To AMi:Before giving up on the power supply, you should try replacing all electrolytic capacitors in there. They're also very likely to fail after many years use, especially during a possible power surge. If that doesn't work, it is possible that something else is bad in there, but the most likely parts to fail in the power supplies of those days are the voltage regulator and electrolytic caps. Good luck!

Given that I'm not a big fan of the SL-5xxx chassis (the rubber loading ring driver tire is most annoyingly failure prone) I can't imagine liking an SL0-1400 very much unless the used a gear instead of a tire.

Also the SL-5200/SLO-1400 body styling is not to my taste... (picky picky)

I imagine that TV station kept a beta deck around either on the off chance someone brought in newsworthy footage on a betamax tape (like they'd taped an accident or fire on their Betamovie) or perhaps for archiving old news broadcasts/stories (which would make some degree of sense if all you bought at the station were betacam oxide tapes and wanted to relegate the multi-passed tapes to archive duty) on the cheap.

I‡m a owner of two Sony SL-C9E using for audio (DC to DC converter fault). Maybe other problems too. Can anybody give assistance by getting spareparts and repair in Euroupe/Germany. Thanks

Hey all! Does anyone here own an SLO-1400? Just wondering what anyone thinks of it. I received this from a friend who works as an engineer at a local indy TV station a few weeks back (thanks Steve!). God knows what they'd need a BETAMAX for (vs. Betacam)! Looks to me like it's the industrial version of the SL-5200 beta hifi but has a head-hour meter like betacam decks. It does a awesome job of recording IMO. If not a coincidence, I found the first one I've ever seen listed on eBay:http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1303262744

Anyone know where I could get some of the hard cases for Betamax tapes? I am looking for the type used by video rental stores.

Thanks.

eBay is one place to try. I've seen old lots of those plastic clamshell/library/amaray cases there several times. The video store kind are transparent but I've come across black & gray one's. Here's one auction w/ no picture, but sounds like gray cases of these type:http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1489941521

To Tim Absolute Beta http://www.videos.net/absolutebeta/ sells them for around 75¢ a piece.

Now for my question...

Does anybody know if the SL-HF 360 had a stereo tuner. I just got one and I don't think it's recording in stereo. It's no biggie since I use a modern stereo VHS VCR as a cable tuner (about all they're good for).

Where can I get my Beta tapes recorded on Vhs or dvd possible.Had old sanyo hi-fi beta machine but gave it to my sister and she threw it away when it stopped working grrrr. Please Help anyone!!!!!

I can see on a picture that the SL-HF360 bears the STEREOCAST mark which means it's got a stereo tuner. So I guess it should record in stereo.

Apart from the 5200 mentioned earlier, I think only the SL-2700 and 2710 are hi-fi without a stereo tuner.

Actually the SL-HF 300 and 500 are known non stereo Beta HiFis.

I checked My SL-HF 360 with a station I knew was a stereo broadcast station by tuning my VHS stereo VCR (routed through the 360's A/V in port) to the same station as the SL-HF 360 and flipping the input select on the 360 (the 360 was routed to my stereo TV's A/V in port). I could clearly detect stereo separation when the VHS machine was tuned so unless Ray Glasser knows better I think this was a low-end mono tunered unit.

It's a pretty decent unit despite having (probably) been damaged in shipping. It seems one of those loading ring posts was out of alignment (fixed) and a plastic guard thing that prevents the loading mechanism from moving without a tape being inserted was unseated and hanging low enough to get jammed preventing a tape from going in. (reseated)

Well at least I now have two working HiFis (Yay!) with near perfect tracking ability. Now I can save some money for an SL-HF 750 this time next year...

unless I find one 'released in the wild'...

Well, given that STEREOCAST mark and the year of make of this VCR, I still think it has a stereo tuner. There should be other obvious signs of this on the VCR, such as STEREO or SAP indicators and a AUTO STEREO switch underneath the flap where the channel adjustment controls are located.

