Sharp's record-playing luggable stereo : VZ-2000 repair & demo

Pre-CD era Boomboxes are some of the most collectable...but the majority aren’t as much use as a Sharp VZ2000 nowadays...but was it really a 'boombox'?
00:00 Start
01:13 Repair attempt
20:41 Demo
27:45 Stylus swap
28:33 Still relevant
30:21 Patreon credits
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Regularly asked question
Q) Why are there comments from days ago when this video has just gone live today?
A) Patrons / techmoan usually have early access to videos. I'll show the first version of a video on Patreon and often the feedback I get results in a video going through further revisions to improve it. e.g. Fix audio issues, clarify points, add extra footage or cut extraneous things out. The video that goes live on youtube is the final version. If you want to see the videos early too, you can sign up to Patreon here: / techmoan

[@RaccoonHenry]

"I'm not a repairman!" proceeds to execute a perfect repair, no fuss, no damage... in all seriousness, great job! this is quite a machine!

[@bsadewitz]

Well, don't forget that he exercises some editorial discretion, heh. But he certainly has honed the style of his presentation well over the years to our satisfaction--whoever "we" are. How many people in your "real life" do you know who would regularly tune into this? I know a few, but not many. And yet here we all are, at rapt attention once again. 😆

[@richg0404]

@@bsadewitz Sure he sped up the process quite a bit but after watching quite a few of his videos here I'll say that if something goes wrong, he'll show us. He doesn't skip over the bad parts and make it look like it was easy.

[@blutube9916]

No snapped molex(?) connectors on a 30 year old device somehow. I just have to look at one the wrong way and they break.

[@andreasu.3546]

Being a youtuber probably helps with executing a repair like this. When putting things back together, I always have troube knowing which screw goes where and which plug goes into what socket etc. If you're recording the whole process, you can always go back and see how things were when you took them apart.

[@zararity]

@@andreasu.3546 We all have camera phones nowadays, you can always take photos of various connectors and cables and where they go throughout a disassembly process.

[@matambale]

Love the classification of mobility: 1) pocketable 2) portable 3) luggable 4) rollable 5) draggable 6) right here is fine.

[@ruialexandre6197]

😄

[@cURLybOi]

0) wearable

[@devjock]

-1) Edible

[@RedPillRachel]

@@devjock -2) injectable

[@EzeePosseTV]

-3) Throwable or Yeetable

[@peterkossits4794]

I had one of these when I was a teenager! Thank you for the trip down memory lane. There aren't too many gadgets I've owned in my life that I've truly loved, but this stereo was special. It cost 500$ in Canada back in 1981. I still remember going to the shop with my father to pick it up.

[@fintanoclery2698]

I don't remember this being in the Consumers Distributing catalogue. I was in grade school in Canada in 81, sadly ghetto blaster free though.

[@D...Charger]

I had one too!.I guess it was about 1988 ish.I swapped a set of speakers and an amp for it.Had a nice sound to it.Not sure what hapend to it.Wish i had it now.

[@TheDanMan01]

I remember thinking of buying one as a high school graduation gift for myself way back in 1982. I settled for the Sharp GF-8989II, instead (it was much easier to carry around). I still have it today and still in very great shape.

[@DRDCC]

I have worked on a couple of those. They are indeed a nightmare to service. Watching your video, it seems so easy. Absolutely impressive.

[@Smashmilk]

Little confused how you posted 7 days ago on a video that just got posted 6 hours ago. HE'S A WITCH STONE STONE .. !!!!

[@DRDCC]

@@Smashmilk Patreons of his channel can access his videos earlier.

[@TRIX-vg1ym]

@@Smashmilk “It’s a witch” In my Monty python voice

[@tomallen343]

@@TRIX-vg1ym burn 'im!!!! Burn the witch!!!

[@mr_b_hhc]

@@TRIX-vg1ym must weigh the same as a duck...

[@johnlewan1114]

He's not a repairman, but he plays one on KZbin! I repair commercial copiers/printers for the last 17 years, and I've watched you work on some really intimidating equipment. You're incredibly talented at repairing electronics, and I enjoy watching your videos. But that's it for the moment, thanks for reading.

[@sperzieb00n]

i guess thats just him being humble, sure he isn't a repairman but he does manage to do things a repairman could!

[@bobblum5973]

So he's not a professional, but he is a very experienced amateur! He actually does better than quite a few "real" professionals I've dealt with, and that's speaking as a professional one myself. One thing I've noticed is that he knows his limitations; not that he won't go beyond his experience periodically, but if so he considers his options first.

[@russellhltn1396]

Like many skills, you lean by doing. He's been doing.

[@jamesdietz29]

He IS a repair man... he's earned that title! 🎖

[@PaoloMarcelli]

I repair commercial printers/copiers too :)

[@colt5189]

The biggest thing I hate about taking apart things like that is having to document the screws as you take it apart so you can know which go where. I usually will write a number down on a paper and take photos and then put them in plastic bags. It's a lot of work, but worth it as you could end up not being able to get it back together if you just put all the screws into a pile.

[@foxxy46213]

Just draw a grid an lay screws on the grids at an average location it came out of

[@Taketimeout3]

No my friend. there are easier ways. When you remove the screw just screw it back in to the hole it came out of as you go along. Your welcome.

[@colt5189]

@@Taketimeout3 It generally doesn't work out that way.

