I just got a VO-9850p off ebay to dump our local TV archive from U-matic to dvd . The thing worked fine for about an hour or two . Then i really put my foot in it . I removed the tape tray mechanism to remove some paper that was logged in the machine (from packing) and now all the lights on the panel light up and it refuse to react. Looking through the forum I saw a guy called Gareth had a similar problem but he's obviously more of a techie than myself and said the problem was a tiny break near the track on ps503 . I have no idea what this is or where to locate it . Can someone enlighten me ...

Would really appreciate it thanksRory :-(

serviced umatic machines for sale eg vo5630 £75 vo 9600 £150 most models in stock also some jvc/panasonic svhs machines. workshop repairs to umatic-digi beta machines, please add VAT to prices remove numbers from email to contact gshbroadcast services ltd.

Hello, I have a Umatic BVU-800P, and I wanted to know if it reproduces KSP-S20 cartridges, because I have the Umatic for sale and a possible buyer asks me for that.

Looking for a used fully functioning UMATIC player for purchase to transfer tapes to DVD for a project in Canada later this year. Any used machine owners send info & I'll get back to you. Cheers.

Kindly inform any service engineer or agency, taking Annual maintenance contract for Panasonic Photocopier cum Fax cum printer model DP 1810 F, in Ludhiana (India).

looking for VO 9850P,hi-band U-matic SP edit recorder or VO 9800P hi-band player for transfer of archive material to DV. Immmediate need. tel: +234 803 322 2787

Hi,

What do people recommend in the way of a ggod quality U-Matic deck to look out for?

I'm currently buying in decks and computer equipment to start off a freelancing digital restoration service. What would be ideal to go after for my purposes?

Cheers,

Rob.

If you are looking at getting in to u-matic.Good starter is the 5850,I have 2,one works great the other mainly for parts.Good place is ebay.co.uk or if you are in the us.com,9850 is ok,Mine cost £103,sells for £150 to £350.If you can afford it,go for a BVU950, I have 3,2 work,one for parts,they come up every so often and sometimes broke,2 of them are,but one of them works,You tend to not get them if they work as people do not sells these,one that was broke,lucky i took the TBC out and put it in one that works.The TBC costs secondhand £500 to £750.i bought a machine for just the courier fee of £60,You have to know Where to look and you have the internet.Keep searching the waves.

Robert32

I would suggest a 9800 or 9850 would probably be best for you. They will play low-band, high-band and SP tapes, a 5850 only plays low-band. If you are looking at system conversions too, have a look for a 7630, they play NTSC/PAL/SECAM but low-band only.

Help me please. We have a SONY VP-7020. It worked fine after being parked for a spell. I inserted a tape to start a new project (small Umatic type) and now it does not want to do anything but standby. The tape will not eject or play. Can anyone direct me to a website or help with my dilemma? Robert @ 1 800 252 5604 X238

Slightly off topic. FREE TO A GOOD HOME. Chyron VP2+M Composite CG (NTSC). Used as character generator in U-Matic edit system. Yeah, it goes back to 1990, but it was a good machine then. Downstream or Mid-Stream w/ Key Out. Includes Six (6) PROMs + Service Manuals. All I ask is shipping to your location or you can pick it up. Westhester, NY area. (USA)

I'm looking for a copy of the service manual for a sony BKU-903 plugin time base corrector, this can be in PDF form. please email if you can help.

I am looking for old Umatic recordings of the british Sci Fi series "Doctor Who" especially oColor ones from the 1970's starring Jon Pertwee

Toppy 707070, Youre obviously someone with good taste! l have some good news; and some bad news. The good news is that l have a complete 6 tape set of the best Dr.Who of all time, starring in arguably one of the best Dr.Who series of all time- Jon Pertwee in The Green Death, on U-matic....The bad news is, that l would never part with it- not even for an incredibly generous offer! lts the only Dr.Who l have on U-matic, and ld be interested to know if you have any old Who series; or indeed, any other interesting old, preferably British shows, on U-matic or Beta for sale. lm in Brisbane, Australia, Regards, Craig.

