Berlin DE

Oh wow! I've known some people from Germany! Every one of them is very nice, too. I can add you to the list. I have a tape deck from Germany too, and it's good! Silly, aren't I... But, really, what's the voltage in Germany? What TV standard?

Sean.

Deutschland uses European PAL standard, which is slightly different than British PAL standards, if I understand correctly. I am not sure if a British PAL VCR is fully compatible with a continental European PAL VCR; I think the TV channel tuners may not be totally compatible between a British PAL and a continental European PAL VCR. I believe that continental Europe has not adopted NICAM stereo either, so there is an incompatability there, also. Of course, we also know that the French and the Eastern Europeans use SECAM, but that is another story...Howard

INdeed SECAM is a different story: "System Entirelly Contrary to the American Method" it's called... Sean.

I bought a Japanese Sony Betamax Hi Band SL-HF507 VCR and a HFP-100 HiFi processor from a flea market, but I can't get them to work. I live in the US, and I know about the slight voltage differences, but from what I know they should at least work.When I plug in the VCR to a wall outlet, the display turns on and displays everything. None of the buttons do anything and it will not accept tapes. It's probably dead, but if there is a common problem with these models I might be able to do something about it.The HiFi unit does absolutely nothing when I plug it in to a wall outlet and switch it on. Like the VCR, none of the buttons do anything. I noticed that there is a thick cord that comes out of the back. The plug on the end of it is square and has a 28 pins. There is no input like that on the back of the VCR, so what is it for?Also, what does Hi Band mean? I haven't seen any american Betas with Hiband.

Is there a definitive list of consumer beta tape OEM's? I've been able to ascertain the following from obvious physical clues or hunches, but would love to see some verification or any input you may have:Kodak = TDKMemorex = Sony (beta only; I think they made their own VHS tapes)Polaroid = SonyRCA = Maxell

luis:The adapter is for a line of VCRs that could use it to be HiFI, they weren't HIFi on their own. YOu have a HiFi VCR allready, it is useless unless you get one with an "R" in the model number. If you want to try the proper 100 VOlts I have an adapter I would more than gladly sell you, I will test it and for $40 it's yours. You will need one if you want to use one of the Japanese decks here, without it the set will eventually burn out and become useless. I have an SL-HF-900 with similar problems, Andy Sanchez told me its the regulator circuit, talk to him, as the reg' may have developed problems if someone ran it on 117VAC and not 100, as American VOltages run as high as 125 VAC and that's 25% over spec!

Sean.

Does anyone know if the Zenith VCRs used Sony remote codes?Thanks in advance!Sean

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1366681342Some nice movies with this one, little overpriced and I have some of the movies. Never Saw the CBS/FOX tapes in beta-sized slipcases, all my CBS-Fox tapes use VHS size slipcases with the inserts. Neat!

Sean

Micheal check Ray Glassers page on Beta boxes and shells

http://www.geocities.com/videoholic2000/Pix7.htm

and the next page...

http://www.geocities.com/videoholic2000/Pix8.htm

ay, here's a good question: Why was Linear Stereo sold in sreas NOT the USA but only a few US consumer Betas had Linear Stereo? Some units like the SL-2500 (I think Equivilant to the C-9) had linear stereo deliberately remtoved, as there counterparts had it, the SL-C9 and SLO-420 ! Say, who DID get that SLO-420 with the betastack?? I passed because I can get a 420 elsewhere.

Sean.

I wonder if it would be possible to 'FrankenBeta' an SL-2500 and SLO-420 so that you get a linear stereo 'SLO-2540' with a tuner and camera port...

I was thinking the same thing! But I was wondering if the 2500 simply had the linear stereo efeated in some way, such as my Vo-2600 Umatic, the VO-2610 would have had a skew (Back tension) knob, this has none, but on a board there are two lins labeled "Skew" So Sony has proven themselves to deliberately disbale features (Take the 900, for example) for other markets. So what we need now is someone with an SL-2500 to open it up and poke around inside. I am glad to see when working on my betas that Sony kept the hinge-out boards from the Umatics. My Umatics boards hinge out and even lock autiomatically in position making service by even the unexperienced like me easy!

Sean.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1365818804Can anyone FATHOM paying this much for a VHS machine? Even An SVHS? I paid $40 for mine because it looked nice!

Sean.

Bang & Olufsen has got to be one of the biggest scam the EU has purpetrated on you gullible Americans who seem to think everything's great if it's 'European'. It's all Asian guts with a snooty cover on in...

You see the ultra-snitty remote for that thing? I'm sure that's got to be the most poorly labeled counterintuative remote in the world...

because that's the Bang & Olufsen way...