[@hubbsllc]

@@Taketimeout3 Yeah, past a point that turns into more bother and more moving around of screws and therefore more risk of loss.

[@danielwilder7835]

Documentation though is well worth it, especially if You need to take something back apart again.

[@Roboterpunk]

A beautiful piece of 80s consumer electronics. Glad you managed to repair it.

[@bobblum5973]

It may be weird to notice, but the overall pacing on this video was spot-on. You covered the whole story from intro, to problem description, disassembly, repair, cleaning and reassembly, topped off with an overview and demo. Well done, very enjoyable viewing! Also, kudos on the very methodical disassembly, a good demo of how to take your time and keep the hardware sorted. During the removal of those metal plates on the bottom, I could tell which screw heads went through holes in the plates; I tend to think having the camera blocking your view makes it more difficult for you sometimes! _"As always, thanks for creating!"_

[@TheTruthKiwi]

He's got this "content creation" thing down to a fine art, that's for sure :)

[@josephrybowicz3760]

I noticed the same about the pacing - really well done. The edit must have been almost as laborious as the repair given how much raw footage you must have had to deal with, and it came together beautifully. Given the aesthetic and how much work would go into restoring it, a couple thousand for a working model seems fair

[@AB0BA_69]

It's that British touch ;)

[@al3k]

Why do you think we keep clicking? :)

[@ChaossX77]

@@AB0BA_69 For me it's more about how he doesn't go on and on about being British and makes it really friendly to watch for anyone anywhere. But I know you're making a slightly/completely different point. Lol

[@maxstress8427]

Back in 1981 i was 16 years old, the 16 year old me would have done just about anything to own a machine like that. I never knew something like that existed, if i did i would have cut a lot of lawns to make money so i could buy one. It makes me happy seeing someone save old tech like this to keep it from becoming landfill fodder. This was very enjoyable to watch and very informative.

[@jcmolero71]

my elder brothers owned one VZ-3000 (the mini bookshelf one), it was 1981 when I was 10, it was a unique music centre, very ahead to its age

[@DanaTheInsane]

I was cutting a lot of lawns, you could have bought an OK used car for what that cost. Nobody I knew could even fantasize about buying one.

[@ricl7413]

I knew someone who had one of the proper stereo versions of this sort of thing. It was amazing to see the needle go to the edge of the vinyl record then disappear as it moved to play the other side without taking the record out. Simple things eh!😂😂

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

@@jcmolero71 The VZ3000 has more than twice the power of this one

[@DOBERSTAFFIE]

My brother had this unit, when he passed after a car crash it sat in his room for a few years, it worked perfectly, unfortunately my sister threw it out thinking it did not work. Was a brilliant piece of kit. Batteries lasted about 6 hours once with radio, with tapes and records I think 2 hours max with Duracell.

[@mikeg2491]

We take for granted just how efficient modern technologies have gotten with rechargeable batteries and efficiency, I just bought a portable boom box that can go 30 hours on a single charge.

[@evolutionsfake]

Your brother sounded like a really cool dude.

[@christianmccauley7340]

@@mikeg2491 bigger boomboxes with speakers closer to this one still last about the same amount of time lmao. But I totally agree, things are crazy now a days

[@DG-sf9ei]

Was she a step sis? That'd explain alot.

[@kaitlyn__L]

It's always so sad when people just assume something is broken without checking.

[@gryfandjane]

This episode was well-timed, as I just finished replacing all the belts and a rubber wheel in my 1979-vintage Concept ELC cassette deck. It’s now working brilliantly, and I’m rediscovering my cassette collection. Nice work on the phono! That’s a pretty impressive piece of gear.

[@mikerichards6065]

I’m always impressed by the quality of the drawings in those 30-40 year old repair manuals. All those incredibly detailed exploded three dimensional views would have been done by hand without a computer to do the heavy lifting. A lost art. And well done on a repair, I watched most of it very nervously.

[@Clavichordist]

My father, a retired graphics designer and illustrator, used to illustrate user manuals like that in the day. I agree they're definitely a lost art compared to what we have now.

[@euchale]

I still learned how to accurately draw what I am seeing under the microscope in 2010, so the art isn't completely dead yet. Also got feedback on how to highlight certain parts of my subject of study.

[@IgnatSolovey]

Sony PMW-EX1R professional camcorder service manual from 2010 is as good. It depends rather on intended repairability of a thing than draftsmanship or prepress. Maybe not that many exploded views but definitely it helps to get things done in the same fashion (just quicker, because there are fewer parts, and almost none are moving in a solid-state digital camcorder).

[@Crusader1089]

Although they are impressive, the more sovering thought is that prior to 1985 or so *every single factory item you ever saw* would have highly detailed drawings like that made before they entered production

[@Clavichordist]

@@euchale That's awesome. One of my brother's customers, now retired, used to do that for science books when he worked for Addison-Wesley.

[@brydenquirk1176]

My dad had one of these through my childhood he was absolutely over the moon about the vertical lp. there's a photo of me in nappies next to him setting it up. Mum eventually threw it out after he died. Seeing one now reely stirs up the feels

[@waynepatrick1646]

What a monster to repair

[@EmrysImmortal]

I am impressed with your ability to service and repair complicated (and somewhat large) electronics without destroying anything. Watching your methods gives me the drive I need to do the same. Thank you.

