Hi. I have a Sony Betamax SL-C6 which I am planning to sell. However, it has a fault that I would like to try & repair before doing so. Basically, the picture breaks down every few seconds (all I get is "noise") and, at the same time, the sound distorts. I've had it repaired a couple of times over the years, but never really successfully and I can't remember what the fault was described as back then. Does anyone have an idea what the problem might be and if it can be sorted? Many thanks.

Hello All from Brisbane Australia

First I would like to thank Noel for Repairing my beta and easy buying, Thank You.

Yes I am still collecting Beta tapes, I do not know how many I have but it is a lot.

Two things I want to say is that one the Toshiba v31 is a fantastic machine, ok it is basic, but if you eject a tape and turn the power off, then you turn the power back on it pulls the tape back in, great feature and also you do not have to hold down the fast forward button.

The Second thing is that what is the earlist recording you have, I have recendly got the 1980 Moscow Olympics Closeing Cermony, I think that is quite early and espaelly for Australia.

I hope you all a Beta good year and I will send another message soon.'Bye All

Bill,

I was pleased to be able to help you on that one. Our ABC shops are very good with their DVD series and have lots of series covered. It beats trying to make your own to DVD from a poor beta copy.

cheers Noel

Dear Thomas;

Just in case if you passing by on this page. There's nothing I can say but you da bomb on international deal.

I greatly appreciate your trust and a million thanks.

Enjoy your betamax goodies.

May god bless you.

Cheers from Boby.

Hi, Noel,

This is off-topic but I don't care. Thanks to the research you did for me, I've received the "Power Without Glory" DVD set. Postage wasn't exorbitant - maybe something else we need to learn from your country. I had slight delivery problems and in the end had to collect it from the Post Office depot, but fortunately the central one for Essex is only about ten minutes drive from where I live.

I now look forward to being very anti-social and sitting down to watch very large chunks of it at a time!

Many, many thanks,

Bill.

Matthew,

Glad to hear the M10 is still firing.

Stuart,

Yes, the fix is simple if the upper drum is not very worn and avoids another problem of reduced video head tip penetration when you fit a new drum which decreases the recovered signal and may make the picture noisy.

Andrew,

A buy it now price is only there until someone makes a bid at the low end of the range if you leave that option. Then it just depends how much the bid gets up to.

cheers Noel

:) Thanks Stuart for the informed response, I've decided to put it on ebay. I'd like to keep it, but can't really.

No box tho, don't think I have a manual, good overall nick, perfect working order as far as I know, very little use, think I dubbed about 20 tapes, but its been stored in a bedroom cupboard for the last 10 years, only cranked it up last week, to take some pics, puts on a great lightshow, the unit to me is almost robot like, love the tray presenting out feature! The remote is a Sony Learn remote, quite a good one, doesn't seem to be the original.

Anyway, I have AUD750 on it as a Buy Now, which for you Poms is about 340 pounds, see how it goes.

:)

Stuart, you paid too much for the 950. .

Ciao

Noel, did this trick on one of the f1s in question, though I did it in situ, ie not removing the upper drum. Obviously I made sure the heads were rotated well out of the way! I just removed the stops for the loading ring and the tape guide which screws to the left side of the drum. Then removed any dust with damp tissue then meths. Did the job perfect! Cheers Noel.

Just another plea for any ideas about my SLHF100 problem. My original posting:

Quite a while ago I sought help with my SLHF100 and its point-blank refusal to switch from AV to tuner or Simul. Noel, you suggested that it might be the switch itself. I think I've probably eliminated that (nasty little devils to get at and test conclusively, aren't they?). There is a fix mentioned on this site for the REVERSE problem, refusal to switch from tuner to AV, but not the other way round. I've been using a transport-defunct S-VHS machine as a tuner, but I think its days are numbered. I do have a spare Freeview box which I intend to give to the SLHF100, but I live in the very last area designated for analogue shutdown, and in any case that is no way to treat a good Beta machine! In all other respects it functions very well indeed despite dating from the mid-80s. Any ideas out there?

