Many thanks to everyone who observed the moritorium in reverence to the passing of Videohead. A loose door from an SL-HF1000 fell on his head while he was bending down to adjust the tracking on his SL-HF900 just below.

Does beta stop from Thusday the 13th???

Max, I think the guy guarantees condition and delivers, that equals price plus happy customers.

Max,

You know how with houses they always say "position, position, position" well I think the answer to why this guy gets the prices and the feedback is "condition, condition, condition" and the fact that the units work and look as well as described. He does a good sales pitch.

Yesterday a very nice looking GCS-50 sold for only $285, so someone has to explain to me how this guy

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39830&item=5743966231&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

keeps getting people to buy SL-2300s for $225 and SL-2400s for $295 and then the people are so thrilled he has glowing 100% feedback! Please...explain why you would buy a SL-2400 for $295 when you could get a GCS-50 for $285!!

Andy,

The Sony SLC6 is known for its' design failure in this area. I am afraid there is no easy fix for these machines and they tend to be more unstable in this area than other machines. (i.e. require adjusting more often) The aging of capacitors seems to have greater effect. Maybe using low leakage versions or higher temperature rating capacitors will help improve their long term satability, I don't know for sure.

Gilles,

The easiest way to transfer is to use a beta machine to playback the tapes and a DVD recorder to record them. Editing will be a chore, but if they are one for one copies then that is easier. Use direct AV to AV connection to get the best result. regards Noel.

I have about 200 original beta movies that I would like to transfer to DVD.

Can anyone help me to find an economic way of doing this.

Is there software that I could use ?/

Thks

Sony SLO-1700 PAL SuperBeta HiFi duplicator Beta that somehow ended up in Minnesota dontcha know...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5744003653

If nothing else you can pretend it was used in Prince's recording studio...

The Sony SL-5000 was the equivalent of the PAL SL-C6, a big, clunky machine but the first ßetamax front loaders in their respective markets. The SL-5200 is the same as the SL-5000 but adds ßeta hi-fi.

Emil,

I forgot obout the stereo light comment. I hadn't noticed this happening but maybe when the tuner is powered down, the tuner output line which tells the machine that there is a stereo transmission is at ground potential whereas it would normally be high? Just guessing. I have noticed machines where the DC/DC is just working do what yours has done. i.e. 10 - 20 seconds before coming on. You can also kill the DC/DC operation on such units by switching the display intensity from low to high increasing the load on the DC/DC.

Emil,

Stepping back a moment from the DC/DC, are you sure that the 12V supply to the DC/DC hasn't failed. Another problem could be a fault loading down the DC/DC output. (though I haven't had that happen yet.)

You can run the DC/DC for test off a 12V power supply and monitor current drain. When they run properly (no-load) the drain is around 70mA, and you can measure the -27V and 38V rails and observe the AC display filament supply voltage.

regards Noel Higgins

Andy,

I only know about PAL units and I don't know what unit the SL5000 NTSC is equivalent too. I pressume you are talking SONY! Sanyo units have the speed setting also. Basically they all set a nominal point of fixed setting and the servo loop controls the speed up or down from there. Component aging, particularly the drying out and increased internal series resistance of electrolytic capacitors throw the original setting off. The blue coloured caps are likely to be the same source of problem in the 1978/80 construction machines. (i.e. around the PAL SLC5, SLC6 and SLC7 era.)

Replacing the capstan motor is necessary when they become very noisy or stop due to dry bearings. There is also a servo IC that is prone to failure in the SLC7.

regards Noel.

Noel, does that procedure also work for the NTSC models SL-5000/SL-5200? I have an SL-5200 which seems to have a problem maintaining capstan lock. Sean Meskill recommended adjusting the capstan free running speed when I first got it, which minimized but did not eliminate the problem. Do I have to replace the capstan motor?