Hi everybody,

I recently found U-matic videotapes in my company's archive and I think it would be good to convert them into dvds.We already have a computer with everything needed to encode vhs tapes, but we do not have the adequate device to read U-matics.Given that it would only take 5dvds (approx 500min), what do you think would be the better way to do this conversion ?Shall I rent a device or send my tape to someone (MVS Video for example) ?In work in the UK.

Many thanks for your answer,

Regards,

Julien.

Julian

Since you are set-up to do conversions from VHS already, I'd say your best bet is to hire a U-matic machine. This will give you much more control over how the tapes are transferred.I suggest you hire a VO-9800 or 9850 because they will playback all three flavours of U-matic (low band, high band and SP) unless you know exactly what you have.

Hi

Can anyone help with a wiring query.

My Sony 4800P has died. Now I want to use the AC 340CE adaptor with a Sony 6800PS (it came with no AC adaptor. )The 4 pin connectors on each machine are are opposites (male / female) so I need to wire on a different connector to the cable.

The cable from the adaptor has 4 wires - yellow/white (+V?) - white (-V?) - white with braiding (?) - orange/white with metal braiding (?)

Can anyone tell how I need to wire these up to the new connector.

TIA

Denis Doyle

For Sale,VO7630 Recorder gwo nice condition,reasonable offers considered,Ella.

Denis, have a look here: http://www.bnoack.com/index.html?http&&&www.bnoack.com/data/cables/pinouts.htmlI am pretty sure the pinout is the same for 4-pin DIN plugs

FREE FREE Umat machines (South London):

JVC CR8500LE EDIT SUITE COMPRISING 2X 8500 LOW BAND UMATS AND RM86E edit controllerand multiway edit cable connectors. worked ok when last used a few years ago. This must go complete please do not ask for just the cables!

SONY VP5030 LOWBAND UMAT PLAYER (PAL SECAM NTSC) Ex college looks complete but not run up

SONY VP2030 UMAT PLAYER (PAL NTSC) worked ok when last used a few years ago.

They are free to a good home otherwise they are going to the dump.THESE MACHINES ARE HEAVY PLEASE BE PREPARED TO CART THEM OFF YOURSELF.

MUST GO BY 16 OCTOBER 2006

Does anyone know how to fix that my VO-9600P can't switch to low band mode when i try to playback low band tapes, the SP/Hi-band indicator still light up, picture was B/W, but hi band was ok.

thanks for help.

Did anyone score Ray Martin's FREE U-mies? l would've if l lived anywhere near South London; would be a shame if the threat to dump them was carried out...Anyone out there got any interesting pre-recorded U-matic programmes? A bloke on e-bay is selling what he claims is an original, pre-recorded Santana music video which would probably justify the incredibly exhorbitant sum of money he's asking if it were in fact original, and not just taped from a DVD with a nicely typed label stuck to the tape and box. lt seems to have no cover art or any pictures whatsoever, which, along with the lack of any good close-up photos, seems to suggest that it's maybe not so 'original.'

My Sony VO-9850 deck is displaying error 90. None of the functions operate, nor will it load a tape.Does anyone know what that error code signifies?Thanks.

Just picked up a Umatic 7830 off eBay, second hand. Supposed to be in "good working order" and has a 7-day guarantee. Put a tape in, loading mechanism doesn't work, so now tape is stuck. It's in place, but won't play/forward/rewind. The buttons light, but no response from the tape. Obviously won't eject either.

Is there a way I can get tape out? I'll have to wait for time being as can't remove cover due to warrenty. Also, what about repair/service? How much are we talking for something like this (in the UK)?

Cheers,

Rob.

Sorry, it's the 7630. Also, whilst I'm on... does anyone know how much one of these weigh. It feels like a tonne, but just want to cheque as the hi-fi stand I intend to place it on can only take 95kg per shelf and 100kg total.

Rob.

Re my posting 3 October with an offer of free Umats. Yes the went to the dump.VERY SAD.I am now getting rid of the next batch of Umats. Thet are.Sony VO 5800 PS recorder converted to Hi and Lo band with service manual.Sony VO 5650 P edit recorder converted to Hi band with service manual.Sony RM 440 controller with connecting leads for above.Jvc RM 86U controller with connecting leads, controls older Umat and VHS JVC machines.These machines have been run up and they work. there are minor faults but good heads etc.I will want money for these (not a lot) and will split so please Email me and chat.THEY MUST BE COLLECTED FROM S LONDON IT IS NOT WORTH THE HASSLE OF POSTING.I also have a quantity (up to 60)of SP Umat tapes secondhand but ok. again please Email me.