[@pinkace]

These are my favorite type of your videos, when you take old tech apart, fix it, clean it, and put it all back together. So awesome :) 😊

[@rahb1]

What impresses ME is that, it works when it is reassembled! Whenever I have dared to try this, I end up with some leftover parts and a non-functional device. Very depressing. I have long been VERY impressed with Mat's technical abilities, despite his claiming otherwise.

[@kingey71]

I’ve got one! Picked it up off a kerbside hard rubbish collection and like always the belts had perished. New belts and all good. I’ve demoed it at a few times at my son’s school with a picture disc as a double feature (along with more of my treasures) and kids are awestruck 😊

[@standupstraight9691]

I love curbside collection time. We have twice a year here, not usually anything valuable, but lots of stuff for the tool shed (benches, cupboards etc.) It will probably be a thing of the past soon, councils are phasing out fun stuff like picking through the landfill.

[@jut20five]

That’s great, always show younger people even just for the faces they pull. It always amuses me that they have no idea the time and effort it took to make a tape for your Walkman! Plus the enjoyment of it all. And this thing is a complete wt flip for then . Brilliant that you share like that.

[@jkeelsnc]

@@standupstraight9691 gotta love the curbside discount.

[@standupstraight9691]

@@jkeelsnc . im going to miss it when its gone. I have a shed full of metal shelving ive collected over the years, and even a drill press bench.

[@standupstraight9691]

@@electrictroy2010 . Are you saying this is inferior tech?

[@funkybuttloving]

Serious props to you on getting this thing working again… the whole repair seemed insane.

[@MartinWillett]

This is a spoiler, I'm only three minutes in and it looks impossible.

[@pupu4234123]

SPOILER😬😷

[@funkybuttloving]

@@MartinWillett ~7 days ago~ also, spoilers for YT videos… lmfao

[@rommee]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@keithmichael112]

@@MartinWillettI'm betting the other videos didn't show it because they just took it to someone else and had them do it

[@xyanide1986]

I have to say of the two models I like this one best. I really like the controls on top at an angle with a clean front. The sound output sounded really good too, but i'm sure that's true for both. The record "caddy" being suspended on springs and the stop mechanism in one of the feet is really clever.

[@tenchuu007]

This is probably the prettiest "boombox" I've ever seen. Fantastic colors and so incredibly 80s. It's basically retro wave.

[@sanches2]

patience level 10/10. You have documented the disassembly very well. I'm sure someone will be very grateful for your effort.

[@Velvet-Sunshine.]

I do my own repairs, and I can see this one is a challenge. But you're giving it to us, and at the same time saving the boombox. Thumbs up.

[@ThisNameWasntTaken]

Thanks for covering this. I actually modified a Sharp VZ 3500 inspired by your videos. I've watched your videos for some time and became more and more interested in retro Music devices especially turntables and when you showed off that vertical one years ago with all these pretty records I knew I wanted something similar but on my wall. I remembered my grandma stored the old Sharp hifi of my grandpa telling me I could have it but I never really knew what to do with it. But now with my new interest I thought I could try to separate the turntable section from the hifi part to have something sleek on my wall. And that's what I did. It took lots of datasheet reading, measurements with oscilloscope etc. to get it working again and I had to build a custom power supply to get all the different voltages the turntable needs. But now I have a very stylish box shaped, open vertical turntable on my wall that just looks amazing and sounds great too. This whole interest was all triggered from your videos so I want to say thank you for that. And it's also cool to see a very similar device in one of your videos now. The turntable section looks pretty much exactly like on mine save for some modifications they did here and there. It seems they just reused the whole thing for different machines. They seem to have intentionally built the turntable to be somewhat independent from other parts of the machine, it has its own connector for controls. all the logic for playing sits on the back of the turntable part and it even has its own preamp outputting line level audio. This all made it easier for me to turn it into a standalone player.

[@musicnerd72]

Sharp really made some genius units back in the day. The auto reverse turntable. The tandem double cassette mechanism.... Their slogan "From Sharp Minds come Sharp Products" really meant something!

[@ruialexandre6197]

How this autoreverse turntable didn't become the norm will always be a mistery to me. I believe the later VZ3000 could even skip tracks!

[@Zodroo_Tint]

@@electrictroy2010 I thought the CD is cleaner but not superior.

[@AutPen38]

Kids in 1982: Mum, can I have one of those Sharp boomboxes with a record player in it? *Mum buys you a Radio Shack tape recorder.*

[@ciphermatrix]

Really one of the most desirable machines back in the day, just gorgeous engineering. Cassette player sounded pretty decent on the video too.

[@jimdayton8837]

It must have cost a fortune when it was new.

[@mhoppy6639]

@@jimdayton8837 think it says £229 later in the vid (or £299). Which was a lot of money in the UK in 1981. (And still is in these straightened times!)

[@crunchyfrog555]

@@mhoppy6639 Yeah I seem to remember them being slightly less than £200 at the time. I had a Hitachi Super Woofer and that cost £299, so I was actuely aware of what was similar in the market around then.

[@cdl0]

@@mhoppy6639 According to the Bank of England inflation calculator £299 is about £931 now.

