hi i need some l850 4 hour tapes willing to pay alot for them.

Re: Operation Manuals. Are there any other Manuals to the Sony Service Manuals? They give maximum info in some ways but no chapter of symptoms with most likely causes.

I know some other Japanese companies (for example Toshiba or -ugh- Brother) would split each model's repair literature into several books: Parts Manual, Service Manual, Diagnostic and Troubleshooting Manual, Field Repair Manual, Factory Adjustment Manual, Preventive Maintenance Procedures Manual, but no Index To All The Stupid Manuals Manual... You would need to be aware of the whole gamut because the Service Manual only had part of the info.

In the end it made for a lot of badly running equipment since many certified but impatient co-workers could not find their way through all these books and actually told clients their equipment was functioning as good as it gets.

_@_v - eee hee hee hee! A 'JVC Betamax VCR'!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3004587420

"JVC BETA TAPE RECORDER PLAYER IN ORIGINAL BOX "

Looks like a SanJVCyo to me.. :)

Olive:

How would you like a Superßeta HiFi copy of that tape I made for you? You pick the speed. I got the record working again on my 1000... was just a clogged head.. guess I have to watch putting some of my old tapes in there.

nnils:just owner and service books . operation books for only some models.

nnils:symptoms and causes are expected to be addressed in tech school.

Good to hear it Brenda! My 900 will sometimes balk at one operation or another (record or play... which is puzzling because then you'll try to play a Known Good tape and it will look OK but your timer recording will foul up.) if I feed it bad tapes. Thankfully I have two brand new L500s to hold me over until I get my CASE of L-500s. I plan to clean the heads again before I put any good tapes in it. If I can get some more $$$ I may pick up another box of 500s. I just hooked up the SLO-323 to record the output of one of my VHS-HiFi Decks and will begin making your tapes soon!

I'm pretty happy with the mono copy you gave me. With no music or major THX effect in that movie SuperHiFi would be pointless. Besides that SL-T50ME you recorded it on did a fantastic job (DO NOT get rid of it - it's THAT good... unless you care to make a contribution to the Olive E Thomas Home for Wayward Betamaxes then we'd be happy to book passage for it ;o) recording the copy you did send me.

But if you have a DVD of The Blues Brothers or 2001 a Space Odessey, I'd like to be able to 'remaster' some crapped out commercial copies I have on Beta.

The copy of the Blues Brothers I have is so badly decayed (and belabored with 'Stop Copy') as to be virtually unwatchable is is the most 'critical' on my 'replace-me' list. The two copies of 2001 were mostly good (one better than the other) except for some bad parts of the tape where the tracking suddenly goes off kilter.

Sean:

Sounds kewl. I just played the Weird Al videos that I recorded on my 323 on my 1000 tonight.. I actually have to turn OFF the Superßeta and it looks fabulous. The linear track audio is pretty low level coming out of the 1000, but it still sounds pretty decent. I'll have to ask Andy if there's an output level pot for the linear audio.

Olive:

I don't have either of those, but I'll be glad to hunt them down for you. :) May take a couple weeks, but I'm sure you've waited long enough now that a few more weeks won't matter much. :)

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3003252614&category=15099 Good Betamax

But I wonder where the wooden Side Panel is?

Big shout out to all the beta crew!!!

I have been looking for a betamax video player, for a while and yesterday, one popped up for sale in my area... Yippee!! I paid £35.00 (US$50.00) for 32 tapes and a..... wait for it..... Sanyo VTC 9300PN.... Hehehe. It is so massive!!!!!! It's a house not a video player.... It weighs almost 20Kilos!!! So today, on the web, I have found out that it is almost as old as me (it's 6 years younger), it's basic, has almost no street cred, the rewind belts ware out, it's difficult to get spares for but, I don't mind 'cause it works really well and every time I see it.... I Laugh!!!

If anyone wants to offer me advice on how to preserve my new beloved beast, leave a message, or if anyone has a working manual or anything (Dust cover/one button remote control)... anything... let me know.

