more you might like: czcams.com/play/PLCwNPX53VKVJSKRir27FkXyA92QW3jMMR.html

@@olepigeon Thank you very much!!

Yes, I've experience the same thing in my playing with it. However, I 3D printed some brackets to help keep the doors at just the right spacing to keep the disks from getting hung up, as well as some kickstands to help keep the device elevated instead of literally hanging off the plastic by 2 somewhat flimsy hooks. I also applied some fresh grease and oil. In addition to the brackets and kickstands, I went ahead and 3D printed an entire stand for an external Apple floppy drive. That way I can connect it externally instead of having it occupy the entire front of my computer and accompanying desk space. I hope to post a video of that setup soon.

I'll need to look at my VCR. While the one filmed in this video was never repaired successfully, I did eventually get a similar model working. Both had horribly leaking capacitors that had to be replaced, and the boards had to be cleaned. It is possible your VCR is shorting because the electrolytic goop has leaked somewhere inside. There are two likely spots: the power distribution board that's under the large flat area where the VCR unit inserts, and the small board that attaches to the power supply itself in the boxed area. Both areas are relatively easy to get to, just have to remove 5 or 6 screws. It could also be that the wrong fuse is installed. If I remember correctly, I think there are three fuses? And all three were different ratings for different voltages. If you mix them up and put a lower rated fuse in the higher voltage spot, it'll blow every time you turn it on.

Unfortunately, no. Not this one. The capacitors had leaked way too much and ate away at the traces. I spent probably a week in total hours, replacing capacitors, looking for broken traces, etc. I even had the circuit boards sonic cleaned. But no go. I eventually got a different one in much better condition that I've gotten to work intermittently, but it has an issue I can't fix unless I can find some new-old-stock parts. For a machine that is electrically in fine condition, the main issue I've found is a combination of the Idler and the teeth on the spools. When you open it up, you'll find a fine black powder all around the spools. I suspect it's from the teeth being worn down to the point that even with a brand new idler, belts, oil & grease, they have trouble gripping. A temporary fix I've done that works (until it doesn't) is to cut off the stem of a latex balloon, then put it around the wheel of the idler. This makes the wheel just a hair thicker and a bit softer. It allows it to grip. But as the machine is used, more of the black dust form the spools (and regular dust) makes it so it doesn't grip again. Requires a lot of cleaning. I'm holding out hope I'll be able to find replacement spools at some point.

In short: you need to check the belts, but I can pretty much guarantee they've turned into goop. The old residue can be cleaned off with judicious use of isopropyl alcohol. So you'll need to get new belts. The other thing to check is the idler and spools. Make sure the idler is making good contact with the spools so it can dispense and wind tape.

macintoshgarden.org/apps/macplot-professional-405v2

I also could not find a service guide. But I stumbled upon this video at Databits: czcams.com/video/s_yFmXq10K0/video.html I used that to get inside. Replacing the belts is trivial, it's taking it apart that was the hard part.

Heya, I'd also bee keen to know how many washers are in both your supply and takeup reels. My supply reel has 1 thin washer on the bottom, 1 thicker washer, followed by a ball bearing, following but 1 thin washer. Seems like it's missing the thicker metal washer. The takeup real had a single thin washer.

@@olepigeon I'll let you know if I have to get into the reels. Thanks for the link to that video, it helped a lot. Mine isn't exactly the same as either of yours.

@@linksmith1057 It's probably similar enough. The VJP-900, VKP-950, etc. appear to all use the same convention. I still can't find much of any information on these VCRs, but I'd imagine they're just minor feature differences.

I took a bad VHS tape, then cut out the insides so it's just the outer frame. After removing the VHS tray, I jus place the empty shell in it and it thinks there's a VHS tape in there. However, you need to cover up the sensor so it thinks there's a tape. Just put some masking tape over it. I'll also be posting a Part 3 for anyone interested. I'm currently working on diagnosing a power issue. However, I finally have the spindles running. The teeth on them were just way too warn. Even with a brand new idler, it couldn't reach far enough. So I ended up cutting the stem of a balloon, then putting that around the idler wheel. It just wraps around it perfectly, makes it about a 1/2 a millimeter thicker, and provides a ton of grip. So this is my "fix" until I can source a new-old-stock takeup reel. By the way, I ordered my replacement parts from kpcomponents.co/ They have both a new-old-stock idler and pinch roller. kpcomponents.co/products/hitachi-6876043-idler-rca-158190 kpcomponents.co/products/vcr-pinch-roller-15-5mm-x-4mm-x-18-5mm-pr12 I ordered the belt kit from here, but it's expensive. You might be able to find it much cheaper: www.ebay.com/itm/11384650347

@@olepigeon I'll be interested to see Part 3. In mine the pinch roller and idler wheel seem to grip pretty good, I suspect this unit has pretty low hours on it, and also all the belts feel brand new now that I got to them so I think they've been replaced at some point recently. My issue is you put in the tape, the head drum spins for about 5 seconds, and it stops. The tape guides never pull out the tape, the pinch roller never engages, the take up and rewind reels never get unlocked, nothing. When I pulled off the bottom PCB, I found that the pins that seem to supply power to the idler wheel motor appear to have gotten very hot, so it's possible either it's not getting power due to corrosion or the motor itself is bad and is pulling current but never spinning. The video you linked me in the other comment mentioned an issue very similar to mine and pointed out those same pins. Tape detection is working because not putting in a tape doesn't even spin the head drum. I did find a screw bouncing around in the bottom of the VCR, but haven't identified where it goes or even if it goes to this machine. Whether I get this thing working or not, thanks a ton for all your help.

