Philips VR2022 issues - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

SpyroGyro92 · 10th Oct 2019, 1:08 pm

Hi all,

First post here, all the way from JHB, South Africa.

Perhaps you kind folk can be of some assistance.

So recently I came upon one of those V2000 machines (Philips VR2022) together with a few tapes. One of those tapes is a "cleaning maintenance cassette".
This lot was found at a local thrift store. I had never previously seen one of these VCR's up close before, so I was very surprised to even lay eyes on one in this neck of the woods.

Anyways, the unit seems to work, up to a point, that is.
All buttons perform the required function except for the "play" button. That one works intermittently. More often than not it does not work. And when it does work, sometimes after a tape has been played for 10 minutes, or so, the picture will either go blank for a couple seconds before the visuals go back to normal or the unit will turn itself off.

What am I looking at here? Some sort of capacitor failure?
I have read of a "RIFA" capacitor that can cause issues with these machines and that it is 100% guaranteed to blow. Maybe that has already happened here, I don't know.

mickash · 11th Oct 2019, 1:07 am

I can't profess to being an expert on these machines but you could have more than one issue with it.

The play button itself could be worn and making intermittent contact. This used to happen with Grundig's version of the V2000.

The tapes could be faulty or worn causing intermittent loss of picture.
If the machine is switching itself off altogether there could be a power supply fault or even a loose connection in the mains lead or plug.

The Rifa cap blowing won't produce symptoms like this.

Don't be tempted to use the cleaning tape as they are quite abrasive and overuse will wear out/damage the video heads.

Hopefully somebody with knowledge of this model will be able to give you some further advice.

Michael.

SpyroGyro92 · 11th Oct 2019, 7:26 am

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your reply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickash

The play button itself could be worn and making intermittent contact. This used to happen with Grundig's version of the V2000.

I should have stated that my order from eBay for the IR Remote add-ons for this unit, arrived the other day. All functions via the remote control work perfectly except for 'play'. As previously, sometimes it does work, most times it does not. So I think we can rule out the possibility of a faulty button.

Quote:

The tapes could be faulty or worn causing intermittent loss of picture.

The thing with the intermittent loss of visuals is that when I go back to the exact section of the tape where the image appeared to not be displayed, it then plays that portion just fine. So I don't believe it is to with the tapes themselves. Almost a case of where the VCR, I guess, "chooses" a random spot where the image will just go blank.

Quote:

If the machine is switching itself off altogether there could be a power supply fault or even a loose connection in the mains lead or plug.

When I say the unit turns "off" I meant to the point where it's "off" but still in standby mode, if you will. In other words, the timer display still shows up as normal but the right side of the display panel where the actual tape operation takes place, is switched off. So I don't think it's a loose connection of that figure 8 power cord. The cord itself that I'm using is confirmed to be in good shape.

But an internal power supply fault seems to make the most sense here. I'll see if I can take it over to an old local TV/VCR repair shop that's still in business in my area. Maybe they can help out with that.

Quote:

The Rifa cap blowing won't produce symptoms like this.

Good to know.

So if it has blown, should I look into having it removed or replaced?
Is it critical to the operation of the VCR?

Quote:

Don't be tempted to use the cleaning tape as they are quite abrasive and overuse will wear out/damage the video heads.

Yeah quite right. It feels almost like sandpaper. I will not risk it.

TIMTAPE · 11th Oct 2019, 10:43 am

I worked on one of these last year. Its main problem was intermittency, but in various departments. I traced one intermittency to poor contacts on one of the cards. (This machine had many plug in cards - that's good and bad.) Not so good, the contacts were of an easily tarnished metal. Definitely not gold. So the many intermittencies across various cards were no surprise.

I carefully removed all cards and took a long time cleaning the pins and sockets as well as tightened some of the socket pins. It fixed the problems but my guess was that after some time, they'd slowly return.

I have a vague feeling I replaced a few tactile function switches as well.

Outrun_uk · 11th Oct 2019, 10:54 am

There’s a backup battery on the digital/logic PCB (the double sided one with lots of IC’s on it) which may well have leaked and caused some damage, it can cause a wide range of faults. Best to remove it and clean up/repair and damage.

HTH,

Kev

Maarten · 11th Oct 2019, 1:49 pm

I would be very interested in the full model number (including the /xx number) and serial number. I've been collecting numbers for some time now to get an idea about the production duration and quantities. I'm curious as to what version (execution, the number /xx) of this model was delivered to South Africa.

SpyroGyro92 · 11th Oct 2019, 5:12 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by TIMTAPE

I carefully removed all cards and took a long time cleaning the pins and sockets as well as tightened some of the socket pins. It fixed the problems but my guess was that after some time, they'd slowly return.

Definitely something for me to look at. Thanks for that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Outrun_uk

There’s a backup battery on the digital/logic PCB (the double sided one with lots of IC’s on it) which may well have leaked and caused some damage, it can cause a wide range of faults. Best to remove it and clean up/repair and damage.

I'll have a look at that. What would one use as a cleaning solution for that? isopropyl alcohol?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maarten

I would be very interested in the full model number (including the /xx number) and serial number. I've been collecting numbers for some time now to get an idea about the production duration and quantities. I'm curious as to what version (execution, the number /xx) of this model was delivered to South Africa.

I'm new here so I'm not sure of any possible rules with regard to posting pics. If they are for some reason not allowed, the admin/mods can of course edit as they please.