Hi,

I got given a VO5800PS and a VO5630 from a neighbour who was going to throw them out. They on ebay (my id is paddy47) and I don't expect to make much money from them I just don't want to end up chucking them.

Paddy

I can't believe I've found a website that is dedicated to the U matic format. I do hope that someone can help me. I have just found my late fathers old video recording gear The recorder is a Sony VO-3800P U matic S, and there is a secound box which is a power converter and from what I can tell allows you to view the video tapes in colour. (AC-3000P) The problem I have is that the recorder will not play any of the tapes that we have. ou can fast foward fine, and reverse is good. When you press play you get alot of noise coming from the recorder but then silence. Does anyone have an idea what to do? Is it still possible to get this recorder repaired. I would like to get the tape contents onto DVD and then I was going to junk the recorder. From what I can tell someone may want to buy it! I hope someone can help.

Mark Wiseman

Hi Mark, welcome to the site! I am not familiar with that model but it sounds very old ( 30 years+) and many things could be wrong. I suggest that the noise you hear when you hit 'play' is the tape threading around the head drum. The silence after that probably means that it either doesn't complete the cycle or that the head drum doesn't start spinning. Have you had a look inside the machine? I doubt that repairs will be feasible unless you find an old fanatic. If you just want to transfer the tapes to DVD, how many tapes are there? If it is just a few, you may want to have them transferred but if there are a lot then have a look on eBay for another machine. Where are you located so that we can have a look and see if we can suggest something.

Hi Roderick. Thanks for the advice, and sorry for the delay in responce. I thought that I would get an email to let me know I had a responce. I have been brave and removed the top cover to see what happens when I pree play. The tape is pulled around the tape reading wheel auntil it reaches its limit. It then returns the tape back again into the cassette. At no time does the wheel spin. Does this give you any clues?

Many thanks

Mark

Hi Mark, There are a number of things that could be wrong with the machine:1 - The head drum motor has ceased to be a motor2 - In older models it could be a broken or deteriated rubber belt, flip the machine over and remove the bottom cover. Then manually rotate the head drum as see if there are any clues3 - The sensors that monitor the progress of the tape threading are faulty

It will be a long and tedious process to narrow down where the problem is but if you are not afraid to poke around inside the machine, have a go!

Hi can anyone help we have a jvc pr-8800e high band and it needs a good service and maybe new heads we can deliver for the repairs many thanks Alex 07723027403 or 01189861559.

Alex, It would help if you told us where in the world you are. If you need new heads, it may be cheaper and easier to get another low- hours unit from ebay, Regards, Craig.

Hi im based in reading berks need a high band player in good working order can anyone help.Also been looking on ebay will a high band recorder play tapes thanks 07723027403.

i have Umatic video cassette recorder VO 5800 I bought it from USA it was written in its internet specifications power requirements 110 -240v and also written in its back plate power 120v AC , please can i use it with 220v/50 hz or not. and if not please help me to change it to be addapted to 220v note : I am an electronic engineer able to do such modifiction thanks ossama

Ossama, I don't have a VO-5800 handy but most Sony equipment from that era could be switched between 110/120V and 220/240V. You may have to open the machine and trace the power feed. Worst case you may have to change the transformer, which shouldn't be too much of a problem for you. The bigger problem you may have is the video system. As you bought it from the USA, it is most likely to be a NTSC machine. Where are you located? Looking at the voltage you are looking for, I'd guess you are in Europe or North Africa in which case the video system will be PAL or SECAM. The VO-5800 is a single system VCR and don't even think about changing the machine, it is not worth it. Let us know how you go.

Osama, Pop into your local electronics hobby store and get a plug- in transformer for 20- odd quid, and save yourself the time and trouble altering the machine, and keeping it original in the process. l got one myself here in Australia for an old 8 track deck l bought on ebay from the U.S.