[@MrSonofsonof]

@@jimdayton8837 Everything cost a fortune back then ( except housing and university)

[@MrGF1582]

Mate, once again you've taken me down memory lane! I had one of these, the American version. I was in the USAF and newly out of tech school training and assigned to my first Air Force Base - McChord AFB, Tacoma, Washington about 45 miles south of Seattle. I was 18 and for my birthday (which was yesterday Oct 6th) I went to the on base Credit Union (bank) and applied for a loan. The loan officer asked me why I wanted the loan and I said, "because I want to buy myself a birthday gift, and I wanted the Sharp VZ-2000. (Mine was the US version) She approved me and I had the GREATEST BOOM BOX for 2 1/2 years until, I left it behind with a girlfriend when I got "orders" (a transfer) to non other than TOKYO, JAPAN!!! Easy trade off I felt. BUT I loved that Boom Box!!! Now hold on, I believe you did a review of my next aquisition whilst first stationed in Tokyo... The Aiwa rack stereo system all metal, all black with red accent slides a turn table unit on top, all the way down to a duel cassette player recorder. The thing weighed a TON but was AMAZING! Sound that was unbelievable!! I think it might have been called the "Mini Rack System"... all modular, each componant sat on top of the next but also push/plugged into a main conduit shaped like an "L" in the back and ran the bottom to the top. Anyway, LOVE your videos mate! Keep'em coming!!

[@peterszar]

This is the 5th video I've watched of you, and wow, quite a bit of the equipment you mess with brings back good memories. I'm 70, and until I sold my house and moved into an apartment I too would like to repair things. Some I broke completely, but I learned. Excellent videos.

[@jut20five]

Professionally edited video makes this look easy , I can assure you it is far from that. These things are an incredible feat of design and engineering and the fact that they are still serviceable says a lot . Modest as always Mat and superb .

[@bluecar5556]

Not to mention, over 40 years later as of 2022 and it still works.

[@jut20five]

@@electrictroy2010 sense of achievement and kids are fascinated with it . Easy is not always as rewarding. I think you meant old not inferior !? I can live with both old and new instead of just frakking it all in the bin

[@RCAvhstape]

Even before hearing it, it's already a beautiful machine. The lines and color scheme, the engineering that went into designing and building it, a gem from a vanished time.

[@richardwicks4190]

These were the bad old days. Look at what a terrible kludge the entire thing is. The reason I went into engineering, electrical engineering, is we saw the writing on the wall. Is it so terrible that we have digital recordings that are studio quality now? Let me explain just where we are. A film, filmed in 2k, even 1080p, is suitable to display on a film theater wall. You can carry that on a keychain, no problem. When I was a kid, it was stored on film roll, and those film canisters contained film that was $100,000, in 1980's money. Trust me, we don't want to go back to the bad old days and neither do you. Records were completely obsoleted by CD's, entirely. They are the same technology, identical, but CD's store the data digitally instead of on grooves, it spirals in, and if you slowed down the CD, would change the pitch, at least on early models. Now certain what the later ones did, because they have digital storage.

[@EannaButler]

Ah man, one came with the house that I live in for 18 years now. Plugged her in back in 2004, I can't remember now exactly what it didn't do, but I know that it didn't work. Left it unloved in the attic for about five years. Tossed it in the local recycle centre in a necessary purge. No point in crying over split milk... What an epicly-engineered unit! Thanks very much for allowing me experience what was in my hairbrained dreams, all these years later! 👍👌

[@EannaButler]

19:47 - I said out loud "Wow". Not a half second later, you said "Wow". Thanks so much for this vid!

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

Watching a teardown and repair like this always makes me more amazed at how many things from this era were able to be fixed with a good sturdy slap of the hand!

[@Spaniard47]

Good Lord I can hardly re-cap a simple amplifier, yet here you are perfectly executing 247 steps of extremely delicate repair work on an expensive audio relic. Great stuff.

[@Spaniard47]

@@electrictroy2010 that's the beauty of audio. Good audio stays good. Anything recorded on vinyl is still high quality, making it valuable even in the era of 8k TVs. Not to mention there are literally zero record players manufactured nowadays that can do what this Boombox unit can do. And of course there's the nostalgia factor. The reason he fixed this boom box is the same reason people pay thousands of dollars for 40 year old Marantz gear.

[@EgoChip]

The engineering of analogue audio equipment is so good, especially in the 80's when it peaked, before everything went on a chip.

[@simob7862]

I had one of these and it cost me a huge fortune as a young adult just starting work it lasted for over 15 years and I stupidly traded it in for a Sony mini system with a 3 MD and CD player. Thank you for sharing this.

[@Rod-bp8ow]

The boom boom box that serves everything for every purpose. It has everything one music enthusiast enjoys. It is a must have back 83... Surround sound as well as many tricks in cassette mode or any of the modes for playing and listening to music.

[@hexachord4828]

What a beautiful machine! I can see why you were concerned about taking it apart, that was an intimidating amount of disassembly just to get at the belts. Was literally holding my breath when you tested it and cheered when it worked, that must have been incredibly gratifying. Bravo!

[@bagofnails6692]

At one point I had to stop watching the video, the repair hurt my senses so much.

[@StephenBell]

That was really interesting, Mat. I'm not into the collection of retro boom boxes, but the disassembly-fix-reassembly sequence had me fascinated. That was a great fix, well done.

[@jacksonteller3973]

same i'm not really into collecting old tech like Mat is but I enjoy watching him repair stuff.

[@tarmaque]

It's a kind of audio-visual ASMR. Very soothing.

