Yes I know about Laser Vision, if your reffering to what Laserdisc was called in the 1980'sI still collect films on the Laserdisc format and own a mint cond 1996 Pioneer CLD 2950 to watch them withI have four suppliers of movies As for machines and repairs, only one I know of is Adept Electronics in Blair Athol, South Australia. not too far for me to driveThey can still source parts and repair Pioneer and possibly other laservision/laserdisc units

Ah, the memories! Glad to see someone is keeping these machines alive. With regards, [email protected]

Mac1 - is the tape threading up? This is done while the drawer is closing believe it or not, but you have to take the cover off to see it being done. If you hear any mechanical whirring noises and a couple of clicks while the drawer is closing then the tape is threading. I am betting it isnt threading though. If so the tape present switch could be faulty making the deck think there is no tape. This is just a guess though!

Sorry to come back again, please treat it as a PS sparked of by thinking about the bigger picture during and after drafting the above. Despite having demonstrated to myself that I'm a dead loss at creating websites, I could provide content for several ideas including Laserdisc and several jazz sites (including one which might make a very small amount of money - I do stress small) if someone else could do the design and setup. Once again, direct communication after your initial response to protect the Palsite, or even better, just contact me directly in the first place.

Does nobody know anything about Laservision? My feeling was that people interested in one superior vintage format might well be interested in another one. I believe there might be a need for a website along the lines of the Palsite but dedicated to Laservision. I'm not volunteering at this point as I think I have already proved to myself that I'm c**p at designing websites! Meanwhile, I'd really like to hear from anybody into Laservision. I would of course correspond directly, it wouldn't be fair to do it on the Palsite.

Bill

Hi I have a betamax sl-hf 950 worked perfect a few weeks ago playing back a PCM audio recording but today non of the play funtions or ff rwd work the sled comes out and ejects the tape and goes back in but no other noise after that, should the tape thread imediatly after loading the tape or is there another problem, any help would be great

Thanks martin

Boby,

Yes thanks I got the package fine. Well packed I must say.

regards Noel

PS; I saw my TIPs donation to this page posted couple years ago, I'm very glad Mr Administrator posted it online. Thanks again.

Boby from CHINA.

Hi Noel, I've been away for quite a short time. I'm preparing my new year event on 14th Feb 2010. How's the beta's package, going smooth there eh..

Cheers,Boby.

Hello everybody. Today I received at last my PAL Betamovie BMC 100, but the courier messed it all!! The camera came with a broken viewfinder. Does anybody know how can I replace the viewfinder from another NTSC Betamovie I already have?

Thanks in advance,Spiros

This is hugely off topic, but I hope I'll be forgiven. Does anyone know anywhere in the UK I might be able to get a vintage Philips Laservision player repaired? I've reached the limit of my ability on it. The Net hasn't proved very helpful, especially as a number of products and technologies have hijacked the name. Can anyone help?

Bill

Hi Nicola:

That tip Noel just gave you for the remotes is great.IT REALLY does work!I have seen quite a few remotes with various buttons not working and this will definetley cure it.Better than throwing it away.Drink spills on the remote can be a cause of this.BE AWARE remore users.

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

Nicola,

I don't know if your a guy or a gal but your welcome. The remote will have experienced problems with the electrically conductive surface of the "on" control button that is pressed. It is a risk pulling the remote apart because the plastic clips often have become hard and break however I usually super glue small metal (aluminium foil) squares to the bottom of the buttons that are faulty and clean the surface that they contact and that seems to work OK.

The beers might have to wait a while because the last time I was in Italy was June 1992 but thanks for the offer, your talking my language there.

regards Noel (betaheaven) from Australia.

I FIXED MY SL-F30 !!! THANKS THANKS TO THE GENTLEMENS NOEL AND THEBETAMAXSTORE! I'M WAITING YOU TO ITALY FOR TWO BIERES!! :) NOEL YOUR THREE PICS ARE FANTASTICS!

PLEASE,SEE THIS VIDEO! THANK'S MY FOREIGNERS FRIENDS! REGARDS FROM ITALY!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MJaDI5j46g

BUT NOW THERE IS A LITTLE PROBLEM: MY REMOTE CONTROLLER IS OK BUT DON'T WORKS THE COMMAND "ON" FOR TO SWITCH ON MY BETAMAX. THE COMMAND "PLAY" "ffwd" "STOP" "rew" "REC" ARE PERFECTLY WORKING!

Kevin - read my posting of 24th January - it should answer your queries, including where you can get the necessary leads.

