Thanks for your help Bjorn.

I took the metal casing off and had a look inside and found a screw loose from a previoys service.Anyway when I put it back together and tried a tape again it worked.

Hi,

Need some help, I suspect I have an issue in the chroma area of my SL HF 600 Betamax. During playback of known good tapes, there is a somewhat noticeable yellow "hue" horizontal bar in the picture at about the 1/3 mark, and 2/3 mark straight across the screen, about the width of a finger on a ~25 inch set.. It does not move, and is very consistent...

The rest of the image is OK and clean. If I record a tape on this unit, and play it on another known good Betamax, the same hue appears there, but is much more faint...

Any ideas where to look? Should I just recap the Chroma, and possibly input caps?

thanks,

Jonathan

Hi Stuart,

sounds like a loading issue. Does the tape even try to insert, or does it drop, then ejects within seconds?

Often cause is down to the rubber belts being worn which are easily replaced. Other causes include worn loading motor, dew detector picking up damp in the machine. However I would first look at the belts to see if they need replacing. Often the top one on the front loading mechanism.

pumabr :

It seems on the video that the servo board is defective. The hall effect sensor might also be defective as the head drum never spins but it's not sure at all. This point is easy to check, difficult to repair for a "non pro" and anyway in this case it wouldn't be the only issue because this never causes the VTR not to play in FF AND RW for at least a few seconds.I own 3 Betamax ( SL-C9 F, SL-HF950ES and SL-T50ME ) and what I can say is that most of the time when you want to have one unit working perfectly you must buy several spares for each model and/or junk units for spares... The problem is that unlike the SL-HF950 for instance this model is not so easy to find... There is one on Ebay : http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Sony-Betamax-SL-F90-Video-Cassette-Recorder-/182467768428?hash=item2a7bed306c:g:w0sAAOSw9GhYmG5D but it's impossible to say if it has working parts for yout unit. The first thing I would try is to replace the servo board. Repairing a servoboard is difficult if you are not a pro... Replacing boards is much easier. The problem might also come from the mecanical parts... And I agree with what Bjorn, Kevin etc. already said on this subject.

stuart :

I never saw a Sanyo but I would first check the tape sensors, you'll first have to find the service manual for your unit on the internet, see where they are located and if they work.

Hi,

I just purchased my first ever Beta player today. It's a Sanyo betacord vtc-m20.

I have never owned or even watched anything on beta before. Anyway I have a question and was hoping someone might be able to help me. When I insert a beta tape into the player the cassette symbol flahes red on the display and after about 5 seconds it ejects. I have tried other tapes and it just keeps ejecting it.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated?

Hi again!

Finally I got a video with the complete diagnosis of the Sony SL-F90. The device does FF but not REW. And neither does play. The drum does not spin... Well, I think the video is the best way to describe the problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkkVGXESSMw

Is it a serious problem? Will this be repaired?

Thanks Martin, the previous/next buttons are now working again and the Sony SL-T50ME under my TV is happy to be recognised on this page like its two mates SL-C9 F and SL-HF950ES :-)

Kevin, thanks again for your suggestion, just to update: I took your advice first before getting more complicated (although I tend to do the complicated first, then find it was a simple problem to my annoyance) Idler tyre worn as thought, plus worn pinch roller. Very simple mechanical problem. I do have a little electrical work to do, but nothing major. Repair completed successfully and watched a movie on it in perfect picture. Just have to fix Sanyo's famous front load problem as the jamming mechanism, although intermittent is frustrating. Front control covers (the plastic button coverings worn through so will have a new one printed and made up to fit. Video is almost restored to factory condition.

For disposal,3 working umatic video recorders plus one for spares,offers.

The previous/next buttons should hopefully now be working correctly regardless of having newest or oldest posts first. Also the T50 model is now recognised as a known model on the PALsite.

Hi pumabr

It does sound repairable, but the problem could be due to one of many issues. Inadequate toque from the take up spool although unlikely, check for head drum rotation, a lot of Sony's I get in tend to have this problem. Ideally you could do with more information. Is there audio but no picture,does the machine play then stop, by no picture do you mean a blank screen, or lots of noise? Another common problem I find is where people have attempted work on the drum and messed it up either damaging or misaligning the heads.

Hi! I found a Sony SL-F90 for sale for 40€ (plus shipping), but it does not play the tapes. The seller says that the unit turns on, rewinds the tapes, but when it does play, it does not give a picture on the TV. Is there a solution to this problem? Can this be repaired?

Ogulderen

I forgot this if you want to have the mono sound of your Sony player on both channels of your TV : http://www.ebay.fr/itm/like/172399697330

Ogulderen

First you have to buy a BNC to RCA adapter for the video signal: https://www.amazon.fr/Adaptateur-bnc-male-rca-femelle/dp/B000S0HTOM then a RCA cable for video and audio if your TV has rca input : http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Triple-3-Male-RCA-Composite-Audio-Video-DVD-TV-AV-Cable-1-4M-WT-/291789776168?hash=item43f006a528:g:HT8AAOSw9eVXXFxt , if it has only scart you'll have to buy another adapter https://www.amazon.fr/Bulk-Adaptateur-P%C3%A9ritel-gigogne-femelle/dp/B0017ZH80C/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1487418870&sr=8-5&keywords=scart+to+rca or a rca to peritel cable : https://www.inkstore.fr/store/logilink-scartkabel-scartstecker-cinchstecker-p-161876.html?gclid=CPTZpt7KmdICFfIW0wodhsQLZA&;gid=direct

I didn't know this model Sony SL-P20CH before, it seems to be one of the very rare Beta players only Sony made, looks a bit like a Sony SL-T20 VTR.

