Audio Systems: How to connect multiple inputs/outputs, two turtle doves, vcr jvc

Question
QUESTION: My "home entertainment center" is getting out of hand.  In addition to a "LDTV" I have a pair of ReVox A77 reel-to-reel decks, Nakamichi MR-1 cassette deck, Technics SA-GX670 receiver, Sony SLV-AV100U VCR, JVC XL-V241 CD player, Koss KD 250 DVD player. Philips +R,+RW DVD recorder, JVC stereo VHS playback deck, three graphic equalizers, two turtle doves, and a headache trying to figure out how to set up & connect all these toys so that I can record a VHS cassette onto a DVD and a DVD onto a VHS cassette; a TV special onto either DVD or VHS; an FM stereo broadcast onto either CD, reel-to-reel, or cassette--as you can see, the possibilities are almost endless.  And the only way I can think of so that I can hook the output of (almost) anything into the input a anything else is to make a patch panel with a male stereo plug for each output and a female stereo socket for each input.  But I'm apprehensive that I know just enough to be dangerous and either (1) there's a better (and obvious to everyone else) way to accomplish what I want to do; or (2) that's the right theoretical approach but instead of building this doohickey by hand I could order a ____ from ____ and save myself the time and frustration of having to make one.

Advice?

ANSWER: You need an expert who can come in and do a run-through your system, ask you questions about what you want to do; then engineer the most likely setup for you.

You can always create your own system using switching boxes, but you will find yourself having to constantly change the input/output configurations.  

Because of the complexity of your equipment and the recordings you want to be able to do you need flexibility beyond the typical home or amateur system.

The reason you need a system engineer is because the I/O characteristics of your many equipments must be looked at and the right impedance and voltage levels rationalized.  For example, if the REVOX decks are using xlr ins and outs they do not match well with consumer grade equipment.

There are many professional switching panels and I/O ports that you can build around - but expensive.  However, with the investment you have in products, another few hundred in switching panels should not be a big problem on a ratio basis of bang for the buck.

There are PC based systems that could give you greater flexibility for your recording systems.

There are is another problem related to copying dvd to vhs and vice versa; that is copyguard protection systems that prevent such copying unless they are public domain or private recorded materials.

So, there are many issues. I hope you can locate a professional who can help you engineer the system you need.

C
PS: I am restricted in time right now to delve too deep into your system but if you have trouble moving ahead let me know in a day or two when I have more time to research for you.




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your prompt response.  I can't dispute the wisdom of any of it, but the practicalities are what kill me--starting with the paucity of audio engineers within 150 miles.  And as an aside, it was my understanding that VHS could record anything that would play on your TV--that the copy protection was (MCA's little secret) only effective digital-to-digital; that once recorded on VHS it could then be recorded on a DVD.  And--cross my heart--I'm only interested in one specific instance where a live performance was recorded on VHS and sold in the region at that time--but the CD that carried the name of the performance only included the second half.  Thus, once this VHS wears out, the first half of the performance will be lost forever.

But I digress.  When the tide recedes, it would be appreciated if you could toss out some names/links of "professional switching panels an I/O ports [one].... can build around.

I have a neural degeneracy problem in my hands, so believe me--I'll still be pulling on my beard and tracking down references a week from now.

Thanks much!

Mac  

Answer
Look, you sound like a creative kind of person with a willingness to dig into the works and use your hands (in between the strokings of the beard) to cable up and switch things around as needed.  You probably understand the input and output parameters of all the devices in your system and so forth.  I think you can engineer your own system easily enough.

So, why not obtain a few switch boxes and just cobble them up as you need to do a job at hand.  If a particular transfer requires a different configuration, just make a few changes to the cables of those devices that are going to be changed accordingly.   

I refer you to Walmart or Radio Shack for the basic ones.

If you go to google shopping page and search for a/v switch box you will come up with several devices that used in tandem or parallel can arrange the hookups that you might want to use.