Yours in hope, Bill

Hi andrew, well, last year I bought 3 hf950s, one of which was on ebay, in almost mint order complete with manual, remote, box and demonstration pro x 250 tape, I won the bidding at £312. My other two had minor faults, one had the linear audio erase issue, which I fixed thanks to part from an f30, the other would intermittently record bw through the av (dust on the av connections to the pcb) fixed. These two I bought for £300 and £250. I would say that if a 950 is free of any faults, complete with box, remote, and all accessories, with cabinet stickers in place and not scratched, no rust on the chassis and has been kept free of dust I would say in order of £350-£400. If you are thinking of selling on ebay though you may get more, you may get less.For a 950 without accessories, Ie just vcr plus remote, about £250. prices have dropped a little recently for obvious reasons.

Hello Again fellow Betaphiles

Sorry that I've been off the chat room for so long, had heaps of work since december so no timeAnyway, the Sanyo M10 that was repaired by Noel last year is doing great, best repair job I've had done.

How is everyone doing?

Hello, what's the consensus of the current value of a SL-HF950 in very good order?

hi, i have just aquired a few sony sl c5ub, brand new in boxes, never opened, with all documentation and the leaded remote control. i am thinking of selling, any interest?phone 07850500652 phil

Cheers Noel, I will try this on one of them at least. The other will need a drum complete as the heads are kaput. Just seen this on ebay. Howling wolf is at it again! 170302478102

Stuart,

You do not need to replace the upper drum. If you remove the upper drum you can sand the surface with 600 wet and dry or emery paper. Even a dry jex pad will do the job. Roughing up the surface of the alloy reduces the friction. Just be sure to go deep enough to remove any lip the tape edge could get caught on stopping proper tape path alignment. I am also told an ink rubber can be used.

regards Noel

Hello all. I need to know, does anyone have a couple of complete drum assemblies for sony slf1? Needs to be uk only. They must be complete and have no upper drum wear tape stick rewind issues and obviously have good heads. I am able to swap - trade combination of other sony beta parts, notably 2 complete and working f30 drums , hf100 power suppy , f30 power supply , c9 power supply (with working dcdc), and various c9 - hf100 boards. I also need a front flap for a ttf1. If anyone is able to help email me or message me here and see if we can agree a deal.

Alistair, you need a bnc video and L R Audio to scart lead. Try maplins, or give this guy an email for one - Tony Cattel - [email protected] Does beta repairs also, should anything be amiss with your c9.

Hello there, I have a Sony SL-F30EC recorder for sale, if anyone is interested? It's a PAL model, the ebay link is below (auction hasnt started yet, but will tomorrow afternoon).

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130287532282

HiI am trying to repair a Sony Betamax sl-hf100. The head doesn't spin, and the tape moves for about 3 seconds. I have accessed the drum motor underneath, and managed to remove the lock nut (using a cable tie wrapped around the disk to stop it from moving)so i can access the hall effect sensor, as recommended on palsite, but that is as far as i get. How do I get the bottom of the motor off, to clean the glue off the sensor? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi All. I have found my old Betamax SL-C9 in the loft with some old tapes - but no sign of any A/V cables! I would like to see what's on these tapes and perhaps copy to DVD. Can anyone advise what cables I need and suggest a source, please? Many thanks, Alistair.

I actually have a counterfeit Beta movie tape. It's a dub from what I think was a critic's preview tape because some sort of blacked out bug comes up every so often. You can also see the on screen display of the VCR they played the source tape with.

The movie is a Jamie Lee Curtis film called Virus about some alien entity that takes over a Russian vessel tracking the Mir space station. It's subtitled in Spanish, as this was intended for the latino market. Box art is a photograph of the movie poster pasted onto the boolegger company's tape box.