I was offered at VP-7040 to playback US standard NTSC tapes. Will I have any problems? Great website, thanks.

ed

Ed, the VO-7040 should playback low band NTSC tapes fine but you must have a monitor that accepts NTSC signal. If the tapes are high band or SP they won't playback in colour, but they are NTSC so that may be a blessing ;-)

halloi have a sony vo-5800psdoes anybody know what the conector TV on the back is used forand where i can get the pinning ?I hope to connect an RGB signal to this connector .Is it Possible to connect RGB to the DUB connector ?How does it workthangs

Use BNC leads for Video,Everyone has them on Video equipment,You could try and get a lead for it to go to the Sony tv(old pro models that often on e-bay.co.uk that fit on the blue bit)I have one them,mines secondhand,but there are around.well it is the Festive time and could i wish ALL U-matic fans a Happy christmas and greetings for 07.

Hi, Does anyone know where i can get a sony service manual from? I have the BVU-850 Umatic machine. Please i need to know ASAP!!Email me if you find anything - [email protected]

Hi,Sorry about the rudeness of the last post i left. Did seem a little "in your face" kind of thing. But yeh im looks for the service manual for the BVU-850, Any ideas? Also whe i have seen other service manuals, which is the best one, as they say" service manual, version 2" whats actully different about version 1, 2 etc?ThanksJames

Here’s my dilemma.I have a Sony VP-7020 umatic deck that I purchased used off of ebay.I was told it was in working condition. The unit has 3 video outputs:1 Eight pin video output 1 coaxial cable output 1 BNC output (For this I purchased a BNC to RCA adapter) Here’s my set up: Umatic BNC video output (BNC to RCA adapter. Also tried the Coaxial cable output) to Sony DCR-720 mini-DV camera toPC via Firewire. Audio plays back fine. Video appears only occasionally.I have done a manual cleaning of the video heads with a clean chamois and alcoholwith still no change. The issue is the same with Umatic and Umatic SP tapes. Any help or guidance you could provide me would be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance,

Brian, looks like you'll have to do a bit of eliminating. Have you tried to connect the BNC output directly to a Video in of a monitor? Also be aware that the 7020 is a low-band machine, any hi-band or SP tapes will not playback properly.

happy new year to you all. i have a sony bvu-870p thats going for FREE to anyone who wants to come & collect it otherwise its going to the tip.this machine has been sitting in the back of a studio gathering dust.this machine is totally dead no signs of life at all when plugged in.as i have no use for it & its in the way its got to go.item is situated in sevenoaks in kent..this has to go before january 14th so please dont email me after that because its gone.condition wise it looks undamaged & pretty clean apart from a few scratches on the casing..

I have a vo-9800 and a tape got stuck in the machine and the tome code display went. The operating buttons (play, stop, rewind etc.) stopped working as well, any advice as to what went wrong and how to rectify this problem would really be appreciated.

I am interested in purchasing a VO 9850 (PAL) and/or a VO 9800 (PAL) The items must be in good working condition. Sincerely,Yitzhak Rosenbloom

I am looking for the video cable for the Sony VO-5800, can someone tell me where I can get one from?

The Sony VO-5800 uses a stock standard BNC video connector, no special cable required!If you are using consumer cables with the usual yellow-red-white RCA connectors, your local electronics shop will have simple BNC-RCA adaptors for a couple of dollars/pounds/yen

I want to buy 2 Umatic VTRs. can someone get in touch with me on how much am looking to pay. Thanks

It would be really handy if people who want to purchase equipment would state which country they are in. People on this forum hail from all sides of the globe, I am in Sydney Australia for example. Apart from standards problems (PAL/NTSC/SECAM) shipping would be prohibitive in many cases, there are NO lightweight U-matic machines!

Hi - if anyone needs some old tapes transferred in the U.K. - then I have a fully working Sony VO-9800 which can play all PAL varients of the U-Matic format (lo/hi/sp). Also a lo-band machine capable of playing SECAM and NTSC standards.

Regards,Keith

My university is working on digitizing Umatic tapes. Are there any special preparation or cleaning techniques that would help us save the machines and the tapes? Is there any Umatic rewinder on the market? Thanks.

Hi.