Bill

Nicola,

I got your email OK but I have been away from home and just got back. I emailed you three pictures of the lever in place and taken from different angles.

regards Noel

hI THE BETAMAXSTORE, i'm waiting the high resolution photo by Noel from Australia.He have my email.I hope about that!Thankyou very much!!

hi thanks for the offer, i have sent pics of my sanyo with info..i have seen several buyers on e-bay selling bnc to phono cables . is this what i require to connect my recorder to my tv? i have tried going through the rf cvable i get the test picture and sound but no pic. i am now getting to the point of cursing at my betamax recorders.lol i will not let them win!!!!!!!!

Kavin:

I am very experienced with most Sanyo Beta's.You state the indicators don't light up.Is this with non tape playing functionality?If you'd like to e-mail me we can discuss this further.

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

Nicola, Noel was absolutely correct.

>You will need to re-install the arm you are holding in your hands.

>How about shooting her a photo of it installed, Noel?

When you re-install it, make sure that Pequeno piece that swivels and has a spring attached to it is behind the pin in the solenoid plunger. If not, you will continue to have problemas.

I'm surprised, with the huge number of Beta fanatics here, that no one else has chimed in and we are relying on one person to provide a photo. As I said before, I don't the facility to do that.

THEBETAMAXSTORE:this is a my mistake.I came out with my hands..

here another video better quality:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U06LIAEzIs

Hello evryone,This is my first visit to the site. I have a Toshiba V-5470D that works very well but lately the main drive belt slips. Does anyone know the sizes of these belts so I can look for a supplier. I have found one that will make to order but I need the size. Any help will be most welcome.

Kevin,

My idiocy today knows no bounds. A chunk of my draft didn't make it into the posting. It should read:

I'm an idiot, I should have checked the Maplin catalogue before posting. They still do all the things I mentioned - screw-on plugs, BNC to phono cables and adapters. For tne benefit of the sometimes less than dynamic Maplin assistants, the leads are on page 867, the adapters on page 725 and the plugs on page 724 of their Autumn - Winter 2009/10 catalogue. I'm not 100% sure that what you're describing is BNC, but it sounds like it, and many early Beta machines used it. Both my 1984 SLHF100 and my 1988 SLHF950 are fitted with BNC for video input and output.

Does your TV have any SCART sockets? See my recent (and overlong!) posting on SCART to help you identify it. If so, you need a SCART to phono lead and a phono to BNC adapter. Make sure the SCART lead is wired for input to the TV set - leads come in a bewildering variety of wiring configurations.

Bill

Kevin,

I'm an idiot, I should have checked the Maplin catalogue before posting. They still do all the things I mentioned - screw-on plugs, BNC to phono cables and adapters. For tne benefit of the sometimes less than dynamic Maplin assistants, the leads are on page 867, the adapters on page 725 and the plugs on page 724 of their Autumn - Winter 2009/10 catalogue. I'm not 100% sure that what you're describing is BNC, but it sounds like it, and many early Beta machines used it. Both my 1984 SLHF100 and my 1988 SLHF950 are fitted with BNC for video input and output.

Bill

Kevin,

I'm not really surprised at your lack of success with Maplin, they've probably classified BNC to phono leads as obsolete. It might be worth your while to look for BNC plugs to replace one end of a phono to phono lead. The ones I have originally came from Maplin. They're easy to fit, no soldering. You just bare back the center and screen and then screw them on to the end of the cable. Maplin also did BNC to phono adaptors, that might be worth a try.

Good luck,Bill

hi thanks for the info , but alas i am here to ask more questions. went to my local maplins and the guy had no idea what i was asking for!!!!, i have tried the simple way of connecting via the rf arial connectors. now i do get a black and white image on my tv and i get sound , but when i turn the test signal off,i get sound for about 5 seconds but no more picture,,, both my c6ub and c5ub have a two pin connector for video out and i can,t find a cable to connect it with . also i have a vtc 5000 and it powers up but the play/record leds don,t light up.. should i stick to the rf cable and just keep trying to tune the recorder or should i try and find a cable, sorry guys i am new to this retro stuff. i also have vr2024 from austria . funny looking recorder!!!!!thanks.

You are welcome, Nicola.

You got it right, Noel. I totally missed the mark on this.

I don't have photo posting capability so, if you can post a close up of the piece (it's called a "stopper arm") actually installed I think it will end well.

I just wonder how the arm came out all by itself?

a pic for my betamax inside,without a little piece

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff313/Nicola717171/P1010001-3.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1041/solenoids.jpg

Noel,i sent you a mail but i have a error message: I removed "nospam" but i cannot to send email.