Yes, Franny, all the B&O gear I see seems to be counterintuitive, and styled for visual appeal over functionality (This is my biggest complaint about the Imac, by the way, actually, "PC gamer" magazine (A US publication, I think they have a DE sister) actually got there hands on a G4 and LIKED it (Very easy to set up, etc.), and the Mac I used (And liked!) for video was a G4, but the Imac just seems to be "This looks nice, lets put a computer in it...) anyhow, the visual appeal of the Sonys follows function, and even the ones that compromise likt the SL-HF-2000/2100 do it well. Whilst all the B&O gear I see seems to be "Hmm, lets take a simple single-well cassette recorder and make it as confusing as possible! HOw do we do that, Hmm, lets put the whole thing in a Drawer for NO REASON!" and so on...

Sean.

Yep the Bangen Klangen VCR - For people who want their stuff to say 'I'm better than you proles...'

note that it uses BNC connectors for the video and most helpfully located on the other side of the VCR from the audio jacks - just in case you actually wanted a convenient way to hook up your Bangen Klangen VCR. No Wal-Mart A/V cables for this puppy. And WTF is that funky multipin patch cord for?

I am intimidated by your Eurotrash design..

THe silly multipin cord is for the connetion to other B&O Gear, which, I think you might need the Reciever to actually use some of there gear to its full extent! All I have to say, HOW much better can this be than a Sony or (Gasp) JVC? NOt that much better! I would sooner drop 1000 for an SL-HF-1000 than this piece of mislabeled junk!

Sean.

Hi Sean - I have a Zenith Video Action Control that I lucked upon on eBay to go with my Zenith VR 9800 portable (the remote looks just like the one depicted in the manual for the 9800), and, knowing that the VR9800 is a rebranded Sony, I tried the Zenith Remote on an SL-HF600 and it worked well. The specialty keys (Video Action a/k/a "Videola") did not work, of course, but play, ff, rew, tv/vtr, pause, ch up/dn and power all worked on the 600 and on my 300 as well.

Cool! THanks! I have in my sights Zenith SL-2500 clone. Very nice machine!

Sean.

Betalert! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1550034904

That 70s Porn Classic (and one of the few adult films Roger Ebert ever reviewed) Deep Throat - Starring Linda Lovelace...

Ya know ya want it...

Thank you, Franny. Glasser has a great collection of video boxes, that's for sure. I didn't notice that he gave any indication as to the manufacturers of various "second-tier" brand names (Kodak, RCA, etc.). I'm trying to find out who made all those beta tapes marketed under a myriad of names, everything from Polaroid to SKC, etc., because I know that there couldn't be more than a dozen or so places in the world where those tapes were made.

Olive:

By the way, I was the one who bought the SLO-420 with the loader. I survived the pointless snipe of "MrBetamax" which added another $25 to the final price. It looks like such a neat machine, and my senses told me, from the description, that it probably has a lot of life left in it. This is most excellent - now I can tape the Jerry Lewis telethon without having to come back home every three hours...

There's an "oops!" sorry!I have never seen those tape shells with no window! Any old porn films on beta will be un-trackable. Mine are! He he he! No, really they came with my SL-20, as copies of copies of copies, ad infinitum. Never really watched 'em cause they're ruined. you can tell a lot about people by how they label their video tapes of any kind. good people label them with the facotry labels, the write on the lines, or type, and put the date, etc on it. OK people use the labels but just srcawl down something. Worse people don't label the tape and just write on the box! I HATE that. the Worst people use any ond thing for labels, like tape. Masking tape makes a dusty residue after about 9 months and this is bad for electronics. The tapes all had multiple labels of masking tape or medical tape labels. with unreadable names, too! and all the contents were unwatchable or nonsensical, i.e. taped scrambled cable!

Sean.

Olive, did you get the pix I sent? I have no reply! seems you are watching this, though.Maybe you can now tell everyone what that charger is for.

Sean.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1366772548Someone might want this. It is a spare cable for an HVC camera

Sean.

No pix yet

Thanks for the info, Sean. I'll have to pass on your offer though since I already have another Beta deck that I use right now. Thanks.

Hello all

I have a question--how much longer can I expect my Beta tapes to last? I have a massive amount of tv shows I want to keep but most of these tapes are circa 1986-1988. Should I dub them to vhs? I hate to because the quality will not be as nice... I have a Betacord M20 that works like new. Just dont want to let my tapes dry up into dust :(

That's a difficult question Libby. It depends on a number of factors - tapes stored upright in a cool dry place last the longest but inevitably all magnetic media will decay to nothing and in a fairly short time too - 20 years or less is generally considered the expected lifespan of magnetic tape.