Hi everyone,

I have a sony sony cl-p20ch video cassette player. But I don't have any cable to connect TV. I don't know which kind of cable I should use. How should I googling to find correct cable?

Thanks for helping.

Thanks Martin, I didn't notice that "Show oldest posts first" was working !

As you are an administrator I will also mention the fact that writing " SL-T50ME " doesn't make its iconic picture appear on left of the chat page unlike other models references, and that the word "secam" almost never appear on the site yet most of european Sony beta machines were available in pal/secam or secam only versions bearing the suffix "F" instead of UB ES, E etc... Aaaaah, these french people always complaining ... ;-) ;-) ;-)

Seriously this is a great site and a real reference for all european Betamax including secam models as there is no "Betamax SECAMsite" and anyway secam models are clones to the pal models unlike US ntsc models.

Yes you are right, there is a problem with the "previous" button. If you switch to "Show oldest posts first" it should work though. I will look into it.

Hi everybody.

Did you notice that the "previons" button on this chat page doesn't work anymore, so we can't see older posts unless we've made bookmarks... is it maintenance ?

Does anyone know a special antistatic fluid that could be sprayed on the Beta head drums? I have now experienced this problem of "line tearing" due to dirt (from 33 years old tapes) sticked on the upper and lower head drum on my SL-C9 ,SL-HF950 and it will probably happen soon on my SL-T50ME. I don't use this last one often as it it my favourite, all in all I think it is the best picture for old tapes, yet drop out compensation is not as good as on the SL-HF950 and very far from the SL-C9, so I keep my SL-T50ME only for most of my Beta to digital transfers, if the tape is not too damaged and doesn't need heavy drop out compensation picture has outstanding pure colors. The SL-C9 is also great with uncredible contrast and was my favourite for a long time.

Does anybody have a link for a new replacement head disk for the SL-T50ME ?? Mine is still working OK at normal speeds, but at high speed the white bars are thicker than on my C9 and SL-HF950, it may indicate the heads starting to wear, although it maybe normal for this model as it is a multi-standard...? Is true that it is the same head disk as for the SL-C9 ? ?

Regards.

Hi,

I managed to get some epoxy to stick to the nylon gear (3-684-163-01), used a kind of mold to form the gear teeth, which turned out way better than I was expecting. It seems pretty tough, however I’m not sure for how long. The reason is the tape loading mechanism has *a lot* of stress placed on it.

When I load a tape I observe that when a tape is inserted, the servo motor runs to lower the tape into the machine, as expected. However after the tape is lowered, the motor still has power applied for a brief moment. I would have expected the power to the motor would be cut right after the tape_down switch is triggered but that doesn’t seem to be the case, there is a slight “delay” (say 0.5 seconds before I see the belt slack off). As a test to verify the switches, if I trigger the load_tape switch and allow the mechanism to drop down, it will continue to run and apply power to the servo load motor until I trigger the switch tape_loaded switch which is triggered by the actual cassette, when I poke the switch with my finger, a moment later the servo motor stops, and the unit proceeds to the next step to thread the tape around the video head drum.

For now I’ve backed off the tension so the yellow belt can slip the 2-3 teeth instead of it really cranking down on the tape load mechanism, and possibly breaking that damn gear again.

To me it’s working as designed, unless a capacitor has gone bad, and the timing is off with respect to when it should advance cut power and trigger the solenoid to advance to the next stage, load tape around the video drum…

If I am indeed correct, I’m not sure why this was designed this way, but I can see the area where the worm gear drive is attached kind of twist up from the tension… The spring at the bottom of the worm gear is so strong that it doesn’t allow the worm gear to “slip” against the gear it meshes with… if that did slip, then maybe those would just eventually strip anyways.

In either case it seems to me if I leave it this way, it will be very short lived again. I am contemplating putting a current limiting resistor where J144 is, inline with the servo motor to try and reduce some of the torque from the motor, and perhaps save some wear and tear on the old mechanism which has so many NLA parts.

BTW I’m still looking for a replacement 3-684-163-01 Gear, Driving Arm gear, but any of the stores I’ve checked don’t have any instock, it seems that what little stock was left is totally gone now.

Jonathan

Thanks Kevin, yes that makes sense, I too have seen m fair share of poor work especially on Sanyo's. Worst, although not on this machine, involved using elastic bands instead of belts and in 1 case a cable tie. Misaligned heads, where someone has attempted to work on them but not put back together again properly, one machine had the upper drum too tight, sadly damaging the head themselves virtually writing off the machine.

Anyway, I have belts and idler wheels on the way so should have this Beta back up and running by the weekend.

Bjorn:

I would get all the mechanicals perfect before attempting to adjust anything first.

It could be the caps on the servo board, but I have found if this is so you loose speed or tracking capability and most common the ability to stabalize the noise bars during search modes.

Make sure the capstan bearings have a tiny drop of oil top and bottom and that the magnet is not chafing the board (i have seen that a couple of times but rare on a Sanyo).

Also check the back tension which should be 150 on a torque meter.