Thanks Noel and THEBETAMAXSTORE!b You're very gentlemens!THEBETAMAXSTORE: my Betamax haven't 2 pink wires: i checked fot that but i don't look.I'd like to fit the piece into solenoid: the problem is that.I don't know the exactly position and i need a big resolution pic from another Betamax.Thank you very much .Regards from Italy!

Nicola,

I think I understand what you were asking. That piece has come out of your machine and you want to know where to fit it. It is a lever that is driven by a solenoid and connects with two gear assemblies to change where the power of the load motor goes to. It is either drives the cassette tray (to load the tape cassette) or drives the load ring to wrap the tape around the head. Clearly from your video the load ring is the only thing being driven because this part is not fitted in place to be operated as a lever by the solenoid as the other person helping you with this problem has observed.

If you send me an email (removing nospam from my email address) I can send you a picture of the part in place on your model of machine.

Once you have this part back in place you can see if you still have an issue then go looking at tape end sensors and the like. The most common problem I see is broken load gears but that is obviously working on your machine.

regards Noel (Betaheaven.com) Australia

All you need is a BNC - RCA adaptor, probably about a quid or two at your local electronic store. Use this to connect the 'Video Out' to your telly or projector Yellow connector.Red & White just go the the Audio Out on the machines.If they are mono and only have one RCA, get a RCA Male to 2 x RCA Female 'Y' connector, or just have a single side audio - White = Left, Red = Right.

hi everyonei have a cl-5 and a cl-7 sony recorders.i also own roughly 100 betamax movies.my problems are as follows,please forgive my ignorance!!!!!,my recorders have no scart nor do they have the video, audio whit yellow red connectors . so please what do i require to set the units to work on my tv. also i have a toshiba projector would i be able to ste my units to work through this , my wife bought me the recorders and movies for xmas and i am killing myself trying to get them to work.

Nicola:

That piece looks like it's fine. It is operated by the large solenoid and enables the planetary gears to either operate or not operate depending on whether you are front loading or transport loading.

Go back to my first post and see if there is a sensor at the end of the tape path with 2 pink wires coming out of it. If there is, follow the directions I gave you then.

If there is no sensor with pink wires, then the large solenoid is not operating. It has an open winding or it is not being controlled to open.

This is all I can tell you....you may have to have a technician diagnose and repair the problem as this venue can be of no further assistance.

I have 2 Sony Super Beta hi-fi GCS-50 machines for sale with the Editing controller. Included are the cables, remotes and origonal Operation and Service manuals. They are in perfect working order and in excellent condition. If someone would like to make an offer.Thank you

Hi TheBetaMaxStore! You are a very gentleman! Thank's for you help.I cleaned that microswitches but aren't dirty.I checked with small screwdriver without cassette but the sincronism is fault.The mecanism of the drum head is loading before mecanism cassette insert.I have a piece off: i don't repair.Have you a high definition photo to guide?This is the piece: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff313/Nicola717171/P1010001-3.jpg

THANKS FOR YOUR INTERESTING TO MY BETAMAX!Nicola

Nicola:

Disregard my last post. I looked more closely at your Betamax on the Palsite and it is different from the model that I assumed yours was.

There are 2 microswitches that control the loading and unloading. One is located at the top left of the transport and the other is located just to the left of the exit guide.Try manual operating them with a small screwdriver many times with the player turned OFF, they may just be dirty and not making contact.

Hope this helps, sorry for the first post that was incorrect.

Nicola:

Look at the take up reel sensor. It would be located after the pinch roller. It is the last object that the tape passes by on its way to the takeup reel and has 2 pink wires going to it. It is made to rotate and is secured by a spring. The post that holds the spring has popped off. Remove any residue left from this post and secure the spring directly to the metal chassis.

There are people on this page that devote their lives to Betamax. If I have been too vague let them come in and help you. It's not a major problem, don't let anyone make it a big deal.

All the best....via con dios.

Hi all,I'm Nicola and I've a Betamax Sony sl-f30 with problem.I don't speak very good english but i've a video for you.Please,see here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9P0yXdqsbc

what happening? I'd like to repair my Betamax..Thank you very very much!

Chris - where are you located?

Bill

Hi, Do you have an old VTR that isn't behaving, spending alot of time getting know where trying to make it work, 10 hours later still haven't got anwhere. Well this is when I can help.We offer a service were we will take alook at your VTR, tell you what the problem is and how to fix it for free, Then if you want us to fix it we will.

We have top old school engineers that dont let screen unturned. You will get back a fully operational machine with a three month warranty, and if you want it a direct telephone support servie should you have a problem during a job so no time is lossed.