I also have several Beta movies that used a VHS slipcover for all their tapes with a cardboard insert adapter for the Beta tape and a sticker with the word 'Beta' taped over where it would've said VHS. Sitting side by side are VHS and Beta versions of "The Hunt for Red October".

Hi:Bill is absolutley right with that comment.It was only the latter tapes from distributors such as Guild Home Video, RCA Columbia,CIC Video and MGM home video that made the labels fit the square.Also if it still has the rental outlet stickers on it, unbroken, then it's definetley genuine and not a copy..........................................Kevin

Hi, Mike,

For what it's worth, I have some pre-recorded Beta tapes from quite early in the game, when Beta sales and rentals were still running fairly neck and neck with VHS. I know they are all most likely genuine because they were all bought from very reputable national dealers.

The makers don't seem to have taken much notice of the shape or size of the label space, they all have different shapes and sizes. So I don't think that on its own is much of a clue as towhether or not your tapes are genuine. The quality might be a rather better clue!

Regards, Bill

Hi all, I have some beta tapes of what appears to be factory original movies with the artwork sleeves. Some of the tapes appear to be counterfeit because the top labels are larger than the little square area they are supposed to fit inside of. Is it just that some of the video companies used labels that are actually for VHS tapes because there was not enough demand for beta for them to make separate labels for the betas, or are these counterfeit? Is there a way to know for sure besides this if a so called "factory original movie" is actually that? Mike

Kevin,

Just look at betaheaven.com and email me.

cheers Noel

Hi Noel:Many thanks for your response.I've tried to e-mail you using your link here but i've received and undeliverable ,due to your 'no spam' address, message!Any ideas?...........Kevin

Kevin,

I checked out my NX100 parts machine and fired it up and the clock works. The chip is MP1544 but the rest of the number which is probably a manufacturing code is MSHLA8501. I don't know what postage would be to you but if you want it contact me by email. I might be able to do a deal with you because I want some audio erase head bias circuit transformers for 950s and that UK company yo mentioned has them. Also a chap called Bjorn wants some of the M10/20 colour ICs so I could send them to you and he could pay you and get them from you.

cheers Noel

hi, thanks for your help kevin, it was a fusibler resistor that was causing it, i now have another problem though, when plugged in now the clock comes on but the power led is permanantly on but the machine will not swich on and no functions, I think this may be the power supply, does amyone have a circuit diagram for the power supply section of the sony sl-f25ub?

Hi James:

Well if it's anything like the occassional clock/counter display issues with the Sanyo models it's either the clock control driver chip (usually this is accomanied by a eratic dislay,ony part of it lighting up) or a corresponding Electrolytic capacitor (this usually causes a flickering or intermittent display and leading to no display at all.Im not too familiar with the Sony's design but i feel sure the guys who are here, will be able to assist you....................Kevin

i have a sony sl-f25ub with a corrupt display, i have tried another power supply with no luck, has anyone had this fault or know the problem

Samuel - sadly, in my experience so far, no. With my SLHF950 I have tried two old learning remotes from Sony and Philips, also a Meliconi Universal6 Light which I bought in France, not sure if it is available here. The latter copes with just about everything else I have, including a very, very old Sony AV amp, either by preset codes or by learning, but not with the SLHF950 or my SLHF100. It simply refuses to go through the learn procedure.

Bill

Hi everyone, got a fault on my sony sl-f1, the video head when playing keeps going fast/slow a few times per seccond, giving a wobbleing effect to the picture, anybody have any ideas as to the fault and cure? thanks, chris.

Wondering if anyone knows of any universal remotes that will work on betas?

Hi kevin and noel, thanks to you both for replying to my post.i have sent e-mails to the places you reccomended, and am at present waiting foe replys, on the same note, sony sent me a reply, and sugested a compny called NEDIS, will give them a try as well. thanks guys.