Make sure too the tape is moving nicely through the guides and they have not been opened (like I've seen so many times) by numpties who think doing this will help it play better!!!

Good luck......................Kevin

I changed the head disk in my 1985 SL-HF100UB some 20 years ago due to bad HiFi audio using the disk for the SL-HF100P but about 3 months ago, the video failed(HiFi audio still fine). I searched on the internet for 2 months in vain but then the search became more fruitful and the EXACT DSR49R head was found on a just expired eBay sale which had no takers. Email between myself and the seller,in Portugal, got the item relisted as a buy-it-now and I snapped it up. The disk is now fitted and the machine performing as good as new. The faulty disk appears to have an open circuit video head with the possible ends of the break visible under a magnifying glass.

NotTheMessiah how did you get on with your C30? I have literally gone through the schematics and can't find another solution apart from that IC, oh and some caps on the video board. I used to have an F30 that did that and no matter what we did, it just wouldn't go away, turned out to be a small issue in the drum. Remember the "hall effect"? After we removed that blob of glue, and the heads started to rotate again, we failed to notice some interference coming from that area, small static shock from the drum eventually got us there, but only after a lot of other work. May of may not have been related to the issue, but coincidentally the picture noise stopped. Problem is that I did so much on that machine I completely lost track of where the actual fault was. lol

If you have the diagram handy, check every component along the line from video head to output. Otherwise, invest in an oscilloscope, I use one of those cheap USB ones from china - well used to as it doesn't run on Windows 10 so have to keep a laptop on XP. They're relatively cheap, and seem to do the job although no match for a real one.

I still prefer to use CRT screen for Betas, some LCDs tend to be pretty bad with Component connections, often the picture sharpness too high.

Nearly forgot, on my SL-C9 still in a bit of a bind. Replaced IC520, 521, D515, and a few caps but still no sound. Stereo light comes on so the audio head must be working although I haven't checked properly. It's probably something obvious I'm missing, but any ideas?

Just need a second opinion on this one,

On a Sanyo VTC6500 (I haven't worked on this model before) I have playback at normal speed, but picture sluggish and unstable behaving as though the tape is playing at slow speed (stable - jumpy - stable - jumpy) I just fixed a Sony C6 with this issue which was down to worn belts and faulty servo causing the heads to spin on/off/on causing the same picture noise & stability.

Whilst waiting for new idler tyres, should I also be looking at the servo board for dried caps?

Many thanks!!!!

I will try to change the capacitors.

Miguel:

Check the small blue Sanyo capacitors on the servo board (the board situated on it's side in the middle).

....Kevin

Hello, I need help. I have a Betacord Sanyo VTR 5000 and it plays to double speed audio and video. Anyone knows What is happen?

David and NickMugford:

Your on the wrong page this page is for Betamax NOT Betacam.

Look to the top left and go to the correct page where you will find the a appropriate assistance.

Hi guys wondering if ive been ripped off .but I bought a rmt 425 remote for my hf950. apparently you can change the ir code in the fb but I don't know what a fb is lol.it was a good price and is identical in every way to the rmt 232 remote made for hf950 mk2 but I have the mk1 ann help much appreciated.and thanks again kev for everything you have done on my hf950 you are the man that can.and very genuine repairer also

Sony U-Matic VO-2860P On Play mode it starts, pinch roller makes contact runs a few seconds and cuts out. Help

Hi,does anybody how the speed of betacam video recorders is determined as i wish to slow the transports down so as to get more recording time out of a cassette,i'm of the impression that the the machine chops the frequency of the mains supply as the uk/us

models have differing speeds,i'm not well up on digital circuity.

Wanted...power supply for sony DSR-DR1000ap video disc recorder or circuit,my recorders

power supply exploded like a minature atom bomb.Tks

Gab:

I too have one of these manual focus Betamovies and I found it handy to zoom in focus and then every time you zoom out it stays in focus. Unless you can see a clear edge to something to know whether it's really clearly focused it is tricky.

Boris:

Is the top of the head disc hard to move when the play light is illuminated ONLY, and then spin freely when the play light is off

....Kevin ?

There are a few faults that might cause that listed here: http://www.palsite.com/slc9tech.html

Another thing to check is the clutch/pully for the take up. In some models it can seize up. Simple enough to dissasemble to clean and lubricate.

Hello everyone

I have an old Sony SL-C9 with an issue, it stops playing after 2 or 3 seconds. Can anyone tell me the problem and how to fix it.

Thanks

Hello all,

Just looking for some advice. I recently acquired a Sony BMC-100 (Australian version of the BMC-110 I believe).

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on getting images in focus and specifically any tricks for setting the correction 'ring'. I'm finding that despite getting great sharp focus through the viewfinder it rarely matches the actual recording. I understand it's a trial and error thing but when shooting outdoors it's very easy to knock the ring just a touch off its perfect position and come home with a bunch of blurry footage. So just wondering if anyone has any tips for resetting this on the go.

Cheers!

Keep beta alive! :D

Hi Bjorn, thanks for the advice.

I've given eveything on ss-16 a tweak but it only helped so far. I did today find some caps that have been leaking both there and near dl-001 on yc-25. I recapped most of ss-16 and suspect ones near dl-001, which helped a little but I'm still seeing a lot of noise. I'm beginning to suspect delay line dl-001 might be failing but I don't have a spare. Tomorrow I'll finish recapping ss-16 and might do all of yc-25 too and report back.