This is from that unit:

[img]https://i.**********/v1gBNyW.jpg[/img]

Just to add that it was serviced a few times over here by Philips South Africa.
This is evident from the sticker on the machine as well as some paperwork that was included with it when I bought it from that thrift store.

[img]https://i.**********/3XALMee.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.**********/ge8f8Wx.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.**********/BMOyfQd.jpg[/img]

Outrun_uk · 11th Oct 2019, 7:28 pm

I used isopropyl and a stiff brush (toothbrush is ideal) to clean the worst of the leakage away. There were a couple of broken tracks and VIA’s so if there is damage you will need to check carefully for continuity on the tracks. Also the rot had gotten under a couple of the IC’s so they also needed removing and a clean up.

#edit :- also a fibreglass pencil is useful for any stubborn residue but wear some gloves, very unpleasant to get the fibres stuck in your hands....

Maarten · 12th Oct 2019, 1:06 pm

Your recorder was made in 1982, week 10 on production line 7. In week 16 the same line was producing /05 models for the UK. In general, production seems to have consisted of small to normal sized batches (1000-10000) of similar types on the same production lines.

Very interesting to see /73 on the recorder and /23 on the service bulletin, so a model especially for that particular destination market. This probably corresponds to executions /50 and /00 for the general market, respectively.

10th Oct 2019, 1:08 pm	#1
SpyroGyro92 Triode Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 11	Philips VR2022 issues Hi all, First post here, all the way from JHB, South Africa. Perhaps you kind folk can be of some assistance. So recently I came upon one of those V2000 machines (Philips VR2022) together with a few tapes. One of those tapes is a "cleaning maintenance cassette". This lot was found at a local thrift store. I had never previously seen one of these VCR's up close before, so I was very surprised to even lay eyes on one in this neck of the woods. Anyways, the unit seems to work, up to a point, that is. All buttons perform the required function except for the "play" button. That one works intermittently. More often than not it does not work. And when it does work, sometimes after a tape has been played for 10 minutes, or so, the picture will either go blank for a couple seconds before the visuals go back to normal or the unit will turn itself off. What am I looking at here? Some sort of capacitor failure? I have read of a "RIFA" capacitor that can cause issues with these machines and that it is 100% guaranteed to blow. Maybe that has already happened here, I don't know.

11th Oct 2019, 1:07 am	#2
mickash Hexode Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Derbyshire, UK. Posts: 289	Re: Philips VR2022 issues I can't profess to being an expert on these machines but you could have more than one issue with it. The play button itself could be worn and making intermittent contact. This used to happen with Grundig's version of the V2000. The tapes could be faulty or worn causing intermittent loss of picture. If the machine is switching itself off altogether there could be a power supply fault or even a loose connection in the mains lead or plug. The Rifa cap blowing won't produce symptoms like this. Don't be tempted to use the cleaning tape as they are quite abrasive and overuse will wear out/damage the video heads. Hopefully somebody with knowledge of this model will be able to give you some further advice. Michael.

11th Oct 2019, 10:43 am	#4
TIMTAPE Octode Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 1,969	Re: Philips VR2022 issues I worked on one of these last year. Its main problem was intermittency, but in various departments. I traced one intermittency to poor contacts on one of the cards. (This machine had many plug in cards - that's good and bad.) Not so good, the contacts were of an easily tarnished metal. Definitely not gold. So the many intermittencies across various cards were no surprise. I carefully removed all cards and took a long time cleaning the pins and sockets as well as tightened some of the socket pins. It fixed the problems but my guess was that after some time, they'd slowly return. I have a vague feeling I replaced a few tactile function switches as well.

11th Oct 2019, 10:54 am	#5
Outrun_uk Heptode Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK. Posts: 705	Re: Philips VR2022 issues There’s a backup battery on the digital/logic PCB (the double sided one with lots of IC’s on it) which may well have leaked and caused some damage, it can cause a wide range of faults. Best to remove it and clean up/repair and damage. HTH, Kev

11th Oct 2019, 1:49 pm	#6
Maarten Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Haarlem, Netherlands Posts: 4,199	Re: Philips VR2022 issues I would be very interested in the full model number (including the /xx number) and serial number. I've been collecting numbers for some time now to get an idea about the production duration and quantities. I'm curious as to what version (execution, the number /xx) of this model was delivered to South Africa.

11th Oct 2019, 7:28 pm	#8
Outrun_uk Heptode Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK. Posts: 705	Re: Philips VR2022 issues I used isopropyl and a stiff brush (toothbrush is ideal) to clean the worst of the leakage away. There were a couple of broken tracks and VIA’s so if there is damage you will need to check carefully for continuity on the tracks. Also the rot had gotten under a couple of the IC’s so they also needed removing and a clean up. #edit :- also a fibreglass pencil is useful for any stubborn residue but wear some gloves, very unpleasant to get the fibres stuck in your hands....

12th Oct 2019, 1:06 pm	#9
Maarten Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Haarlem, Netherlands Posts: 4,199	Re: Philips VR2022 issues Your recorder was made in 1982, week 10 on production line 7. In week 16 the same line was producing /05 models for the UK. In general, production seems to have consisted of small to normal sized batches (1000-10000) of similar types on the same production lines. Very interesting to see /73 on the recorder and /23 on the service bulletin, so a model especially for that particular destination market. This probably corresponds to executions /50 and /00 for the general market, respectively.