Are you sure you weren't looking at a picture of an SL-HF 350 or other model? My SL-HF 360 has no SAP switch or Stereo indicator light and no hidden channel compartment - everything is adjusted up front.

Hello,

Olive´s link for absolutebeta doesn´t work. Is absolutebeta out of work?

Gerhard

hi i want an american friend which is female please e-mail me love Will xxxxxx

Sanyo Betacord BII/III, PC heads. Free for the price of shipping and boxing. Yes, it works. I live in Virginia.

To Will:This is not a dating channel! This is a chat page about Betamax, the video home system from the 80´s!Maybe we should make an banner for this??!!Anyway my SL-C9E is running great into to the new year! Its almost 20 years old! :-)And its my "workhorse" i record every day on it! And play it back of course!Someone have tried a video tape changer on this unit? Or have one?

Best Regards

Emil JensenFrom Denmark

That Absolute Beta link is now at http://videos.net/betamax/ sorry for the inconvenience, I hadn't checked out the site for a while...

Here's a link I found to a Brasilian beta page...

http://www.museunostalgia.hpg.ig.com.br/eletro-betamax-01.html

Here's yet another link to a Betasite from 'the mother country' , Japan...

http://www.betamax.to

You'll want to filter this though the Babelfish but there are some kick@$$ Japanese Beta pix loaded here...

Sony definately reserved the 'good stuff' for the domestic market...

Emil, I have 2 beta changers for the c9 in my collection, one I bought second hand and one which is still new in the box (used once just to check, also a c7 changer like this too). I found the one I bought second hand to be better, it was missing the bracket so I stuck it on with velcro. They are clumsy things if they get slightly out of whack they simply dont work at all, grinding away furiously. Your better of with another type of betastack, I have a stack of 5 hifi's that do a better job ;)

You will find the AG-90 for the C9 here, under accessories.http://users.bigpond.com/jsparkin/

I hope this is of some help!

PS: has anybody ever bought a set of PAL BetaHiFi heads and they have been faulty from the factory?

Please, where I can buy vhs video-head for grundig vs-22 stereo?In Germany , if it is possible.

To Mrs. Choy: Please Email if the Sanyo is still available.Thank You

I have a Sanyo BetaHiFi(USA), recently refurbished, which plays my collection of tapes fine. Here at work, we have several Beta tapes which contain public service announcements as well as tapes of several gala events we have had in recent years - most recently in 2000. I believe these events were taped professionally - but these tapes will not play in my Sanyo. Is there a format difference I am not aware of? What type of Beta player would I need to view. Thanks for your help in advance.

To Bob: Those PSA tapes at the office were most likely done in the Betacam format which is completely different from Betamax.For one thing a Betacam 30 minute tape would run for 3 hours at the Betamax BII speed. Betacam is a componant (RGB) format - Betamax is a composite format. Betacam is also very expensive - in the multi-thousand dollar range, even used units. Any video production or duplication service (or TV station) ought to be able to transfer the tapes to a viewable format assuming you can't find or rent a Betacam deck for yourself.

To Olive:

I kicked that Japanese beta site thru Babelfish. Geez, what a mouthwatering collection of pix on there! I've always heard that many of their 'domestic' models was far superior to their American cousins. Of particular interest to me was the SL-200CD. I've heard that Sony still sells that one. If I could only get me one.... ;)

Too bad nobody knows anybody in the armed services stationed in Japan looking to make a few bux on the side...

Have problem: Got a Sony SLHF300 from a flea market. Loads and plays but seems to be "dragging" the tapes. Like it's trying to play at the proper speed, but not quite making it. The picture & stereo sound seem to fluctuate - picture is like black & white washed over with snow and a "color spectrum." The mono sound seems to waver a bit -- like a record with bad wow & flutter. Best I can describe what it is doing. I took the cover off and see on the top circuit board a little dial near the tuner controls marked "forward torque." It's a little knob-thing with a screwdriver hole. Does that have anything to do with the tape speed? I'd try moving it up or down a bit, but thought I'd ask for suggestions before I mess with it.

to Renton: before you start messing with the FWD Torque or any other controls make sure you've cleaned the tape path as well as the capstan and pinch roller first.

