Oh Wow! You found a treasure, Brenda! That's not for CED players (Magnavision is lasedisc!) it's for magnavision players!!! If I had one, I'd get this, but magnavision players are awful anyway! So there. You might get it for fun. And I'm the one with the CED player, too! and I even have the super-rare universal remote that can control it. Yay.

There are perhaps 5 types of CED machines. RCA type 1, RCA type 2, Hitachi, Toshiba, and Sanyo types. That is all the basic designs. RCA type one had a sloped face. RCA type 2 loaded the disc with a powered load and had a flat face. The other three were bad designs. There were perhaps almost 100 different models, however, although they all derive from on of the four not the sanyo, because there was only one sanyo... Some would have stereo or not but the only real interresting ones were the random-access RCAs.

Ooops. not 100 different models. My mistake.

For Bobby

Hi, I visited internet: http://home.t-online.de/home/340054418855-0001/Betamax/homepage.html#3000

I'm very satisfied! Also very interesting and important!Bobby are very genius!

Thank you!Sergio

Off to the land of the Rising Sun tomorrow morning, wish I had enough ¥ to sleech one of those "last of the ßetas", preferably an ED ßeta... but such is not to be..

I don't know for sure if I will have access to the internet much while I'm over there, but I will do my bestest to check in from time to time.

Take care, all, and stay well. :)

I got me a CED player too. The RCA stereo model that has some kind of what looks like a computer-control interface on the back. But try to pick up a pile of those disc catridges and I damn near take my back out!

I can identify that model to a "T". If the port is like a regular computer port, it's the SKT-256. The discs certainly are HEAVY. That was one of the downsides. The other is that, at their best, the quality of the picture was about that of regular Beta. Having a mechanical link in them, the stylus on the disc, they didn't stay that way long... The stylus wears out quickly (it's a user-replaceable commodity on most machines, like OLD video heads...) and the discs are vulnerable to wear... However they're not time sensative like videotape, but, if you want an archival format, laserdisc is unarguably better.

I think though the grooves didn't actualy contain the information on a CED (like on a standard record) but were there for the stylus to track the capacitance information in the valley of the groove. JVC's VHD device didn't even had a groove but tracked it's stylus over a flat disc with the help of a control track. CED though seem to have gotten as wide a release as Phillips VCR format got in the US market.

Of course you're right, Franny, but damage to the grooves would still inhibit the stylus' ability to read the information, because it is based on precise difference in capacitence between a diamond-tipped titanium stylus and a carbon-loaded polymer disc. Even a speck of dust will foul the mechanism... Madness, you shoud NEVER store discs in stacks so big that they hurt to pick up! perhaps 8 discs high is the limit for vertical stacks, and NO objects whatsoever on top of them. Pressure causes the caddy's surface to rub on the disc and damage the grooves irreperably. Store them on their sides or ends like audio LPs.

In our pursuit of old off-air recorded Beta tapes, has anybody found early "Simpsons" footage? I'm not looking to buy, but I thought this would recall some interesting stories...

I still have bout 100 used beta tapes with tv films on. Any offers considered. London E4 area.

Hello from Tokyo...

We made it here in one piece, no North Korean rockets got our plane.. LOL

This is quite a place, even larger than Seoul, and that's saying something, since Seoul has over 14,000,000 people.

Madness, You ever find those Dr. D. recordings?

Can't stay on too long, as we're borrowing my friend Maki's dial-up, and I think they charge for phone line time as well as on-line time here.

Will try to stop in tomorrow some time, but we are all going up to Mt. Fuji, and I don't know for sure when we will be back.