Rob

rob:keep ventilation slots clear,use a beta rewinder, DO NOT USE A HUMIDIFIER IN THE SAME ROMM!

same room!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! follow his advice!!!!

Thanks for the advise.. I will...... Where do I get a beta rewinder?

AAAAggghhhhhHH!! Take his advise... Did you have a bad experience?? :O/

Humidity is the enemy of all things. even you. Ideally, you want your living and video space just humid enough you don't get instant nosebleeds... Humidity can rust the tape path and even the head drum. It is also bad for the tapes and bad for laserDiscs and CEDs and all other forms of video storage...

Thanks Sean,

I have now moved it out of the kitchen..... a bit humid me thinks.... it's now in the lounge!! :O) And at 20 kilos... that's where it's staying. Any more great advise before my machine rusts to bits????

Boby, I believe only the SL-HF870D had the wood side panels, the 860D did not.So I see I'm not the only Wierd Al fan on here. Brenda, which albums of his do you have? I have "Wierd Al Yankovic", "Bad Hair Day", "Dare To Be Stupid", and "Even Worse".I really have no idea how many hours are on my HF600, but it was recently moved. It used to be hooked up in the basement to an ancient Sylvania TV with a bad color tube, but when we bought our new flatscreen 27" Sony KV-27FV17 we brought it up to the living room and hooked it up to that one. Come to think of it, I did not start noticing the problem until the HF600 was hooked up to the new TV, but then the old TV was pretty crappy, and the PV-VS4821 which is right next to the HF600 plays VHS tapes fine ("Fine" meaning without the line problem, not as in "with good picture quality" because the terms "VHS" and "good picture quality" don't go together).

AndyW:

I think we have all of those plus Running With Scissors, and "Al in the Box- Permanent Record", which is everything he did up to a couple years ago on four extremely packed CD's. We also have Weird Al- The Videos and The Compleat Al, which, combined, have pretty much all his videos. These are available in ßeta Hi-Fi *wink*.

Re: Humidity

BEWARE: Too little humidity (below 40%) is hazardous to solid state electronic equipment.. especially if you have carpets. Just one electrostatic discharge can destroy a microprocessor.. take it from someone who knows!

Oh god, I love Weird Al, myself. I've got all of his 90's albums on CD (from "Off The Deep End" to "Running W/ Scissors") and all his 80's albums (Debut to the UHF Soundtrack) on vinyl. Also have the movie, "UHF" and "The Compleat Al" on prerecorded Beta. In fact, the latter is listed as "forget it (as in very rare)" on Al's website (www.weirdal.com).

I've got UHF.. On DVD.. which means that it, too, is available in ßeta Hi-Fi.. :)

hospital er suggested humidifier after a winter 1990 nosebleed. my cherished slhf900 and my new jvc digital super vhs failed within ONE day .my slhf900 has never completely recovered despite exhaustive professional and personal efforts attempts at repair.

You must have had the humidifier very close to the machines.. or you had one of those vapor kind of humidifiers that you can actually see the vapor coming out. I have a humidifier in this room (if I didn't, the humidity would be like 10% in here during the winter) and never have had a problem. Also, imagine if you will, a country like Thailand, where the humidity is up around 80% or higher all year round.. they don't seem to have problems with VCR's there.. (BTW, it also gets around 90% humidity here during July and August...)

and you think YOU have it bad? Well... We're regularly at 100% saturation. Yes, I've had some bad experiences where the SL-2000 jams and the tape sticks to the drum. It also happen(ed) with the Samsung VHS that I have, except since the drum spins the tape would get eaten. :(

Yes, that is a recurring problem on VCRs that spin the entire drum. Some betas spin a band of the drum with the tape (Mostly pro models) because the lines in the spinning band create a cushion of air that makes the tape "float" over the heads. Spinning the entire drum is not a good idea.

_@_v - ennybody need a like-new TT-2000 and remote?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3004700015

$19.95 start...

brenda is ,of course ,right on the money. by the time i noticed the carpets squishing in the vicinity of my vcrs it was already too late! vaseline and saline spray are much less risky. i still feel unreasonable hostility towards humidifiers,nearby or not. ya oughta see the spectacle of unsuspecting cruise ship passengers leaving their air conditioned rooms to visit humid tropical islands with their brand new camcorders! now you know how the islanders seem to be so well acquainted with expletives in all languages!