Hi Noel. Thanks for your response. Well.. Its a mark II DC-DC converter. And there was one time, where the display dident light. Then i shut the power off for about 10 - 20 sec. Then it came to life again. But now its completely dead. :(I always shut off my electronics when leaving my house for the whole weekend. And since this last weekend. Well. It failed. Hehe. Well. if you look on the circuit board, then it dont look fried. But as i told before. it has been repaired before or replaced with a repaired one, And of course it gets hot inside that metal can. One more thing: Why does the stereo light up when playing back a tape, with a faulty DC-DC converter? Hehe. Funny thing!And i saw that repair guide on Palsite. Also found a better one on a German site.

Emil,

Hello again. The information you need as a starting point is at http://www.palsite.com/pcat_dcdc.html. The capacitor C8 is one I don't think I have ever needed to change. If your unit is the Mark I then Q2 is likely to need replacement. The other components that fail are C2 (0.001uF green cap) and I have had either D1 or D2 go short circuit but that was only in one unit. The best (worst)suggestion for last. If the unit has cooked, and that will be evident from the colour of the board and components, then it is likely that the transformer has developed shorted turns which is about the end. I have rewound a number of transformers successfully but it takes a lot of time. I do a changeover service for the whole DC/DC if you have no luck fixing it yourself or getting a replacement your side of the world. regards Noel.

Michael,

You need to follow the instructions at http://www.palsite.com/slc5tech.html regarding the 2.2uF tantalum. Also, most of the light blue electrolytics on that servo board should be replaced.

There are drum free speed and capstan free speed adjustments on the board to reset once you have replaced the faulty components. Basically set them to the centre of the range where the picture is stable on playback of a prerecorded tape. The service manual has set up instructions about monitoring voltages whilst recording off air but this will get you going. regards - Noel

Hi.I own a Sony Betamax model: SL-C9E PAL. It have worked great for the past years, but now its up with a flaw:The DC-DC is maybe dead because: The Clock display is dead & so is the tuner. I replaced 3 capasitors inside:C1, C4 & C5 Not C8. I dont have that one.What else could fail? The transistors? (Q1 & Q2)And i also checked it for bad joints. The DC-DC has also been repaired before. Was piece of cake to open. :)

regards

Emil J. - Denmark

Hi, new to the forum. I have two Beta SLC5UB 's. Both were ok when put in storage (approx 10yrs ago) but both now exhibit the same fault - capstan not locked (noise bar running thru the picture) and the front panel tracking control does not really do anything. Have changed a number of major 'belts' and cleaned all rubber drive surfaces with luke warm soapy water to remove build up etc - but no joy. I thought I saw somewhere on the internet to check the tantalum caps in the capstan lock circuitry - any thoughts. regards, Michael

HI, how u doin! Has dane got his fat ass out off bed yet?Theres only one Abby Revell GUESSWHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lOVE THE hONEY sUCKLE

Those Sanyo decks can be surprisingly hardy. They usually only 'fail' when the rubber gives out but the repair kits for that problem is still available.

http://www.iglou.com/studiosound/betatune.htm

I have two beta machines and tons of tape, My Toshiba, V-9200 finally bit the dust two years ago and now I only have my first beta machine left, a Sanyo VCR 3900 ,which I bought in 1983. Surprisingly it still runs good. To salvage my beta tape collection I bought a DVD recorder and I am now converting my beta tapes into DVDs. (you can copy a B-III tape into one DVD disk) I think it will be only a matter of time before my Sanyo goes so I think it is worth the investment. Surprisingly the cost of my DVD recorder ($129) plus a blank DVD disks ($10 for 25 disks) is a lot cheaper than my original beta recorder ($399) and tapes ($2 per tape).

hmmmm except those that post spam

Even if Sony was still selling Betas today, there would still be a place for the SL-2000 VCR. It (and it's PAL counterpart the SL-F1 ) is one of the great VCRs that stands the test of time. Even when I eventually switch over to DVD for television recording, I'll still be capturing live video with an SL-2000 or with a Betamovie - using the SL-2000 to play it back.

And I was just being snotty with that last post. Betachat welcomes all who are interested in Beta VCRs...