If you would like to know more or are lookin for a particular part or machine please call Blue Elephant Media and ask for Chris on 07931 902556 or [email protected]

We look forward to hearing from you

Kind RegardsChris

There is now an ALLSOP3 tape cleaner on ebay for V2000 looks ok cheap too if any V2000 collector is interested. Item number: 120517508443 Does anyone here have a working remote for a VR2080 VCR for sale thanks.

I got a unit (a switch that gives wrong parameter to Stepper driver or "logic unit" as you see rusty switch will give 010101010 not 1111111 so could that be the prob). Weak H.E sensor could also be the bottleneck, it's like loosing chaching...//other problem is that the "L.U" think that there's no Tape inserted so sometimes this can cause the tape stuck in the drawer or tape is not fully winding (wrinkle tape).

I could be wrong about this....think should read the manual again.Cheers,Boby.

Boby,

I have seen quite a few SLHF100 reel motors with one shorted out winding due to the rotating magnet of the drive wheel wearing through the insulation and rubbing adjacent winding copper together thus shorting out a turn. The boards tend to be not perfectly flat meaning one wear through coil first. Only fix is replace the motor board and pack the bearing with a small shim of nylon as suggested on palsite. The sensing for the motor drive is by hall effect sensors which drive the switching IC.

regards Noel

PS: if just the plastic coupler then it's very easy tho..

Re: weak reel-torque, yes that the problem but what's the cause?...

to Noel: is there any sensing unit inside the Stepper circuitry or any other mod that's got to do with this problem...?

Pretty interesting Thread...for me at least..

Regards,Boby.

Stuart,

Firstly - Happy New Year!

Re your 950 tape spooling problem, you might want to also check that the tape cassettes height in the carriage is not such as to supply excess tension to the spools in their case. The plastic slides of 950s can be damaged in transit which is why they have the extra three screws to be fitted when posting or moving them.

If there is friction between the spools and the cassette case then that works against the reel motors action. By manually pressing the right switches you can trick the machine into loading with no cassette and then you can also check how much rewind torque the supply wheel is producing during the unload cycle.

If the plastic slides are cracked/broken then they will need repair or replacement.

regards Noel

yes, sorry, it's my error. And yes, I know the difference. Thanks.

Milos - betamax or betacam? You dont know the difference? I give you a clue - cam max... see the difference?

Hi, I have a Betacam SP BVW-60. I cleaned up recently and now I have a message about Error-90.Does anyone know what's the problem? I can not put a tape inside the Betacam and nothing work.Many thank!

Stuart, try to clean the tape presence switch. It'll help most.

Cheers,Boby.

Betadude - Connectors made to the SCART standard and sometimes called "Euroconnectors" use a rectangular plug and socket containing up to 19 connectors. They have (fairly) standardised pinouts to carry composite video, S-video and RGB video plus sound. Unfortunately, as well as being sold fully wired so they can carry everything in both directions, they also come part wired in various combinations,also in only and out only. Some are switchable.

The format was a great idea, but unfortunately it wasn't well implemented, the cables are very thick and unwieldy, and many SCART plugs fall out if you breathe near them. If they get to only six or seven percent squint you can start to lose functions. You can now get high quality and even locking SCARTS but these are usually VERY expensive.

The format is European and didn't really catch on either in the US or Japan, but the Japanese had to fit it to their VHS units and to most of their TV sets for the European market, and it is used in all satellite and digital terrestrial equipment sold here. There was only ever one Sony Beta sold in Europe fitted with a SCART, the SLHF950, which roughly corresponds to your 750. I would be surprised if your machine had a SCART socket. Your TV - I don't know. ALL TVs sold in Europe have at least one SCART socket, often two or three.

It's very easy to identify. The sockets are large, roughly rectangular, dark in colour and usually mounted flush with the surface. If they aren't visible on both the Beta and your TV, then SCART will be no good for your purpose. Also I imagine that SCART leads might be more difficult for you to find than here in Europe. SCART to RCA plug cables in various combinations are readily available here, but I again I would be sceptical about your finding them in the US.

You may well have to fall back on RCA cables (we call them "phonos" here). I'd be surprised if there isn't a video socket on your TV. The convention is to use yellow for a video socket. Many early Betas had locking "BNC" sockets for video, and if yours has one - it sticks out like a TV aerial socket and has a locking collar - you might be able to get a phono to BNC adaptor, if not you would need a lead with phono on one end and BNC on the other.

Hope some of this is helpful.

Bill

Hi all. Wish you all a happy new year! I require opinions on a hf950 problem, the machine is not fully winding tape back into cassette after eject, but no issue with shutting down in play and record. Is it lack of reel torque or something different?

