High end Sony.....I meant to say

In this one I just like the way it looks like all the Beta tapes have gathered around 'Grampy' SL-5800 to listen to him tell a story...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381287172

Sean,Thanks for the information on my SL-HF400 PLAY problem. I did e-mail Andy and hopefully he has the answers. If you have any other suggestions or solutions to my Beta appreciate your help. Good luck with your Beta.Thanks again,Jeff

UK PAL SANYO VTC 5150 FOR AUCTION...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381400799&rd=1

UK Only.

___@_¼¼ "Can someone tell me where I can get a good Beta?

snalie express? [ Snalie Car ]:[ Amtrak]=) chugga chugga chugga chugga... Franny help me here.. I can't seem to make a good snalie train

The above is further re-enforcement that we need a disclaimer that explains a few things: Local Ebay is the best place to find a beta. Yard/moving/car boot sales are good too, as are "Junk" shops. There is NO beta-VHS adapter nor is there any successful way to play a beta tape using any other method, i.e. you can't respool the tape onto an EIAJ reel and play it that way, either.

Sean

that was me, sean. I was trying to poke the antpile and see what came out..

Ah... But we really need a disclaimer... Preferably one that begins with "Hey, moron, read this". Or maybe an FAQ... That would help. Olive could author it, and put it on her page, and at least SOME people would see it.

Sean

but I hope she makes the Snalie express with the Amtrak engine.. so it will derail

you ask you get...

[ooooooooo]_[oooooooo]_[ooooooooo]_[oooooooo]_[ooooooooo]_[snailtrax]_@_¼¼-whoo whoo

For some reason I've been having trouble getting posts to 'stick' to this page? Am I being singled out or something?

and just when I've cut back on the snailies and started trying to actually post something even moderately useful...

"Alice in Betaland" poster.

I think Alice might need tharapy...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=905617612

Missed chance to bid on that one on account of I was at the State Museum where they opened an exhibit of 9/11 artifacts including one of the fire trucks (that had been damaged in the collapsed) and parts of the Trade Towers (including part that had airplane parts fused with it).

WHy does ALice need Therapy?

Check this out!http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1562235251&rd=1Happy Happy! Olive, you have an extra Power supply. Let's talk! I cannot wait. I have an HVC-2500 on the way... What fun!!!!!!! All I need is some NP-1s.

Sean

Hi All,

Well....I didn't see any posted responses from you guys on an SL-HF860D, so I bid on it. Somehow, I lucked out and won the bid in a close race with "wheatstone bridge", a name I've seen popping up more and more with "snaling" and "mrbetamax". Anyway, I won the bid at $270, including the original remote. Did I get robbed or did I do okay? I'm just getting started trying to replenish my beta collection, but I have been watching and learning for some time, as Andy, Scott V and Sean know, as they have provided some guidance. Any comments on the 860?

That's about the upward end of a fair price. That is a good VCR, it has a lot of inputs and outputs which can prove very useful. Give a list of the individual ports on the back when it comes, there were a lot of mods made to those units. It is almost essential that you have the orriginal remote for that deck. Save it even if you throw away the unit for whatever reason. They are very rare. I will check Sony for you to see if you can get a manual.

Olive: I think you said you had a power supply for an SL-2000... Let's Deal!

Anybody know where I can get an NP-1 or a few?

Thanks in advance!Sean

Well she looks sorta like "you'll get this Betamovie when you pry it from my cold dead hands"...

Ennyways heres an album of pix I took at the museum...

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/olive_e_thomas/lst?.dir=/NYS+Museum+Pix&.view=t

Oddly enough when I took some video of a film about the towers being built they told me that wasn't allowed for copyright reasons - after I'd finished though...

http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/cgi-bin/service/showitems.cgi

Here is the link for the SL-HF-860D parts, I think. Definitely get the manual.

Sean

In the "Search by MOdel Number" box, enter EXACTLY this: SL-HF-860D.

Didn't you get the AC-220 Adapter that was being offered or were you 'snailed'?

Thanks for responding Sean. Even if it's on the upper end of "fair", at least it's in the "fair" category. According to the description ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1379836218 ), I will get the original remote AND a manual in both English and French. FRENCH...wow...Je t'aime EBAY!! Oh, and Andy, I'm still interested in what we talked about. Just let me know when.

Oh and http://www.batterybank.com sells NP-1s for about $50 bux...