Take care, all, and stay well. :)

Just know that a friend stores hundreds of Beta movie tape LOLSome of 'em with KG's of dust LOLwell ,maybe we dont realize/know the guy next door have a closet full of beta Tape

heuheuehueue

my friend Franny :actually Recods needs some special treatments, eg cleaning, dusting, protecting from severe impact,and polishing with a anti static liquid.this would make your stuff lasts longer.Newer Records needs more care than older one, grooves on older recs got much more deeper angle yet stronger material composition.

http://www8.ocn.ne.jp/~bcc100/frm/fr02.htmleee anyone understands this :http://www.marktplaats.nl/markt/video/betamaxrecorders.htmeee absolutely rarehttp://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~vk8m-mymt/beta/siryo/f17.htmghoss where am i....http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~vk8m-mymt/beta/hi-fi.htm

HiHas anyone got a service manual for sale for a Sony SLO-1700 Betamax Video recorder.You can email me on [email protected] are also looking for other professional/broadcast servcie manuals, let us know what you have available with prices.ThanksSteve

End of my second day in Japan.. and haven't seen a single ßeta machine, or even found a Japanese person who knows what I'm talking about. :( Of course, I'm in some little town outside of Tokyo, the name escapes me at the moment.. maybe better luck finding one (at least to LOOK at) in the big city tomorrow.. not that I could even come close to affording one. Can't believe evils of JVC video have so completely taken over the mother country.

Everything is SOOO expensive here.. a 500ml bottle of soda is about a buck. An average McD's meal is around $10. Gas runs about 110 Yen (bit under a buck) a liter, so close to Korea at around $4 a gallon.

Wish me luck, though.. maybe I'll find an unloved ED ßeta that I can pick up cheap.. :)

GRRRRRrrrr... you're lucky... in the land of Rising microchip... the land of anime, betamax, and superior consumer electronics. Try to find any Japanese home-market LD players, they seem to attract the same sort of attention on Ebay that Japanese Betamax decks do...

Man, I love anime; especially yaoi! Must be heaven over there! Whatever I could find from my favorite fandoms I copied to beta. Since alot of it was 60 minutes or less, I could finally use up some of the couple dozen betacam 10's I got here.

Unfortunately I know what yaoi means... to put it like the anime freak I'm not, you've gone past etchi into hentai... oh well, to each his own. Moving right along now, I do have one of those voltage regulators that lets you use 100v japanese equipment in the states... but I have no japanese equipment... I guess i'll need it for when I finally am able to get the SL-HF-1000D sent to me (I still have your turntable, boby).

Beginning of day three. I haven't seen much in the way of electronics yet, but that's DEFINATELY on my to-do list. One interesting thing I have noted though. In Family Mart (a 7-11 type store that's big in the orient) they sell a lot of little trinkets, like MD discs, external power packs for cell phones and a Sony AM-FM pocket radio that also receives their first three TV channels, which are in our FM band (the FM band in Japan runs from about 72-96 MHz).

Today we're going to go to an art supply store today, maybe I can get my friend to find a secondhand electronics store to snoop around in, too. :)

Another snail wanna-be with a Betamie 220...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2917239533

Wants a $250 start bid

Which is $1 more than the BIN of this overpriced BMC-660...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3013270973

All in all Betamovies simply can't bring those sorta prices...

Oh here's a nice one: An SL-2710 on weeeebay w/ a JVC VHS box in back of it! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3013064736&category=15099

Clearly the Betamax has recently eliminated some waste of a biological nature...

Be sure your "helemet" is not old or broken before approaching this dangerous beta:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3013796339&category=15099

End of day three... checked out some used electronics places and found only one BMC-220, nothing else ßeta, not even used tapes... where are they hiding it all??

Won't have any chance to look any further, we're going out tomorrow to check out some Buddhist and Shinto shrines (an all day proposition), and Thursday will be spent largely packing for our return trip on Friday.

hiya everyone! im new here, i was just hoping someone could help me with an assignment im doing? its on betamax technology and i need to do an audio assignment on its success/failure etc. any bright ideas how 2 go about it? would help greatly with anything u can offer 2 help!

Brenda if you should feel a warm breeze to the back of your neck on the mention of the word Betamax then you've likely had a close encounter with the ultra-secretive NINJA BETA!

whappah!-[ == ::::] _@_¼¼ - i wonder where all the betamaxes are????

¼¼_@_ - did somebody say something???

Added a nice photoalbum of NTSC Betamovies at The Betamax Videographer club...

