Instead of 62.1mm diameter, 41.3mm, as used in standard size VHS
cassette use camcorder Hitachi VM 500E of a couple of decades ago.
Used full width tape, not 2/3 width ie 8mm, AFAIK bulk standard VHS tapes

On 9/23/2013 10:24 AM, N_Cook wrote:
Hitachi VM 500E

Hello,

Looked at a photo on Google images of the camera. It's called a "VHS
Movie" which is a term I'm not familiar with, but it might be a European
marketing thing. We had the VHS-C (C for compact) in the US. Could
this be one of these?

Regards,
Tim Schwartz
Bristol Electronics

Yup. Still uses ½" tape. Wraps it 270 degrees instead of 180. I wouldn't want to have to design the tape path that makes it compatible with standard VHS but somebody did.

When one head goes bad it's kinda funky, it gets a 15 Hz flicker instead of 30.

If you need one RCA or GE might fit.

On 23/09/2013 16:07, wrote:
Yup. Still uses ½" tape. Wraps it 270 degrees instead of 180. I wouldn't want to have to design the tape path that makes it compatible with standard VHS but somebody did.

When one head goes bad it's kinda funky, it gets a 15 Hz flicker instead of 30.

If you need one RCA or GE might fit.


maybe fairly straightforward compatibility. there are 4 equally disposed
heads, on 2/3 diameter , maybe run it at 4/3 satandard drum rpm and 270
degree wrap

On 23/09/2013 18:51, N_Cook wrote:
On 23/09/2013 16:07, wrote:
Yup. Still uses ½" tape. Wraps it 270 degrees instead of 180. I
wouldn't want to have to design the tape path that makes it compatible
with standard VHS but somebody did.

When one head goes bad it's kinda funky, it gets a 15 Hz flicker
instead of 30.

If you need one RCA or GE might fit.


maybe fairly straightforward compatibility. there are 4 equally disposed
heads, on 2/3 diameter , maybe run it at 4/3 satandard drum rpm and 270
degree wrap

Anyone know where to find the dimensional specs/standards of helical
scan systems (before wear anyway) particularly diameter between head
face surfaces and angular offsets , particularly for DAT and video8
systems?

Info like that was in my old training manuals. Yes, at one time I actually bought a bunch of them. Boss was too cheap.

The actual heads should be the same as regular VHS of course, as far as azimuth and gap at least. I thihk Sony invented this whore's nightmare just like everything else. I had an old BMC-110 and there was no way in hell there was a full size Beta drum in there. Y'know those things didn't even have rewind.

I'm not sure where I got this idea but for some reason I think you are in the UK. If so, I am not sure that an NTSC head would work for you. I really do not know this but I think it possible that since the head drum spins at 1,500 instead of 1,800 RPM that a correspondingly lower carrier frwuency might be used. If so the resonance of those heads would need to be different. Even if all this is correct, I do not know if the heads themselves would be different, i.e. higher inductance, or if this is accomplished later, like in the preamps or something.

What this means is that possibly if I were to send you a junk camcorder for fifty bucks or thirty quid, you might not be able to use the head from it in a European unit. I simply never had cause to find out. I have only done two international electronics deals, one was sending Bob Parker some knobs for a Yamaha reciever and the other was with a guy named Thomas Tornblum, who is seriously adept at electronics I would say. Hooked up with both of them right here on SER in fact.

It's only worth mentionoing because this is Amercia, where people throw things out when they work perfectly and replace them with the new model that will be obsolete before they learn how to work all the features. Doesn't matter though, it will break down anyway and each part will cost more than the whole thing did new. Goddamn, a buddy of mine got a five channel, five hundred watt Pioneer with most of the bells and whistles at a garage sale. It was marked "VCR $5". Then more recently he picked up a Roland PC-300 for something like $12. Either people are stupid or their Husbands are going to be ****ed off. Or something.