[@fab1604]

I LOVE this kind of video, not only we get to discover some obscure boombox, we also get a disassembly & repair video! Great job Mat

[@AutPen38]

This one wasn't that obscure. I remember it being in the Argos catalogue. It was the sort of thing you circled and hoped to get for Christmas, but unless you were an only child with filthy rich parents you knew you'd never get it. A lot of people got the much smaller Sharp models (with no record deck). They were really popular because they came in bright red, as opposed to the usual grey.

[@pi6706]

Wow - I’ve got to say that this machine must have been pretty high tech back in 1981. The Japanese certainly know their stuff with electronics

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

#facts

[@andrewnorris5415]

All still working apart from the expected wear to the rubber.

[@interstat2222]

Sharp are a great Japanese company and they are famous in Japan for audio and TV where they made the country’s first radio and TV.

[@DoubleMonoLR]

Kind of, but the first commercially released CD player was available the very next year.

[@ChasLarge]

Another great Vid Mat, bet you were tearing what little hair you have out at times. I remember these well when I worked as a Trainer for SHARP and had to assist repair companies in fixing them. Point to note, no need to crash the machine to change the stylus, just power on - select phono - push door open - press

[@Techmoan]

I'd appreciate a manual - yes please send it over.

[@steved3702]

Ha! By the time I saw one of those decks it was badged 'Twin Cam', such was the fashion at the time.

[@dashcamandy2242]

It was a Pretty Big Deal when we bought a Sharp auto reverse cassette deck for the family car back in the 80s. AMSS (Automatic Music Search Stop, IIRC) was a Godsend to my mother and her love of repeating songs over and over... That deck thousands of hours on it easily, when we scrapped the car and my father gave the stereo away. She was SO mad about that.

[@ziginox]

@@Techmoan Speaking of the styli, you didn't mention if replacing them was an improvement! I assume it was, but did it help the sound?

[@Stoney3K]

Great, now Matt has to get his hands on one of those oddball decks for ANOTHER "check out this crazy tape transport" video.

[@AndersEngerJensen]

That was a neat repair! Always a great feeling when it more or less went without a hitch too! And the sound didn’t sound that bad even without the new cartridges. The soundtrack sounded pretty much as intended in my ears. :)

[@TCGView]

That was some excellent repair work. That's a lot of stuff to keep track of. And the fixed and cleaned boom box looks and sounds terrific! Great job, Mr. Moan!

[@DangerousDevilOfficial]

Beautiful piece of old tech… Never even knew this existed. Even though this time period was during my childhood and teen years, where music was a huge part of my life with friends.

[@video99couk]

Well done Matt. When I was a student in halls of residence, one of the guys there had one of these, I was impressed. I had a hi-fi separates instead, which was probably no bigger apart from my Kef Coda III speakers. My Saturday job was working in a small electronics shop which used to sell styli, the plural of stylus of course. Customers often used to come in asking for a new "needle", and we would then go through a catalogue of over 1000 different types.

[@truenexus1usa]

Wow! Really wowser wow-wow! That repair work was most impressive to me. Now you've done the world a favor by showing us how to fix things properly and possibly motivated others to save some other devices from the trash heap.

[@Suddenlyits1960]

Great job Matt, thanks for taking us along for the ride. Now you have a working piece you always wanted for your collection.

[@dhdove]

Hey TM that’s one of your best videos yet, what a fantastic bit of kit. It’s such a shame that you can’t buy anything like that now. Fantastic repair and perfectly carried out, well done !

[@mpersad]

Thanks Mat, another terrific repair of a really interesting Boombox. Your patience and repair skills never cease to amaze me!

[@CT-vm4gf]

Wow, I love what sharp was doing in the 80’s. we had a couple of Sharp hi-fi’s growing up.

[@peterpiper0815]

Again top quality content! You not only repaired YOUR boombox but also provide easy to understand help with informations about the things that could go wrong (screws on the bottom, cable routing etc). Thank you.

[@ticketisland]

This is great. I have one of these, had it since they came out - I was in college. Couldn't find anything online, and could not even get a sharp repair centre to tackle it, so had to have a go at replacing the belts myself. Didn't manage it and the thing is still in bits, but this vid should allow me to finish the job. Thank you.

[@RB-bd5tz]

I'm always impressed at how stuff like this gets made in the first place. Someone has to have the idea, and the time and resources to realize it. Each part - large and small, mechanical and electronic - has to be meticulously designed, engineered, and built to extremely fine tolerances; factories have to be tooled & calibrated to spew out the parts; and they all have to be assembled precisely, and tested. And it has to look good. All that trouble, just so someone can bop to some music. Amazing.

[@bobhickey77]

It's amazing to me what you get done if you're not "wasting" time surfing the internet! 😜

[@handlesarefeckinstupid]

You would be suprised at how many components are 'standard' and reused in different designs. Your point is still valid, however. The use of microcontrollers and modular parts has simplified a lot of design and as a byproduct removed serviceability.

[@Bobrogers99]

That's a very cleverly-designed - and complex - piece of machinery! The feature that impresses me is the ability to play both sides of a record. I'm also impressed with the fact that you were able to get it back together and functioning. ;-)

[@JermaineJagger]

Wowowoww CONGRATS!!! That was so fun to watch. I was on the edge of my seat as you took it apart hoping you wouldnt break or lose anything. What a big feat! Great job!!