 I live in Newfoundland, Canada. A local tv station is getting rid of their umatic collection of units since upgrading to BetacamSP a few years ago. I have been given the choice of a few units 2 BVU-870s, and a BVU-950. The BVU-870s look complete, however the 950 doesnt seem to have the TBC board. I am in the process of transferring the older recordings recorded on umaticSP to a digital format. Are the 870s as good as the 950s for playback, or are there features on the 950 even without the TBC board that would make it superior. 

ThanksMark

Hello umatic fans. I would like to thank Roderick for his suggestions regarding the fault on my VO-3800P recorder. I am not expert enough to repair it, so Have listed it on ebay today. You will also find the SONY AC/COLOUR adapter listed, and also a very tidy SONY DXC-1640P camera listed. If anyone is interested check out Ebay. I am in the UK.

Hi Mark,Greeting to You in Canada.The TBC is Option on the Sony Bvu 950. Here in the United kingdom i have 3,It started last year,While buying a 5850/5800 and RM450 via ebay,I saw a Sony 950 on ebay.co.uk and got it Delivered locally for £73 all in and one got the manuals too and the TBC.But its condition is not A1.One month later a Well known broadcast company that sells on ebay had one on and i got that for £275/£285 delivered.But no TBC.Companies sell them for £700 to £ 800 in the United kingdom.Anyway 2 months later,Someone was selling a ex reuters 950 with a TBC in,but this was not working,so i paid Just the courier fee of £60.My latest purchase is the wonderful daddy of them all,a Sony BVH3100PS.£241 Delivered.do what i did and look on ebay.com and you might be lucky mate.

Poor rewind on VO-9800P:

My machine has slow rewind, sometimes stopping with Error-02. Is the rewind/ff idler the one which sits between the spools on the top side of the deck (with a small Allen screw holding it in place)? Or is it on the underside of the deck? Replacement idler or tyre source in UK?

Picture search still working fine.

Thanks for any help,

Colin www.video99.co.uk

I have similar problem. My U-matic VO9850P made funny sounds and displayed Error 02 periodically when the tapes were very old and sticky and the machine had trouble winding them. Now I got a real bad one and it got stuck in the machine completely. So any idea how to eject the tape? I guess if I cut the tape inside the machine it won't do any good?

Hooray. I did it !!!

Here is the article on how to: http://richardhess.com/notes/2006/03/13/u-matic-34-cassette-removal-procedure-when-normal-ejection-is-not-possible-%E2%80%94-guest-article/

I did cut the tape and it gave me another Error No. 20. Then I turned the bloody machine off and just turned the gearbox pulley ( as per article) manually clockwise until it stopped. Then I turned the unit on and presto, it ejected the tape. I had to cut the tape, but this avoided me on going the route of disconnect the wires, taking the tape compartment out etc.Hope it will help others. Good luck.

Re reel problems:Just discovered this website. A real blast of the past. In the many years as a service engineer I overhauled more than 1000 various umatics, Particularly series 5 and 9.

On the slow reel problem. There are a couple of things to check.Most likely is the actual reel moter going low torque. The reel idler does wear but rarely causes a problem (you can test it by giving it a good clean with surgical spirt and seeing if it improves). The reel belt can slip but normally snaps. My money would be on the motor.

Lastly please oh please don't cut the tape it's completely possible to extract a tape with no damage manually.

Just read the article about the manual removal. The wires don't need to be cut they are actually on a plug and just unplugs.Also if you can access the bottom of the chassis (by removing the bottom of the machine) you can manually turn the reel idler pully as you wind the loading gearbox on the other side. You will then have the tape wound in the housing before you eject.

Is the reel idler the white wheel and tyre sat between the spools (as you would expect)? The reason I ask is that some machines have two idlers. I actually flipped this tyre inside out and it didn't help, implying that the problem lies elsewhere. Bother, I probably need a replacement reel motor then. Now I wonder where I could get one of those?

The other possibility I suppose is the belt, I've not looked on the underside of the deck yet. But as you say, if this was slack it would be expected to part company.

Regards,

Colin

Yes the idler flops from reel to reel.I'll check at work I think I may have some umatic spare I'm just about to dump.Maybe a reel motor in there!Certainly sure I have a reel idler. But like I say they rarely go wrong. i used to change tham in a service as routine but I'm sure they are quite tough.