I should really invest in a scope and learn how to do an alignment properly as I'm running blind a little here when tweaking things.

Hi NotTheMessiah it looks like you've covered everything I would have looked at. Especially SS-16 board (servo) which circuits did you make adjustments to? There are 4 - Drum Speed, Drum Phase, Capstan Speed, Capstan Phase. I would have suspected Drum speed and/or Drum phase. Check IC301 also IC304 although these seldom fail.

Hi Guys, I came back in to servicing Beta's this year after a shortish absence. I'm having a little trouble diagnosing a C9 which has left me baffled. So far on this machine, I've repaired the DC-DC CD09 module, and also repaired the front load assembly. I can't get any sound during playback, initialy was just noise but now no sound. Replaced D515 and checked IC520, IC521 which I'm not sure about so have replacements on order. Any ideas? I haven't touched a C9 since 2011 and worked on AM-1 since 2004 so a little rusty.

Nick... cheeky reposting eh :p

Hi guys,

So I've hit a bit of a wall with the SL-C30. I'm not having a lot of joy in cleaning up the picture and would appreciate some advice!

The picture has a great deal of noise, more than I would consider normal. See here: https://i.imgsafe.org/4c9de717a5.jpg

Areas most affected tend to be edges but the picture is in general quite noisy as can be seen. It almost looks like the odd and even fields aren't lining up correctly along with other noise. I'm not sure what could be causing this. In fact yesterday I noticed a moment when the odd and even fields were hugely out of sync, ie odd fields were lagging behind the even fields by around half the display width. This only lasted a few seconds though.

I've so far tried the following:

Everything has had a good clean and where applicable lubrication.

*Recapped the power supply

*Servo adjustment, this helped a little especially with stability of still images.

*New video heads - no difference

*Recapped input area of head amp - no difference

Would any resident experts or ex-technicians/service people have any tips?

Many thanks!

Simon

Hi guys wondering if ive been ripped off .but I bought a rmt 425 remote for my hf950. apparently you can change the ir code in the fb but I don't know what a fb is lol.it was a good price and is identical in every way to the rmt 232 remote made for hf950 mk2 but I have the mk1 ann help much appreciated.and thanks again kev for everything you have done on my hf950 you are the man that can.and very genuine repairer also

I've made some minor tweaks to improve the layout on smartphones.

Thanks very much, thats awesome! Will check it out

Many gears listed here: http://www.smcelectronics.com/vcrmech.htm

Again, no idea if they stock beta parts but it could be worth a look all the same.

There was one site I found that was full of gears. I'll see if I can find it. I don't know if they were beta gears though, the only heads they had were vhs but might be worth a shot. There's also http://www.qservice.tv/catalog.htm#sony

They unfortunately didn't have my heads though. Sigh.

Oops somehow double posted.

I didnt, thanks for the idea, ill have a check there. Recaping is a good idea unless its one of those ceramic boards with capacitors on it.... Those suck.

Hopefully it pans out for you!

In my excitement to post I may have fudged the part number and im not sure if I need

3-684-163-01 or 3-684-111-01 , need to double check when I get home.. As my original post has two different numbers.... Sigh.

For anyone wondering... the problem with the picture is that it's excessively grainy for beta and suffers smearing to the right from high contrasting colours. It's not snowy, it just looks more like a bad VHS image than a betamax image. At first I thought it may have been out of alignment but I've given everything a tweak and nothing has a particularly strong impact on improving th3 quality. That said I don't have a scope and alignment tape, nor do I have the experience in performing an alignment so I just put everything back as it was. Took pictures first!

Another thing I'm going to try in order to clear up the picture is recap the all areas responsible for video processing. I might just recap the whole thing though. I already did the power supply, which was worth while as during the process I found some had been leaking so given the unit is 34 years old it stands to reason that the other electrolytics are probably not in the best condition.

Thanks for the offer, it's much appreciated though they appear to be a different model, I'm not sure how much success I would have. I've got a dsr-33r set on the way that I'm going to try my luck with but I'm not tremendously hopeful that they'll go but I'll give those a try first. I'm hoping that they'll be just a slight revision from the 35r and will work but time will tell. Should be here next week so will keep you posted and if it's a no fit then I'll possibly take you up on that offer.

I hope you have some success in finding a replacement gear. Have you tried http://www.ued.net/website/ ?

I've looked all over for new heads but the only places showing any stock appear not to be operating their businesses anymore.

On a side note, I mayy still have an old set of heads from a sony sl-5020, not sure if you'd be able to transplant one onto your drum?

It would seem so, or scared everyone off with my seemingly huge post! Didnt look _that_ big when I typed it into the little box....

@jcarron2... I think we killed the whole chat page!