The bulk of the tape transport controls are on a board underneath the drive mechanism by the way.

Make sure you mark any potentiometer you adjust so you can put it back where you found it if you see no improvement in the picture.

I have completely cleaned the tape path. What exactly does the forward torque control adjust? By it's name, I thought maybe something to do with the tape playback.

I recently acquired "Terminator", on Beta of course, and am a bit disapointed to find that it is not in Stereo. Does anybody have any idea if this Beta version ever came in stereo?? Chances are I probably got an early version of this movie, and am hoping to acquire a stereo version if possible. It's bad enough that it ain't in SuperBeta. Later. Pepse.

Renton: Fwd torque control adjusts the torque of the take up reel therefore the tension of the tape between the capstan and the take up. So I don't think the problem lies there. What controls the exact speed of the tape is the capstan so you should be on the look for a very badly used pinch roller of a problem with the capstan motor.

The Terminator? My copy of this film is in beta hifi. It's on Thorn EMI Video. Are you in PAL or NTSC land? If latter, you should able to find one. I got a duplicate copy about a month ago from a prerecorded lot purchase off eBay, but resold it. And BTW, have they ever made any prerecorded Superbeta tapes (other than like, say, the Sony demo tapes or whatever)? I've never seen any.

There is not such thing as The Terminator in stereo. The original soundtrack recorded with The Terminator was always in mono. I believe that was some trickery that was done much later to include a surround sountrack for DVD but of course this never found its way on to either Beta or the other format.

Madness, I agree with you and Olive; those are some delicious looking Betas that the Japanese have for themselves. I especially like the ED Betas that the Japanese get to play with that were never released here, as well as a PCM hi-band Beta hi-fi and a SL-HF900 MkII model I have never heard of before. I do get to enjoy a little bit of that fun, though, as I recently acquired a domestic Japanese SL-HF505 for my collection (equivalent to our SL-HF550); now if only I can locate a step-down transformer for that deck...Howard

To Howard: If you can't locate a 100 V transformer you can always connect one or more transformers to "buck" the 120 V line. For example a 6 volt and a 12 v transformer rated at 1 Amp. Any electronics tech could do it for you.

does anybody out there no where i can geta Sanyo Beta machine repaired, the unit is in greatshape, no picture!Thanks!

Madness, yea, I'm in the US, and this tape is a Thorn EMI Video. On the side at the top it has Betamax and a No. TXA 2535. It is in a clamshell case. There is a red circle on the front that says "For sale at a reduced price. Ask for details" And of course Arnie with shades and a gun. Yea, I know nothing came in SuperBeta, it's sorta my joke with any movie or whatever that I didn't record. I have an SL-HF750 and had an SL-HF400 before that and am really hooked on SuperBeta; so at times it is kinda hard to get used to watching movies or digging into my archives to watch standard Beta stuff. Later. Pepse.

Hi! I sell a SL-3000UB (PAL) mobile recorder, the ac power adaptor AC-345C is also included, both work well. If someone is interested in this oldies send me a email. Please remember I'm living in germany, because of the transport costs.

To Dave Hadaway: Thanks for the info. Not being an a/v technical guy, I'm not sure how to make this "bucking" work, but I will certainly check with my local VCR repair guy to see if he can make the necessary modifications. Thanks. Howard

Howard: I've seen a project for one of those 110/120 --> 100V stepdown transformers on the minidisk forums in the past. It required use of (I think) a 24V doorbell transformer wired in a certain way. I believe that's what David Hadaway was talking about -- "bucking the line."

As for the HF505 itself, from that website Olive posted, looks to me like the HF550 is it's American cousin (even the remote except for the button captions [Japanese kanji?]).