Hi Noel and gang:

It's my turn for help:)I am in need of a clock control IC (part no.MP1544....MSHLA50501) for a Sanyo VTC NX100 Beta vcr.I have seen this fail in three of these vcr's.Can anyone point me in the right direction or have one spare in a parts machine?Thanks in advance................Kevin

Hi- am looking for the front pull down control panel cover for a Sony SLHF-100. Happy to pay for it and postage. Am in Sydney.

John

Chris,

If all other sources fail, non hifi video heads are available from Wes Components in Sydney Australia for Sony, Toshiba and Sanyo machines. See http://www.wescomponents.com/

cheers Noel

Chris:One site i highly recommend is www.visionaids.co.uk

There parts are nearly always available and this does ( or did ) include the heads.The Sanyo models in particular...........GOOD LUCK..............................................Kevin

Hi kevin, thanks for the reply, i tried "betamax video heads" some time ago, not much there, tried many combinatioms of words, still not a lot, there was a place in london called GRANDATA, but they do not stock what i want any more. the machines i have are sanyo and sony, though the sony SL-F1 is my all time favorite. also tried e-bay, but thats mostly knackered machines, and people who claim to be selling "perfect" machines at a high price, but not much in the way of video heads.i am stll determined to keep betamax alive for as long as i can, for me, this is the only video tape format. i did find a supplier in the USA, called fixer corp, and am still waiting for a reply, but i would rather use a U.K. supplier if i can find one. thanks, chris.

Hi ChrisAre we talking Sanyo, Toshiba or Sony machines??As i understand it you can still get the rare OEM sets of heads and also some from other less known but good quality repro makers.If you make a search on the internet for 'Betamax video heads' i'm sure there would be a few sites that could help.Some cheaply too..................................Kevin

Hi all, as a devoted betamax nut, i am now having problems finding parts to keep my machines going, particularly video heads, the last betamax were on sale in the u.k. around1986/7, so the problems for me will only get worse. if anyone could point me in the direction of video head suppliers in the U.K. this would help me a lot, thanks chris.

Noel:In regards to the Sanyo 500011 issue.I have only ever come across that issue on two Sanyo M10's.The way i sorted that was to remove and replace the entire capstan motor board and this cured it successfully both times.It was a very slight wow especially on high frequencies.It's probably the capacitors on that particular board.One day i will replace those and find out:)

Please let me know your findings...........GOOD LUCK...............Kevin

Hi Noel:In regards to the Sanyo M20 and the head waveform issue.I have never come across this personally and only ever seen two or three Sanyo's with worn heads.Was this issue before you changed the heads, as if it was'nt there is a slight chance that the soldering of the wires to the head drumm could've been a fraction over the vital no more than 5 sec?I have just read this info for a Sanyo 5000 for a similar problem to the one you are describing with your M20.It states 'Poor picture on Playback.One headoutput missing,Rf envelope'.The modification 'Change R1506 O/c in Head Amp.Also check Q1505 and L1501,L1502.

I'm not sure if these equivilents are in the M20 but they do carry a lot of similar parts and no's from vcr to vcr.It's worth a check...............................Kevin

Kevin,

I still have a 5000II that has capstan issues. It will play back its own recorded tapes but seems to warble when playing tapes recorded on other machines. The DC control voltage jumps all over the place. Ring any bells with you? I have replaced cap C4505 (1uF) which seems to be a common problem and the machine is still faulty.

cheers Noel

Kevin,

Good advice.

Well I tried a replacement spool but found the design is different in the 5005 machines.The spool seemed free enough in one direction. The capstan roller was very worn so replaced that. Replaced the felt back tension strip. With use and adjustment the problem went away. I needed to do the resistor and diode reel circuit "tension" mod and now it seems happy.

I would have liked to have seen one thing fix the issue rather than running it in to fix the problem because it might come back. I was using an alignment tape I use in othe machines with no problem so I doubt cassette but a rell height issue make make it play up in this machine so I could check that.

