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Vintage Television and Video Vintage television and video equipment, programmes, VCRs etc. |
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12th Feb 2019, 12:28 am | #1 |
Pentode
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Sandviken, Sweden
Posts: 233
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VCR calendar running out
A few days ago there was a power outage here, so I had to reset some clocks. I have a few mains powered clocks, from 1930's synchronous motor ones to the digital display on the microwave oven.
I still have a VCR connected to my TV. I don't often use it but I like to have it connected andready if the need should arise. It is a Philips unit, about fifteen years old. It's main purpose nowadays is to show me the time when I am watching TV When I was setting the time on the VCR it turned out that the last year that could be set was 2018. It was not possible to enter 2019. It was a bit sad to reach the end of time this way, it clearly proclaimed it's age and obsolescence. I found out that 2013, inter alia, has the same calendar as 2019 so I set it to that year instead. Just a reflection about the fact that everything has an end. |
12th Feb 2019, 9:26 am | #2 |
Guest
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Re: VCR calendar running out
That is annoying, I wonder what the earliest date that it can be set to is.
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12th Feb 2019, 9:41 am | #3 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Essex, UK.
Posts: 1,307
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Re: VCR calendar running out
My VCR from the late 90s/2000s can have the time set way back into the 60s and 70s. Kind of odd that they can have a date and time for years that had gone by, but cant go that far into the future when it will still exist.
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12th Feb 2019, 10:03 am | #4 |
Octode
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Morden, Surrey, UK.
Posts: 1,561
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Re: VCR calendar running out
I discovered during the millennium panic that with a particular RISC computer you could not set the year beyond 1999 but it would roll over to 2000 at the end of December 1999 - you could then set time day and month as normal - if you set it to the end of December it would again roll over to 2001 and so on - perhaps the VCR is similar?
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12th Feb 2019, 10:16 am | #5 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK
Posts: 5,185
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Re: VCR calendar running out
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I doubt that the manufacturers would care that their products would still be in use way past their design life! I have noticed that many clocks start at the year of the product's manufacture date, a useful way to date a machine. Mark |
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12th Feb 2019, 10:38 am | #6 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Birmingham, West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 708
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Re: VCR calendar running out
My very compact (that is why it is useful) Samsung mobile phone I bought over 10 years ago, only goes up to 2014 date wise...so they probably expected circa 5 years life as phones were changing very quickly in those days.
However still has an excellent screen and makes calls with clarity. |
12th Feb 2019, 12:31 pm | #7 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK.
Posts: 5,349
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Re: VCR calendar running out
I had a Samsung mobile with the same issue. I used to consult a universal calendar to find a corresponding year. It was not always possible, necessitating a second change of year at the end of February.
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12th Feb 2019, 2:10 pm | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
Posts: 4,203
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Re: VCR calendar running out
With specific problems, it's always good to mention the model number. If not to find a solution for you, then for someone who searches it.
That said, the universal solution is to set it to a compatible year in the past. |
12th Feb 2019, 2:18 pm | #9 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Lynton, N. Devon, UK.
Posts: 7,088
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Re: VCR calendar running out
The day / date / leap year pattern does repeat every 28 years anyway, so if you set to Feb 12, 1991, the date and day will be correct and you won't have to reset next year as 1992 and 2020 are both leap years. It'll be right until 2100 which is not a leap year (as divisible by 100 but not by 400), but by then you'll have clocked over to 2019 a couple of times anyway so you'll be well in practice going back to 1991!
Fifteen years is a short time for the clock to run out of dates, though. It's not like there was a massive shortage of ROM capacity at the time it was built! |
12th Feb 2019, 3:35 pm | #10 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK.
Posts: 5,224
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Re: VCR calendar running out
I've come across a vintage computer operating system that used 3 bits to store the year. As a result it only accepted dates from 1980 to 1987.
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13th Feb 2019, 1:22 am | #11 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bishop Auckland, County Durham, UK.
Posts: 373
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Re: VCR calendar running out
Some Panasonic VCRs made in the early 1990s ran out of time in 2006.
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13th Feb 2019, 5:56 pm | #12 |
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: South Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 2,573
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Re: VCR calendar running out
My Panasonic NVHD90, dating from 1994, shows the correct year and is still working.
Keith |
15th Feb 2019, 7:41 pm | #13 | |||
Pentode
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Sandviken, Sweden
Posts: 233
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Re: VCR calendar running out
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Yes, I also found it a bit ungenerous. That said, I guess it was not expected to be in use for so many years. |
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15th Feb 2019, 9:58 pm | #14 |
Heptode
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, UK.
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Re: VCR calendar running out
Interesting, Curiosity made me check a couple of digital cameras for dates.
Fujifilm dated 2000 until 2050. Olympus dates are from 2000 to 2099 !. Must remember to change it back to 2000 in the year 3000 . Peter W , Reelguy. |
15th Feb 2019, 11:42 pm | #15 |
Nonode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 2,004
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Re: VCR calendar running out
I read that some early Apple computers couldn't be set before a certain seemingly random date, which was the date of birth of one of the Steve's daughters.
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Hello IT: Have you Tried Turning It Off & On Again? |
16th Feb 2019, 12:03 am | #16 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
Posts: 4,203
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Re: VCR calendar running out
Ah, that's actually very good to know as that's not a "real" Philips set. It's one of those crappy sets made after Funai aquired that part of the business from Philips. So this problem is likely limited to the models from 2003 onwards.
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16th Feb 2019, 4:41 am | #17 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Derby, UK.
Posts: 7,735
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Re: VCR calendar running out
The older VCRs effectively had a perpetual calendar. This was because they did not keep track of the date as such; only the day of the week (programmes could be set up to two weeks in advance). So to record a programme being shown next Wednesday, you just selected "Wed"; to record a programme the Wednesday after next, you selected "2nd Wed".
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If I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on a pile of failed experiments. |
16th Feb 2019, 7:14 am | #18 | |
Heptode
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Portland, Dorset, UK.
Posts: 874
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Re: VCR calendar running out
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17th Feb 2019, 12:20 am | #19 | |
Pentode
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Sandviken, Sweden
Posts: 233
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Re: VCR calendar running out
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The other one is a VR610, this machine is a few years older. I don't know if this was made by Philips or only branded as such, but the weight of it seems to indicate a more robust machine. This has a calendar that spans from 1900 to 2099. No hurry to start worrying yet... |
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17th Feb 2019, 8:08 pm | #20 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
Posts: 4,203
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Re: VCR calendar running out
The VR610 is a Philips made model from around the turn of the century. The combo is Funai made, probably between 2003 and 2005. Funai sqeezed every 1000th of a penny out of their designs, while Philips probably saved only on pennies or 10ths of pennies...
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