Happy new day dear betamax(er), found this lil information:

http://translate.google.co.id/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.volker-schauff.de%2Ftechblog%2Findex.php%3F%2Fcategories%2F12-Videokassette%2C-12-Band-Betamax&sl=de&tl=en

good for reference ain't...Cheers,Boby.

Hello~ I recently bought a 1980 Sony Betamax slo-383 (USA unit (?)....I can get the audio to play great on the tv, but I have no idea how to hook the slo-383 up to a modern TV set with the RCA cables. I heard something about a "scart cable" to use to watch the slo-383 on a tv set. Is this correct? Where would I get a "scart cable" for a Betamax slo-383? I thank everyone here and I hope you can help me.

Hi everyone, I'am looking for a SS-61 board out of a NTSC SL-HF-750 beta.I have one that has a bad IC and Sony no longer offers it.If anyone out there has a 750 they're parting out let me know.Thanks so muchCharlie

I have a VO 9800P in great condition for sale and a couple of Original Service Manuals for the folowing models. VO5630 & VO5850P

Hey Roderick. Haven't forgotten about youSorry I didnt send the machine yet, I will be doing so in January, most likely late janWill pack it really well. even if the machine is not repairable, it would make a nice display model in your collection. hopefully though, you can make one great machine out of two or three machines

Found a collection of V2000 cassettes on ebay you dont see many of these now. heres the item number if anyone is interested : Item number: 120508500978

Hi Noel,

Just belatedly to say good on ye re games, breath of fresh air. I own precisely three, all of which were bundled with a computer or a disk drive. I did try playing one of them, but got P****d off after about ten minutes. I personally think games are a misuse of technology, but I recognise it might be difficult to convince the rest of the world!

All the best,Bill

Thanks, Alan. You'd think that it would make commercial sense for PAL and NTSC stuff to be as standardised as possible, but then it is Sony we're talking about! As we all know, if Sony had made the right commercial decisions back in the late 70s and early 80s, nobody would have even heard of VHS.

Bill

Whilst surfing the net I came across your site. Having bought the contents of the stores of PSL, an audio/visual hire company I have a number of items that might be of interest to you.For instance a head assembly Sony DBH-42AR A-8260-978-A; Sony part DZR-41-R 8-848-579-03; Sony part DBR-40BR A-8260-975-B; Sony part DBR-40R A-8260-975-A.All seem to be new and some are in sealed boxes.Besides these there are a multitude of other bits and pieces, I can e-mail a list if anyone is interested.They are of no use to me and I will be happy to take any offers.

Hi James

Try visionaids.co.uk ,if they can't help there won't be many that can now.Failing that an internet search always comes up trumps for most elusive items.Good luck.................Kevin

I bought two boxed and packaged betamaxes one is the wood effect look Toshiba V-54708 which looked pristine till i tried it the belts have turned to jelly, well two of them, where can I get some? anyone.Your help'd be appreciated.In the UK.

I just got a cable(TV) hook-up to my AV system, glad to have NTSC and PAL system satelitte outtage so I can warm my HF1000D machine(Japanese Betamax). Guess a Merry X'mas(tho it's too late) and a happy nu year to all Palsite facebookers eh...

God bless (+)Cheers,Boby.

Yes indeed, A very good year for me, I wish all of you the best for 2010 which will be the thirtieth anniversary of my Video Collecting hobby which began all the way back in February of 1980 when we purchased our very first machine which we still own today.A national NV100 dual deck portable unit with video camera

I didnt begin my betamax adventures until the mid 1990's

hi Craig:

My sentiments exactly.All the VERY BEST to Palsite contributors and general Betamax supporters and users.Here's looking forward to another great and interesting year.

..........Kevin

To all Palsite posters, old and new: Merry Xmas to you all, and a Beta New Year, Woo Hoo!Best Wishes,Craig.

To Bill

The 750 is the US equilvelent to the 950. I do not think many iof any of the circuits are the samealthough the chasis is. Most of it will have to do will the differences between NTSC to PAL that the circuits need and also the 750 is only designed to work on 110-20 volts where as the 950 can do multiple voltages. I have both. The 750 does not have video insert dubbing and has 3 rca jacks as another output where the 950 has the euro connector.

Hi everyone.I have some colour problems in a Sanyo VTC 5150. On the image there are coloured orizontal bars. The colour suddendly disappears for a few swconds. When receiving a no signal TV channel, the noise ("snow") is coloured instad of being black and white. Can anyone help me?Thanks.