Pepse: My Terminator is the same type of box w/ # TXA 2535. But also noticing that the tape & box are copyrighted 1984 (box, rear/tape label: "© MCMLXXXIV Cinema 84,") beta hifi was still sorta new-fangled, so maybe an early batch was done in mono? Just guessing that it was made in '84 or so.

Double-checking this again, I guess The Terminator was recorded in hifi-mono. I mistakingly figured "mono" meant the linear track. Sorry about that.

Hi Beta friends!I am a 33 year old guy from Portugal who used to have back in 82-84 (in my parents home) one SL-C7, one SL-C9, one Betamovie BMC100 and one SL-HF100. My mom still keeps the HF100 bu the rest of the equipment is gone! I would like to buy one SL-C9 and one Betamovie BMC100 to remind me of my teenage years... Does anybody have any of them available? Does anybody know where I can find any of these items? Thank you! Ricardo

is there any sexy girls out there who are aged 14-16, if yes pls reply to this message.

Are there any girls out there aged 14-16, if yes pls reply to this message.

DO ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAPPEN TO THE OLD TV SHOW TITLED "SAVANNAH".

For Sale. Sony Superbetamax (PAL) SLHF950 (Top of the range). London Area. Offers

Hi, I have a sony SL-800ME video recorder. Would someone please tell where I can buy Betamax video cassettes? I live in London and the major stores don't seem to know much about Betamax. Brian.

Dazza, as Madness points out his copy is in Beta HI-FI mono. To me that would more than likely sound better than mono. Madness, it looks like our tapes and cases are pretty much identical, excepting that, I presume, yours might state somewhere on the box or tape that it is in Beta HI-FI mono? Or does the Beta HI-FI lite come on when viewing. Later. Pepse.

hi peeps - just a quick question. i grabbed a toshiba toploading betamax player from a car boot earlier this year, and my problem is simply inserting tapes. If a tape is in and i switch on the power, the player spits it back out again, and if the power is on and i try and insert a tape i cant shut the door?!! thanx for any tips.

Hello to the UK! I have a Sony SLP-305 that I would like to sell but I can not find a reference price or even another SLP machine for that matter. Is this a rare or common unit?

Val

Hi Val. The SLP-305 came out around the early '80s ('81 or '82?). They were professional machines designed and manufactured for use by schools and institutions for playback of training, instructional, presentation, or other professional videos. They are currently valued by Beta fans and collectors because they play back tapes recorded at all three NTSC speeds (BI, BII, and BIII), whereas the earlier SLP-300 and SLP-303 models played back tapes recorded at BI speed only. SLP-305s crop up occasionally on ebay, and there have been wild variances in prices paid on ebay for them. I purchased a working SLP-305 back in July of 2000 for only ten dollars. Another 305 went for around 45 dollars a few months back. Just three weeks ago, a 305 on ebay went for around 167 dollars! I guess it largely depends on who wants that particular model at that particular moment. Good luck in selling your SLP-305. Howard

Pepse: Nowhere on the box does it mention hifi-mono. The beta-hifi light does come on when I play the tape.

To Brian in London: From what I've seen from previous postings the best place too look in Britain seem to be the Sony Stores and even they often don't stock Beta tapes. If you can find a broadcast supply house they should have tonnes of Betacam oxide tapes for sale - a Betacam 30 min = 3 hours in Betamax. Don't get SP tapes as the record plug is in a different place and will be spat out should you try to use them (assuming your Beta has the 'record protection feature').

Hello again to the UK!

Tonight I have listed a total of 63 almost new in mint condition Beta format Movies on ebay in groups of 10 (+3) Take a look! Seller name [email protected]

Just thought I'd mention that I'd taken over the old Betamax Videographer chat page if anyone is interested in having another place to discuss Beta stuff. The Address is...

http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/thea7etamaxvideographer

i have an old wedding video of my parents on beta,can anyone help on how to convert it to vhs or dvd..?