No you can't.

hey i am new herecan i be a part of u ppl

hey hi ppl

i'm a bit peeved at Richard for editing out the commercials on the tapes that you had, and why would it not be legal to sell your videotapes? you see tonnes of VHS at goodwill, etc.

i believe that commercials on old tapes should be kept or archived...

to the above person it does show how well made betas were after 20 or 30 years and still running

Hmm... I'll take a wild guess on that last question. I would say.. none ?

At least the disc media should have a longer lifespan than its tape counterpart.

Would be intersting to see how many of these SL/TT-2000 would still be there if new betas were readily available...

The audio out on the SL2000/TT-2000 is mono. You'll need a mono to stereo headphone adapter or Y-splitter with a mono phone jack at one end and RCA plugs at the other. Radio Shack should still have them or at least the parts to solder your own.

I'd like to see how many of today's DVD players or recorders will be around a quarter century from now - like the SL-2000s that still purr along...

Whoa - the dust is off and it is a Sony SL-2000/TT-2000 recorder/tuner timer unit - whoa where was I in the '80's? Got a lot of A/V PC equipment now (DVD+-RW, HDTV, ...) Guess my question is how do I rip my old Beta tapes to DVD. VHF out into my Radeon 9700 tuner card I can handle (just coaxial cable w/audio and video - right??) but the audio/video individual connections on the back of the TT-2000 unit don't seem to be standard composite A/V. Especially the audio - plugging a standard headphone set into audio out (or earphone on the SL-2000) gives me one channel. Is this correct or is there a special audio cable I should look for? I think I remember stereo in '82 but then that was before the turn of the century. Thanx for any help or direction - MD

I guess there was no EDB1 speed because there would have been no video bandwidth gain at that speed with regards to EDBII. Early enthusiasts might have asked the same question regarding X-1 vs. X-2. However, if you compare tapes in these formats, there is hardly any difference between the two speeds. X-1 vs. B1s is quite another story though; picture quality enhancement is spectacular. Much more evident than BII to Super BII.

You knew it had to happen eventually...

A hotel's TV set running Windows crashes...

http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/000372.html

Wait, no its a Toshiba, sorry.

The VCR is a Samsung, with record modes in beta 2 and 3. Thats all I know

Here's a very excellent VCR repair and troubleshooting page...

http://www.cardhouse.com/drcliff/garage/tech/vcr.htm

It would help to know what Betamax model you're having trouble with Tim...

I recently aquired in "Ntsc Land" a Beta deck. The first time I used it the thing worked fine. But it wouldn't eject. I got the tape out, but now it won't thread. Anybody know how to do it manualy?

I need a bit of help I've just been given an old SL-C5 UB but it sounds as though the belts need changing. Can anyone point me in the right direction for a replacement belt kit here in the UK.

Thanks for your help

To Leonardo regarding ED-Beta recorders: To the best of my knowledge, ED models will record ßII/ßIII tape speeds in ED mode (with ED metal tape) and in Superßeta and regular ßeta mode (with standard oxide tape). They will play back all of that, plus old ßI(XI) tapes and ßIs tapes recorded by the late-run, high-end Superßeta decks. Inexplicably the ED ßeta format was never configured for EDßI, nor could the machines record ßIs using oxide tape.

That's good handle for magnetic deposit materials, I'd never found such degausser. Manually cleaned ten to give good result. We'd discussed that last year.

Hi. is there anyone that can sell me an ac adapter part no HVA-200CE as i have purchaseda HVC-4000P camera. I want to use it on a recorder that does not have a 14 pin socket.thanks' JJ.

I would like to degauss the magnetic recording/pick-up heads on my Betamax machine. Is anyone familiar with the procedure?

Northern shore of Banda Aceh before and after...

http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/tsunami/banda_aceh_northernshore_june23_2004_dg.jpg

http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/tsunami/banda_aceh_northernshore_dec28_2004_dg.jpg

I believe the technical term for that is "totally f*cked"....

More tsunami pix and PDF's of damage analysis...

http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/tsunami/

http://www.wftv.com/news/4029499/detail.html

WE ARE THE WORLD, WE ARE THE CHILDREN, WE ARE THE ONE WHO MAKES A BRIGHTER DAY SO LETS START GIVING............