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/thebetamaxvideographer/lst?&.dir=/Betamovies

Includes just about every know 'Betamie' except for the Toshiba BMC-550 clone. Haven't been able to find a piccy of that but I do know it exists because I've seen the box that one came in.

Brenda :why not trying Shinjuku, heard lots of betamie there.....

double deck video? hmmm...?http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3012947378&category=3318

Be carefull of black Ninja errhh haik...watashiwa KoreaanJindesuka no Ninja please if u may say so heuheueue dont be mad ,just kidding..come on smile plzzafter Japan why not visit me Brenda,,got lots of Betamax machine to introduce.Have a spectacular trip.

Well, Maki came down with flu or food poisoning last night, and was up all night praying at the porcelain shrine.. :( so... our trip to see other shrines has been postponed at least till tomorrow... Where is Shinjuku?? We are in a town called Hochioji, very near Yakoto AB.

One thing at least that I did find, I bought some 8mm amies at a place called Hard Off, which sells used stuff.. sort of the Goodwill of Japan. One of them has three batteries, but I think they are all toast, plus the AC supply and charger. It works, but seems to need the heads cleaned, or maybe the transport path cleaned, as it has a band of noise near the bottom, but the rest of the picture is quite clear. The other needs a battery, but I jury rigged the AC supply to the other one to it, and it both records and plays very well.

Take care, all, and stay well.

Brenda: if one of those 8mm is the choulder-pack, I might be interrested in buying it from you.... I don't know where Shinjuku is... I have a friend who would be he's not one for timely communications... anyway, when you're back at your computer, do you happen to have an Mp3 of "Year of the cat"???

_@_¼¼ - son of a bitch!!!!

The SL-HFT7 came today and the one problem that the guy mentioned in the auction proved to be an easy fix...

_@_¼¼ - however he failed to mention that the ACE block was totally fuxxed up and that the video head was worn to nubs. I was able to get a new audio head in and to replace the video-head with one that at least got video but no HiFi. But in the end the tape path is no good so even if I got the heads to come close to working I'll still have to deal with tape chew.

Hey Betaphile, you wouldn't want to part with that SL-HF 450 to save an SL-HFT7? I figure that I could transfer the whole tape mechanism and have a working T7. Pleaaaaaasssse!

Barring that does anyone know if the plugs and wires of an SL-HF 300 would mate with a T7's boards. I'm willing to Hannibalize my working 300 to save the T7 but would like know if it's doable first.

Anyone got an SL-HFT7 with good mechanicals but dead boards and/or PS they wanna unload?

BRENDA!!!!

From a friend who was in Japan for several years (regarding Shinjuku):

It is in Tokyo. It has probably the largest commuter station in the world, or close to it. Almost any train or subway in Tokyo passes through Shinjuku Station. The Yamanote line is probably the best one to use to get to Shinjuku.

Dude , you are going to make mincemeat out of that VCR !!!!!!! It does not sound like you are knowing what you are doing, I learned long ago parts swapping results in broken , and me writing off my machines I tried to work on. I don't know how to work on my machines, and it sounds like you don't either. It is only coming from experience , thats why I had to jump in here. You might want to take that unit into a repair shop, I know, I know you are too cheap .. trying to SAVE on repair costs , and in the end ruining what could have been a good unit. Leonard.

Well I do know enough to be able to swap basic parts (I've gotten a working SL-2000 from two dead ones this way) and was able to at least get a picture out of the T7. I figure if all I have to do to get this going is take the working mechanism out of a Beta with dead boards and transfer it to this Beta than it's worth having a go.

The tape transport mechanism of the T7 is attached by about three screws (as well as the screws mounting the carraige mecchy) and 15 separate wiring busses so it's mostly a matter of threading wires...

_@_¼¼ - grrr!

well I took my SL-HF 300's transport assembly out to evaluate it's possible transfer to the SL-HFT7 and it proved to be unfeasable so I put it back in the 300 none the worse. Guess I'll have to find another T7 or maybe an SL-HF 450 with dead boards...

At least it looks pretty nice in the basement...

_@_v -eeepers! sux2bu das! maybe you can polish it up real nice and fob it off on The Snail...

