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How To Find Parts / Batteries / Etc. For Vintage Tech?

Swifty

doesn't negotiate with terriers
Joined
Sep 15, 2013
Messages
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My Dad gave me his 80's VHS C video camera last Christmas but I can't charge the 35 year old + batteries to make it work and I'm highly doubtful I'd be able to find any working ones these days. I wouldn't know where to begin to look.
 
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My Dad gave me his 80's VHS C video camera last Christmas but I can't charge the 35 year old + batteries to make it work and I'm highly doubtful I'd be able to find any working ones these days. I wouldn't know where to begin to look.
Have you tried looking online, you'll be surprised what you can still get, lots of folks out there specialize in fixing and maintaining retro electronics, if you know the make and model, you should be able to find something suitable.
 
My Dad gave me his 80's VHS C video camera last Christmas but I can't charge the 35 year old + batteries to make it work and I'm highly doubtful I'd be able to find any working ones these days. I wouldn't know where to begin to look.
If you can establish the voltage and capacity of the batteries, it should be fairly easy to wire in a modern battery pack even if you have to tape it onto the camera externally.
 
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Have you tried looking online, you'll be surprised what you can still get, lots of folks out there specialize in fixing and maintaining retro electronics, if you know the make and model, you should be able to find something suitable.
I wouldn't know where to begin to look mate.
 
If you can establish the voltage and capacity of the batteries, it should be fairly easy to wire in a modern battery pack even if you have to tape it onto the camera externally.
My Dad kept all the manuals etc so I should be able to find that out yes.
 
I wouldn't know where to begin to look mate.
Should be a sticker or something on it with the make and model, the brand should be quite prominent, maybe under the battery cover, or you could Google image search vhs video camera and try to match one with your camera
 
Should be a sticker or something on it with the make and model, the brand should be quite prominent, maybe under the battery cover, or you could Google image search vhs video camera and try to match one with your camera
Just looked and there are loads of hits for 'vintage video camera batteries for sale'
 
Ebay should be your port of call here. There’s loads of batteries and chargers there.
Surely you want something with better picture quality and resolution though?
 
Ebay should be your port of call here. There’s loads of batteries and chargers there.
Surely you want something with better picture quality and resolution though?
I've got an expensive flashy new hi res camera that can also film in 3D. I want the 80's magnetic tape format camera for future ghost investigations, that is, if I can capture the same anomaly on two completely different types of camera at the same time that would be harder to explain away as an artefact. There's also a saturated visual quality to old video camera footage that makes me feel nostalgic.
 
Swifty:
Do you have the adapter cassette thingies that allow you to play compact VHS-C tapes in ordinary VHS tape decks? If not, you may want to add at least one of these to your seek-and-acquire list.
 
Swifty:
Do you have the adapter cassette thingies that allow you to play compact VHS-C tapes in ordinary VHS tape decks? If not, you may want to add at least one of these to your seek-and-acquire list.
I've got one of those adapters yes thanks Enola, and about ten C tapes. I've been watching old family movies on my VHS player, my Dad's already transferred everything to disc so I can black burst wipe all of those for new use.
 
If you can't get the paper manual it's worth looking online. Some kind people scan and upload manuals for this very purpose.
I've got the manual thankfully. My Dad's fastidious, he probably read it cover to cover twice knowing him.
 
That looks promising, thanks Ram.
Funnily enough I carefully cut open a weird shaped hard plastic battery pack last week due to the old NiCad cells being dead as a dodo. The cells will be replaceable with the same size modern equivalent and I can reseal the pack easily.
 
You can usually get the cells from somewhere like Evil bay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/NiCd-Rechargeable-Batteries/48619/bn_549921

cut the pack open and see what cells are in there,
Iv done a few for the local horse dentist,
try to get the tagged ones easier to solder without
cooking the battery's.
Good advice.
Yes, inside the battery packs are standard-sized rechargeable batteries. These are wired up in series.
Swifty could just have a look inside and see what size of battery is in there, then copy the soldering job.
 
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