87,000 found dead .Acording to the local authority!!

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041228/wl_nm/quake_indonesia_toll_aceh_dc_1

That SL-HF 950 S-video hack page...

http://www.sps-wagner.de/Betamax/english.html

Solution to tape threading problem on Sony SL-HF750 or SL-HF900.

If your machine is having problems with the threading of tape and it is making a grating sound , it may be due to one of the alignment pins in the gear block assembly that mounts in front of the load motor assy and the encoder assy. The pin must engage the hole in the chassis but if the pin works its way up through the plastic gears it has no support and it will not allow the gear block assembly to properly rotate the encoder gear. Look at the top of the gear block assembly. If the pin sticks above the surface of the assembly then it is not in proper position. It can easily be pushed back down.

I recently lost a bookmark for a German website that discussed a project to add an S-video interface to an SL-HF900. Does anyone recall this site or any other discussing modifications to Sony decks?

Fob it off on some unsuspecting ebayer...

Some ad wiith copy like this...

"Sony BetaMax Player. Have no tape to test it but it looks like it should work..."

hi. i'm new to the site - nice to meet everyone. i have a sony sl-hf600 that my dad took apart last weekend, dropped the tape deck and unaligned the gears. the unit will now just continuously load and eject. any suggestions? thank you.

What do you suppose is REALLY wrong with this SL-HF 860D that the seller thinks just needs 'tighted up' (sic)?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5741769350

UP FOR AUCTION

SONY SL-HF860D SUPER BETA HI-FI STEREO VIDEO CASSETTE RECORDER

THIS BETA MACHINE COMES WITH ALL OF THE CORDS, MANUELS,ÊREMOTE, AND ORIGINAL BOX.

I AM SELLING THIS MACHINEÊAS IS. IT WAS UP AND RUNNING GREAT AND NOW IT NEEDS TO BE ADJUSTED. THE FORWARD AND REVERSE WORK GREAT BUT WHEN PLAY IS PUSHED THE TAPE RUNS TO FAST. NOTHING INSIDE IS BROKEN, I BELIEVE IT NEEDS EVERYTHING TIGHTED UP.

I am wondering if anyone here knows about the recording modes of the ED Beta model EDV-9500 (The american one...) and also the Japanese version (EDV-9000)

Which speeds they support ? Beta I, Beta II, Beta III ? What about ED recording modes and SuperBeta recording modes ?

Thanks a lot,

Leonardo

To Dave Dixon the information that you left was most helpful. Thanks a lotYou are BRILLIANT FANTASTIC AND WONDERFUL infact I could kiss you but I wont cheers pal.For anyone else who helped me work out how to but video tapes onto dvd a BIG THANK YOU!

I have a SL-HF1000 with the remote that I am willing to sell to a good home for any reasonable offer and as a bonus I will throw in a Betamovie camera too. All are in mint condition Thank you

Here's something I'm curious on: For Xmas, my second half bought me a CRT-based widescreen TV (the screen is so flat, you'd never know it from first glance). With a DVD player setup for 16x9 as "TV Type" and playing a respective disk, the picture covers the full width of the screen. I was wanting to know if anyone here, who has a similar setup, has ever tried recording a 16x9 picture to Beta (Super/BIs/ED)? If so, what were your results when the tape was viewed? This is for those, like me, who are getting into the newer video technologies, but would never consider abandoning Beta.

Without the remote an SL-5800 is worth only maybe 20/ 30 dollars. Remote would maybe add $10/15 bux. The Betastacker would maybe double it's value but I saw one get ignored on eBay even at the low BIN of $ 30 bux so it's not a real high-demand item.

The dealersnails generally turn their snouts up at the 5xxx series sol they go pretty cheap.

Sorry if you were hoping to put your kids through college with that...