Madness, ya know, my thing was that I (foolishly) believed what a person on the old Beta Informer stated that all Beta movies were recorded in HI-FI, wheather it be HIFI mono or other forms of Stereo. And since that was written a couple years ago I have acquired 3 Beta movies that are in mono: Terminator, Network and some weird 80's version of a pirate movie. Ya see other than those 3 movies everything else in factory Beta movies of mine are HIFI or similar. Now today went to the big city and to a Goodwill store and they have about 15 Beta movies there. Of the ones I looked at they were apperently in mono as Beta HIFI is not mentioned. The Superman movie copywrite 1978 (the box is bigger than a Dizzy Wally box), the 2 tape Bridge on the River Kwai, copywrite '82, and Sophies choice, copywrite '82. And there were some others I don't recall the titles but I didn't notice any type of "HIFI" on the boxes. I will probably go back when I find out when their yellow tagged items are 50% off. They were from $1.99 to $4.99, but also, do to X-mas I didn't have the spare change this time. Later. Pepse.

Many apologies for the slightly not-betamax related post, but I'm desperately looking for a Dynatron CTV1 / CTV2 or similar colour TV from 1968 / 1969. It's a huge dual-standard monster which works on 405 or 625 lines. See http://www.oldtechnology.net/colour.html for a Pye version of the set. It doesn't look the same, but it does have the same chassis and controls. Top money paid for the right set.

Many thanks.

Mikey.

mobile:07796 930429. http://www.tvmuseum.co.uk http://www.oldtechnology.net mailto:[email protected]

I have a Mono Beta print of 'Saturday Night Fever' in my scantling collection of packaged Beta Movies. You have to remember that Beta HiFi didn't come out till around '83-'84 so as a consequence there's bound to be several years worth of titles in mono. As for 'The Terminator' people forget that the first movie was a fairly low budget enterprise and most likely wouldn'tve had the THX Dolby Surround we're used to nowadays (if it had even been invented).

Speaking of which I especially remember seeing that in the theaters with a friend (because the friend was ill with the flu at the time more than anything else).

I wrote my e-mail address incorrectly last time I posted a request message. My request is - would somebody be so kind and tell me where I may perchase Betamax video tapes please?

Tony, I had my Sanyo BetaHiFi repaired at a local electronics store 2 years ago - my unit would not rewind. This shop also sells refurbished Beta units (as well as other electronics). I have not been in the shop for some time, but now that I have stumbled upon this site, I will stop in to see what they have. I am not a techie as many of the people posting here are, so I cannot vouch for the reliability of using a local repair shop, however my unit works great.

Does anyone know where I can buy a beta/vhs combo vcr, or at least what that type of device is called?

That type of device is called "nonexistent". It is a nice concept, and fairly practical for folks who have tapes in both formats, but as far as I know no such Beta/vhs combo VCR has ever been marketed. Howard

Pepse: I have a bunch of beta tapes that are actually in mono (linear track). Superman & Superman II (in the huge WB clamshell boxes), some early MCA titles that say "MCA Videocassette Inc." (i.e. Jaws, Jaws 2, Buck Rogers); some of the early CBS/Fox Video titles (i.e. Boys in the Band) & of course, most, if not all of my Magnetic Video titles.

Re: 100 volt operation. I found a 22 volt, 1.5 amp transformer that can be used to drop the 120 line to 98 volts, which is close enough. It will handle up to 150 watts of equipment. It is $3.95. It is part G6501, ( 800 )445-0697, min. order $10.If anyone's interested I will wire them up for immediate use (no chassis, just wiring) for $20 plus shipping. Reply to dbsystemsatattglobal.net

Hioke this is stupid but hoping for an answer, somebody was to sell my favo movie on tape but says that it is a VHS pal video and that should check or my vcr can play that. i have been looking all over the net, but i cant find what that pal thing would be or the qaulifaction my vcr should have to play it.could somebody help me PLEASE , just a little information is all i need

sorry about that.. my comp crashed...