Jesse:

That 80% figure in Thailand is in the "dry" season.. 100% humidity is the rule there. I remember the first time I got off a plane in Bangkok.. inside the air conditioned airport it felt like Louisiana in the summer. When I went outside, it felt much like a solid wall of hot water, like taking a shower in a very fine mist. This was in early April, not that it makes a lot of difference the time of year, being only about 10 degrees N. latitude. Nighttime temps there average in the high 70's and low 80's.. daytime between 90 and 97.. it very seldom gets to 100, because the entire country is pretty much a marine climate. Also, at least down on Phuket Island where I was (just off the S.W. coast) there are afternoon thunderstorms almost every day that tend to bring the temp down a few degrees (but, of course, don't help the humidity level at all.. *ggg*)

Worth noting.. I went from my air conditioned hotel room to the beach, and my palmcorder worked just fine (why do they put a 150X digital zoom on those things, when you can't possibly keep what you're looking at in the field?)

Bangkok!Oriental Setting and the city don't know what the city is getting! A boatload of snails in s show with everything but cheap betas!

Sorry but that was silly. I want to live someplace nice and dry because then I can drive the old cars that I love so much without them rusint into little piles in the driveway. Just don't leave anything in the sun, in that type of place it can dry out the belts and rubber parts really quickly.

Brenda, your tapes will be a little delayed, the SLO-323's wind-on-eject belt is a little stretched and it isn't happy... leaves a loop of tape to be mangled upon eject...

Havin a heat wave... a tropical heat wave... the temperature's risin' and it's not surprisin she certainly can... wield a betamie...

I imagine you'd love Cuba. Where all the 1950s American cars went to retire...

Does the 'I-can-go-to-Cuba-and-you-can't' dance...

I'd go after Fidel does at last buy the old farm. I don't care for communists nations, but I gotta ask, why do we have such lousy relations with Cuba, and no trade, because they're communists, but China, we're fine with and lots of stuff sold in the US is made in China...

The trade thing isn't because they're communists.. it's because the CIA backed Fidel during the revolution, and then Fidel double crossed them afterward (sound familiar?). His regime nationalized a lot of US interests there (also, sound familiar?), and then let Russia start putting nukes in.

Because J.F.K. wanted to impress the White House stenographer and Hollywood movie starlet he was schtupping at the time...

Oh wait I think that was why he funded the programme to put a man on the moon...

I've been thinking about the japanese webpage showing how to turn a regular Beta into a SuperBeta. Could VHS machines be modified with the same theory, resulting in better quality? And could the tape speed be doubled to create a sort of "ED VHS?"

Of course, the recordings would have to be used exclusively on the modified machines, but it may result in better picture quality for VHS time-shifters.

This could make for a very interesting video project.

Anyone really wanna keep some beta safe in travel? Some hard case; looks like it would fit an SL-2000 combo or a Betamovie.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3309500102&category=2286

the more metal,the longer it stays cold, providing more opportunity for condensation.

thanks Andy..........

Hi Sean ,i calculate the DHL using worldwide package express ,the Beta would go smoothly with 284 U$ bucks.......wich is beyond my consideration.........

((Andy)) Seems to me that the HF 860D is a Duplication of the origin Japanese version SL-HF95D BI/II/III ~ the difference is only at the right front panel .The HF 95D has TV scan Button between PNP and zoom button , at the back panel (95D) doesnt have the Dshell connector , but there is VHF UHF Screw for ribbon Cable as substitude._____SL HF 95D provide Tape Stabilizations_____

WEll Boby I got you a turntable today. Oh well. it's a great model AND it's the 50Hz/60Hz kind you need. maybe some other shipping place will do better, who was that you tried it with?

SONY SL-700 SUPER BETAMAX FOR SALE!