I have an almost never used but perfectly working (last time tested or used about 1 year ago) Betamax SL5800 Was My dads it has maybe 100 hours use on it since new along with a AG300 FHSSL Milti Tape Loader & a Vid Lid no remote it is lost. there are no wear marks or dents or scratches it is mint condition. The changer has never been used and is still in the factory box with all packing. I also Have along with this a stack of beta tapes with opera's recorded on all They represent the total use of this beta machine. My dad bought this machine to record these operas to be able to see them in his old age and never lived to use them the recording of these tapes and reviewing a few for quaility was the only use the beta machine ever recieved. I want to sell this I don't know what it is really worth but if your interested make me a serious offer and i will consider all offers call Mike at 732-226-0033 or e-mail me at [email protected] I ask that only serious persons respond. I may not know what it is worth but i was not born yesterday so don't insult me or your self with offers of $10,00 or $20.00

Mike

OMFG!!!! A BETA FELLED MY DINGO!!!!!!!

http://i8.ebayimg.com/03/i/03/1f/75/17_1_b.JPG

Studiosound electronics

http://www.iglou.com/studiosound/index.htm

has belt kits for many makes of VCR. Beta or VHS...

http://www.iglou.com/studiosound/belts.htm

They also specifically have Sanyo belt and idler 'tuneup' kits

http://www.iglou.com/studiosound/betatune.htm

And BTW legally you're not supposed to resell copyrighted material but if you sell the tapes or the purposes of reusing you should be OK.

OK, I have a non beta question but I don't know where else to ask this. I have a nice portable VHS vcr, JVC HR-2650U and was wondering if anyone knows where (a website) I can order a belt kit for it. Thanks

Hello world, I have many beta tapes with shows I recorded from regular "off the air" TV, and was wondering if it is OK to sell them, or if that is not legal. I spent many hours sitting near the betas to edit out the commercials. Thanks for your input, Richard

I have a SL-HF1000 with the remote that I am willing to sell to a good home for any reasonable offer and as a bonus I will throw in a Betamovie camera too. All are in mint condition Thank you

Hi I have a SL-HF 1000 with the remote that I wouldn't mind selling to a good home I live in Canada near Toronto. It works prefectly, any reasonable offers , also I will throw in a Betamovie camera for freeThank You

hi does any one know where i can get parts for a sanyo 4400 model i need the idler gear assy. thanks for any help.

The SL HF 400 also has a stereo MTS tuner which the SL HF 300 lacks.

Haven't been on in awhile but had to add in 2‘ regarding the mention of Star Wars. I rented the DVD set and absolutely hate it (didn't like the 1997 cuts, either, which I think these are based on)! All that CGI crap destroyed the classicness of it. Always been a purist, there, and will only forever love the original theater cuts. Luckily, I have a prerecorded set on our favorite format. :)

Also, regarding the 300 vs. 400 query: The 400 was the first Superbeta unit, but other than that, is (I believe) pretty much the same as the 300, feature-wise. Just a basic two-head hi-fi (like the 300) + Sß;. Whereas later Sß; models like the 450 & 550 added three heads and a few slo-mo speeds (1/5 & 1/10).

Hi I have a betamax c7 {pal} version ,for sale , with remote,all in good working order, no broken bits, few light scratches, will accept offers above US150.00, will accept all offers to the 4 january 2005, highest offer wins, payment via paypal only, or direct deposit in oz only, postage extra , regards vikki

I'm cleaning and have some BetaMax stuff I need to get rid of:1. Sony SL-5800 VCR. Just the unit itself - no remote. This unit does not work. I believe it needs new belts/other rubber, and will likely work fine. I no longer have the need/motivation to fix it. Free + shipping to anyone that wants it, or you can pick it up in the Rochester, NY or Buffalo, NY area. Expect shipping to be approximately $25 as it is rather heavy.

2. 23 Used BetaMax tapes. Almost all are SL-500's. I believe there is one SL-250 and one SL-750 in the box. Most have movies recorded (at home) off of TV, a few have TV shows recorded. Asking $1/tape plus $0.15/each tape for shipping, with a $3 minimum for shipping. That shipping would be for USPS media mail - UPS ground or other methods would be more.