Hello,

looking for an head hours meter. It is the mercury filled thing which is plugged on the front covers of the Sony SLO type machines.

Thanks Gerhard

Anyone out there know why my SL-F30 after a few hours stops running and all charachters in the display lights up.Upon power down and up ,it works again.

Sounds like psu or an IC deciding its time to expire.

Help!

OK let's go down the line here...

To Jacky: PAL (or SECAM or NTSC) is the TV broadcast sytem by which the tape you're looking at is recorded. If you live in the UK or most of Europe (except France) you most likely have a PAL TV set and VCR. If you live in the US, Canada, Japan or most of Latin America you most likely have NTSC equipment. France and her former colonies in Africa and Asia and parts of the Mideast and Eastern Europe use SECAM. Your instruction manual or the label on the back of the TV or VCR will probably tell you what system you're capable of using.

To David Haddaway: Assuming that the power supply in your Japanese VCR steps down to the same internal voltages as an Amaerican version why not take the transformer part out and replace it with an American one? That way you have a system that can work in the US. Or you could take a full power supply from an American beta with similar plug out and substitue. This is just a thought mind you with noidea if it's properly feasable.

I was also wondering if any of the armed forces that have overseas bases have a service that helps GIs and their families in adapting to living at overseas bases and would be able to point you to getting things like adaptersfor foreign products.

To Dathai: I can think of a few things offhand, like overheating which if you aren't properly ventilating the VCR could be solved by putting the unit in a place that will keep it running cool, might be all that's needed. Otherwise it may need a heat sensitive item replaced. There might also be a problem with grounding that builds up during operation. This PALSite has several reference pages you might want to check out but I don't think it's an IC chip failure, maybe a capaciter's dried up and if you can find the culprit it's only a matter of replacing the li'l bugger.

Sony c20 new heads offers..

Just built myself an HVC camera adapter so I can hook it directly to one of my HiFi units. Posted instructions (and will put up some photos) at http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/thea7etamaxvideographer

Here's a little something I found, an ad for the EZ-Betas (media player format):

http://www.usatvads.com/Screening_Room/1984_TV_Ads/Sony_Betamax/sony_betamax.html

Got a bit of a laugh outta this.

I'm a AVID fanatical collector & dealer in all things video, any format anything at all.I have a collection of just short of 5'000 pre cert or rare vids mostly horror or plain rare stuff.I'm after more, I'll buy or trade I don't have a full list as such but I'm still after loads & have masses of duplicates 5-10 of each title.get back to me if you have anything to sell or swap, vhs, beta, ntsc secam the lot any formats.Any subject.I've about 2'000 beta's & thats not including 500 without covers.been collecting 15 yrs 29 now. Not doing bad, have just recieved notice of a dream shop in Liverpool a card shop, had a seperate shop upstairs that had been closed years full of beta tapes you should have seen my eyes.My mate had to recieve a kick off me to keep his trap shut when he saw such delights as Werewolf & the yeti, Women behind Bars & other rarities.ANYONE WANTING TO SELL THEIR GEAR GET IN TOUCH CHEERS.Also I have full sets of Video world from their very first issues but have another 2 collections with missing issues so any of those too Also Video the magazine & Home entertainment early issues wanted.Have all the original video posters but still need a few there too.GET BUZZIN VIDEO FANATICS I WANT ALL YOUR TAPES NO MATTER WHAT AS LONG AS THEIR NOT NEW CRAP IE AFTER 1986DONT MATTER IF ITS OF THE TELLY NEITHER I'LL HAVE EM ALL.CHEERSKEEP UP THE GREAT SITE.

Does anyone know of a website that lists the countries that predominantly use betamax or VHS videotape? I know certain countries have always been mostly betamax users - anybody have a comprehensive list - country by country? Thanx.

I own an unusual Sony SLHF 750 Beta VCR in need of repair. Any suggestions?

To Madness; cute link, I think I remember that ad.