Something I noted about the metal leaders. Before I fitted the reel circuit tension mod it did a funny thing. I ran the tape to the end in FFWD and it would not rewind. It did not get enough speed up in REW before it sensed the metal leader and threw the machine into stop (hence momentary FFWD) mode.

thanks for the help.

I also have an M20 not showing one of the head waveforms and I have fitted new heads? Sound familiar? I have a lot of these laying around that I want to fix and get rid of.

cheers Noel

Hi Noel:

One thing to check would be the capstan and pinch roller bearings.Another possibility would be the reel drive spool heights.Some tape shell assemblies themselves are known to squeal, especially the mid eighties Sony brand ( the spools are a creamy yellow colour ,instead of the whiter colour of their earlier designs).It might be worth checking that the clutch under the left reel pool is free spinning and not tight.I have come across this once or twice.Good luck and let me know your findings.....................................Kevin

Kevin,

I am fixing a few Sanyos at the moment. On the model 5000 is there a particular fault that causes the machine to squeal in play mode. I have adjusted the forward tension and it seems to produce this noise well below the required back tension setting of 35gm. I suppose I could change the back tension felt strip/assembly.

cheers Noel

Hi there everyone in beta land.

I have a dilemma , I have bought a sony multisystem recorder off the bay which looked 100% . On receiving it , I discovered the cassette loading carriage gets stuck. I tried to fix it to no avail.

Does anyone have a carriage for me . It seems easiy enough to swop out. the machine is otherwise 100% clean and no head wear.

I imagine there may be a few compatable ones. ie slc-30ub The model of my machine is a SLT -30ME. Alternatively if you can fix it let me know

I want to use it for ntsc and I left my other M40 NTSC back in Cape Town. I am now in the UK.

thank you

Happy New Year to all you fellow Beta lovers

Hi Peter:

Welcome to Palsite.If you could find out the diameter of the belt CPC.co.uk do a variety of belts in different diameters and square or circular rubber with different thicknesses.I feel sure you could get one to fit....................Kevin

I've got a Sony Trinicon cam, HVC 3000p and a Sony Betamax vcr SL-C5EC - but sadly no longer the houseroom. I doubt I'd get much for them - so a nearby (midlands) enthusiast might be in luck? Do drop me a line if you're interested.

Can anyone tell me where to get replacement belts for the Toshiba V5470 Model? The one I need drives the uptake spindle to drive the cassette.

Cheers Noel!..................................Kevin

Kevin,

Re the 200P, I fully expect that they will mechanically lock up over time due to the lubricant drying up or being clogged with dust. That would stop auto focus by itself but when the motor spins on one part of a stuck belt it cant be good and weakens it I would think.

I had another 200P with a broken case that i swapped a belt over from.

cheers Noel

Hi everyone, does anyone know where i can find a belt kit for a Sony SL8000UB / SL8080UB. Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR.

I just put my EDBETA on Ebay now just look for me under the name sonybetamaxbut here is the listing number anyway 110333256991

Hi Stuart:

Yes, i did notice.It's your machine to do with as you like.I'm sure someobne will be overjoyed to have it though.Those are pretty special especially in that condition.Good luck with the sale....................Kevin

those ED-BETA units on ebay when went for a good price ($1000 and $1200) I have a EDV-7500 that I might sell but I am offering it for $699 /w the original remote and mine is almost like new condition. if anyone wants it let me know

Well, Kevin, I don t know if you have seen but I am selling the m40 I bought from you last year. Need space, need money. I am keeping my 3 950s though, no way are they going! I have just done a repair this morning on my f1, the one I bought earlier this year on ebay which was fine apart from a badly worn drum. I tried once to swap it and that did not work as I had to fit a replacement disk and upper drum onto the existing lower drum, and also got the connections slightly wrong when reassembling.Well I got another donor f1 yesterday which had both main boards smashed on it, but I had the drum assembly complete out of it and had a 2nd attempt at repairing my one with this drum. Was very careful at reconnecting it all up, and hey presto it works perfectly :) I also recovered the treading gear and pinch roller as they are good. Indeed the threading gear is the all plastic one and not the one with the metal bush which can expand and split the plastic. Also used on the c9. My first successful head drum swap!