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/lindner/tidal.html gives a greater dissertaion on the subject.

Transfering to VHS won't help much because the next time you have to transfer - and if you don't have or can't use the Beta origional by that time - you'd lose another generation of recording quality.

If you plan on transfering to a more stable format you're better off getting a DVD burner and transfering to that format. Or you can pay someone else to do the transfer work - assuming you've gone to DVD by now - I haven't and don't plan on doing so for quite a while now.

Wow what an interesting article. So far, I am not seeing significant amounts of drop outs and I have stored my tapes upright and they are in a nice dark cool closet (makes you want to get a wine cellar for them!) But they are creeping up on 16 years old. I have 430 episodes of "Bonanza" -- my favorite show. It would be rather pricey to pay someone to do them--the show is no longer shown uncut and cannot be purchased but for a few episodes. Guess I need to think of getting a DVD burner sometime soon. I guess one day Beta will just be obsolete because our tapes will decay past any use :(

Sean:

I believe that most countries use 220V, with a majority of those being 50 Hz. There are a few odd 220V 60Hz systems, and then of course the North American standard 120V 60 Hz. Japan has 220V 60 Hz, but also uses 100V for some applications. This is all from memory, so if I am mistaken, someone please feel free to correct me. :)

came across this page - may be of interest to you if you need pinch wheels for your c9 etc

http://www.tesa.co.nz/CAT%5CCV50VP00.HTM

As an alternative to a DVD burner you might want to consider a less expensive Video CD burner. The Terapin company lists this one... http://www.terapintech.com/fea_cdaudio.html

They say can get about 74 minutes of video onto one CD and since it's a standalone machine you don't need to be at the computer to do so.

Given that DVD-R is coming down in price the Philips VCR and DVD burner might prove just as handy (though the VCR part is a lowly VHS machine)

It's amazing to wonder if 1000 years from now what if anything will be left for future archeologists to study about us - despite the trillions of bits of data we've generated without thinking of their long term value. 80% of the silent movies titles have already vanished. One can only imagine what is lost of the first decade of personal computers (Who's bothered to keep all their TRS-80, Apple IIe, Atari 800 or Commodore 64 data disks and/or the computer to access them?) or the first generation of reel to reel video tape recordings.

Even NASA is slowly losing their computer data from the older missions like Voyager because every so often they have to transfer to a newer storage medium and every time they do so more and more data is unrecoverable. Not to mention the hassle of finding drives to read the old tapes and the proper hardware and software to process them.

It's ironic that this last century was perhaps the most data rich of centuries and yet will likely have the least amount of stored data available in the future. There are government archives in Spain documenting the whole of their colonial period in the Americas, with every trinket of gold plucked from the Aztecs faithfully recorded, even their Inquisition is covered from the beaurocrat's perspective. You can read the paper trail of the Nazi's exterminations from Ghetto to gas chamber down to the last unfortunate Hebrew. Who will know (or care) that the wonderous Betamax format or ever this chat page even existed in next millenium?

Olive, that is why In my time capsule, if I could build one, I would have to put a computer, with files, a video disk player, preferably LaserDisc because they last forever if properly stored and that is what is important. Also the data is analog so it would not have the problem of a digital encoding that no-one can read. I would have video discs documenting every major event, with several hundred discs being nothing but endless still frames of text to read and print with the enclosed video printer! Also depending on how long it would be for, the time capsule would have to have a generator to power all the stuff because who knows what the standard power would be and even if electricity would be used, as we know it today. (Ever read Heinlein, remember the "Shipstones", a sort of super-battery, that could do away with electrical power lines...) but I hear ya!

Sean.

On another subject...

An Aiwa SV-50M Stereo HiFi processor just came up for bid on E-bay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367087125

For some reason the power cord was cut off. Why people do that to electronics is beyond me. I wonder if the SV-50M was compatible with Sony's SL-HFR series VCRs or would it only work on the AV-50M VCR.

Olive, about that HiFi processor.

It is hard to say if it would or wouldn't. I would be inclined to say no, because I think it worked on a very different principle, I think it might have even been a stereo amplifier too. The only reason I cut cords off electronics is when they are hopelessly broken and I use the polarized cords to make extensions. This is very handy. Also I heard of someone cutting the cord off a VCR in spite... That's mean!

Sean.

That picture you were going to send never showed up...

Strange. I will send again.

Sean.

You are sending to [email protected] ?

I should be... I will check.

Sean.

I am. If no pix I will just send a test...

Sean.