There used to be a mod for VO-5030 and VO-5630 to enable them to play back high band in color. These VTRs had then a "H" suffix and an existing front panel switch was modified (I think it was the "Timer" switch). Does anyone have a clue how to make this mod? I have a BVU-950P but I have to copy BVU SECAM tapes. Thanks for any help.

I have not mentioned in my preceding message thet I want to modify a VO-5030 to VO-5030H. This VTR is PAL/SECAM/NTSC 4.43. The other VTR, the BVU-950P is stritcly PAL and I don't intend to make any mod.

The high band mod was basically a bodge. It modified the colour circuit to shift the freqency to the higher highband one. But it didn't make any changes to the luminance circuits. High band has a higher luminance deviation so higher bandwidth circuits are needed. The best the mods allowed was slightly better than lowband quality from a highband tape. And often they needed tweaking to get some highband tapes not to give black tearing.I fitted a few but it was a while ago.

Re the secam it's a whole different colour process as it's FM not AM so not sure how easy that would be.

Hello,

I acquired a VP-7000 playback deck a couple of years ago, and it worked fine until recently. Now it doesn't power up. I've found three fuses on a power supply circuit board and a fourth fuse (20 Amp I think) which I assume is the main fuse. All check out for continuity.

When switching on, there is a slight high-pitched sound, like a discharge perhaps. Trying again immediately there is no sound.

I have only very limited experience with electronics, wouldn't dream of messing with this if it were possible to find a competent repair person locally, but I wonder if anyone has a line on service manuals or other hints. I'm guessing something like a bad capacitor might be a possible cause, and perhaps even the whole power supply assembly could be swapped with one from a cannibalized unit.

Thanks in advance for any hints.

(Remove underscores in my e-mail address to reply directly. Thanks!)

Most likely is a burnt out power switch. it's a common problem.They arc inside (that's the noice you hear) and go open circuit.

Don't mess with the mains if your not competent. But if you are you can test by shorting the switch out across the two poles.

When you get the switch out you can normally tell if thats the issue as it will show signs of over heating. You can even open the switch and do a temp repair but a new switch would be needed as it will go again.

Thanks, Pat, for your hint on the power switch. I'll try to inspect it and see if it shows signs of arcing.

I have been lent a JVC PR-8800E High Band VTR with the aim of transferring some tapes to DVD. The tape first tape I have been asked to copy was recorded 1979 so I assume low band. The playback is black and white. One possibility is the camera was only black and white.The other is compatability.Does anyone know if this JVC will play colour low band tapes correctly?So far I have found nothing relevant about JVC machines on the 'net via Google.

Been a while since I worked on one of those.Not all highband machiens could play lowband from what I remember. So it could just be it's a lowband tape and the JVC can't play it back. Can you find somebody nearby who can check the tape on a known good lowband play back machine?

Hello U-Matic users !I'd like to get into U-Matic, But there is not too much information available. I'm interested in a limple linear editing system (yes, that's true ;-)). I'd like to ask fwe questions:

1. Is VP-5030 edit capabe ? I mean is there any way to control it from an edit controler ?2. What units can be controlled with RM-430CE ? It uses Parallel interface I suppose.3. What is the story with timecode on U-Matic ? I've heared about EBU timecode which is as I assume written on the invisible part of the picture like VITC not on the control track, so I think the tape mut be copied in order to have timecode on it ? Is it required to have the timecode in order to do assembly editing or the editing controler can use couter to find scenes ? And if so what about machines with mechanical counters ?

Thank you in advance for help, hoping I'll soon become another happy U-Matic user.Maciek

Hi the VP 5030 is a play only machine. It can sort of be used as an edit source player but it's not ideal. It only has parallel control so search will be a problem.I'd go with a Sony RM440 and VO5800 source and VO5850 as edit recorder.Lowband umatic doesn't have timecode at all. It is possible to modifiy the machines but the parallel controller won't support that. This doesn't stop you editing. You just use the control track. Not frame acurate but it did the job for many years.Basically if your umatic has a mechnical counter it's not ideal for editing.Series 5 edit suite as above is best for control track editing. Series 9 is better and does have timecode (on highband) and serial deck control.

Thank you for response. So I understand, that the machine with mechanical counter (as VO-5030 is) will still support the control track counter signal, and the editing controler can use that signal and show the counter on its display ?