Sturat:

I know what you mean.For that price ANY vcr would have to be pretty special with, at the very minimum,hardly used, fully serviced, with the box and all accessories ( maybe even some sort of assurance that it would be covered for future issues.I saw none of that and a pretty ordinary , well used scruffy machine no service and no assurance.Whoever paid that must have been in dire need.Well, one things for sure they must've been laughing all the way to the bank............................Kevin

Hi Noel: and gang...........I have a Sanyo VRC200p with EXACTLY that issue.I also have another Sanyo of the same and the Sony equivalent that are both A1.I wondered if it could be the drive belt or motor being weak.Mind you the mechanism feels a bit tighter too when turning it by hand.Could this be the cause too??....................Kevin

Sorry - James not Brent - I should take the time to read more carefully.

Brent,

I have not pulled one of the HVCs apart but I had a similar problem with the autofocus lens drive on a BMC200P camera and found it was caused by a faulty rubber drive belt which had perished and stretched. I replaced it and the autofocus worked fine again. It is most likely a mechanical issue.

P.S. happy New Year to the beta enthusiasts.

cheers Noel

Hi, hope you all had a good christmas. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the sony hvc-3000p video camera i am having trouble with the electronic zoom not working does anyone know how to fix this please, P.S hope you all have a good new yar

Here's to wishing a VERY happy and enjoyable Christmas to all the good guy Betaphiles.Let's hope 2009 and beyond is as interesting and enjoyable...........................Kevin

May all the best of the season be yours. May you be safe and happy. And may all God's blessings be yours in the new year.

Wishing you all have a merry Christmas. Always have Faith, Love, and hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

May God Bless us all in this wonderfull Chrismast.Amen.

A VERY HAPPY AND CONTENTED CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY OLD FRIENDS ON THE BETAMAX PALS SITE, WITH WHOM I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF 'MEETING' WORLDWIDE, OVER THE YEARS.

BLESS YOU ALL.

HAROLD KOSTER

Hi, everyone,

Having briefly impersonated an expert on the one subject I actually knew something about, I hereby return to my usual status on the site as a beggar for help and information. Quite a while ago I sought help with my SLHF100 and its point-blank refusal to switch from AV to tuner or Simul. Noel, you suggested that it might be the switch itself. I think I've eliminated that (nasty little devils to get at and test conclusively, aren't they?). There is a fix mentioned on this site for the REVERSE problem, refusal to switch from tuner to AV, but not the other way round.

I've been using a transport-defunct S-VHS machine as a tuner, but its days would seem to be numbered. I do have a spare Freeview box which I intend to give the SLHF100, but I live in the very last area designated for analogue shutdown, and in any case that is no way to treat a good Beta machine! Any ideas out there?

All the best to everyone for Christmas and Hogmanay (yes, I have revealed my ethnic origins!)

from Bill.

Anyone see those EDBetas on Ebay #190274016596 for $1500 US I feel a little too much don't you think

Hiya. I've just fired up my old Sony SL HF100ub machine and it doesn't seem to want to rewind/play or fast forward. It starts RR/FF mode for about 3 seconds then gives up. Play doesn't seem to move hardly.. It wasn't used much and has been in it's box for the past 15 years. Any ideas what maybe causing this problem??

Cheers TOBE!!!

IIRC, all the ßetacams run at ßII speed. I'm sure there will be someone along to correct me if I'm wrong. :)

Can someone tell me what speed the BMC-220 Betamax movie camera operates at? I, II , or III

I also listed the Sony SL-800ME for sale, in case anyone would be interested :) Happy bidding

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130276084380

Hello all,

Just passing on a message from the Palsite guys.