Got your test, Olive.The SL-HF-300 insides seem kind of sparse after the 600, 900, and, (Gasp) the VO-2600 Umatic! Well, asnyway, my SL-340 has developed a fault, it will not really eject the tape, it just sorta half-heartedly tries and then takes it back. I will lube the eject mech with VCR lube and see where we go, but Once the 900 is fixed I'm sure the 340 will gather dust... One thing, it DID have a very nice transport, very quiet. All my othe betas make horrendous noises in transport modes, especially when loading/ejecting cassettes. The Sl-20 even has head buzz...

Sean.

I'm sure you probably just need some new belts for that beefy SLO-340 'Australian for Walkman' How good does X-1 recording look anyway? Do you actually have a camera for that?

Sorry but it's an SL-340, NOT SLO-340. I would trade it for an SLO-340, though. Anybody got one!!!! ANYBODY!!!! (Insert cheesy Echo effect here...) Yeah, could be that big toothy loading belt.

Sean.

Well I think the SL-340 doesn't have a loading belt. I have the SL-360 HiFi version and it has a pair of loading motors - one for the cassette tray loader the other for loading the tape. Sony moved the big toothed gear underneath so that the capstan drives the idler gear - like a standerd VHS machine.

I'll look into it... (no pun intended)

Sean.

OK, here we go.. this will be a long post.

For Sale to good home:

Sony SL-HF1000 B1-S VCR, original owner, just serviced by Andy Sanchez with new transport mechanism, upper and lower head drum assemblies and alignment. Heads as new, due to long period in storage. I have the original RMT-148 remote unit, however, due to damage from leaky batteries, several buttons no longer work (the editing, speed, record, etc. buttons, and the jog/shuttle dials do work, it's mainly peripheral stuff that doesn't).

Along with this VCR (I will only sell this as a lot, as I will have no use for one without the other) I also have a LARGE number of both new, factory wrapped L-750 tapes (Sony and Maxell) and pre-recorded tapes (including factory releases and home recorded). There are 86 of the new blank tapes, all L-750's

The factory releases are as follows:City Heat; Hook; Death Wish 3; Meatballs Pt.2; Little Lulu (classic cartoon); The Untouchables; The Delta Force; Beany & Cecil Vol. 1 (classic cartoon); Beany & Cecil Vol.6; Bachelor Party; Total Recall; The Land Before Time; The Sounds of Motown; Reggae Sunsplash; Duran Duran; Neil Sedaka in Concert; Ready, Steady, Go Vol.2; Seals and Crofts Live; John Davidson Live; Jimi (Hendrix) Plays Berkeley; The Ultimate Ozzy (Osborn); Black Wax; Dionne Warwick in Concert; Sammy Davis Jr. in Acapulco; Elton John Live in Central Park; Grace Jones; 16 Candles; The River; The Natural; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; We Are the World, the Video Event; Bob Marley and the Wailers; Lena Horne, The Lady and Her Music; Sun City (Artists United Against Apartheid); Bring on the Night; Death Wish 4; Beany & Cecil Vol.10; The Onion Field; Spring Fever; The Seven-Ups; Pump Up the Volume; Missing in Action; Spring Break; Cinderella (Faerie Tale Theater); Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; The Prisoner- Episode 1, Arrival; The Adventures of Droopy (classic cartoon); The Tender Warrior; Star Trek V; Spaceballs; The Entity; National Geographic- Yukon Passage; Felix the Cat (classic cartoon); Kindergarten Cop; Lord of the Flies (1990); Star Trek VI; Ghostbusters II; The Jetsons- The MovieThis is 62 factory tapes, mostly movies (two copies of Beany & Cecil Vol. 6 are included).

The home recorded tapes contain many movies, classic TV series, etc. far too many to list here. These are all NTSC 3.58 System M (N.America, Korea, Japan, etc.) tapes. The SL-HF1000 is a US System M NTSC 3.58 machine with American/Korean channelization. It operates on 120VAC 60 Hz.

As you can see, the tapes alone (blanks and factory, never mind my home records, which should be considered blanks) are worth at least $US370 (figuring a modest $2.50 per tape).

I am asking $900 for the lot, plus shipping. I will ship anywhere, but be advised that shipping costs can be quite substantial, as I have ONLY the United States Postal Service to ship through.

Please e-mail me if interested. Please, I am not interested in selling the machine separately, as I have no use for all these tapes without it.

Take care, and stay well.

Brenda Ann

Brenda, no-o-o-o-o. Don't listen to "the voices".Seriously, this must have been difficult. If you feel you should be doing this I hope at least that the lucky buyer respectfully offers far above your asking price (somebody alert Snalling). Best wishes.