3. "Viva Sonyland!" Betamax Demonstration Tape. Features Inside Betamax and Visiting SonyLand. Says copyright 1982 TBS on the tape. I no longer have a working BetaMax machine, nor do I know what the program on this tape is about. The tape appears to be in good condition, but I am unable to play it, so I am unsure about the quality of the recorded information. For all I know, this could be a rare collector's item, or it could be worthless. Make me an offer.

The VCR does not work. To the best of my knowledge, all tapes are in good working order, but I cannot test them. Everything is being sold as-is. I can provide eBay and HeatWare feedback as references upon request. Payment via Money order or Non-Credit Card PayPal is OK

profesional fortune hunter will never miss a chance

Thanks Olive,I'm a OK it's on another Island far away from where I lived.I think totally more than 4000 casualities it could be ten of a thousand across the ocean.The strongest Tsunami ever for the past 40 yrs.☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;☺;

Olive: I think that Kyowa RTP-600B is an FM tape recorder that just happens to use Beta tapes rather than the reel-to-reel recorders that preceeded it. The problem with these recorders is that often the sampling frequency is limited by the speed of the tape (does it move at B-1 speed?) and whether the frequency range extends down to DC. In the mid-80's, folks could use any VCR (Betas preferred of course) in conjunction with a Sony PCM (the 701es or 501es that was modified to handle DC) to record data onto the video tracks. This is much better because the sampling could be as high as 44.1 kHz and the data were recorded as 0s and 1s on the tape, which made the fidelity of the data independent of the video heads and tape quality. Shortly after that, the modified PCMs were replaced by modified DAT recorders. Finally, in the late-80's digital data recorders were made (could handle up to 8 input signals) to be used with a VCR or DAT. Therefore, this dinosaur probably dates to the mid-70s or so. Combining the digitizer with the tape recorder was convenient and perhaps a space saver. The down side is that if the tape trasnport developed a problem, the whole machine became useless.MaxP.S. I still want to talk to you about getting one of your extra SF-3 boards.

(in mannered Christopher Walken voice)

"Wow! Wowie, wowie, wow!"

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5740833280

Kyowa Model - RTP-600B Digital data recorder - Beta Format.

In Australia, the cheap chinese import DVD players (conia / wintel) seem to play every thing and covert easy too.

Well at least I was able to Google some hacks to bring my little 30 $ Norcent DP-313 DVD player region and macrovision freedom.

Now if only I had a DVD from another region to test...

Olive,

The trick of running a DVD though a beta unit works most times but unfortunately not when driving some of the early sony CRT projectors. Their AGC system still gets fouled up by macrovision and you have to get an "edit box" to strip the macro vision off off or a software fix for your DVD player to get rid of the macro vision because apparently the player adds the macrovision on DVDs.

regards Noel

Olive and Videohead, please e-mail me re: SF-3 boards, Max

Just wanted to say hi!!

Poll:1) Which is better (and why), the Sony SL-HF300 or the Sony SL-HF400?2) What is the best (and why) Sony Beta in the SL-HFxxx series where xxx is between 300 and 650?

A nice Betamax triumphs again story...

Mom has to use an old VCR to be able to hook up her DVD-R deck to the TV because hers only has RF-in and DVD decks generally don't come with RF modulators. Well the movies she got for X-mas are all Macrovisioned and so if you try and play them through a VCR they go light and dark incessently.

Well I put my trusty old SL-HF 300 into the grid and fed the DVD's signal to that and just as I figured, that mean old Macrovision was roundly foiled like a Scooby Doo mystery villain.

I got her the Star Wars trilogy - memo to Lucas, your late-1990's CGI 'enhancements' really suck Wookie testicles.

Hi Anyone Interested in some Betamovie cameras ( BMC-100 and 200 and a sanyo unit) all in mint condition and even the batteries hold a charge, 2 are in the original metal case and all have there own charger and batteries, it show how well made these cameras were made 20 years old and still working, as you know you do need a betamax to play back but being this a beta site that shouldn't be a problem. I am open to any resonable offers Thank you

Let's all pitch in and win this one for Olive

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39999&item=5740383791&rd=1

videohead: Have you checked your e-mail lately? I have been trying to send you a message.