Olive, I was not going to pay more for the adapter than the Machine. I can't believe I one-shot-one-killed the SL-2000, usually they go for lots of moeny, $ 200 is not unheard of. I will see what I can do now. I looked for another but that was the only one. What kind of power connection has the SL-2000? is it a 4-pin DIN or is it that big ugly thing? I will have to see what comes in that lot of cables, too!

Sean

Five pin and I don't think this is a standard DIN. This German site has pinouts for the adapter and for the Multiconnector. Your best beta is to rig your own PS thru the multiconnector as that size bus connector looks to be a standard item. How high did the adapter get to?

Oops! This German site has pinouts for the adapter and for the Multiconnector.

http://home.t-online.de/home/340054418855-0001/Betamax/SL-F1.html

Sean, thanks for the info anyhow.

To: Olive, Andy, Sean, Franny, nnils, Howard, Brenda, Scott V and Pepse...Thanks to you regular contributors for your unsolicited and thorough education on BETA products. You guys are a wealth of knowledge. I'm sure there are other people like me that come to this page and just read, both current and archived posts. It helps to have a resource for how and what to shop for when looking for good BETA equipment, however, there's always the snails to deal with. And to you snails: Snailing is NOT capitalism, it's called cornering the market and ripping people off.

Sadly Snailing IS capitalism...

of the Enron sort...

Olive: It got to $27 and change. I do not know what is in my cord lot, I may have one of those VMC-330s or similar. I will keep my eyes open for NP-1s. Oh, and Dave, thanks for being a sensible, nice person. There is a shortage of such folks here, all we get are people who overuse the caplocks and want to buy machines for a pitance, and people who hate us for no apparent reason.

"Keep the Snails off your Bumber and the Trolls off your tail"

That is a refference to a song... If you can guess it you'll win a free Sony camcorder remote (Code 2) or 5 used tapes in the brand of your choice... Sony Memorex Maxell or TDK...

Sean

HeHe...I guess so, just like jacking up the price of plywood, food, gas and supplies when a hurricane is about to hit the coast... Then, what we have here are true Americans, huh?

_@_¼¼-Well I got my Fora V200 'Video Typewriter' Titler. It's fairly a basic macine but it does have 4 pages of memory a blink effect and a preview out jack (BNC) so I can monitor stuff before I put it up onscreen. I had to rewire the outjacks cuz that feature wasn't working properly.

Does anyone out there have any info or manuals for a PCM-2500B PCM encoder?

Was this designed specifially to mate with an SL-2500? I recently 'sleeched' one on E-bay and would like as much info on it as I can get...

_@_¼¼-sounds like that 'Convoy' song from the 70s about the redneck internet - CB Radio

Sh*t, DasImperator, you got it! That was "Convoy" by C.W. McCall. DO you want the tapes or the remote???

Sean

Hey I was around when that %$#@ song came out! Saw the %^$# movie as well. An evening and (2 bux) I'll never get back...

Didn't know there was a movie. The guy did a song called "Black Bear Road" that is just hillarious. Really funny stuff. I'm surprised anyone got it at all, since it's part of the idle CB chatter in the background of the song, and not even really a "lyric" at all.

Sean

"long haired friends of Jesus in a chartreuse microbus..."

"put the suicide jockey behind that microbus - he needs all the help he can get..."

"Callin' all trucks this here's the Duck and I'm about to put the hammer down"

_@_¼¼-eeeeeeeeeeee! 70s flashbacks! Worse than 'Nam flashbacks!

Hiya. Saw this on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381318318

Looks like quite a decent buy it now price to me considering it's condition and that it comes with the remote. I don't need it or have the money for it, but I figured someone here may.

To the Afrikanisch scam mailers who've latched onto my e-mail addy...

Sending forty million versions of the same 'grift' - I got all dissa money mon anna i don't know howta git it outa da bank mon' - isn't going to make me think they're any more legitimate. I save every one of them and know all the 'angles'.

I hope you all get the Ebola virus and die!

Oh you wanna talk Nigerian scam letters?

I get 'em by the s***load cuz I'm a 'rich-fat American' and all that. They must think we're dripping with spare cash to throw away on them...

I think they're getting lazy though. A recent scam mail requesting an 'Urgent and confidential relationship' and that I tell nobody about this. Well the BCC list was longer than the front credits to Superman for chrissakes!

Why don't you just send an e-mail with just the line....

LAST CHANCE TO SEND IN YOUR 1 DOLLAR!

(in the 80s a guy made a small fortune with just that line and an address to send in the 1 dollar)

To answer the question "Where can I find a Betamax VCR?"...