Heres a sanyo PAL hifi on ebay!http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1366071541Olive, whats with the "'Australian for Walkman'" comment? non comprende

It's a takeoff on a commercial campaign for an Australian beer.. the commercials talk about various larger-than-life happenings (much like the everything is bigger in Texas stuff in the states) with the tag line of "Fosters- Australian for beer." Can't recall any of the individual ads, but a typical ad might show a large Abrams take with the line "compact car"..

Well looks like you beat me to it, Brenda....

One of the Fosters "How to speak Australian" ads showed a Great White shark with the 'translation' being 'guppy'. Another showed some lifeboatmen being tossed in a wave with the translation 'hors d'oeurves'... presumably for that 'guppy'...

Brenda: It's Times like these that I wish I were British (My Pound would be beating Your Dollar to a pulp). (Sorry Mbeki). Unfortunately given the exchange rate that asking rate is a bit too steep! And that format will be useless around here!

The Funny thing is that it's not the Machine That I am really interested in! It is the collection of original tapes that come with it! Especially the We are the World! I have managed to get my hands on a few original cassettes! Unfortunately my Betamax collecting started very late! Like I said I was still a bit young when Sony decided to trash them! If only I knew!!!

And Sean! I have also found out that some box-full of cassettes that I got from other people sometimes came with guess what! Skin Flicks! The funny thing is that I had been displaying this cassette for people to envy my collection which had the Name Pink Lagoon Written on it

Please Please fellow Betamax fans I need to hire/borrow a Betamax player so I can transfer my Wedding master video to a differnt format ie DVD.The only VHS copy I had got eaten up in my old VCR. Can image my wifes reaction!!!I live in the South East of England and can travel anywhere with this DVD recorder I have, so someone please help save my marriage!!

Many thanks Beta lovers

Regards

Gary

Just performed my daily review of VCRs on ebay, and am surprised by the sudden eruption of Sony SL-700s put on auction. The SL-700 is the monaural sound cousin of the SL-HF450 from 1986, and Sony did not sell many of them, as most everyone by 1986 who wanted a higher-end Beta VCR went for a superbeta hi-fi model. They are pretty rare, and I have seen only about a dozen up for auction since I began following ebay two years ago. There are currently five or six of them up for auction on ebay, which is an amazing number considering their rarity. Not sure why all these 700s popped up on ebay at once; must be a rare beta model harmonic convergence or something...

Heya heya! I found myself a nice lot of blank tapes the other day. These are quite interesting. They are Sony tapes (w/ no boxes or labels), L-440's, shrinkwrapped together in lots of ten. Each one has "Property of U.S. Government" stamped on it and the shells are BABY BLUE! I got five lots of them from a flea market for $5 each. Guy told me they were unused gov't surplus. What exactly would they need all those beta tapes for anyhow?? But then I found a place on the net that sells these plain white betacam slipcases, so I bought a bunch of those and a few of these relabeling kits from RadioShack. Looks like these tapes are good for about 1½ hours @ BII, so I'm all set. :)

Do you suppose those tapes have the 'real' alien autopsies on them?

You should probably expect a visit from this creepy old guy smoking a lot of Morleys cigarettes...

Whatever you do, don't get in his black Crowne Victoria...

they have a tendency to explode unexpectedly...

Looks like somebody beat me to the joke, but I was gonna say that Madness probably got some surplus tapes from this guy's collection http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~mdownes/bdhome/csm1.jpg

Hello folks. Found your site on google. Spent the last few days cleaning out the attic of my parents' old house and I came across a couple of old betamax machines. They are both sony sl5200. Big behemoths that, weirdly, have the space for the cassette on the right-hand side. Both of them belonged to my dear departed dad who bought both around the early 1980's. So, out of curiosity, I brought them down to try out. I find out that one of them won't accept a cassette at all; like the loading thing is jammed. The other one will load but seems to play back with a noisy, snowy picture and bad sound. Sounds like wow; tape playing too slowly or something. Could these things be repaired anywhere these days?

Very funny guys. Thought that was Ford Pintos that tend to explode unexpectedly. Need I worry? What if that guy is really a JVC man? *shudder*

Actually I find Betamax to be an excellent format for keeping the riff-raff (and I do mean you Fox Mulder!) out of my tape collection.

Gee...

uh...

I wonder if Cancerman's endorsement of Betamax is necessarily a good thing...

Hi All. What does it mean (or what can it mean) when you load a tape, there's some motor noises inside, then out comes the tape in an otherwise pretty good looking machine (SL-5000 at the local junk shop - they want $20 for it). The insertion and ejection are butter smooth - I just think the tape doesn't wrap and the machine assumes I'm done with it and want to take it out of there. Thanks.