Hi To Everyone! I am selling this Sony SuperBeta VCR; which I bought as a backup unitfor my Sony GCS-50 and SL-HFR70 and HFP -200. But since both of my other Betas continueto work perfectly; I think it's time to let this VCR go. I bought this SuperBeta abouta year ago from the original owner; a former broadcaster who now owns a music store herein Portland. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being perfect, I would rate this SuperBeta asa 8.5 or a 9. All doors and covers are in great shape, and all the lettering - including the tape door and eject button - is perfect. All functions, including the tuner workperfectly; with no problems of any type. Although this SuperBeta VCR does not have someof the editing and other features found in higher-end Beta VCRs; it is considered one ofthe most reliable and dependable units Sony ever built. The only "defects" this unit has are some light hairline scratches and scuffing onthe top of the unit from being stacked with other A/V gear. Also, the display is a bitdim as some dust has been trapped under the plastic display cover. Other than those twoitems; everything else on this unit is in great condition. I do not have the originalmanual or remote control, but will supply a programed Sony or RCA remote with this VCR. I am asking $175.00 plus actual UPS or FedEx shipping cost. (I do not charge trumped up packing "charges" like some a-holes do on E-Bay!) Sales only to U.S.A. locations only.I will ship this unit carefully double boxed in Sony cartons. I am hoping someone whowants or needs a fully functional SuperBeta unit that needs nothing to operate perfectly,will read this listing. If I receive no inquiries within a week, it will be listed onFlea-Bay. Thanks for reading.

I going to get a betamax machine off an internet auction site but could somone recomend one with high quality and lots of features.

franny:maybe the star had such a heavenly body that jfk wished his wife was a little meteor!

The top-end Sony Betas are the SL-HF900, 1000 and 2100, with all the bells, whistles and editing features. But on Ebay, be prepared to pay about $ 200 -500 for the 900, $500-1,000 for the 1000, and $1,500-2,000 for the 2100. The ED-Betas (EDV-9500 and EDV-7500) also usually go in that range. If you don't want to pay that much or don't need the editing features, any SuperBeta hi-fi (SL-HFXXX) should do you fine (Minus the SL-HF300 and 500, these were hi-fi but non-SuperBeta).

BTW, could someone tell me more about that procedure for modifying a regular Beta to record/play SuperBeta? I'd like to do that to my NEC VC-739E because that would put it on par with some of Sony's high-end SL-HF units. The second semester at my high school has started and with it, the Audio/Video technology class I signed up for. Unfortunately, all of the teacher's video equipment seems to be by Penisonique. There are a few S-VHS and VHS camcorders, 2 AG-1960 S-VHS editors with an AG-A96 editing controller, an AG-2400 portable VHS VCR, and an absolutely ancient NV-8350 VHS editing VCR with a top loading carriage, BNC video jacks, linear stereo audio with Dolby B noise reduction, seperate buttons for winding and picture search (which was kind of confusing because when I held down FF in PLAY mode, expecting it would go into picture search, it stopped, unthreaded and started fast winding), audio dubbing, and the size, weight, and general handling characteristics of an aircraft carrier. I'll bet it dates from the late 70s or early 80s. Also in a back room there is an 8-track recorder that hasn't been used in God knows how long.

Well, since I dont have that big of a In-Brain Cache and can't remember all the posts I want to reply to, I'll reply to Sean's post about the rich people going on cruises and having their brand new little JVC globcorders: HA-HA!!! That's really funny, but it's true. I had Betamie with me when we went to the national shrine in San Juan, we had it really cold in the hotel room and it was really humid outside. Then we went inside the church after about 15 minutes of standing outside in the humidity, and Betamie locked up flashing DEW DEW DEW. Eeeeeeee! For some reason Betamie doesn't complain about humidity anymore (nope I did not disable its sensor, as the drum rotates like a VeHoS and I don't want it to jam or anything).

_@_v - eee! franny! here's a complete sl-f1 -amie in your backyard!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3004904074

Nice machine.. makes me wish I had more PAL media...