Here's a nice 'professional' SL-2000 outfit for the price of $125 bux...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381507429

THis is a good setup. You get an HVC-2200 camera in it's hardshell case, SL-2000, TT-2000 the RMT-311 remote and a headphone set that apparently went with this as well as a carry strap for the SL-2000. Not too shabby...

noooooooooooooo!! that poor SL-2000 trapped in a hot yukky jukebox! Who knows how long the jukebox sat in a warehouse after it broke down.... Hey sean can you try to remove that "don't service me" label Rowe stuck on it? I want it... Or can you make a photocopy or scan it? Thanks. Lucky you.. I've been trying to get a beta cheap out of those people (one that has the stikker)...

Check this out.. :)

Remember that SL-T50ME that I won on ebay?? It got here today. I unpacked it and fired it up. IT WORKS!! Nice pic, beautiful still frame, even on ßII.. :) Course, I only have NTSC 3.8 tapes to test on it.. maybe someone could send me a PAL tape to try.. I have a small television that will display PAL signals (though it won't do PAL audio, go figure, but I can run line level audio into it.) Hey, even the UHF modulator works great on it. :) I'm a happy camper, for sure. :)

_@_¼¼-This weeks hot 'sleechable item!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381555174

SL-2710 WITH the MLV-1100 MTS decoder.

as she-snailie would say...

eee hee hee hee hee!_@_v [ == ¡¡¡¡O]

_@_v -so what are the systems that are supposed to work on the SL-T50?

Jesse, I can photocopy it, my scanner driver ate its young after I put Windows ME on this box... Never fear, people, I think I have found some VAX equipment for a song! Congrats, Brenda, I wond an SL-2000 (See above if you haven't) so I had to pass on my own multisystem, but I do plan for one in my future.

Sean

Uhh... Isn't Redmond Washington where they process America's nuclear materials? Wonder if that SL-2710 and MTS thingie a 'hot deal' in more ways than one...

hmm... seems all right to me-_@_¼¼¼ }}}[ ==¼¼¼¼O]{{{

SL-T50ME is a 5 system unit. It plays/records PAL, SECAM I/II, NTSC 3.58/4.43.

Sean:

I saw the deck you won. I hope it's in good shape for you. :) I can't believe my good fortune on the T50ME. I've always wanted to have multisystem video equipment.. and this and my little LCD Color TV makes a good start. Now I don't have to turn down PAL ßeta tapes.. I can buy them, play them back on the T50ME, and record them to NTSC on DVD or VCD. :)

Franny,

I believe you're thinking of Hanford, WA. Redmond is almost as bad, though, being the home of Mr. Bill et. daemons.. :P

_@_v - ooops. I knew it was one of those towns in Washington state...

Geee do you suppose that SL-2710 will require some sort of unlock code key that's printed on the least survivable scrap of paper amonsgt all the (paltry)instructions, ads and registry cards packed in with it. And do you suppose it'll work fine for a while then suddenly decide to crash because it's no longer compatible with anything, needs a tonne of upgrades or an install disc that you can never find or the media's so bad that you can't use it....

just a blonde she snail_@_v

No, that would be a JVC machine...

Does anyone have a set of schematics for a Sony Betamax C5 (Model SL-C5 -UB)?

Olive and "the Gang": I got the cables, not one of them is for video, all audio but they are all new and given the prices, it's probabaly about $ 200 in cables for $10... I will list the dupes, if anyone needs some audio cables.

Sean

Dear Sean, thanks for your help couple of nights ago, but as I am a beginer at this purchase business can you tell how to contact American Ebay so I can purchase an SL-100 Video recorder. thanks for your help. regards John Glanvill.

Just go to http://www.ebay.com/ and try a search for betamax.

Sean

Dear Sean , The Sony Super Betamax SL-100 VCR Beta II/I,does this have the same parts as the SL-F25 which I own. Regards John.

I really don;t know, That little item was teh product of Franny's mind, not mine. I'd guess it does, but I cannot be certain, Franny lives in a PAL country and she might be more certain. It would also depend on what part you need.

Sean

JESSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381292170

DON"T MISS IT!!!!!!

I would like to purchase a NEW Beta machine before Sony quits making them by August '03. I don't live near any Sony facilities. Perhaps someone can advise me on how to do this. Thanks. Walt Columbia SC

oOOOOoooOOO! __@_¼¼ [¼¼¼¼ ====== O]

I saw it... Darn it! And I don't have any money.. I might have some Friday, though. Crap.. that's at least $50. Unless... A nice belated birthday present... Or a early Christmas present? Anyone? Hey sean. How about we trade cases for our SL-2000s. Mine'll wear the Rowe label proudly.. :P Unless the case is all scratched and yukky.