[@FCV0511]

These restoration videos are always some of my favorites of yours. Excellent work as always, and this particular line of players has such a beautiful aesthetic. I love the look of home entertainment devices from that era and just before it! (You just can't go wrong with seventies-era woodgrain either.)

[@DaleFrewaldt]

Sharp really loved the Vinyl format. They put out a lot of incredible products during this era.

[@weijingburr2392]

How far you've come. I remember you changing the belts in walkmans and look at you now. Thank you for taking us with you.

[@Barnee4321]

I Bought one of these that a painter had used for years as his work radio, after removing all the paint splatters and then replacing the belts as he did and the styli as he did repairing the FM radio which had a faulty oscillator transformer and fitting a new cassette record/ play head I had an amazing unit which I really enjoyed using and it always attracted a lot of admirer’s. I discovered a new interest in photography so I sold it so I could buy myself a new camera. I got a good price for it but after seeing this video I kind of wish I had hung on to it. I do still have one of the Optonica vertical record players though a RP114 which I really like for it’s similar functionality,both sides play and the additional feature of being able to skip tracks automatically.

[@AUTISTICLYCAN]

As kid in 1970's Baltimore ghetto's BIG Guys carried boom box record player combos like yours far from home. It was crazy back then. That rare boom box made the party portable. Great for having fun you didn't want trusting parents to discover! ;) Boom boxes like that sold at "120V \ 220V stores" in every ghetto. Aspiring Street DJ's & Mix Masters loved this machine. I love this machine too. You plugged that beast to Mains Power when needing to crank the party up to 11 and bust your windows out. You have a treasure on your hands my brother. I still absolutely love your channel. YOU ARE AND SHALL ALWAYS BE THE BOMB BIGGITY MY GOOD SIR! THANKS!

[@pulsecodemodulated]

Somewhere in my old record collection is a promotional vinyl LP for this series of Sharp boom boxes. Includes Men At Work, The Nolans and The Human League.

[@mrben6573]

Probably my favorite boombox you've reviewed. Really enjoyed the video.

[@johnmarchington3146]

Well done, Matt. A great repair job. I'm really impressed with the machine's functionality. The fact that it can play both sides of a disc without needing to turn it over is really impressive.

[@catchit9794]

I bought one of these brand new back in 1983. always loved the design . I only parted with it when I changed from vinyl to cd music. Fascinating to see inside the beast.

[@ramelolivez63]

When I was a young breakdancer, I'd see these from time to time. Didn't matter if it weighed +50 lbs., you brought it and people would steal the giant block of D cells it needed every 2 or 3 hours to keep the music going🤣. You paid more for batteries in 6 months than the price of the device. It really was impractical as a mobile boom box unless you were a teenage breaker. Great vid. Thanks.

[@dawicked2k8]

@@electrictroy2010 same thing with Graphitti, you steal the spray cans of paint to your tags, nobody buys them

[@taylorprue2396]

Awesome! I've got one I came about in a manner similar to yours that's been patiently waiting on the healing bench for a few years. I believe I ended up paying $40 CAD for it where the seller was unable to prove that it even turned on. I got a VZ-3000 about 8 years ago that I was happy with for a long time. Did the belt replacement and that's still humming along. My VZ-2000 has got a crack in the record player PCB so realistically I just have to get in there and solder a few jumpers in there. Very happy to have one ready to be fixed as they're hard to come by and anyone who knows what they have tends to want a fair bit of money for them. This serves as excellent inspiration to tuck into mine.

[@jdbrando9469]

What a beautiful piece of machinery. The combination of light blue, dark blue chrome and silver. It's a nice touch

[@mmcodomino]

Great video about this unique machine! I remember servicing my first VZ and being completely blown away by the fact that it actually started working again afterwards. You're lucky your tone control sliders are still functioning fine. About half of the VZs I have serviced had the little metal brushes on the inside broken off causing either one or both channels to be dead. Getting those sliders unsoldered requires a lot of fiddling with the board and you need to take the tuner string off. Fun fact: the tonearms actually have a servicing position to replace the styli. Just open the door and press forward and the arms will move about half way to the center. Somebody seems to have already switched the styli at some point since the factory ones are black. By the way - the VZ-2500 (or V20) is a bit more difficult to service imo. Getting the case apart can be a real pain. Congrats on your lovely specimen and having it fully working again!

[@wrthrash]

Really loving these way-back reviews, the 1980s were HUGE audiophile years with so many super products.

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

As were the 70s

[@oldveryveryoldmanfromthe1900s]

As were the 60s

[@DoubleMonoLR]

Personally I find early 90s av gear the best on average, and I loved the look of many stereos, cd walkmans etc. Matte black, not excessively curved, professional looking, littered with dedicated buttons for practically everything, etc. And the minority(here at least) but cool formats like DCC, Minidisc, etc

[@dikbozo]

In your usual low key but enthusiastic manner, my friend, you have created a very interesting longish video on a subject very close to my heart. Boomboxes. A repair in detail, well explained and recorded. An intricate and complex series of actions. Bravo! I watched it all in one go. Not a second of it was boring. Well, none of your videos are boring but this one was well above even your rather high level. Thanks for tackling this particular model. I hate to see them get trashed.