Refresh message.. my IE is stuck on some old version of this page, and won't refresh.. :(

andy w:one of the girls posted the link for superbeta conversion , but it needs translation. check the archives.

betaguy:also try the slhf750. it features just about everything except flying erase heads.

Audio & Visual Sony at http://homepage1.nifty.com/Sony/ has the pages with the SuperBeta modifications.

Last I looked they looked to be dodgy solutions at best. More to do because you can than to make a reliable SuperBeta out of a nonSuper unit

((Sean)) DHL one

I think i will find other ....wich i dont know what

B T W what turntable u found..........must be worth a fortune....heuheuheuheu

http://www.wup.jp/~poyopoyo/image/hf91d.jpg

GORGEOUS PICTURE

ADRENALIN

http://www.sony.jp/products/Models/Library/EDV-9000.html

where all the guys..........??

Everyone! It just came over the news that the Space Shuttle just broke up on re-entry!

Dammit you got to it before I did! Oh well, get your Betas taping!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NASA STATEMENT ON LOSS OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH COLUMBIA A Space Shuttle contingency has been declared in Mission Control, Houston, as a result of the loss of communication with the Space Shuttle Columbia at approximately 9 a.m. EST Saturday as it descended toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. It was scheduled to touchdown at 9:16 a.m. EST. Communication and tracking of the shuttle was lost at 9 a.m. EST at an altitude of about 203,000 feet in the area above north central Texas. At the time communications were lost. The shuttle was traveling approximately 12,500 miles per hour (Mach 18). No communication and tracking information were received in Mission Control after that time. Search and rescue teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth and in portions of East Texas have been alerted. Any debris that is located in the area that may be related to the Space Shuttle contingency should be avoided and may be hazardous as a result of toxic propellants used aboard the shuttle. The location of any possible debris should immediately be reported to local authorities. Flight controllers in Mission Control have secured all information, notes and data pertinent to today's entry and landing by Space Shuttle Columbia and continue to methodically proceed through contingency plans. News media covering the Space Shuttle should stay tuned to NASA Television, which is broadcast on AMC-2, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees West longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.8 MHz. Reporters can also go to any NASA center newsroom to monitor the situation. New information, including the times and locations of press briefings, will be posted to this page.

ooooooo! you're posting OFF-toppppiccc!! LOL! Well I was going to say, won't they just look at the tape when the u-mies finally crash to earth? :) Punch a hole straight through to China, though. LOL! Just hose them off and put them back in another shuttle. :)

I'm in the EST zone. Caught it a few hours ago on the news. God all mighty! Looked like a comet streaking towards Earth! BTW: There's a live video on http://www.msnbc.com for those who wanna see it again.

I can still remember watching the first space shuttle landing (Crippen and Young) of the Columbia back in '81 in Science class in middle school and Being in Social Studies class in High School when they announced the Challenger explosion on the PA.

Ndasmu atos,dengkulmu koplak...........

I wish I was there for breaking news like this.... With my trusty Betamie :) and my Intern badge... ee hee heee!

eeeeeee! It's a pro 8-amie that wants to be a betamiecam and a betamie! And look what it's sitting on... http://home.hawaii.rr.com/hanan/david/OCT02/D61.jpg

"Drool" I say. There is a certain appeal of being there when something big goes down. Das Imperator has an Mp3 of the Hindenburg Disaster, if you're nice maybe he'll shoot a copy your way... How did you make out with the Rowe label?

Wanna drool a little more?

http://home.hawaii.rr.com/hanan/david/OCT02/D62.jpg

Only a little more.

anyone would like a rotary head replacement..........i might be a help...........

http://www.electronicsrepair.net/scemes.html

NEED SOME MANUALS , LOTS FOR SALE...........

THIS COULD BE A HAND..........

WANNA STUDY 'BOUT VIDEO........

http://ib.berkeley.edu/bioaape/resources.html

So, noone was down in Texas w/ a Betamie today? Or did you turn the tape(s) over to CBS and then have to lend them a beta deck to play it? ;)

HUGE SERVICE MANUALS

http://www.treasurechestcorp.com/SONY.sm.VCR.html

HINTS

http://www.euras.com/repair_tips_NTSC/sony/SONY.htm

The list of service manuals lists a model as SL-HF-780D. That does not show up on the most comprehensive lists of Japanese, American, or UK betamax decks. Anyone having any info on this deck should probably contact someone.