We'll see. We'll see. HOw are you with electronics, Jesse, I may have a present for you.

Sean

Hey guys, happy Monday! My boy and I are talking about taking a trip to Japan. I'd like to grab me a couple of SL-200D's before they all disappear. The passion runs hotter! :}

Welllll... I'm... not an expert like Andy or Olive, but I can make things work around here :) I was just thinking.. It would be unique to have the labeled case, but if I ever get another NP-1 I wouldn't want to have that huge proclamation on the side of my 2000mie when it goes portable. Is yers a Vidiola ("vidi" for video [my way])? The stikker would really go best with a home unit. Hey Andy how much would u charge me to have a lookC at my 2000mie? And resolder its bad battery connector, you have to press really hard on the back of the unit to get it to work off of battery (or jiggle it around). Do you think you could also replace its two missing screws on the back? P.S. The (-mie) suffix indicates something portable and cute :P Except in the lasermie's case, it's a short for "lasermovie" as Franny said. And nothing of mine goes to the snails!!! Anyone want a VP-5020 for $5 plus shipping? It's got a stuck loading ring and runaway idler (wheel?). Plus I switched its switch covers with the one on the VP5000 so the 5K could look flashier.

___@_¼¼ (snifffff....snifff) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381223065 ¼¼_@__ [oo]=)

Jesse: it's a VO-2600 Umatic recorder that I fried the PW1 board in, and it needs new fuses put in, some wores in the internal harness replaced, and a new regulator. Probably beyond you, it's proabbly beyond me too... Still hanging around, though. It won't go in the trash, though. You'dhave to pay shipping, which is considerable, since it's 70 pounds.

Sean

So, anyone wanna fire me off a PAL ßeta tape to try in my SL-T50ME? ? Even a fairly good home recorded one. :)

To Jeff with the SL-HF-400 that shuts off when the play button is pressed.Your problem isn't in the loading gears. I had a SL-HF-300 and 400 do the same thing.Pull off the cover so you can observe the video drum.Now load a tape and press play.If the video heads start to spin before the unit stops then your take-up sensor is probably bad (mine was). On the other hand if when play is pressed the tape starts to move but then just stops without the video heads spinning then your voltage regulator in the power supply is bad. Both these aren't all that difficult to fix but if just takin the cover off of a vcr scares you then ya better let a tech do it.

For those of you that e-mailed me about the beta smorgasboard...

A bunch of pro pieces go up for auction tomorrow.. .SLO-420 's, mainly...a couple of u-matics, at least 2 BMC-220's, and a whole slew of hi-8 recorders and cameras...many of these are still in working order...

Go to the web site I e-mailed and put "sony" in the search box...

Happy hunting! And leave the EVO9100 alone...that one's mine!

_@_¼¼-Beta smorgasboard?! Where?! Where?!

Right over here by the salt shaker, little snailie...c'mon over here and look...

I don't see nuthin...

---------------¼¼-------------

That lot of beta tapes I got w/ those machines @ the estate sale included a commercial copy of Videodrome! There's a sinister film full of beta tapes and scenes of several recorders (and I haven't seen it in awhile!). The star James Woods even becomes his own living beta player! Remember that scene? He's been double-crossed in the TV studio and the other guy holds out a beta cassette and says, "open up to me.....I got something I wanna play for you!" His shirt unbuttons, the slit in his belly opens and the other guy shoves the tape in. That's classic! Long as James ain't playing VHS tapes, I'm happy! :)

Oooohhh! I'd love a copy of that! All I have is a crappy VHS copy that I sleeched off of A&E several years ago. At least I got most of the commercials out but a lot of scenes were cut.

I would just like to know if U.S videos are compatible with German or English V.C.R´s?thankyou!

Olive:

Check your e-mail. :)

American tapes won't play in a British or German VCR as they use a different broadcast system. THe US uses the NTSC broadcast system whilst Europeans use the PAL system. The French, just to be annoyingly different, use the SECAM system which was also employed in most of the countries behind the Iron Curtain states.

ghislain:

Short answer: No.

Longer answer. A VCR of any format made specifically for European markets will not play tapes made for the US. This is because the video formats differ. However, there are relatively rare machines that, when hooked to a multisystem television or monitor, will play tapes from many of the various video systems.