Hi Everyone

New here to the site, and have decided to get back into my Betamax stuff after many years. Skip down to the "currently section" to skip the back story. As a youngster I enjoyed repairing VCR's in general, and into the later years all electronic things. I decided to get back into my Betamax stuff, I have recently acquired a unknown condition, but surely broken, but very clean Sony HF600, which upon powering up the full VFD lit up. After some probing around inside the unit I decided to look in the power supply. After dismantling it, somewhat, and probing some capacitors I noticed they wern't near their rated voltage at all, i'm talking like the big filter caps on the bigger of the 3 boards in that module, where all the connectors mate to. I started to suspect the STK5441 module (god, how I hate these things), and looked up the specs, and found that, there was Vin, but NO S2 and S3 outputs (12 and 9v I think) unloaded they read 0v. Grounds check OK. I decided to ebay a replacement (cringe), upon RX it looked clean, but used. I replaced my stock one with that, and powered the power supply up. I had one of the two voltages, 9 or 12, but not both. I don't think I am going to find one of these STK modules that's going to work reliably. Anways, I decided to build my own 9 and 12v regulars from small 5amp (stk is only rated for 2.5a out) DC-DC adjustable regulators. I managed to find a service manual/schematic for this unit and dug around a bit more, making note of a few more things to test at this stage.. I wired up the DC-DC buck supplies, and the vcr came to life, sort of, until I tried to put a tape in.

Currently, when I try and put a tape in, the mechanism jams. Further dismantling of that shows what seems to be a known issue with this series.

Gear 3-684-111-01 has a broken tooth on it, and from digging around on the internet I found this site, with a discussion back in Nov 2016, giving me hope that since it was so recent there maybe a hope to find the gear.

Does anyone have a source (or spare they would sell), - for these still? The Amazon link is no good anymore

SONY 3-684-163-01 Gear, Driving Arm

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DFZVH8?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0

As for the current status of the Betamax, it seems good, it powers up, rew, ff, play all seem to function as expected (haven't tried loading a cassette yet), just trip the switch to test. The capstan motor runs, as does pick up sprocket, and drum.

One odd thing I noted is that while the drum keeps a constant governed speed at play and pause, betascan forward and reverse, *if* I stop and then do fast rewind/ffd, the drum changed in speed about once per second, and is very obvious. More fun to come?

thanks,

Jonathan

Hi everyone! First post here, was into Beta a while back and recently picked up an sl-c30 to get back into it. Anyway, I got it going but it appears that at some point in its life it took some head damage. One of the chips has a coil that's become all bent out of place and the picture isn't so great. The drum is pretty shiny too so looks like it's had a fair few hours! I'm just wondering if perhaps anyone here might have a set of heads (DSR-35R part no. A-6762-122-A) that they would be willing to part with at all? It could also use a new upper drum, but that's not quite as urgent.

I got it sorted out....the BVW-40 only accepts the small 30 minute tape.

Hi,

I have a question about the Beta Hi-Fi format in the PAL region. As I described earlier, I have recently bought the SL-800ME to digitize a PAL Beta Hi-Fi tape, but the deck turned out to support the standard Beta only, and it doesn't play Beta Hi-Fi tapes correctly. Are standard-Beta-only PAL models supposed to play Hi-Fi tapes without problem?

As you know, in the NTSC format, Hi-Fi audio signals are recorded between the chroma and luminance carriers, and this caused the infamous format incompatibility. When you play Hi-Fi tapes with standard Beta decks, the screen gets filled with moire fringes because they mistakenly read part of the audio signals as the luminance. So my SL-800ME suffers from this problem as well and doesn't play NTSC Hi-Fi tapes correctly.

In contrast, it does play the PAL Hi-Fi tape without moire fringes. It is probably because the Hi-Fi audio signals are recorded differently by the depth multiplexing method in the PAL format. However, the problem here is that white and black sparkles pop up around edges just like when you play Super Beta tapes without the Super Beta button turned on, but the cover and tape themselves say just "Beta Hi-Fi." Does this mean that the tape is actually recorded in Super Beta? Or do Beta Hi-Fi tapes play this way in the PAL format? From what I know, they never commercially sold Super Beta contents here in Japan, so I'm confused.

Thanks in advance.

hello all. very nice informative site you have here. hope it's ok to post ?

I've been into analog tape for 40 years. lately I'm buying old gear just to hear it.

the Betamax and Betacam format peaked my interest. I lucked into a Betamax w/stereo processor for only $20 USD.

my next experiment will be the early Betacam, the analog machines that use oxide tape, (not the SP and later format).

I know these early Betacam machines accept the standard small analog cassette with 30 minutes play time.

my question is, will a Betacam BVW-40 also accept a 12" large cassette ??

reason being I have found a small quantity of 12" tapes I'd like to try.

if anyone has one of these machines, could you post a reply ?

or, measure the depth and width of the tape well, and advise if it's configured to accept the large tape 90min.

thank all in advance, take care

c

Theapprentice:

Let this be a lesson to anyone who decides to try to work on these classic machines and not take the necessary pre cautions. (I.E make sure the power is OFF before moving boards from there places!)

It sounds to me like the main IC's are damaged for the drum/logic and function/mode.

You will have to gain access to a repair/service manual for this model. Readily available for download on the net.

Get hold of a voltage meter and then when going through the various modes find out what said voltages should be and then trace back until they are correct. This should highlight where the issue is.

I would also check the fusible resistors too.

Seeing as this is a pretty complex machine it might take some time.

Unless you have access to another 950 whereby all the modes function correctly and you could swap the boards out (electric off) to highlight where said issues are stemming from then it's going to be the service manual route.

Good luck...............

Hi everybody

I am exposing again the problem with my SL-HF 950 until someone gives me an idea.

So :

when trying to repair the display switch on the front panel which seemed to be malfunctioning - TV display was always on if not shut by remote- I tried to make the machine work when the FR20 board - front, right with buttons- was not screwed then suddenly play back started then ended and now it doesn't work anymore. Several flaws appeared.