_@_v - sux that a dealersnail managed to sleech this SL-HF 2000 for a mere $235 bux...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3013972586

Just back from a semi-fruitful search. Still no ßeta goodies, but another search of the same secondhand place netted me a charger/AC supply for my other 8mm amie that needed a battery, so at least now I can play with it some without mucking around with extra wires and such. Also, we got onto Yokota AB and found a replacement P/S for my laptop, so that's now back up and running.. was looking for a while there like I wouldn't be able to get online till I got home..

Sean, Yes, I have that track, and will send it to you when I get home.. prolly be your Friday some time before I get to it though, since we will be getting home pretty late on our Friday.

Welle: if you looking for second/used Beta in Japan ,hopefully there is some but from what i know of that second goodey wont last/exist cos' Japanese destroy it /recycled. Maybe Indonesia would be a consideration where some of the used Electronic appliances exported to/from foreign country.

Hi Betaphiles,

The videocassette Akai Activideo VK -30 is similar the Betamax. Here you want to visit the videorecorder portable Akai Activideo VT-300 and VT-400 (rare): http://bidouille.dyndns.org/~bruno/akai_vt300.htm

Ok.Sergio

DasImperator:

I have a working SL-HFT7 (black) that I was about to put up for sale. Front panel and flip down door are pristine, but top cover is scratched and dinged. It is missing tuner cover on top.

Inside, some portions of the boards at the rear tuner side look like they had been in damp areas(I cleaned hem up). However, everything works perfectly, record/playback/MTS etc. I have been using it in the rec room for about 6 months without a problem.

If your interested, I'd be asking $90 plus shipping....

Mike

_@_¼¼ - whappah! ninja-mie!

http://home.nycap.rr.com/frannylandde/kunstwerken/ninjamie.jpg

Apparently, there are a great number of secondhand shops here, much of the secondhand equipment is cleaned up/repaired and repackaged for resale, a most effective form of recycling.. there are at least 9 different locations of the Hard Off division of the Off House stores just in the Kanto Plain area. Of course, for us to travel to all of them would be very cost prohibitive (our trip yesterday to search for a new P/S for the laptop cost us over $55 just in cab fares, and the trip was only about 4 miles each direction.. OUCHIES!!!

$55 for a 4 mile cabfare? I was able to go all over NYC last year with a $3 'Metrocard' and the subways on the weekend weren't all that crowded.

Franny, out of curiosity, if you're in Germany, how do you have a website on New York City's RoadRunner server?

A friend gave me an FTP account

A bowl of cheap noodle would be 6$ heueueuheueeuy Franny how about our Run...?

looks like xmas comes early this year for das imperator courtesy of mike f.!

wonder what will happeninghttp://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/mapspub/maps/Iraq.htm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2917102633&category=10953

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3012321271&category=3419

http://www.multied.com/desert_storm/index.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2848639.stm

olive's right about lled's $ on the manual for the 2100. mine cost below $45 from sony,maybe as low as $20. i was wondering why a tech recently asked me how many 2100 manuals i have!

Has anyone tried to visit http://www.betainfoguide.com recently?

First http://www.betamax.to, now this...

Also: Any comments/thoughts on the Sony SL-HFR70? I just nabbed one from ebay for $36.00!

I'm sure that the public transportation system here is considerably cheaper.. but I will not be here long enough to memorize it, and I can't read Kanji nor Katakana. I think the closest subway station to us is nearly at the place I wanted to go anyway.. LOL.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is very very expensive here. Used DVD's and VHS tapes, for instance, are actually being sold at prices $2-$5 HIGHER than NEW ones are sold for in the states... and new stuff is insanely expensive.

Today we went to Mt. Mitake. The first 1400' we took a tram and a lift, the next 1600', we walked.. YIKES!! I can't believe that a grossly overweight, totally out of shape slug like me actually made it to the top of that mountain.. some of the paths were at least a 20% grade.. but I did make it with some effort to the top, and the view was well worth it.. :) We walked back down to the level to catch the tram, bypassing the lift altogether. It was great fun all in all, and the true highlight of our vacation thusfar. :)

Also I'm like Jesse.