They have just managed to get the betainfo guide back online. See http://www.betainfoguide.net/

Have a great Christmas and New Year.

cheers Noel

Someone just opened up a NTSC Beta format vcr website... check it out betamaxcollectors.com

Oh, and I have a Sony SL-HF100EC recorder for sale, if anyone is interested? It's a PAL model, the ebay link is below.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130275826691

Hello, I am new to this chat page, but have a problem that I can't seem to find a solution for on this site (I'm pretty new to betamax, so that might be the reason).

I have a Sony SL-800ME player that I recently found on a fleamarket. The unit is in pretty good condition, seems to work, but wont play, fast forward or rewind. I have removed the cover and it seems that the problem is that the drum/spindle isnt rotating. What could cause this? And can it be fixed?

Thanks!

Thank you very much everybody for this good chat.I'm looking for the manual-service- sl-c7e of Sony Betamax.I would be grateful if anyone can help me to find it.best regards

Thanks Charlie for the clear instructions, will give it a shot and let you know how it turns out.

Mike, The pot you're looking for is located (believe it or not) on the board that you see when the top cover is removed .It's position is RV201 and it's located about in the center of the board next to the large printed words DRIVE. It's gonna take a very small screwdriver to access it through the small hole because the side you're looking at is the solder side of the board.If you unfasten the board and tilt it up to the component side the pot is easier to adjust without such a small screwdriver.If you adjust it from the solder side turn it CCW and CW if adjusted from the component side.If I were you I'd adjust it from the component side and mark it BEFORE you do any turning. Turn it a little bit at a time and check to see if the tape starts to be takin up.If the nylon bearing in the the takeup spool isn't worn too bad you should be able to get it to work by the pot adjustment.If the pot won't do it then the only thing you can do is get another reel drive or fix the one by increasing the distance between the rotor and the windings. By the way in addition to the pot being labeled RV201 it says FWD.TORQ. Good luck!

Hi All,I was wondering where can I buy pal system Betamax mechine.If you can post some good links that would be great.Thank you,Nir

Thanks Dave for the help. Now all I have to do is locate the potentiometer, I'm thinking it is on the board that the reels are on, which I would get to by removal of bottom cover?

Hi mikeThe problem is very common I saved a post from about a year ago I think this should help youHere is is :Re: SL-HFR70. Had the same exact problem with mine. It turned out that wear in the clutch mechanism of the takeup reel made it unable to wind the tape fast enough (esp. towards the end of tapes), therefore creating a tape slack between the capstan and takeup which triggered emergency stop. A quick fix is to increase Forward Torque, there is a potentiometer to adjust this, I can't remember where it is yet it is identified on the board so you should be able to find it. Hope this helps.

Hello, I am having a problem with a Sony SL-HFR70 which I believe is a common problem because I have seen this before. I finally took the cover off and decided to take a look inside. Occasionally, the unit will play for a few seconds, then shut off. I see that the tape is bunching up near the end of the tape path and not feeding into the take up reel like it should which is causing the shut off. There is something in the repair section of this site which addresses a problem similar to this, I believe it said something about a bearing being bad, but it also said that the tape will unspool and hang out when the tape is ejected, and mine is not doing that. Is this just an adjustment that is needed, if so, what needs adjusting? If not answering just for me, please answer for everyone else out here. thank you

Thanks Noel, I will try get hold of a belt kit and look into it, I'm pretty good at taking things apart, (lol aren't we all)so will have a look myself, if no joy then I will refer it to someone more knowledgeable in this particular field, thanks again for the advice it's very much appreciated, Sean

Don,

I've short-circuited things a bit by finding enough standards sites on the Web which agree that whatever the situation in the past, Greece now uses PAL B/G. So however basic your Greek TV might be, if it works off-air it should work with your Beta gear and the latter should also work off-air. It would seem that you have no TV standards problem, but you do have a connection and/or setup problem.