This could probably transform those languange,

http://translate.google.co.id/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sps-wagner.de%2Fprojekte.html

Don't be so suppised if you see a wierd English...Cheers,Boby

Thanks, Roderick

Got to the site. Thankfully, I have a German dictionary which I bought by mistake in Paris some years ago!

Bill

Boby and Noel and Kevin - any idea when the 950 in any of its system incarnations ceased production? My PAL I and B/G VHF and UHF example of German origin dates from 1988 or 89, and I would be interested to know of any updates and enhancements after that time. I remember seeing one around 1992 in the Tottenham Court Road - priced at nearly £ 800 ! (for those not in the UK, the Tottenham Court Road in London is the premier place in the country for audio, video, computers and ancillaries. If you can't get it there it probably doesn't exist. Its sales are wonderful, and you can often haggle. I once got £20 off a £100 item by starting to walk out of the store after asking their price).

To return to topic - as I understand it the NTSC 750 is the American equivalent of the 950. Just how equivalent? Does it have identical qualities down to circuit boards and tape mechanicals?

Regards,Bill

Bill, here is the link to the Wagner website:http://www.sps-wagner.de/projekte.html

Hi guys, what a G'day to see ya all;

I wonder what HF950 Mark II could do on that TV casts differences..(Mono, Nicam, PAL B/G)Looks like 950MK2 is the latest generation of 950. ( expected to be most compatible on TV carier,hopefully )Wish could see those differences...

Cheers,Boby.

Hi Noel,

I have a couple of SCART through composite and audio breakout adapters which are in/out switchable. One of those might do the trick while still cutting down on my spaghetti. I'll let you know the results.

The tuner that my 950 uses for UK PAL I is certainly mono. I don't know about whatever it uses for PAL B/G on VHF and on the slightly different UHF channels in the rest of Europe and of course it's impossible to test without getting an actual signal, and these days I'm very lucky to get Belgium, let alone Germany. I suspect it will be mono, but on the other hand my Loewe TV dated from 1988 and it did have German stereo as well as NICAM. Can you think of any way I could test? I'm deterred from doing too much experimenting, because if you switch to Euro VHF and UHF you lose all stored PAL I channel information.

Have I understood right about your system? As I understand it you use PAL B/G sound carrier separation, your own special VHF, and and the European UHF channel frequencies, but with German-style stereo, not NICAM. Put me right if I've got it wrong! Do you have a terrestrial analogue switch-off schedule? I think VHF has been abandoned throughout Europe - Belgium was the last outpost - which is extremely annoying as all my best DX was on VHF. I don't think I could have managed Russia on UHF!

Haven't had any luck with Die Wagner - that gets you umpteen references to Hitler's favourite composer (and round about my least favourite) and I can't find anything else.

All the best,Bill

Just found some V2000 Cassettes on Ebay if anyone is interested. Item number: 120507004503 Does anyone out there have a fully working V2000 player they want to sell ?

Patrick: I'm interested...please send me some details, ie. artists, etc.Cheers, Craig.

Hello,

I recently came into owning about 200 umatic tapes of music done in the 80's and 90's. Some of these appear to be original studio work for some major artists. Is there a market for these anywhere? Would somebody want these?

Thanks

patrick

Scott, why would you want to buy a Betamax from the USA to use in Australia?There are a few problems: First the video format, USA recorders are NTSC where Australia uses PAL. A USA machine runs on 110V where Australia is 240V. And shipping will be very expensive. Have a look on eBay and you'll find many Betamax recorders for sale in Australia. Unless you really want that specific model.

I'm thinking of buying a Betamax VCR "Toshiba V-M410" Beta video recorder. Because I want to purchase it from the untited states, I'm wondering if will plug in and work in Australia? Any idea's?

Bill,

Sorry for the delay, I have been a bit busy lately and not checking the chat page. In the service manual it shows the Scart bridged to the BNC/RCA connections which means you get loading problems if you connect to both. Double termination of the video output leads to a lower than 1Volt video output which affects the luminance particularly unless the receiving device has AGC. Should use one AV input or the other.

Since Sony made an SLHF950 UB version I expect the only used a mono tuner and in any event your sound carrier frequency in UK is different from memory. The source of grief for your country folk moving to Australia and bringing their nice new Pal TVs with them back in the 70's.

I don't know if the SLHF950 SVHS output modifications are still on that German website but I really should mod a machine one day because the new high resolution projectors really would display that difference.

On the downside, since i switched from a high end sony crt projector to an Epson TW4000 I have found that the downside is audio playing before the picture due to picture processing delays which is really annoying. I am therefore building a digital audio delay circuit with 2 ICs for stereo, to compensate. I wonder whether others are having the same problems.