Madness Elf -IF that's your REAL name :) - A similar type of tape is offered on eBay from time to time - there's a lot up now, I believe. These ones are 3M/Scotch Pro High Grades. They are outstanding quality tapes, and are also blue. These were used (ridicuously lightly, Mr. Taxpayer) to send TV programs to the old Subic Bay installation. I would asume the ones you have are probably the same grade (they are probably blue per gov't spec, so assume the grade is the same per the same spec). 440 is a peculiar length (around 105 min in BII), but still useful for many movies, particularly the classics and B movies.

Hi Ray - The second unit sounds like it needs a cleaning, lube and tune-up (replacing the rubber parts). A tech can do this, but you have to be serious about it because this could run you up to $100 - assuming nothing else is wrong. As for the other, tape load problems are a little out of my area of experience. If you want to repair it yourself, or want more info, you might want to start at http://www.studiosoundelectronics.com . They will answer your questions (thoroughly and quickly) and have every part you can imagine, let alone merely need. Good luck.

Well it looks like you pretty much answered your question about that SL-5000. Cleaning and lubing the loading ring and changing out the loading drive tire might help get that going but the 5000 series chassis is fairly good at refusing to function no matter how you try to get them going.

They are pretty good at holding down the house during a tornado or flood...

OK, first off I realize this is not quite Betamax, but here goes. I picked up an HItachi FP-15 field production/ENG camera. It seems to be in great shape but it needs three items: Two are easy: First, there is a cable that runs between the Power supply and Camera. It has three pins in a triangle pattern. This will probably be hard to find. Second It needs a acable to attatch it to a VTR. This is just a ten pin camera cable with a male plug on both ends. Simple and fairly common. THird off and most important, it needs a lens. It is a Fujinon mount, and needs a lens cable with six pins in a circle on the end. Let me know and I might make an offer. An owners manual would be nice but unlikely.

THanks in advance!Sean.

Try http://www.markertek.com Sean. They're a broadcast supplier and most likely will have the cables you need. http://www.bhphotovideo.com out of NYC has new and often has used pro camera lenses available. They may be able to get you a Fujinon lens. You might also want to look for 'fujinon' or 'fujinon lens' on E-bay.

Hey, thanks!I was outbid on the 2100, of course. I held on to the 3100 for a little while longer before someone got me too. If someone here, a "chat page person" wants to go bid on this thing and win, I'll send the link, it was hard to find. Let me know soon, I would want nothing more than too see this guy who outbid me loose. Mean, yes, but I want it to go to a fellow "chat page" regular!

Sean.

Hello again!Got an RM-580 for Umatics, but the guy who sold me the Umatic it was to go with backed out of the deal after the auction ended. So now I have this remote. THe question is, will it owrk with a beta with a 33-pin interface, like an SLO-420, a model I can get easily? It is a very nice remtoe and costs a lot of money so I do want ot use it.

Sean

I have wanted one of these for years. Someone please give this one a good home! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1366876339They are just too cool because they are a good VCR and a top-loader!

Sean.

Ooops.I'm not bidding because I am spread to thin cash-wise allready. Mostly on beta stuff, too!Sean.

Where is everybody...

I was wondering the same thing.. though in the UK right now it is still pretty early in the day, only about 6:00 AM. Don't know where the rest of the stateside crew is.

I just received my Sony SL C 40 from the repair shop and all is well with the world

My trusty C7 has finally let me down with total loss of power. I have checked the fuses and all seems fine, it looks like the switched mode PSU needs some attention. Can anyone offer any advice other than find the nearest skip ?

To JeffYou dare take the C7 to the skip!!

Paul:(

Can the condition of a video head be at all evaluated by looking at it under magnification? I have one of those 40x binocular scopes. Thanks.

Hello I found this page through google.I have a BMC 500 Moviecam,and I´m looking for a BMC 1000,because the picture quality should be better .I wander why the smaller model cannot record the pictures so sharp as I expected.Could it cause to the poor plastic lens case?For the recorder Models I can recommend the HF100, becaue Its the most relieable thin I´ve ever had.

Does anybody know were to get a xbox car adapter.

I have no idea. I can suggest one thing, though. Look at the Jack for power in. Ir might be the kind like a regular device has, if so, go to radio shack and get a car adapter with the right voltage and plug and moreover, center polarity. +/- only about .7 volts, nothing more or less. If it is nonstandard or needs more than a little cigarette adapter can give it, the best solution is an Inverter. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and makes 117VAC for anything. You can get a 175 Watt kind for about $40, more for bigger ones. This is better because then you can use anyting in the car, like other video games you might have or you can use your laptop or whatnot.