$1/pound. Good one. :)

A Beta Christmas! My folks won an Ebay auction for me for 19 Beta tapes all still in the plastic wrap. 11 L-750s in the "new" style blue and gold plastic wrap, 2 L-750s in the "old" style ES Dynamicron box, and 6 L-500s again in the "new" wrap.

videohead: we can all agree that, other than the occasional complete idiot, no one is going to bid on the broken top-loader from that clueless seller. It will go on like that until he gets tired of listing it, or when he lowers the starting bid to $10, which is about all it is worth. I think a good rule of thumb is that non-working or untested Betas should sell for no more than $1.00 per pound, especially since the S&H is often at least that much.

The rule of thumb for final casualty counts for third world catastrophes is that it's some multiple between 1 and 2 times the initial homeless estimate. Except South America, where body counts are fixed at 18,000, be it an earthquake, mudslide or even a bus crash. Or so it seems.

This is nice - you can deal with a selling nazi, to whom buyers are nothing but pests, to buy an effectively broken top loader for $300. Favorite quote: "As is. If you have any questions as to your application call Sony. I don't know."

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3319&item=3862717652&rd=1

Anyone else notice that the supply of Beta machines on eBay drifting into nearly the exclusive hands of flippers, gougers who often bid against their own customers for other machines and mercenaries who think they can hit a home run selling crap? There are still deals to be had, but they seem noticeably fewer and further between than even six months ago.

I hope Boby and his familiy are OK. Just saw on news an 8.9 earthquake has been setting off tsunamis all throughout Indonesia and the Indian Ocean. Casualty estimates are in the 6000 range by some estimates. Thought and prayers go out to them.

Unfortunately Sony cheaped out on the SL-HFT7's tuner so you just can't many cable channels past 36. You're better off getting a cable box or a newer VCR. The tuners of most of Sony's Beta VCRs pretty much sucked which is a shame. As early as the SL-2710 Sony had a full-featured 99+ cable channels tuner that if Sony had used in all subsequent models would - by the miracle of mass-production - cost no more than the craptastic 14 channel presetters they insisted on sticking in most models all the way to the SL-S600.

i have a sl-hft7 and i wanna know how to add more channels into my betas memory... i have up to 36 then it skips to 63, then 98, 99 i wanna add all my channels so i can use mjy beta wit my new suround system

If you have a tape you don't care about you can put it in the machine and hold the tape in pause for a few minutes. If the heads aren't too gummed up they should clear up...

Hello Im looking for someone that has a beta head cleaning tape i desperately need one as i just bought a machine that was sitting unused for 10 dollars but has a snowy screen,any other advice would help me out a great deal.thank you very much

fitte?

Hi, eny flæso here?

SL-5800 (or any other VCR) parts:

http://www.iglou.com/studiosound/index.htm

Click on "Ask A Tech." Include the FCC ID number from the back of the unit. If he doesn't have a kit for that particular model (it's possible, but not likely), he can put one together for you. If you can get the Sony part numbers for them, he may be able to work off of that. If not, you may have to remove them and measure them or send them to him.

I have a Sony SL-5800 and need all new belts and rollers. Can anyone help? Thank You, RON

To the above person If its VHS you will a player to play the video and a All in wonder video capture video card that goes on the computer that can "capture" the video on to your compter through the RCA jacks or S Video ATI makes one or you can use a USB cable but not as good that as video inputs on it

Unfortunately in order to transfer Betamax tapes to DVD there's simply no getting around a lack of a Betamax VCR.

If anybody can help me I would like to know what leads or equipment I would need to transfer video tapes onto a dvd disk by using my computer. I also do not have a betamax video recorder.If anyone could explain in simple terms I would be most greatful for your help.

Thankyou

Used Beta tapes @ 20p each. All with tv recordings on (mainly films) London area. Buyer collects.

Hello there does anyone know where I can get a guide for the Betamax SL-HF1000 in PDF format, I have checked the sony site and I don't know where to look Thanks Email me if you like