Hi peeps looking for other MAD nice people toemail, LOVE FUN FUN FUN & FUN..!Can be serious as well..nlol BUT times we have tobe..;Thats life A we know it..!refer female..like any normal man..!But up for fun, looking for more even..!?Laters Peeps...Have a GOOD day...)JIM...)

Hola Amigos, I am looking for Betamax player to view my massive collection of home movies...wink, wink! Can someone hook me up or what?

I have a secret...I love Betamax. My boyfriend/partner and I are hoping we can snuggle up to a fine videology experiment on our bear-skin-rug. You must understand Betamax gets me off!!!!Please contact me @ 727.798.7146

Hope to hear from you soon. If you would like I will review any pictures you send as well!!!

To the three losers above. Piss off! This is not a meet market! There are plenty of Gay Chat rooms for you to bother.

Apart from the brilliant topics covered on this site, one of the oft-enjoyed comments that pop up now and again is the responses from Olive to the occasional 'intruders' who try to invade our territory (eg the sex chatters).

I couldn't really put things better myself and they do bring a smile to my face. Keep it up Olive! (no pun intended of course).

Barry.

To anyone who bid for the Sony HF950, I cannot Log on the original email address I gave and so have lost all your addresses. The highest bid stood at £210, so please email me again if it was you! but at the address above.

December 15,2001 3:10 est.

Olive I'm sorry not to get back to you for so long but I never could get the scanner to work right I'm still intent on sending you the info but I have to wait until an expert checks out the scanner! Meanwhile I saw your latest post and I also smiled! I hope everythings O.K. with you. P.S. I looked @ the website you took over and I was definitely impressed by both it AND your equipment.

Barry! Its good to see you posting on this site again!

Best Wishes to you both! Al Smith

Going up 4 messages: All I can say is, "oh geez!" I could just imagine them subjecting the Betamovie to that kind of thing, then playing it back in like 1/10 or 1/25 slo-mo on an SL-2500. :)

With that said, yes, they do make me laugh.

Would anyone be interested in a non-working Sony HF100P (duplicator model not the one with a TV tuner). I don't really have the time to look at the problem. Originally it broke when I moved house and the capstan motor would run and very high speed during play/rec throwing out a loop of tape since the reel motor couldn't keep up ! The last time I tried to use it I couldn't get any pics out of the video out connector. As the motor will run at normal speed when the machine is put on it's side but as soon as I try to lye the machine down normally it just goes mad and goes into standby. Is this machine worth anything or shall I just bin it.

I've also got a Sony C-9 that I may get rid of. It's works ok but when ejecting cassettes sometimes the tape gets jammed against the door. The pics also seem to have a lot of drop out on them and there a lot of bearding from the white highlights so I'm guessing the heads will need replacing.

And Finally - I've also got a Sanyo front loader to get rid of. I can't remember it's exactly model number but it uses rubber tape transport keys which have badly discoloured and the play key has a hole in it !! I think it works ok but I think the tuner is a bit iffy - it has trouble holding colour.

My 16 year-old Beta HIFI just crapped out, but my brother just gave me Sony Beta HiFi SL-HFR70, but it's not hifi without the 28 pin beta hifi processor. I am hoping someone can help me find one. The model numbers of the 2 connectors that will work are:HFP-100 or HFP -200. I've had beta hifi's since 1984. Since I have a huge collection of tapes recorded in hifi, I MUST HAVE THIS CONNECTOR! Please help. Thanks!

Jerry,There is a HFP-100 Hi-Fi adaptor currently up for bid on Ebay.Here is the URL:http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1310081257

Good luck

A betaboy's 12 days of Xmas:

The 1st day of Xmas,My lover gave to me...An HF2100 for free...

2nd day of Xmas,My lover gave to me...Two HF1000s....And an HF2100 for free....

3rd day of Xmas,My lover gave to me...Three HF900'sTwo HF 1000'sAnd an HF2100 for free...