[@stephendevore3902]

Awesome. The best video of the year.😀 The was an excellent repair considering you had the tech manual. And it was difficult because it lacked certain information. I'm 55 and live in the state of West Virginia city of Parkersburg I remember at that time it was in the middle of a change to miniaturization.Added to that was cost cutting by decreased size of the equipment To save money for obvious reasons and it easier to change simple features to less buttons and to combine switches to do more features. This released realistate to further reduce the size and less components to create . This told me everything I needed to know about this turntable design. One feature that is overlooked by most manufacturers was the tape selector had a setting that included for Metal tapes It inscribed on the top of the boombox in large letters and was a rare feature on portable devices here in the US. Mine was a SHARP dual cassette recorder that also recorded Metal tapes and that was even more rare than a duplicate snow flake. It was amazing how well it played the record even better than many traditional phono players that are standalone components. Well Done and being very careful you had everything in its place to put this boombox back together. Being very organized is always key to an operation for basic repair. Enjoy. GOOD VIDEO 😎

[@cjmarsh504]

That's crazy how we used to carry boomboxes in the 80's to now carrying Bluetooth speakers now. It's amazing how technology has leaped this far. That Sharp look great for 41 years old.

[@stevenmacdonald9619]

When we watch you painstakingly take components apart, we too get that sense of achievement when you switch it on, and it works once more. Thankfully, without the stress of risking breaking anything during the process. Your patience and light handed way, is a lesson to us all, Sensei.

[@Iamdebug]

You have some beautiful records, I can appreciate you using a record in the background for your wrap up. Well done!

[@stockicide]

This is one of the most impressive repairs I've seen on the channel - well, it was just another melted belt at the end, but getting to that belt was like a 20-step process. Great job!

[@stevelomas4119]

Hi Matt, I used to work in the repair shop, stores and trade counter at Sharp UK in Manchester early 80's, many of these passed through our hands over the years, the main fault was the turntable drive belt comming off and the cassette eject button failing leading to tapes trapped inside...all easy to fix if you knew how. At that time Sharp were well on their game with innovative tech which has stood the test of time, I purchased through the company a Sharp SG-500E music centre which is still running today...a wonderous machine that looks like a spaceship in a darkened room...superb engineering and far superior to anything Sharp make today.👍

[@mauritsvw]

Impressive unit that SG-500E!

[@jutukka]

Well done! That thing is a totally insane monster. However, a bit disappointing because they didn't put a CRT TV in it as well. ☹️

[@bsadewitz]

Lol, I'd forgotten all about boom boxes with CRTs! Truly, I doubt I've contemplated that in at least 20 years.

[@mjowsey]

haha, add another few kg!!

[@chaos.corner]

No teasmade either.

[@captaintoyota3171]

@@bsadewitz right? Man flashbacks

[@tmacgman]

Oh I'd love to see a video on that, something like a Panasonic TR1200G

[@jasonsadventures64]

I remember seeing this as a prize on The Price is Right back in the 80s. I wanted one ever since.

[@LHUPA]

What a good find!... Truly awesome gigantic boombox! That thie first boombox I can see with a 12 inch linear record player (turntable) on it! At the era, it would worth a fortune!... Sharp made awesome original products as Panasonic done in the 60's with the space age TV's and radios !!!! Bring it to life and build up your amazing collection! Thanks for posting this treasure!...

[@jensforster4032]

Sharp built great Hi-Fi in the 80’s. I bought a VZ-3000 from my confirmation money as it was brand new. It worked fine for 15 years and the automatically and motorised opening door was an absolutely hit on every event I had with friends. It was about 1500 DM in Germany that days. Even the APSS on the tape was a great thing and worked perfectly 🎉

[@redeyerob2176]

You truly are a hip hop fan Techmoan going from K Def to Godfather Don and both on tape no less, not to mention you got this machine back to tip top condition. I feel like this VZ is something that you would have seen LL Cool J or Rakim rocking one handed on their shoulder on a album cover.

[@Jason-lx3zu]

Great job Mr. Techmoan (Mat)! I've watched dozens of your repair videos and this is one of the most impressive and will serve anyone with the same issue very well. I'm always impressed with your choice of equipment, can I be in your will? As always, thanks for taking the time to film it!

[@ddoucette]

Wow! I had that boombox. To customize mine, I took the Wild Style album cover and cut it so the artwork could be seen through the plastic record player cover. Easy to do, looked awesome (“Fresh” back then) and wasn’t permanent. I miss that thing… Oh and my friends and I carried that beast around town. We took turns. It sucked to carry but it did get looks. Thanks for the video. It brought back so many memories.

[@alexanderkramer6047]

I really admire how you’re trying something most people are too afraid to try or don’t have patience. What’s more is that you go about it very carefully and not heavy handedly. Well done.

[@J4ckCr0w]

This Chanel is pure gold. Every second spent here is a time invested in learning. Awesome devices and cheers to the author.

[@savingsoul]

Amazing work guy glad to see it restored ,I haven't since this model in nearly 40 years

[@robstammers7149]

I'll never be able to buy one of these, but I've really enjoyed watching this video, takes me back to not just 1980s, but back to a time when music gear just looked great, futuristic, sounded great too. Not only that, the ideas in design was simple for the time, clever, giving you only what you needed. Wished they still made stuff like this today to the same level of quality. Many thanks.