Where are http://www.betamax.to and http://www.betainfoguide.com???????????

Help!

Sergio

P.S.: I find the videorecorder portable Akai Activideo: VT-400 (very rare!) like VT-300 version colour!

Betamax.to is gone. Franny knows what happened. betainfoguide seems to be working just fine now. It was down for a while.

<<RE: Any comments/thoughts on the Sony SL-HFR70? I just nabbed one from ebay for $36.00! >>

From the Beta :The Better Format page...

http://www.aboutfx.com/~altered/beta.html

SL-HFR70 a SuperBeta linear track audio machine with a jack on the back to add the HiFi unit to make it Beta HiFi. -- The "R" stood for 'ready', so this model was HiFi Ready. It became HiFi when you bought the HFP -200 HiFi adaptor, hence the model designation. (MF)

part2 a c. 1986 - 87 mono SuperBeta, with a few special effects. These are Frame advance, 1/5 speed, 1/10 speed, channel programmable, digital tuner, and a good frame advance that doesn't skip too far ahead in the tape. Unfortunately, the video effects work only in the forward direction, unlike the SL-HF2700 which has many video effects in both directions. The Sl-HFR70 can be upgraded to Beta HiFi, by purchasing an external HiFi module, like the HFP100 or HFP200. The HFP100 and HFP200 are essentially the same, except hat the HFP200 decodes MTS, which includes SAP programming. The external HiFi modules plug into a socket on the back of the SL-HFR## VCR into a special plug labelled Beta HiFi. (RK)

part3 Mono superbeta. much resembling the E-Z beta machines. But it was one of the first vcrs to bring noiseless pause and slow motion to the mass,since it was built around a 2-head technology. But such performance of 2 heads required quite an elaborate mechanism, which was weak in return. It is not a tough machine... This one was among some other HFRxx vcrs... (which stands for Hi-Fi Ready) If you wanted you could buy the optional HFP-100 or HFP -200 BetaHi-Fi processor which lets you enjoy Hi-Fi sound. (CJ)

Note the initials at the indicate that at least three people supplied reviews of this model...

By the way ,the Japanese had produced a silver version of this model for the home market.

_@_¼¼ - the gastropod players proudly present 'Dr Strangelove 2K3'

http://home.nycap.rr.com/frannylandde/kunstwerken/snail-o-hawk.jpg

The SL-HR70 performs very much the same way as the SL-HF550 Superbeta HIFI does, especially when teamed up with the HFP-100/ 200 processor. Its a great unit, 3 heads perfect still, slow motion. Can't go wrong with it. Get the HFP-100/ 200 and you will be in heaven! I use a SL-HFR70 w/ HFP -200 every day and find it to be very favorable to the SL-HF1000 in terms of overall performance. Leonard.

FRANNYThat was ver funny snail, and could be as an appetizer of this

http://netad.cybercity.com.tw/cgi-bin/kfc_page/index.asp

_@_¼¼-eeeeeeeee!!!!! don't eat the she-snailie!!!!

I own a Beta SL-HF500 and a great machine,but I can't program no more than 12 stations on the set.It really doesn't explain on how you can program more stations.Would someone know anything about this? Bill

Where's that snailed missile heading? JVC HQ? *weg*

To Bill...

The SL-HF 500 shuold give you 14 preset channels so it seems like a couple were programmed out with the "clear" button.When you have the tuner preset in set mode you press the channel buttons "-" or "+" to change to another preset or to get back presets that were programmed out .