Sean.

I'm sure that's what the Autobahn needs...

Someone playing XBOX video games while on the cell phone instead of watching the road...

Cell phones don't bother me but, yeah, you can't play video games and drive... People on cell phones can get distracted. So can people talking to other people in the car... No big difference. They all are dangerous! What we need is safer drivers. Oh yeah, and a few of these for the back seats!http://www.betamax.to/archive/SL-MV1.shtmlCool!

Sean.

Sony SuperBetamax HF-400. Original Remote. Sony Head cleaning tape. Blank Sealed Betamax tapes. Original Betamax movies. $175 or b/o. Shipping paid by buyer. E-mail for more details to [email protected]

Franny,

From what my German teachers in high school told us (one was a German immagrant to the US, the other had lived in Germany for 5 years while studying), Autobahn drivers are all insane to start with.. they actually sound rather like Korean drivers, but about 5 times faster.. :)

Brenda - Well if you don't like my driving stay the hell off the BŸrgersteigen...

So veilen Fu§gangeren, so kleine Zeit...

All I can do in german is swear... Badly!Actually I have heard the autobahn is good to drive on because Germans tend to be more precise and careful so they can drive realy realy fast safely and regularly. A friend of mine, also American, went to Germany and was quite scared on the Autobahn... Good for her! I must say I am generally impressed with Germans and German things. The people are nice, and the stuff is well built. Did a German firm ever make a Beta???

Sean.

Franny,

Those are a bit over my head.. but let me guess...

If you don't like my driving, stay off the sidewalk.. ??

So many pedestrians, so little time? (that one I know most of.. but not fussgangeren...

OK, here we go.. this will be a long re-post.

By the way, I forgot to mention that I have a photocopy of the original manual, and microfiche of the service manual for this machine that will go with it, too.

For Sale to good home:

Sony SL-HF1000 B1-S VCR, original owner, just serviced by Andy Sanchez with new transport mechanism, upper and lower head drum assemblies and alignment. Heads as new, due to long period in storage. I have the original RMT-148 remote unit, however, due to damage from leaky batteries, several buttons no longer work (the editing, speed, record, etc. buttons, and the jog/shuttle dials do work, it's mainly peripheral stuff that doesn't).

Along with this VCR (I will only sell this as a lot, as I will have no use for one without the other) I also have a LARGE number of both new, factory wrapped L-750 tapes (Sony and Maxell) and pre-recorded tapes (including factory releases and home recorded). There are 86 of the new blank tapes, all L-750's

The factory releases are as follows: City Heat; Hook; Death Wish 3; Meatballs Pt.2; Little Lulu (classic cartoon); The Untouchables; The Delta Force; Beany & Cecil Vol. 1 (classic cartoon); Beany & Cecil Vol.6; Bachelor Party; Total Recall; The Land Before Time; The Sounds of Motown; Reggae Sunsplash; Duran Duran; Neil Sedaka in Concert; Ready, Steady, Go Vol.2; Seals and Crofts Live; John Davidson Live; Jimi (Hendrix) Plays Berkeley; The Ultimate Ozzy (Osborn); Black Wax; Dionne Warwick in Concert; Sammy Davis Jr. in Acapulco; Elton John Live in Central Park; Grace Jones; 16 Candles; The River; The Natural; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; We Are the World, the Video Event; Bob Marley and the Wailers; Lena Horne, The Lady and Her Music; Sun City (Artists United Against Apartheid); Bring on the Night; Death Wish 4; Beany & Cecil Vol.10; The Onion Field; Spring Fever; The Seven-Ups; Pump Up the Volume; Missing in Action; Spring Break; Cinderella (Faerie Tale Theater); Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; The Prisoner- Episode 1, Arrival; The Adventures of Droopy (classic cartoon); The Tender Warrior; Star Trek V; Spaceballs; The Entity; National Geographic- Yukon Passage; Felix the Cat (classic cartoon); Kindergarten Cop; Lord of the Flies (1990); Star Trek VI; Ghostbusters II; The Jetsons- The Movie This is 62 factory tapes, mostly movies (two copies of Beany & Cecil Vol. 6 are included).

The home recorded tapes contain many movies, classic TV series, etc. far too many to list here. These are all NTSC 3.58 System M (N.America, Korea, Japan, etc.) tapes. The SL-HF1000 is a US System M NTSC 3.58 machine with American/Korean channelization. It operates on 120VAC 60 Hz.