In fact the soldered sides of right/down corner connectors -CN1 or CN2 or both- of board FR20 touched the metal case for a second and made a short circuit although no smoke nor flash appeared.

The result:

Head drum not rotating anymore, never, even when powering the VCR on.

when I hit play -same with remote and frt panel- the machine starts in fast forward and tape wraps around the pinch roller and the vcr stops.

when I hit FF or RW it works a few seconds then stops.

A second green led now lights permanently on the upper row -in hifi and auto display- a bit as if it was in tracking mode though it's not.

Some switches, edit super beta... do not light their led anymore

other switches -audio...- make the vu meter go to a maximum -green +red- for a second when switching them....

I gave a look and saw that CN1 from the front panel is connected to CN303 on the servo board I supppose some components are dead on this board too, and maybe on other boards... I watched the service manual but it's too complex for me to understand.

All this make me think that some components on SS50 and FR20 board are damaged, maybe not a lot, I hope, but I am not qualified at all to understand.

I think a good tech knowing well the HF950 should have ideas about which components to suspect on both SS50 servo board and FR20 board, knowing that a short circuit has been made for one second on back of connectors CN1 and/or CN2 of FR20 board, I still hope there are some here... !

Regards.

I have bought an SL-800ME to digitize my PAL Beta tapes, but I'm bummed! I searched for information about the SL-800ME before the purchase and some websites said it's a Super Beta machine, but mine only plays the standard Beta. When it plays the Beta Hi-Fi tapes, the screen gets filled with terrible Moire fringes.

I thought that those websites were wrong and checked them out again, and it turned out that there are two different versions of the SL-800ME: the standard Beta version and another one with Super Beta. They were both sold under the same name but with different features... The only superficial difference is the logo on the cassette door. Those with just "Betamax" on it cannot handle Super Beta. How confusing they are!

There is a Russian video on YouTube featuring the Super Beta version of the SL-800ME: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w8hyszmiuM

There seem to be no websites covering this piece of information. I think the administrator should update the model overview page.

Martin:

Thanks for the heads up.

At last a bit more security for us all here :)

Just to warn everybody, we are about to change the URL for the chatpages (possibly twice). The eventual aim is to ensure submissions will be secure. Just remember to update any bookmarks to those found on the site.

I could help you out but would involve sending the vcr's to me.

If you want to discuss this my e-mail is under my name (hold the cursor on this).

.........Kevin

I'm in Bristol. I also have a Slhf500 from the states that does everything except play the tape (even picture search both ways) 😢

I'm in Bristol. I also have a Slhf500 from the states that does everything except play the tape (even picture search both ways) 😢

Mitch:

It sounds like a insertion switch or two are playing up.

There are two inside the cassette slot housing.

One at the bottom that a metal slider activates and one at the back of the head drum.

The easiest solution for you would be to remove the Dc -DC from the faulty machine and put it in the working one.

Where abouts are you located?

....Kevin

Hello all

I'm new to the forum and I have a C9 That Won't take a tape. I can manually load powered off and when powered on the tape ejects. Im aware of the potential dirty switch but I can't get to it (unless I'm mistaken as to its whereabouts) I do have another C9 working but no clock display. Typically the DC to DC is functioning in the broken machine!

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Mitch

Hi everybody

I am exposing again the problem with my SL-HF 950 so If someone else has an idea, maybe Noel Higgins ? I read most of your older posts and you seem to be very clever about the Sony SL-HF950 . ..

So :

when trying to repair the display switch on the front panel which seemed to be malfunctioning - TV display was always on if not shut by remote- I tried to make the machine work when the FR20 board - front, right with buttons- was not screwed then suddenly play back started then ended and now it doesn't work anymore. Several flaws appeared.

In fact the soldered sides of right/down corner connectors -CN1 or CN2 or both- of board FR20 touched the metal case for a second and made a short circuit although no smoke nor flash appeared.

The result:

Head drum not rotating anymore, never, even when powering the VCR on.

when I hit play -same with remote and frt panel- the machine starts in fast forward and tape wraps around the pinch roller and the vcr stops.

when I hit FF or RW it works a few seconds then stops.

A second green led now lights permanently on the upper row -in hifi and auto display- a bit as if it was in tracking mode though it's not.

Some switches, edit super beta... do not light their led anymore

other switches -audio...- make the vu meter go to a maximum -green +red- for a second when switching them....

I gave a look and saw that CN1 from the front panel is connected to CN303 on the servo board I supppose some components are dead on this board too, and maybe on other boards... I watched the service manual but it's too complex for me to understand.

All this make me think that some components on SS50 and FR20 board are damaged, maybe not a lot, I hope, but I am not qualified at all to understand.

I think a good tech knowing well the HF950 should have ideas about which components to suspect on both SS50 servo board and FR20 board, knowing that a short circuit has been made for one second on back of connectors CN1 and/or CN2 of FR20 board, I still hope there are some here... !

Regards.

Dear betaphiles,

I am clearing some space at my basement in few weeks. Two or three SL-C6 mk1 will be thrown away. If interested in any particular assembly, just let me know on this forum board. I will be happy to send it for a very friendly price.

I recall having C7 / C5 and T7 in some corner, too.

Just ask, I'll be glad to send pieces and bits around Europe.

OK Kevin I got the mail, I understand...