To Jesse-I've taped quite a few episodes of "The Simpsons" on Beta, but most of them are new episodes. I might have a few reruns of the old ones though. Found a couple of old JVC industrial VHS editing VCRs in a cabinet in my school's A/V technology room today, together with their editing controller. The models are BR-7700U and BR-8600U. These are a far cry from the shoddy hunks of cheap plastic being cranked out by JVC today. They are built like fricking battleships and easily weigh 40 pounds each. Both have linear stereo with Dolby B noise reduction, the 7700U also has hi-fi stereo, both have record level controls independantly adjustable for the both linear stereo channels and in the case of the 7700U, both hi-fi channels as well. Both also have a VIDEO level adjustment(!), those big needle-type meters for the audio/video level indicators (rather than LED meters), microphone inputs, BNC video jacks, a couple of big serial-type jacks on the back for the edit controller, insert editing, and this wonderful locking shuttle dial that operates far more multi-speed playback operations than anything I've ever seen. The 7700U had this flip-open door on the top that looked like the fine-tuner control cover on most VCRs, except it was screwed shut. When I undid the screws and opened it, it turned out to be some kind of access hatch for maintenance, because it was a window directly to the spinning head drum and the rest of the mechanism. My teacher said he bought them from the local TV station, and they have been sitting in that cabinet ever since. The 7700U works great, the 8600U will take a tape but won't play, I think it's pinch roller is shot because it will thread the tape fine, but then the tape won't move. It will just sit with the tape threaded and the drum spinning, but neither of the reels turning, for a few seconds, then it will unthread. It rewinds and fast forwards fine, so the reel drive works. The pinch roller has visible cracks in it, so I think the capstan can't get enough traction on the tape to pull it through.

My thanks to Olive for selling me a reel drive board for my Sl-2500.It's now up and running.Thanks so very much Olive! Last month I obtained 6 Beta's just by placing a ad in my local newspaper.All needed fixed but that's what I like to do.I got a SL-HF-450 ,a SL-2400,a SL-2500,a Toshiba VS-46 Stereo,a Sanyo 4590,a Sanyo 4500.All these are now in good working condition.So if your getting fed up not winning on e-bay you might try the newspaper thing. By the way I had 4 more responses to the ad that people just wanted too much for their Beta's and I let them go.I'll wait another 6 months or so and try again.Take care everyone -- Charlie

_@_v - nice to be able to save a beta...

_@_v - what? only a $150 BIN from The Snail? even for an sl-100, you're getting softbellied in your old age...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3014443394

What? No remote control add-on pack on that one?!?!?!?!

I just noticed that it did not come with the usual remote in the package... Perhaps he has at last exhausted his supply. He is still including beta tapes, which is a nice touch. That is actually a close-to-reasonable price... Maybe he will follow suit with his better units........... ...NAH!!!

Speaking of snail, in mainland China snail are cooked with herbs for supplement/meal .They believed it can cure many kind of disease.(of course without Stinger missile)heuheueu.Thats for real.http://www.ametron.com/video.htm#camcoanother beta page....http://member.nifty.ne.jp/jp1nom/betamax/#8‚̏C—‚Ì‚½‚ß‚É“¯ˆê‚̃ƒJ‚ðŽ‚¿‰'º‚ªƒ‚ƒmƒ‰ƒ‹‚Ìmore beta page coming up soon

For Betaphiles,

Hi,WOW: http://www.betainfoguide.com return to function!

This site's page betainfoguide (adjournment) is nice pictures and beautiful (Sears clone from Toshiba V-S36, Beta version PAL, Betamovies page and new photos/comments).

This year, i'm thinking to purchase the videorecorder (rec/play) professional Sony Betacam SP (serie PVW or UVW) second-hand in store's videoprofessional a Sesto S.G. (province of the Milan - Italy).

Sergio

Beta is deathless and peace also Betacam!My project Mini-Beta (mini-videocassetta) is again for awaiting because the print (mould) of the plastic is very difficult of to find!

I Need the owner manual for the great betamax SL-HF900

Can anyone help me with the pinout for the 6-pin DIN socket on the back of the SLHF100? I have unearthed a 6-pin DIN to VERY incompletely-wired SCART lead. Nothing I have tried has resulted in getting anything into or out from the machine with this lead.

It would be extremely helpful if I could use a SCART connection and stop having to use clusters of phono plugs. It would probably enable me to cut out one problem-fraught switching box. The SCART standard is an example of an extremely good idea appallingly implemented, and the plugs do not respond very well to constant plugging and unplugging. The aforementioned switch box requires that I do so.