[@robertlawrence9000]

Man as soon as you put it back together and turned on the features it brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye thinking about how awesome these kinds of systems were back in the 1980's. Reminded me of how great they can be and it's kind of depressing not seeing these around anymore. I'm glad there are people like you who still care and share with us. Thank You ❤‍🔥

[@robertlawrence9000]

@@electrictroy2010 yeah. Well some people have nostalgia that makes them treasure it. Also there is something about boom boxes and features on them from the original days that's people who grew up with them can't find true replacements for. I no longer own one but have fond memories of them hanging out with friends and family.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Oh WOW ! I remember this model. These were CRAZY expensive when new ! Much respect for the careful repair work ! Those tiny early 80's bulbs are best replaced with a resistor and white LEDs. You should be VERY proud of yourself 👍 PS: Baking soda is very handy to use with super glue as a binding agent. It fills in missing areas and helps support the joint. Like bondo for car panels.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

@@electrictroy2010 The baking soda is a model making tip from Adam Savage. It reinforces the joint like fibreglass matting does. You can also sand it down. It bonds immediately rather than 5-10 sec.

[@Ahzahail]

What a nostalgic blast from the past. Awesome!

[@Kudlaty771]

This sort of thing is strangely relaxing, watching a bloke carefully disassemble, repair, reassemble, and demo a piece of vintage equipment. Cheers, mate

[@ZGryphon]

There's something very pleasing about the aesthetic of this device. It's not quite on the "1960s Japanese camera" level of satisfaction, but it's very nice. I noticed at 28:15-ish that there's a second "shelf" molded on the inside--I assume that's the loading notch for 7-inch singles?

[@Techmoan]

That’s right - and it’ll auto detect the size of record inserted so it puts the stylus down in the right place.

[@ZGryphon]

@@Techmoan Ah, that must be what the little spring tabs at the bottom are for, so it knows which ledge has a record on it. Neat! I love little mechanical things like that in vintage electronics. Like the little deadman button in the foot that stops the turntable if it isn't pushed.

[@DeliveryMcGee]

Protip: Don't ever take a 1960s Japanese camera apart. Or even a modern one, really. If you thought this thing was a complicated machine ... cameras are another level.

[@eDoc2020]

@@rodrigobelinchon2982 Laptops are easy, I do them all the time. If you want hard, try mechanical watches.

[@xaenon]

You never cease to pique my interest with the odd stuff you find, the research that you do, and the quality presentations you make.

[@Tahngarthor]

really cool that it plays both sides of the vinyl records.

[@derekdresser9214]

Another fabulous episode - I have been watching your channel for many many years now and it is one of my favorites - of the dozens I subscribe to yours is the only one I watch every episode.

[@jamespaddick244]

I remember very clearly that my best friend in senior school had one of these in his family home. I was fascinated by the whole 'It's a Boombox!' - 'It's a Record Player!' thing and the sound quality was pretty good (to my 14 year old ears at the time!) It brought back some happy memories to see this featured.

[@RobBulmahn]

Idea: use clay or putty and make an impression with one of the good sliders, then set the broken slider into the impression and fill the remainder with some epoxy. I've never tried it, but that could be one pretty easy way to rebuild the broken-off bits of the sliders without having to 3D print an entirely new one that wouldn't match.

[@Mad4400]

Alternately CA glue and bi carb soda can be used together to build out the area where the plastic was missing. It cures quickly and can be sanded, filed or even drilled once hardened.

[@madbadger85]

The 3d printed ones you can buy now are a near perfect fit.

[@CreeperAssassins1]

@@madbadger85 visually tho?

[@bugdrvr]

I had a small tab break off like this and I (very) carefully glued it back together and then got a tiny drill to carefully put two holes through the parts. After, I epoxied two metal rods in. That way you have plenty of support on the cracked area, likely far stronger than it ever was originally, all without disturbing the original dimensions.

[@profmoustache5217]

Great repair job, very impressed!! 😃👍 - FYI - I've moved to Tokyo a couple months ago. I've discovered there are a lot of second-hand stores here, and some of them really are treasure troves when it comes to vintage audio and electronic devices!! One franchise in particular - called "Hard-Off" lol - runs stores all over the country and even has its own listings website for items that are not displayed in-store. I've been watching your content for a while now, and I love what you do and the way you do it! I would be delighted to help you get your hands on some these great machines, so please just let me know if you're interested (I'm not interested in making money out of this, just happy to help). Thank you for the passion you put into what you're doing, wish you the best going forward. Cheers!

[@CortinasAndClassics]

I had one of these back in the mid naughties. The record player didn't work either and I failed to get the thing apart got frustrated with it and ended up throwing it away. Well done in getting yours fixed.

[@georgecunningham9175]

Little hint - when super gluing parts such as yours, after you have pushed the parts together, sprinkle them baking soda. It forms what appears to be a weld and is totally "sandable" with a small file, etc. It works with metal components as well, if you like, google for exact instructions and any warnings, etc. Great video, by the way. Its fun watching a Non-repairman do a better job than most professionals

[@jut20five]

Great tip, thanks . I’ve always agonized over spilt super glue but if that works and I’m sure it 100. % does fantastic

[@georgecunningham9175]

@@electrictroy2010 Some people pursue hobbies others think pointless - I for one will never understand collecting little pieces of paper and gluing them into an album such as philatelists do. And don't get me started on Golf as a spectator sport....on the other hand, I say "If it gives you pleasure, go for it", whether or not it has any material benefit. It is beneficial to YOU so it is never pointless.............

[@SharpAssKnittingNeedles]

What a cool machine! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this!