Hi, my name is Nicola and I live in Italy.

Since 2010, I've owned a Superbeta SL-HF950 Hi-Fi system that has always worked perfectly.

After five years of sitting idle, I noticed a problem with the cassette tray.

I press "Eject" and after two centimeters it stops. There's a sliding noise, but if I pull it back with my hand, it comes out.

When it reaches the slot ready to insert a cassette, the noise persists, and after a few seconds it closes on its own.

If I insert a cassette, everything works perfectly, but every now and then the picture disappears and only the audio remains.

A light tap on the unit is all it takes and the picture returns to perfect.

Is this tray problem electronic or mechanical? Loose or warped belt? Broken gears? Is it repairable?

This unit has always worked perfectly, and the last time I used it, the tray was perfect.

What should I check? Does it need to be opened from the bottom? I'd be very happy to help, and if anyone with an expert can help me, I'd be grateful. I'm including the link to the short I posted on YouTube to demonstrate the problem:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7iQNDlPF26Y

Thanks so much to everyone and to anyone who can give me a suggestion!

Nicola

Hi Nicola

Sounds to me like the sled 'mode switch' has come loose.This can be repaired successfully.Looking from the front of the vcr,it's on the right side of the cassette insertion area and near the front.

As for the 'no picture' issue you could have dry joints to the panel at the very back of the sled assembly.

Both of these issues is getting common now.

Hops this helps?

...............Kevin

He tenido que desmontar la carcasa delantera de mi video sl hf950, en la que pulsan los botones de play, avance retroceso etc.

No tuve problemas al desmontarlo, pero ahora no soy capaz de volverlo a montar no me voinciden los switches o no se hacerlo.

Alguna sugerencia para que los switches coincidan en la carcasa ?

Hi Guys, My name is Norman, residing in South Africa.

I have just invested in a Sony Portable video recorder SL-F1E, no battery or a/c power cable, where can I find these, or make me an offer for the machine.

Still aesthetically in good condition as it is kept in a back pack.

All keep well.

Luis

Message needs to be in English as i/we cannot help otherwise.

Thanks............Kevin

Greetings from France !

I was wondering if a french Betamax cassette will display in colour on a PAL/SECAM-OST unit ?

Many thanks in advance !

the sl-t6ps has fault in power suply and the sl-c6 is not same power supply desighn..how make it compatiple?

Hello to you all. I have a lovely SL HF950 which has no power to the loading tray motor at the two pin socket on the board. The motor tests ok and all the gears are fine. Machine lights up and I have tested all the capacitors in the power supply, also R611 fuse, and Q601 and Q602 transistors which were removed and tested. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I would love to get this machine running again. Thanks in advance.

Too add to my earlier post re. HF950 no voltage at motor. The socket that has no voltage is CN109. If anyone knows what the voltage should be and why it might not be there please reply. Thanks again.

.... on the SS-50 board.

I have a Betamax Sony SL-200ME Mk3. It got stuck in the eject position — the door was open and the cassette carriage was up. Someone next to me tried to fix it by pushing the carriage down manually, and now none of the buttons work. What can I do?

I have 19 sealed HG L-500 Sony tapes for sale. I'm open to reasonable offers and collection is from the North London area.

Reply on this thread if interested.

Hi, I have a Toshiba V-9680 video cassette recorder fm 1980s.

Recently it,s rotary head started to spin way to faster than it suppose to

and now it doesnt play videos.

Can you advise what likely is the cause and where to look for.

Thank you.

Hi all, does anyone have a service manual for a Sony SL-S2000 Pal Super Betamax please?

Hi, I'm restoring a Sony SL-HF950ES. The unit is in a overall good shape, I've fixed the loading mechanism and it provides excellent video recording an playback.

However the Hi-Fi audio does not work properly.

The Hi-Fi indicator is lit while recording but off while playback, and only the normal monoaural audio is reproduced.

To better track down the issue, I would really appreciate if someone can provide me a tape with known working Hi-Fi recording.

I'm willing to pay for the service and delivery, preferably within EU.

Thanks to let me know.

Daniele

Many years ago (1980) I bought the first Sony HVC2000p colour camera and portable SL3000 recorder. I saw an advert of a man stood on some steps filming a wedding. I was keen to do it myself and, to cut a long story short, ended up filming 45 weddings a year. I changed the equipment over the years but I was really inspired by that advert of the man stood on the steps filming a wedding. I have been on Ebay looking for Sony print ads but to no avail. I`ve tried Pinterest and and trying various wording in search engines. I assume Sony advertised in the colour supplements at the time ("The Observer" for instance) but which copy? No idea! I also assume they advertised in photography magazines too. And perhaps in the early video magazines, but its knowing which copy. If any of you guys can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful!

Thanks

Daniele S - I may be able to help with your HF950 issue.

Hi all, Sony SL-HF100UB (PAL). Audio and RF output work, but composite video output is dead - no picture via AV/video out. When played via RF I'm also seeing significant sync instability and tearing, especially lower frame, and soft/washed-out picture (though I know some of that may be the RF path). I want to use it for digitising, so I need a clean, stable composite (ideally S-Video) feed. Looking for an estimate to repair the video output and do a full service/alignment to get stable playback. Can anyone pass on Mr Betabyte's contact, or recommend a UK Beta engineer? Thanks

Hola, desarme el Sony Betamax SL-300 y usare su chasis y uno de sus motores para hacer un rebobinador de cintas betacam alguien me podría ayudar con la polaridad y voltaje que usan además regalo todo lo que me sobro

Hi everyone!

I disassembled a Sony Betamax SL-3000 and plan to use its chassis and one of its motors to build a Betacam tape rewinder.

Could anyone help me identify the correct voltage and polarity for the motors? I want to power them up safely for my project.

Also, I’m happy to give away all the leftover parts from the machine to anyone who might need them.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Best regards,

ControlMedia

Email: [email protected]