I would be very grateful for any info on the pinout, even if it resulted in my having to undertake the unpleasant job of rewiring a DIN plug!

ka boom...hihihihiBetamax very affraidhttp://www.wup.jp/~poyopoyo/hf900ii.htmlhttp://www.betamax.net/gallery/title/title_top.htmmaybe there's betamaxhttp://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/dvc1/index.html

Did you know one of our own Betaphiles (Howard Feng) has been deployed to military service?

http://home.nycap.rr.com/frannylandde/kunstwerken/pattonsnailie.jpg

Watch my Beta copy of Patton today between war reports.

Rolled back up to home from Japan about 11:00 last night... it was a very busy week, and we really hated to leave. For one thing, the Japanese people bend over backwards to be nice to you, something totally lost in most, if not all, western societies today.

Prices for almost everything were very very high. The one exception was a Thai food restaurant that we went to the last night we were there. The food there was actually cheaper than what we pay up in Seoul.

Never found any ßeta stuff other than the one BMC-220. I didn't buy that because I couldn't see any real benefit over my current BMC-110 and it's NEC clone. I did get lots of nice pics taken from the top of Mitakesan and of various other sights such as Daibutsu (the Great Buddha, largest Buddha statue in Japan). I guess that the ßeta stuff in Japan that is still in working order is still being used by Japanese ßetaphiles..

_@_v - ri-i-i-ight...

SONY super betamax vcr. Works great. Was one owner an older lady who watched it with her grandchildren. Sold as is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3014638790

Lots of times you see that adjective "Super" used to describe a beta VCR... to fool your search strings and the naive... remember, evian is naive backwards... not that any good Americans should be buying fr*nch stuff now anyway...

eee need a nu car http://www.bentleymotors.co.ukeerrrr dont use old copper in war....ee use USS Enterprise stargazer with captain Jean Luc Picard on board heuheueuehuheu (sorry didnt mean any)http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s813134.htmjust got bored......

Have got the SL-HF900 service manual which I don't need and which happens to contain the operating instructions.

Sony Remotes for sale: RMT-216 ( HF100 ) Used £5, RMT-225 (?) basic beta functions (operates C9 ) Used £5, RMT-V195A NEW / UNUSED (Operates HF950 /VHS and TVs) 3 mode settings & Jog Shuttle £35, RM-D170 (Unused CD remote) £5. Also 100 used beta tapes with TV films (offers) London E4 area.

For sale: New Sony Service Manual for 28/32 DX40 (Analogue / Digital TV) £10

Bill StronachInstead of having mini Din for connection, why not use SCART to RCA converter wich uses 3 jacks ,cable Vin/AVin:Vout/AVout ease to use yet more compatible.Franny :what happened to that Snail army of yours, plunged into theirs cup ain't..? heuheuheue

http://www.potomak.com/eriko/zakki/GA_Snail.htmlhttp://www.coral-isl.com/snail-color.htmÀ̶óÅ© ""ºÎ, 3¿ù22ÀÏ (·ÎÀÌÅÍ) - À̶óÅ© ""ºÎ ÃÖ´ë µµ½ÃÀÎ 'Ù½º¶ó Áö¿ª¿¡¼­ 22ÀÏ ¿¬ÇÕ±º°ú À̶óÅ©±ºÀÇ ÀüÅõ°¡ °è¼ÓµÆ´Ù. 'Ù½º¶ó´Â ÁÖ¿ä Ç×±¸ÀÌÀÚ, À̶óÅ©"» ÃÖ´ë À¯ÀüÁö´ë·Î Àü·«Àû ¿äÃæÁö·Î "ÅÈ÷°í ÀÖ´Ù.

_@_¼¼ - eee snail slicks! looks like ther'll be a 'run' on those....

http://www.livejournal.com/users/she_snailie/1709.html

bwaaahahahahahahaha! my snailie army is amassing...

i'll shall soon be the next Slugito Sleechilini

_@_¼¼-yoikes! at least three snails bid on this sl-hf 450 with a missing flipper door

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3013494682

The Snail himself put in a couple bids but lost to some other lesser known snail...

how long before they realise that THEY pretty much are the HiFi Betamax market nowadays?