As you can see, the tapes alone (blanks and factory, never mind my home records, which should be considered blanks) are worth at least $US370 (figuring a modest $2.50 per tape).

I am asking $900 for the lot, plus shipping. I will ship anywhere, but be advised that shipping costs can be quite substantial, as I have ONLY the United States Postal Service to ship through.

Please e-mail me if interested. Please, I am not interested in selling the machine separately, as I have no use for all these tapes without it.

Take care, and stay well.

Brenda Ann

Sigh... If only I had a stray $900 sitting around doing nothing. That is SOOOOO tasty! Wish I could get it. Yes, I agree. Don't sell it to anyone who will just resell it. I'm just sorry it would take me too long to GET $900... Tell me, Brenda, would you break it up to sell the tapes first? I might like to buy some sealed tapes? I'll give you $2.75 ea. as opposed to the $2.50 you figured. But I would not get them all, just some (or all, depending on quantity,) of the sealed ones. What brands? I got a lot for $40 but half are useless (i.e. scotch and Kodak, etc.) and half of the other half are no good, but you find this out by trial and error because the VCR that recorded them was in poor shape so as it turned out its last tapes it ruined them!

Sean.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367380607Don't miss this terrific remote. I have no need, I am getting an RMT-148...

Sean.

Crikey! Another SL-700 up for bid...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367953597

and another Pioneer VX-90...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367921683

and a sweet VX-340 outfit

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367768105

and an SLO-340 'Texas Walkman' in need of repairs...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367762254

The SLO-340. He never says id it has thepower supply. My only VCR like that is an RCA that won;t work in the exact same way. I would get it but I have to save money. The RCA is going out as soon as my (Gasp!) penisonic portable comes... Bought only so I could use my Hitachi FP -15 camera... That needs a lens. Oh well. Still no beta portable. Please someone sell one to me!!! (not now, when I have money!)

Sean.

Snaling just ran another SL-HF750 no pix up from cheap to big money. See what he's grabbed lately: just click on the item numbers near right.http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=snalingAll nice comments, but every one is a beta related purchase. No selling. Why? Why?If Brenda-Ann would put her SL-HF1000 on e-Bay he'd take the bait. Then we could all help deliver it in person and maybe have a little look around (perhaps Cancer Man could come along to explain why this was his final purchase).

I am trying to decide if I should expose Snaling for who he is. Right now, there is a certain seller on Ebay selling a SL-HF1000 unit. This person is offering it with a full warranty provided by me, and without my consent I must add. Now, I sold a SL-HF1000 beta unit on Ebay a couple of months ago. Guess who got it. Snaling. At the time I did not realize that Snaling actually got a beta unit I was selling, because I recogized Snalings true name from doing business well over a year ago. He bought another Beta unit from me, but it was under a different Ebay ID back then. So what, you say. Well, turns out that this "older" Ebay ID he had used to purchase a Beta unit from over a year ago belongs to the same person/name , that now is being used to sell on Ebay. yes, Snaling has two Ebay user accounts. Coincidence, or not? I think not. So, here is the summary: SNALING BUYS BETAS. HE THEN USES A SEPARATE EBAY NAME/ACCOUNT to SELL the machines afterwards. Go look on Ebay right now, search for SL-HF1000. Find the one that the seller has stated was just serviced by me. You will now see what Snaling does with Beta units after he has purchased them. End of mystery. Sorry to make you all do some detective work , but I am kind of peeved at having this person offering a machine on Ebay claiming that I will fully warranty it. I do not think that is one bit fair. Also, I do not want to directly drop names , you never know how irate a person may becomeonce that has been done. Andy

Good work, Andy. The first beta machine I bought I bought on eBay from this guy was a piece of crap I ended up reselling (with an accurate and complete description) for less than 1/3 what I paid. He actually knows very little about these machines, something evident from his sloppy use of technical terms and his grossly expansive definition of terms like "perfect." Given how much he "borrows" from Glasser in his descriptions, it's not surprising he'd yank you into a sale to his benefit. You might consider contacting any bidders (at that price? who knows?) and explain your warranty transfer policy, or just run it by Safe Harbor.

Three tolls of the bell for you. Bonggggg... :)

I only see one SL-HF1000 on ebay right now.. and that one expresses no warranty. Is it possible that the one Andy is talking about was pulled?

Found it.. apparently the guy ended the auction with no bids. Sure is nice to be able to do a search on stuff that's already ended. :)

The only SL-HF 1000 I found was one by 'leosilve' This ended 9 Jul with no bids. But no mention of a warranty or service. I wonder if pouring salt on his trail will stop Snaling...