I am exposing again the problem with my SL-HF 950 so If someone else has an idea, maybe Noel Higgins ? I read most of your older posts and you seem to be very clever about the Sony SL-HF950 . ..

So :

when trying to repair the display switch on the front panel which seemed to be malfunctioning - TV display was always on if not shut by remote- I tried to make the machine work when the FR20 board - front, right with buttons- was not screwed then suddenly play back started then ended and now it doesn't work anymore. Several flaws appeared.

In fact the soldered sides of right/down corner connectors -CN1 or CN2 or both- of board FR20 touched the metal case for a second and made a short circuit although no smoke nor flash appeared.

The result:

Head drum not rotating anymore, never, even when powering the VCR on.

when I hit play -same with remote and frt panel- the machine starts in fast forward and tape wraps around the pinch roller and the vcr stops.

when I hit FF or RW it works a few seconds then stops.

A second green led now lights permanently on the upper row -in hifi and auto display- a bit as if it was in tracking mode though it's not.

Some switches, edit super beta... do not light their led anymore

other switches -audio...- make the vu meter go to a maximum -green +red- for a second when switching them....

I gave a look and saw that CN1 from the front panel is connected to CN303 on the servo board I supppose some components are dead on this board too, and maybe on other boards... I watched the service manual but it's too complex for me to understand.

All this make me think that some components on SS50 and FR20 board are damaged, maybe not a lot, I hope, but I am not qualified at all to understand.

I think a good tech knowing well the HF950 should have ideas about which components to suspect on both SS50 servo board and FR20 board, knowing that a short circuit has been made for one second on back of connectors CN1 and/or CN2 of FR20 board, I still hope there are some here... !

Regards.

Theapprentice:

I am but the situ has changed since we last communicated.

I have responded to your e-mail.

Sorry to disappoint.

Good luck with it. A successful solution always arises, trust me.

......Kev

Hi Kevin Lambert

It seems you're not receiving my mails anymore ... ?

Hi all. I've just been given a Panasonic plasma TV and I've noticed that my Sanyo vtc9300, Sony SLC6 and Pye 20vr23 (V2000) VCRs all have a sort of line ripping effect on the screen. I'm thinking it's the interference from the TV...Maybe the cooling fans at the rear of the TV?

Is there anything I can buy that would stop this from happening? Oddly enough my Sony SLC9 and Panasonic vhs/DVD combo unit are fine with no line ripping pictures. This obviously happens on tape playback.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Rich.

Yes, I noticed that, I explained it in old posts that you can find here. The best thing to do is to put the beta VCRS at least 2,50 meters away from the TV. If you just need the beta to digitalise tapes you only have to put the TV off while copying tapes.

Hi all. I've just been given a Panasonic plasma TV and I've noticed that my Sanyo vtc9300, Sony SLC6 and Pye 20vr23 (V2000) VCRs all have a sort of line ripping effect on the screen. I'm thinking it's the interference from the TV...Maybe the cooling fans at the rear of the TV?

Is there anything I can buy that would stop this from happening? Oddly enough my Sony SLC9 and Panasonic vhs/DVD combo unit are fine with no line ripping pictures. This obviously happens on tape playback.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Rich.

Multidynamic,

Regarding the HiFi recording/tracking issue. To check the head wear use your original tape and see how much range you have each way from centre on the tracking control before the stereo drops out. Then try the same again on the recordings you make now. If the tracking "range" is still good and not just at one touchy point then you have a combination of head wear and tracking change. You will probably find that playback of the original recording is not really centred either. Best to judge the tracking centre point by the clearest picture quality.

The tracking always goes off because of electrolytic capacitors aging. It can be rest to centre position with an internal adjustment but you need a CRO and test tape to do that properly.

regards Noel (Betaheaven.com)

That should've read......... 'it shouldn't be too much of an issue yet'.

Multidynamic:

It sounds like the |hi-F heads could be wearing low.

It's with recordings where they will show even more if they are wearing.

The reason those pre recorded ones aren't to fussy is because they were recorded on another Beta Hi-Fi machine with heads in good order.

You will find as you record on yours and those heads get even lower you will have a job getting the Hi-Fi sound even at the center.

If you are using this vcr to transfer your Hi-Fi tapes recorded elsewhere on another machine to digital it should be too much of an issue yet.

..Kevin

Fadhie:

You need to post that on the UMATIC page not Betamax!!!!!!!!!!!

HI.. 5/1/2017 I BUYING USEDSONY U-MATIC VO-2630 VCR FROM LOCAL MARKET. ITS TURN ON POWER AND EJECT WOORK ALL LIGHT WOORK HEAD IS CLEAN..BUT I HAV NOT CASSETTE TO TEST PICTUR..I WEL TRY BUY IT FROM EBAY.LOOL

Hi again I have sony sl-hf100 was referring to not recording in stereo, I have noticed that if you record with the tracking in the position in the center.

Well then once recorded, to be able to listen in stereo you have to put the tracking in the middle to the right and so if you can listen

On the original tapes it does not stop to move the tracking.

Could you help me

Thank you

Hi, I have a sony sl-hf100 and the problem I have is that when I record in stereo

Does not play in stereo only plays in stereo the original tapes

The recordings only plays in mono, my question is? What can happen to him

Who does not record me in stereo?

Thank you

Hi - I am looking for N1500 & N1700 video play head drums, complete Philips N1500/N1700 machines and any collections of tapes for these machines anyone has available

Thanks.