Maciek

From what I remember yes. The control track is there anyway as it's used to control the Video head timing.I think there was a mod to allow the 5030s to work as an edit source deck. Think it was somthing to do with allowing the capstan to be controlled during editing.I think if it's a standard 5030 it won't work as a source machine.

Pat,

Thanks for taking time to reply.

I will have to ask around about either a low band machine, a tape known to be in colour and if anyone can recall if the tape I have should be black & white. There is a fair chance the camera available was only B&W.If the tape was low band B&W would the playback be any better on a low band machine than the high band JVC?

Also just been told about a few ( I will know how many soon) reels of 1" tape!!Hence would like to know about getting that transferred at a sensible price.

I found scan of the JVC video products brochure from I guess mid-1980's soon after PR-8800E introduced but that does not state either way. It just gives the recording format as ' High Band U-standard '. There is not a comma between indicating both modes. Otherwise stiil found nothing on the 'net.

Actually I have here two PR-8800E's and a RM-86U Edit controller with cables. Both machines load tape and output audio but only one gives a video signal output. Actually initially neither played nor registered a signal on the tracking meter but after about 3 minutes the picture gradually appeared on one. I've left tape running in the other for over 10 minutes but no picture nor signal on the tracking meter. I've had a look to see video head is spinning and checked heads clean with alcohol and proper head cleaning swab.

Is there anything obvious to look at?Ultimately as long as one works that is all I need. I am told the full system worked 3 years ago and just been in storage until now.

Also while I have machines I can possibly help anyone who needs tapes transferred to DVD-R for return postage costs and a negotiable amount for my time. This would need to be arranged promptly as while no great rush to return the machines I don't want the machines sat on my lounge floor for too long!!

David.

If the tapes a b&W lowband tape there is no advantage to paying back in a highband machine. In fact it may be worse as the playback RF EQ is optimised for each format.If the machine can play both low and high band then it would have a light to indicate which mode itr was in. So no high low band light probably indicates it's just highband. In which case even if the tape has colour the machine won't show any.One little make or break trick to try and clear a really bad headclog is to carefully touch the back of your thumb nail against the head drum as it spins. Hold your nail facing in the direction of rotation (need a space with no tape in the way) and gentally let it tocuh the heds as they pass. It will either clear the muck or snap the heads. Make or break! A lot of headclogs won't clear with cleaner so it's worth a shot.

Pat,

Thanks again for replying.

Tonight I was given the other tapes to copy and found one to be a professional recording rather than from a camera (confirmed to be B&W) and that plays B&W too hence confirming that the JVC PR-8800E model does not play low band.Hence I will now investigate a low band machine.

David

Good evening . My question : Could the Sony VO-9800P read a BVU PAL tape ? Thank you

Yes the VO9800P will play lowband highband an highband SP.Nice machine the 9800

Thank you Pat . "BVU" and "high band" are the same words ? Do I have the same picture quality with this Sony VO-9800P than a pure BVU machine like the BVU-800P for example ?

Yup BVU is highband or highband SP.9800 should give similar results.

Thank you .

My problem is somewhat similar to Richard M's -- I purchased a VP-7000 (ebay) and got it all hooked up all right but: When I insert the tape, it goes into place but then powers off almost immediately. If I turn it on several times, I can get the tape to eject.Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I purchased it for an organization that has numerous old 3/4" historical tapes they'd like to work with.Thanks.Brian

Brian is do you get an error message when it goes off?If you take the lid off ands watch the tape as it loads. How far does it get?Is the video head drum spinning?When you do get it to eject does it leave a loop of tape sticking out?

we have just inherited a Sony U-matic VP 5030. When you turn it on the standby light comes on and nothing happens! What do we do? There is a remote lead but no handset - does it matter as we discounnected the lead?

I presume the remote lead is plugegd in the rear connector?I'd so remove it. You don't need it for it to work.The standby light comes on when the mechanisum is loading or unloading.If the light just stays on then I'd guess the loading mechanium is stuck or jammed.You need to look inside and see what state the mechanium is in.

hello ! I have a problem with Ampex BCS-20 U-matic tapes... When I do fast forward or rewind , the Sony VO 9800P motor slows and stops (the tape is in the housing) . When I try a play , the picture is bad with some noises , the motor is slowed down. There is no problem with Sony or Fuji KCS-20 tapes.