The French delight in being annoyingly different.. LOL. It's part of their national identity. They don't WANT to be like anyone else.. especially, God forbid, Americans.. :)

nothing in there yet..._@_< _[MAIL]

_@_v - hey brenda. it's been a half hour or so since you said to check my mailbox and nothing seems to have shown. someone along the internet is being a slug abuat delviering it...

either that or Yahoo is getting picky about what it'll deliver...

again

no room for a 2600.. :( too wide

I know what you mean. I have to find room for a piar of VO-2850s with a TRI edit controller. Wish me luck.

If anyone is interested I have put a batch of Video 2000 tapes on ebay for sale....low start price of £3.00

do a search on ebay as video 2000 betamax rival

mike

My last Beta died about a year ago and I am getting ready to get back in the Beta fold.Since real Sony Beta VCR seem to be going on the high side I was wondering if anyone has something to say good or bad about Toshiba Beta?

Well Toshiba Betas are a bit more belt reliant than most Sonys which after all these years means problems. Belts are reasonably easy to replace though if you can find the right sizes

To John Granville who is looking for an SL-100 in the hopes that it has parts to repair his SL-F25 this auction...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1380378594

lists an SL-100 for bid at about $50 US. The resemblence is as close as it gets...

On the subject of Toshiba Betas and belts, I picked up a Toshiba VS-443 beta hi-fi for FREE from another beta user this past weekend. This VS-443 powered up and accepted the tape, but would not operate when the "play" button is pushed. I assume this is a belt problem and a belt replacement should do the trick. Olive mentioned awhile back that belt replacement for the Toshiba takes place through removal of the bottom panel. Any other info regarding belt replacement for the Toshiba VS-443 is appreciated. Howard

I have a BetaMax recorder/player that has a faulty rewind mechanism. As a result, I do not watch any of my nearly 200 pre-recorded cassettes. Once I watch a movie, I can't rewind it. I would love to find an inexpensive beta tape rewinder but there is no outlet within 100's of miles of where I live in Maryland that has beta accessaries or knowledge of where I may get information agout beta accessaries.Is there any one out there with a rewinder that they would consider donating to a senior guy who gets enjoyment out of sitting at home and watching his favorites such as Wuthering Heights or Viva Zapata or White Heat or Silverdo or The Seduction of Joe Tynan now that he is widowed and alone? If so, I would truly appreciate hearing from you. Where it might be collecting dust in your space, it would be a tremendous uplift to this lonely old guy.

Leave it to snailie to jack up the prices on even a basic unit...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381911527 with that "rare" color 1-2-3 switch and yet another from his bottomless barrel o' RMT 151s...

SL-390 with a start of $99 bux (and the usual snailie reserve) and a BIN of $225 bux...

It's like you're not only buying this beta but all the ones he bought that he can't resell just to get this one...

Ben...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1381891329

New Beta rewinder at $24 bux BIN price on E-bay...

On the subject of Toshiba Beta's. Once you get the belt replacement down pat they're a wonderful machine.The main belt that generally goes bad is the wide capstan belt. It's very easy to replace . Simply remove the bottom cover and you'll see it. Depending on the model there shouldn't be any circuit board in the way.The belt can be purchased at MCM electronics.The second hunk of rubber that goes bad is the idler tire and will require you to remove the cassette basket (no big deal) The tires can be bought at Union Electronics in Illinois .Once replaced the Toshiba Beta's are extremely dependable and give a very nice picture.I have 4 Toshiba Beta's and really like em. Oh yeah, get used to thing's being less noisy with a Toshiba --- they're very quiet when they operate!

Charlie, thanks for the info! I have a MCM VCR belt replacement kit, and will try to match up a good replacement for the capstan belt when I tinker with the unit this weekend. Thanks. Howard

The SLO-1400 came. Too beat up to post, but the picture is lovely. It had a problem, but adjusting the cap free took care of that. Poor thing looks like it was hit with a truck, and takes it sweet time treading up, but once it's there, look out, plays like new!

Sean

can anyone give me a complete description of the features and performance of the new edv9000 available at pricejapan.com? im having trouble navigating their website. how does it compare to the edv9500? thanks, joel

Try running Sony Japan's 'E-catalog' listing

http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/visual/video/products/index.cfm?PD=116

through the Babelfish

http://babel.altavista.com/tr

At any rate the EDV-9000 and 9500 look to be nearly identical excepting that each was designed for different countries...

Nice of VCR-Gary to give you the 'pick of the litter' isn't he...

Eh, I know. They're ex-duplicators so they're rough physically but they've been well cared for, i.e. the center of the tracking range is the sweet spot, so everyting is well aligned and the heads are good. Very nice machine, all in all.

Sean