Rich

Yes and that's usually what happens. Those two pot's always need a slight tweak to get them perfect after the caps are renewed.

If it goes out of sync occasionally you hav'nt quite got it to where it should be.

It's all down to trial and error.

......Kev

HI all and happy 2017.

I just noticed someone is supplying a replacement DC/DC new design for the SLC9.

See http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SONY-1-464-217-21-Betamax-SL-C9-display-DC-DC-convertor-CD-09-NEW-/222361627568?hash=item33c5c92bb0:g:-LQAAOSwiONYPnzq

cheers Noel

Kev...I adjusted vr1 and vr8 (I think that's the one) on the ss9 pcb and the colour came back. Still a bit wobbly picture and slow sound. I'm just waiting for the caps to arrive so I can replace them all on the capstan part of the pcb.

Regards

Rich.

Rich:

Please do.....all the best.........................Kev

Kev..Thanks for that info. That'll be my next job after I install the new caps. I'll let you know the outcome.

Happy New Year.

Rich.

Rich:

There may be some new old stock ones lurking but I have had to measure the old ones and get some that way.

There are still many companies who make them but set's of them for each model may be an issue now.

Good luck...................Kev

P.S HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL..............

Noel.. Thanks for the info. Are belt kits available still for this model do you know?

Regards

Rich.

Rich,

Yes the capstan is belt driven. There are also other issues that can affect the capstan speed, the forward pickup gear drive can develop an issue and the tension varies.

cheers Noel

Hi guys.

I've recently been given a Sony SL-C6 mk1 vcr. Just a quick question really. Is the capstan driven by a belt? The sound is wobbly and slightly slower than normal and picture is in black and white and jitters about in play but when I forward or reverse search the colour is there in the search modes. I've looked at the technical page for the model and have ordered some new electrolytic capacitors for the servo pcb.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Rich.

Hi

Then that's all I can do for you.

I also didn't realise you weren't in the UK as this does add those travel costs and risk to the equation.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

A note for overseas posters, it does help if we know where about's in the world you are.

.........Kevin

OK Kevin I will contact your email -you can already write at mine it's the same as this chat page- but unfortunately I don't think I can afford buying the SS50 servo board + the front right board at the present time, + overseas shipment as I think you are in UK... And not sure at all they are the only damaged boards...

Is there here anybody else able to determin precisely what components are damaged ?

Again I say the ONLY mistake I made was that the soldered pins on back of CN1 or CN2 or both on bottom front rignt board touched the metal part of the machine for one second then.... all happened exactly as I wrote before :-( :-(

Theapprentice:

Would be clutching at straws there my friend. I have no idea what damage may have been done or what components will be affected as I've never seen this happen before.

Your best bet would be to replace that board and have the whole thing properly overhauled for which I CAN help you out.

Theses machines are unique but so many are starting to suffer in various ways now.

Not to mention some have been horribly messed about with (and I'm not accusing you of that).

That is one of the perils of owning these classic vcr's and some owners who aren't aware of their complexity.

....Kevin

The u-matic VCR spears in (The Terminator) 1989 movie.. when sarah conor watch with the police his friend record.. also appear the u-matic pro camera by TV crew in same movie

Hi Kevin

The "display" switch but it's not important at the moment.I didn't have the time to touch it when the short circuit happened. As I wrote my hf950 is not working anymore.

The soldered sides of connectors CN1 or CN2 or both made a short circuit touching the metal housing. It's at the right, front board, bottom right in the corner. You can see both connectors when you take out the front panel.CN1 goes to CN303 on SS50 servo board, some transistors and ICs must have been damaged on this board too, which explains the machine working now with full of flaws exactly as I described in my previous post, no head drum rotation...

Do you have any idea of the transistors damaged on SS50 and on the rigtht front board ? If you know which components are damaged I hope they are available or you can sell them to me.

Thanx for your help.

Theapprentice:

What switch are you referring too that you tried to repair.?

I could have a look at this for you and have a few spares for this model.

If you want to go down this route please contact me at my e-mail address located under my name.

Hope this helps........................Kevin

Hi

I think I ruined my sony slhf950 when tryin to repair the display switch on the front panel which seemed to be malfunctioning - TV display was always on if not shut by remote- I tried make the machine work when the board - front, right with buttons- was not fixed then suddenly play back started then ended and now it doesn't work anymore. Several flaws appeared.

I think that the right/down corner connectors -CN1 or CN, or both- touched the metal housing for a second and made a short circuit althoug no smoke no flash.

Now this is what happens :

Head drum not turning anymore, never.

when I hit play -same on remote and frt panel- the machine starts in fast forward and tape wraps around the pinch roller and the vtr stops.

when I hit FF or RW it works a few seconds then stops.

A second green led now lights permanently on the upper row -in hifi and auto display- a bit as if it was in tracking mode though it's not.

Some switches, edit super beta... do not light their led anymore

other switches -audio...- make the vu meter go to a maximum -green +red- for a second when switching them....

I just gave a look and saw that CN1 from the front panel is connected to CN303 on the servo board I supppose some components are dead on this board too, and maybe other boards... I looked at the service manual but it's too complex for me to understand.

Will I have to throw my machine away for 1 second of inattention ?

Who would be able to help me tryin repair it ? It would be so nice if someone could help me...

Thanx in advance.