Some of my Beta tapes [movies] cause my SL-HF600 to stall. I think the belt is slipping. They seem to be harder to turn than other tapes, which play fine. Is there some way to lubricate or fix this problem without throwing the tape away? Some of them have been played quite a few times. Any suggestions appreciated. harrym

At radio shack you can buy a tape deck head lubricant that is good for anything not the capstan or pinch roller or the like. It is said that it can also be used to clean up tapes, so try lubing up the machine's tape path (NOT the pinch roller, follow all other directions) with that stuff and see if you get results.

hello ,Sean i already ask for a local Turntable dealer some of them sells Numark and Technics prices about 200 -300 U$D.

Perhaps we ship both items at our own expense and let it stay with that? Best Idea I can come up with.

Well. me too....I just wonder what type of tuurnie you got thereI found that FedEx more cheaperI should check UPS soon though.

Some old Tapes is very sticky to the Drum, wich may cause the sensors stops the stepper motor...try Silicon oil around the Drum (must be Pure and light SAE).

Question: Would anyone being interested in a beta tape called "The Bugs Bunny Show?" I got it in a lot of tapes about a year ago but can't view it because it's a PAL. If I load it, I can only hear the linear sound. So I put it away after trying to unload it on eBay (at the time), but found it again recently during some cleaning. Could send it to Europe or here to someone w/ a T-50ME (or whatever) who could view it for the shipping cost. Comes in a large clamshell case (like early WB's), says it was released by Fletcher Video and is 45 minutes long. Judging by the fact that it also says "colour," I'm guessing it's of UK origin.

Got plenty of PAL Decks....if U dare to ships to my country......heuheuheuI also can transfer to Super VCD......

transferring tape to a new shell might help , but you WILL meet frustrating small parts and jumpy springs. opened one recently to splice new leader and was ultimately sucessful,but i aint famous for my dexterity!

boby:very interesting links! is euras repair tips a free service?

Madness:

I'll take that PAL tape off your hands. You can send it whenever you get around to doing the Dr. D. stuff. :) You need me to send you a case of tapes?

(joel) ..dont know much..sealed/Brand new Japanese TDK HIGH contact tapes .L500 in stock2.75 $ eachcheaper for more qty

need Video?

http://www.cheapest-video.co.uk/

hey guys, i dont know this is working or not.........

http://www.marktplaats.nl/foto.php3?g=video&u=betamaxrecorders&ID=565&ret=%2Fmarkt%2Fvideo%2Fbetamaxrecorders%2F565.htm

Antique Camera........

http://www.marktplaats.nl/foto.php3?g=video&u=betamaxrecorders&ID=564&ret=%2Fmarkt%2Fvideo%2Fbetamaxrecorders%2F564.htm

its only 20 EURo

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3004108586&category=27734

Sony Betamax SL-HF950ES SuperBeta m PRO-X

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3004414727&category=27734

THIN BETAMAX

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3003023906&category=27734

Does anyone know if Super Beta SL-300 have Stereo sound ? Also, about what year did this unit come out ? Still love Beta.

Sl-300 Super Beta. What year did this unit come out?

I'm pretty sure it doesn't. WIth a couple of exceptions, All Sony Betas with HiFi had the "HF" tag in the model number... i.e. SL-HF-500, SL-HF-900, etc. THe only ones that didn't were the SL-5200, SL-2700, SL-2710, SLO-1400, SLO-1800, and GCS-50.

I'm If not mistaken, all of the SL-XXX superbetas are mono (as are a couple of SL-XXXX models, i.e. the SL-3030 & 9090). All of the consumer-grade superbeta-hifi decks are SL-HFXXX(X). As for the year, I'd guess '86 or so, but check http://www.betainfoguide.com to be sure. It has a listing of Sony's by model number and the year they were introduced.