@@linksmith1057 No problem. I really hope to get mine going. I've also found quite a few cold solder joints. The tape sensor near the back left of the machine just popped straight off the PCB. Had to resolder it. Then I had not one, but two sockets pop straight off as well. Had to resolder those one, too. Since they're single-sided boards, I plan to spend a weekend and just resolder all the components with fresh solder.

@@linksmith1057 Check out Part 4. I just uploaded a little video. Mine wouldn't play for more than a few seconds, then stop. Then I had seen a different video that said if the supply and/or takeup sensors are bad, it could result in slow fast forwarding, rewinding, and it not playing. So I jiggled the wires, and that got it to thread and play a tape, but no video or audio. I suspect possibly cold solder joints on the connectors at one or both ends, I've run into several cold solder joints. czcams.com/video/beszEhG5aCk/video.html So I've field stripped the whole thing, and I discovered that most of the caps have leaked all over the various boards (just like they had on my power regulator board.) As you can see in the video, the video processor board has severe corrosion from all the leaked capacitors. It's like that on several of the other boards as well. So I'll be heading to the store to get about 200 capacitors and I'll be sitting down to recap all the boards. It's going to take a few hours. I'll then give them a good scrubbing and cleaning, set them out to dry for 24 hours, then reassemble it. Hopefully it'll fix it. If your head isn't spinning up, it could be that the capacitors have leaked like mine, causing corrosion on the video board and possible the controller board. As a side note, they used some type of glue for several of the bodges. I've found out that the glue is conductive now. It's so old and crusty, with so much filth, it was causing issues. I had to carefully scrape away the old glue and clean the board. The glue was causing a short.

I discovered that the supply spindle was missing a washer and it was too low, so it was grinding against the metal frame. While I was able to put in a spacer and get it spinning freely again (and solving the grinding noise), neither spindle wants to turn reliably. Even though I've installed a new idler. I still haven't figured out why. I've taken it apart, regreased, lubricated, etc., about dozen times now, and I still can't get the idler to engage correctly and turn the spindles. I also can't find anyone in the South Bay Area that's willing to fix it. Might have to cut my losses.

Thanks! I found it at a computer surplus store in Sunnyvale called WeirdStuff. Even has the box and driver disk. Unfortunately WeirdStuff closed a couple years ago. I really miss that place, I found a lot of great things there.

@@olepigeon It's primary use was to accompany Fastback II, which was backup software that was also sold by FGS. I did tech support for all FGS Mac products during this timeframe. The primary call for for Jukebox was a broken metal tab that was used to hang it above the floppy disc slot. The next most popular was, "how do I get it to work with the IIsi" or other similar mac with a curved front.

@@davelewis4441 Hi, Dave. Thanks for sharing! Never thought in a million years someone who actually worked with FGS would comment. :) I was fortunate that mine appeared to be new in the box still with all the various adapters, so they hadn't broke ... yet. Yes, the first thing I noticed was how fragile the metal hooks are. Because of how it clips on and literally hangs off the front of the computer, it causes a lot of metal fatigue. I suspect the little hooks would break off from being bent too much after just a couple dozen uses. What I've done to help alleviate the issue is to 3D print some stands for the Jukebox. That way there's not so much tension on the metal hooks. I also 3D printed a stand for the Apple external floppy drive so it's raised up high enough for the Jukebox to be used with it. That way it won't take up valuable real estate on the front of the computer where my keyboard is. :) Unfortunately none of the existing metal adapters fit the extra thin bezel on the external drive, but I'm hoping to print out some plastic hooks that should work (or maybe a way for the two stands to just clip together, that might be better.)

*1:40

It blows through any mount of shields. Probably why they never had Ion beam weapons. I set it to the minimum damage amount, and it'll still go through anything. I'd say it's pretty much broken.

Tell you the truth, I'm not sure. It's wasn't marked. It could have been DOVE, GCC, or any number of companies. There were eventually lost of generic adapters coming out about a year after the Plus was released. All the adapters were very similar, adding Macintosh Plus ROMs and a SCSI controller. They plugged directly into the original ROM sockets. Some of the earlier adapters clipped directly the CPU instead of using the ROM sockets.

I know this is 6-years late, but for future reference: It's a Magneto Optical drive. They use 3.5" media with a hard disk platter. It's sort of like a cross between a CD and a hard drive. It uses magnets to flip bits and write to the disk, and a laser to read the data back. It's actually a pretty old technology, been around in some variation since the early 1980s. Incidentally, you can add an indicator light to any Macintosh floppy drive by salvaging a controller board from a model A9M0106 Apple external 3.5" drive, if there's room for it.