The mystery is that Saudi Arabia uses PAL B/G and something called SECAM B/G. I would be surprised if you had your gear set up for SECAM but not for PAL when you lived there. It should work with the settings you used in Saudi Arabia. PAL B/G is the commonest standard on the planet, whatever the Japanese and Americans might think!

My suggestion would be that you get hold of a PAL tape with something on it, connect the co-axial output to the TV aerial socket with a suitable lead, set the tape to playing and start searching for a signal by whatever means your TV uses. Make sure everything in sight is set to PAL. If your TV directly shows UHF channel numbers, start with Ch35 then go through the rest of the 30s. Failing that you'll just have to go through all channels. If that works then you can turn your attention to finding an off-air signal at the other end of your gear. To that end, it would be useful if you could send me photographs of all the connections in and out of your gear and between the various bits of it, also all thecontrols. Having established RF connections, you can then start on seting up audio/video connections for proper quality. Does your TV have a SCART socket - large, two ranks of pins, square at one end, funny shape at the other?

Good luck, Bill

Just reread your email and saw that you said you checked the belts. Inspecting the belts generally does not tell you how much they have stretched or how sticky (grippy) they are.

Check that the load ring is in the home position (unloaded) before you load the tape. You should hear a solenoid click when you press the tape carriage down and then the load sequence starts. The rubber surface of the drive pulley (between and below the reel spool drives) that loads and unloads the tape is the most prone to failure. It gets worn and shiny. A later modification called a rewind kit undated the design to overcome this typical fault. (ie load unload probs and not rewinding tape completely. In fact the C7 which auto rewound after a tape was finished could sit there with the capstan motor straing all night trying to get back to the start of the tape as the sequence only stops when the machine senses the metal leader at the start of a beta tape.cheer Noel

Deepblues,

The C5 on which that machine is mechanically based suffers from issues with the drive belts aging. As well as this if you manually operate solenoids you can get the mechanicals out of sync with the machines electronic logic steps.

I would suggest that you get a belt kit and change the belts. You have to remove the base and flip out the base board to change the capstan and load gear drive belts. The others are changed from the top. It is not a simple exercise. Better to get some expert help if you can.

cheers Noel

Is there anybody there...............? :)

Lord of the Betamax,

Sir, how dare you suggest I'm some sort of TV nerd! Actually, you're most probably right. I'm afraid I did enjoy the site you plugged, and some of its links as well!

Thanks, Bill.

Hi guys, I have a Sony SL-T7ME i aquired from a friend to help run my Sony Trinicon Video Camera mentioned in an early post. The unit switches on and lights up ok but the tape mechanism is not loading the tape in. Also if I press the buttons on the front they click and light up but nothing happens, it seems that if I manually push what looks like a magnetic switch in the back of the unit, with the lid off, then I can get it to temporarily fast forward and rewind, but not play. I can only repeat this if I turn the unit off and back on again. I checked the belts and all seem to be ok, hence FF and RW, anyone any ideas what could be wrong? Im not new to electronics but new to looking inside these Betamax units. Would love to get this working again, reminds me of my youth, cheers, Sean (deepblues)

I own a Sony EDV 9500 and have over 200 master tapes in std beta and ED beta format. My machine is in need of a idler motor assembly, I have not had any service on this machine for years. Does anyone know where I can purchase this motor assembly? I love the postings and I love beta. Thanks for what you all do.

Nope, still in Korea. Been here for almost 9 years now. If you do a tracert on my IP it should show up as a krnic (Kornet) IP.

Brenda, seems like you're in Australia now...interesting.

Thanks, guys... :) It's good to see you, too. I've been away too long.

Hi Brenda, couldn't be more happy to have you around.

Greetings,Boby.

Hi Brenda ann,welcome back