Grrrrrr, new technology trade-offs. At least I am not into video games or on-line games or the delay would make the projector useless.

cheers Noel

Chris,

Good luck with changing over the SS11 boards it is a really large task but take a look at the two boards before you do so because if the serial numbers on your Sony C9 machines are very far apart you will find the board design has been modified so it may or may not work. Some have a "daughter board hanging off them toward the LHS back edge near the screened power switching module. The can also have a brown wire soldered across to a board above????

cheers Noel

To steve Jacober

If you have not found anyone to look at your VCR there is a shop in central Illinois that will work on them. Economy Service in Peoria you can give them a bell at 309 691-8012

Noel - Thank you for taking the time to help me out here - sound like there is definitely a problem with the back tension circuit. I dont have a gauge sadly, however I do have another old faulty C9 so I will look into making one good one out of two. I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks again!

Chris.

Hi AllI have just found an old Sony SLC9AS Beta Video, I am trying to get it going but having trouble getting it to take up the tape. It fires up ok but will not let me insert the tape and the eject light is flashing, any ideas would be welcome.Cheersjohn

Hi, Noel,

That's very, very interesting. Perhaps it's indeed an undocumented feature as far as the user manual - rather than the serious service manual -is concerned. The specs on this site may well have been taken from the user manual and just perpetuated the wrong information. I just bought a pair of UHF headphones and the user manual contradicts itself absolutely and massively within only three pages!

I'm going to check my 950. If it does work as you say I'll be delighted, as I will be able to get rid of a squashed up mess of SCART to phono and BNC cabling behind one chunk of my gear. If it by any chance DOESN'T work in my example of its Euro version perhaps due to some daft Sony marketing decision about what features they thought were needed in different markets, what do you think about jumpering from the phonos and BNCs to the SCART socket? Any pitfalls?

Despite its German origins I don't think my 950 has a German-style FM Planar audio facility, and of course it was too early for NICAM. I occasionally got Germany in my TVDX days, and my late lamented wonderful Loewe did have a Planar tuner. I managed to get WDR and ZDF and a couple of other networks. I once got an American film in English on one channel and dubbed into German on the other! I'll try to check it, but the acid test would be on a German signal, and the ionosphere has not been very kind to me for a long time. My present LG LCD TV just might have a Planar tuner, Germany is in its setup list.

The S-video idea is also very interesting. I've always thought it very stupid that Super Beta shifts the signal upwards, processes it and then just bungs it back down again.

All the best,

Bill

Hi Brian:

If you look at the list to the left top of this page, you'll see a chatpage under Umatic, that's where you'll need to post to get help for that particular system.Good luck...................

....Kevin

Hi everyone. I'm new to the site. I have just been given a Umatic 9600 SP. It looks in immaculate condition and I need to transfer a number of old Umatics to digital. When I play a tape, I get what looks like a half picture on the monitor. I can make out the image but it feels like a sync problem of some sort. Cleaned the heads as described in an online manual but the problem persists. I know it's difficult without seeing pictures but anyone got any ideas? Anyone a Umatic owner in Surrey?

Thanks Alot

hi , everyone , i have a sony betamax sl 810 d vcr and there is a tape stuck in the machine, my best recollection is the capstan circuit board ( i think it ties everything together stop ,play rewind , eject ,,etc.). when i press eject the machine starts to wind and when i try to stop it keeps going , same with forward or reverse wind, any ideas ?

Bill,

Australia used the same stereo two carrier broadcast sound system as the Germans and so the SLHF950ES works fine here. We have VHF low/HI and UHF bands but of course thigs are going toward digital now. The Australian variations were that we originally used a VHF channel 0 and channel 5A (before FM radio was introduced) so the tuners required some modifications in Australia to cover the extra range. The TV outputs originally VHF 0 & 1 were moved to 3 & 4 which is commonly seen on the later Sanyo Australian versions but Sony just went for UHF 30 to 39 tunable TV o/p.

As far as the Scart connections go I just checked the SLHF950 service manual block diagram (which covers the AEP, E and UK versions) on page 64 and it shows the Euro connector with both AV inputs and outputs. For your interest is or was a german article on modifying the SLHF950 to give an S-video output and it used the scart modified to give that output. see Die Wagners betamax site. It still shows the resulting video frequency response without the chroma beat patterns.

regards Noel

Hi,does anyone know the part number for a sanyo VTC 5000 head disc

Hi All. anyone intrested in buying a couple of service manuals sony SL-F3OE/UB/EC plus a sanyo vtc 5150 service manual.