Thanks very much for the thought, Boby, but perhaps I didn't make myself very clear. I already have to use a mess of SCART to phono connectors because of the lack of SCART sockets on the HF100, on my Sony AV amp and on the Marantz active AV control box I use with my BETA machines. My hope would be to sort out the 6-pin DIN and actually cut out at least one SCART to phono lead. By the way, the plug is standard DIN, not mini-DIN. I'm far too old and shaky to even attempt rewiring one of those!

I have found several sites that rate VHS tapes. Are there any similar ratings of Beta tapes? Also, can anyone tell me if Kodak Beta cassettes were made by TDK? They look like the same shells. If they were not made by TDK, how good are they? Any opinions? harrym

I don't know who made the Kodak tapes but they're reportedly much worse than the TDK... I'm not sure how much of our perception of tapes comes from using used tapes... the cheapest tapes would generally be the ones used in the worst machiens by the people who care the least and run dirty machines and so on... I really have no idea. I can reccomend Maxell (especially their HGX-gold), Sony, Fujifilm, and TDK. Memorex is also pretty good. Avoid Scotch, (And other Minnesota Mining & Mfg. tapes, of all kinds, actually), polaroid, kodak, any no-name tapes not bearing the "B" logo, and I think also that Ampex is supposed to be not very good...

I need service info on the capstan board of an SL-S600. Can anybody help me with photo copies or the whole service manual? Thanks!

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/6210/index.htm dont cook 'em, they're so cute.Why women like snail...gee..._____________________________Franny:Be careful og those snaille from WW2, cos' the predator is coming in.....http://www.usaf.com/photos702/planepig.jpegHOAHAHAOHAOHAOHAOAHAA

Sean:I have some Kodak cassettes but have not tried them yet. I avoid Scotch cassettes, since I have had problems with them over a period of time. Most of my Sony tapes dating back to 1985 are still in good condition. Have never tried a Fuji cassette. Thanks for the response. harrym

Bill :try using the primitf way, you can test each one of the cable at the end of DIN then connect it to audio or video ,if you can get pic or sound then it's the right cable.Dont worry it wont break the unit even you jumper the cable to each other .Happy try.

I once was given a partial case of fujifilm tapes. I still have the box (Some day that will be a RARE item). The tapes were very nice. I have unfortunately used them all up...

Thanks again, Boby, this time you've certainly given me an idea. As well as continuity testing with a multimeter, I have a small Casio LCD monitor which among other things I use to track video signals through my somewhat convoluted video setup (2 Betas, 2 S-VHS, a DVD recorder and a Sky satellite receiver). I didn't think of applying it to this problem, but thanks to you I've now realised I can do trial and error at the SCART end until I find a video signal. I'll let you know what success I have.

_@_¼¼ - The Snail sleeches again!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3013723753

_@_¼¼ - snagged an SL-HF 350 for $66.63....

i need suggestion for a generic walmart type remote control for my SLHF 300

any help greatly appreciated

thanks

You can do much beter than a universal. One of the nice features of Sony remotes is that almost all of them work on almost all the other VCRs. Sony has I think only 5 codes... maybe more in recent times. The three most common are 1, 2, and 3. (Easy, eh?) the SL-HF-300 needs code 1. Any sony remote that says "betamax" or has the "B" on it will work. Also any that has a switch and can go into "VTR 1" will work. You can get them from Sony.

Sony makes their own series of universal remotes. The RM-V22 I have is pretty much capable of handling all SL-HF 300 controls, though because the SL-HF 300 use preset channels instead of letting you get all channels pressing the number buttons gets you the corresponding preset number. Since there are 14 presets and only ten number buttons 3 channels are left out of direct access tuning (pressing the ENTER button gets the 12th preset).

Curiously Sony rigged it's universal remotes so that it will only work best on Sony products. My non-Sony CD player can be controlled but only basic controls work. I can't enter track numbers because Sony only enables that function for controlling it's own brand of CD players.