I've tried to unscrew the Amex housing : no result... I want to try:- the videocassette in the fridge ?- putting off the reels and replace them in a Sony or Fuji housing ?- doing a complete forward then rewind by hands ?.... :-(

Listening to all solutions , thank you Francois

Almost certainly a jammed up tape.The umatic tapes have no brakes so it can't be that.You can try manulally winding them but it's not an easy task as each reel only has one side to the spool.

It seems usual with the black Ampex . I have 6 of them and 5 are hard to roll.I'll try changing the house... regards francois

If you strip them down you should fine slip washers made of thin platic that were intended to help the spools spin. These do foul up so removing them may help the spools rotate for a while longer.

Thank you Pat but trading the housing or bending the plastic things inside have made no effect... I've built a tool to do a manual "fwd-rewind" and it works....

regards Francois

I recently got Sony VO1810 machine, in good condition. It plays well PAL SECAM and NTSC cassettes, but can't record video (or I don't know how to do it).

Does anyone know anything more abouth this model? I need to clean it, because is very dirty inside, and I don't want to do it without service manual. And how the 'Reperat' button work? I can't see any difference wher it is pressed or not. Where can I buy counter unit? It has some mechanical damages.

Tomasz, the VO1810 was one of the first U-matic machines released by Sony in the early 1970's. I don't know if you are going to find parts for it but have you tried Google? A quick search on Sony VO1810 brought up a few sites with manuals and some parts. It is quite possible that the machine you have is a player only. If it doesn't have a 'REC' button or 'Video IN' at the back then it is a player only and won't record.The repeat button puts the machine in repeat mode which basically means that when it reaches the end of the tape it rewinds and plays the tape again. This was used in displays where a tape would play the whole day without the need for someone to reset the machine everytime.

Hope this helped.

Hello!

I've found many different opinons on umatic tapes. Some say that SP tapes are metal, while some say that all U-Matic tapes are oxide. My question is - Can I use SP tape in low-band machine? I mean blank tape, not SP recording. I just can buy cheaply some unused SP tapes, but I'm not sure If I can make LB recordings on them. And BTW how about SP recorded tape? Can LB machine erase SP recording and overwrite with LB signal or there will be some high frequency artefacts ?

Hello to all, and good to see everybody back again; lets hope the site doesn't disappear for a couple of months again! l have a mint Sony VO 5630 that's developed a problem: it keeps going into 'standby' mode, then not allowing the tape to be ejected; l have to switch her off for a while, then hit 'eject' to retreive the tape. Any U-maniacs out there with any ideas as to the problem?? Cheers, Craig.

Hello, does anibody know the exact date of production of the Sony U-Matic H BVU 800 P and Sony U-Matic HS BVU 110 ?Best regards Paulo

Sony VP 5030 advice.

I posted a while ago about black & white playback on a JVC-8800E.Thanks for the advice that model is high band only and tapes I have likely to be low band.

I have just bought a Sony VP5030 for £5 !!I have thoroughly cleaned tape path and heads. Playback basically working with video in colour.However with tracking control in the centre no picture. With control fully anticlockwise best picture and towards clockwise similar picture but with horizontal jitter and audio sounds slow.Also in pause mode noise bar always in the same place if this is significant. Alignment errors just as likely to be on recording VCR as this one.Is there a further internal tracking adjustment?If so can anyone identify for me?

Second issue is rewind very slow with screeching noise on some tapes. Rewind in search mode actually considerably faster and no screeching but of course not good for tape or machine to rewind 60 minutes this way. Again any advice appreciated.The belts are very slack but I assume they only drive the counter and no functional issue should the counter stop working.

Thanks in advance.

Hi I am looking for a Umatic playback only machine that will play SP, Hi & Lo band.Anyone got one for sale?Have seen a few 7040's for sale but confusing reports on the net saying lo band player only, then someone else claims plays SP 7 Hi band also.Anyone got a list of players only that play all flavours?Also PAL 7 NTSC playback would be good but not essential.

Thanks In Advance.

Dave Meehan.