And so on... ;)

A colonial out here in British Columbia (Canada), I have just returned to the Beta fold after finding a Toshiba 600C in working order at my nearby Salvation Army thrift store for $15. Cdn (7 pounds or less Sterling). Now I can revisit my small collection of Beta tapes and luxuriate. I was looking for used pre-recorded tapes and came across your site. It might be useful to know that blank tapes are on sale in the Radio Shack stores in North America (at least in Canada)

Madness, this betaboy would LOVE to receive a pristine SL-HF1000 and a mint SL-HF750 for Christmas; is anybody out there in Betaland in a giving mood this Christmas? :)

On the fifth day of X-mas my true love gave to me...

FIVE ED-CAMS!

Four packs of SP-tape

Three HF900's

Two HF 1000's

And an HF2100 for free...

(sings) "On the first day of Christmas.... my sole remaining Beta packed up!"

Hi Betagang! Just want to pass on my impressions of a Sony SuperBeta Hi-Fi VCR I recently purchased on ebay and just delivered last night. This model is the SL-HF650 (the North American version of the domestic Japanese SL-HF507) which came out in 1987. The SL-HF650 is a further refinement and update of the SL-HF450, which came out in 1986. The 650 seems to be a fairly rare model as compared to the very popular 450; I have seen less than a dozen 650s up for ebay auction during the last 18 months, as compared to hundreds of 450s up for bidding during the same period. The 650 has all the functions of the 450, including BIII 1/5 and 1/10 and single frame advance, as well as synchro edit and MTS Stereo tuner. The BIG improvement of the 650 over the 450 is that the 650 also does 1/5 and 1/10 and single frame advance in BII speed in addition to BIII speed, which REALLY helps during BII editing. The 650 has the same clear picture and resolution as the 450, and the same handling characteristics. All in all, I really like the Sony SL-HF650, and am happy to add this unit to my collection of Sony SuperBeta Hi-Fi VCRs. Howard

Grrrr! The SL-HF 450 I got today didn't even try to function. It looks as if it had taken a hard fall and was hastily slapped back together. The track for the loading ring had partially broken off and the tape loader was shredded. Well at least I got an extra RMT 124 remote in black to match the working SL-HF 360 I recently acquired...

A collection of SuperBeta HiFis huh Howard...

Wonder what's the response time of your local police...

If you have an alarm system, dogs, guns...

JUST KIDDING AROUND FOLKS

If you have any good pix of the unit and or your collection, why not post 'em at The Betamax Videographer http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/thea7etamaxvideographer? We're always looking for pix of rare Beta units.

Carlisle UK.

Is there any interest in OLD C7 's? we ( A school ) used them extensivly and still do ocasionaly. But we need to get rid of them now. Is anyone likly to be interested in them? I think we have 5 of them in various states of functionality. I would probably put them on ebay.

We also have 2 SLF1 's (both should work ok) a dead TTF1 3 HVC Cameras (working) 2 in cases (and 3 or 4 power units.)

Cheers.

Robin.

I have some old betamax tapes i want to convert to VCR anyone know how i can do that if i don't have a betamax machine? Can the vcr read the tape if i just transport it to a vcr tape cassett, or is the format incompatable?

To above the only thingh that can be used to transfer a Beta tape to a VHS machine is a Betamax VCR. You cannot put a beta tape in a VHS shell and expect it to play the tape. The formats are most definately incompatible. A Betamax head is 20% larger than a VHS head the tape speeds are about 20% faster than the equivelant VHS speeds (and thus the signal is 20% better than VHS) and the angles on which the individual strips of data are recorded are markedly different from Beta to VHS.

Also a Beta tape uses a different end sensor so if you spool beta tape into a VHS shell the VHS machine can't tell if it's at the end when you wind or rewind it, which can damamge the unit if you're not careful - vice versa if you spool a VHS tape onto a beta shell and don't change leader tapes to Beta's you could damage the Beta deck.