Hi all. does anyone know what it means when The cassettes is having servere jitter? and is it easy to fix

Hi, Noel,

Just an afterthought. As far as I know you use PAL B/G in Australia rather than the UK PAL I. My particular 950 is a German import and is switchable from PAL I to PAL B/G and the slightly different Euro UHF channels, also to VHF, which is largely academic as I think even Belgium have abandoned VHF by now. I can no longer get any of their VHF channels when DXing, and Italy and Spain on VHF are long gone. The down side is if you go to the Euro configuration you lose all your PAL I channel settings.

Could it be that your 950s were configured differently? Obviously PAL I and the Euro channels would be of no use to you. Could they perhaps have had a sudden outbreak of sanity and included input at the SCART socket? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever, but that's never stopped Sony in the past!

All the best again,

Bill

Hi, Noel,

Nice to talk with you again. The specs for the 950 on this site do confirm that the SCART is supposed to be output only. When I first got the machine I hadn't bothered to check this and wondered what the hell was going on. VERY interested if you got it to work. Undocumented feature? Wouldn't be the first time with Sony.

I'm reorganising my physical setup at the moment, and I dearly wish the SCART WAS both ways, it would save me spaghetti and more bloody phonos. You just might have gathered that I'm not a great fan of phonos! If my 950 is definitely not connected, would it be safe to mod it by just jumpering the BNC and phono inputs across to the SCART socket, or would there be impedance problems?

All the best,

Bill

Chris H,

The SLC9 issues.

You should normally see some change to the picture and sound level when you vary back tension. To tell if the circuits working note that the lever that senses the tape tension is varying its position as you change RV001. As you say set it back at the original position. If you had a tape tension meter the back tension setting is 35 gram +/- 3gm.

Capstan speed setting of RV309 (on the SS-11 board) should be done using a CRO to monitor the waveform to get and equal on to off pulse with setting in normal play. The cheats way is to move the control in one direction until it loses lock then go on the other direction through the lock range to find when it loses control again and set the control in the middle of those two points. (One way goes to fast and the other too slow)

If this does not work it is possible you have a faulty capstan stepper motor where one of the coil fields is weak (shorted turn?) causing the capstan speed to vary though I have not proven this to be the case in any of the C9s I have repaired.

regards Noel (betaheaven.com)

Bill,

Interesting to read your comments about no input on the Scart connector because I have used a scart to scart lead between a Sony 777 VHS and a Sony SLHF950 plus the s- connector smart edit controls to do video transfers either VHS to Beta or Beta to VHS for many years.

To Mac 1 I suggest that the centre pin connection of your BNC and RCA inputs to the board have been broken through mechanical stress to the back of the unit at some time. This often happens when things are moved with the leads connected. You can resolder them to repair such faults and even add wires over the circuit board cracks in case they flex again having been weakened.

cheers Noel

Can anybody help me with a Sony SL-HFR70 that has tracking problems. The adjustments are maxed out and I need a little bit more to clean it up. Step-by-step directions or the name of a shop or person in my area would be welcomed. I live in Trenton, IL, about 35 miles east/southeast of St. Louis, MO. Thanks.

I am trying to help my son-in-law transfer some Betamax home movies to digital. I have done this before with my Mac and an ADS Pyro unit for VHS home movies without too much difficulty. He has given me the Sony SL-HFR70 unit that he spirited away from his parents home on the QT (the digitizing of the movies is a Christmas surprise for his parents). The Betamax is theirs and I hate to meddle with it too much but it looks like the tracking is off. I have noticed with the copying of analog tapes that if the ADS sees too much noise, as in poor tracking, that it will drop frames. So before we begin this project I really need to correct the tracking. There are two adjustment under the front cover for tracking. One is a knob and it has a lot of span to it. I can make the video totally disappear, make it monochrome or get it pretty close to acceptable within the range of the knob control adjustment. Then there are the two push buttons. They really don't seem to do much. I can barely see any change when I use them. As it is now I have the knob turned completely clockwise and I still need a bit more to clean it up good. Can a manual, internal adjustment be made to help me get the tracking I need to clean up the picture? I have a solid background in electronics and have a few electronic test pieces around. I realize the best thing to do is to take it to a shop, which I would do if I knew a reputable place in the area. I am in (Trenton) southwestern Illinois about 35 miles east/southeast of St. Louis, MO. If you think it is something I can perform I would appreciate some guidance, or I would appreciate the name of a good repair shop or person in my area. Please offer any advice you might have, I am open to suggestions and I need to get this thing up and humping pretty quick in order to get some kind of product for the son-in-law to give to his parents on Christmas. Thanks for your time.