Here is link to Sony VP-7040 brochure

http://www.bcs.tv/pdf/model/10658/sony_vp-7040.pdf

Nothing says it is high band and no SP logo on the panels.

I will be corrected but for a SP / Hi / Lo band machine I believe you need to look for VP 9*** series or some of the BVU series.

JVC PR-8800E is high band only.

VP 5030 rewind.

I now realise the drive to the idler is via a belt accessed from underneath.Hence I guess screeching noise is that slipping. I don't want to mess too much in case it beaks.

I have removed and measured the belt.Looking in CPC catalogue closest size is either 68.5 or 70.5mm diameter 2.2mm square.Can anyone confirm the original specification?

I see there is also a belt for the mechanism that loads/unloads tape around the head but not so easy to remove.Hence again details the size required would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Dave & David,I can confirm the the VO-9800 and VO-9850 will play Low, Hi and SP tapes, but only in one format (mine are PAL but I assume that there is a NTSC version). The VO-7040 will play both PAL and NTSC but only Low-band.

Thanks guys for the info.I have purchased a Sony VO 9800P which plays LO HI & SP.I am converting a large music archive for a record label in the U.K to DVD.We have a Sonic Scenarist Pro DVD setup that we use for commercial DVD Production.If anyone requires conversion & pro DVD authoring to DLT or DVD-R etc give me a shout as we can do this even with the samllest of budgets.Thanks again

Dave Meehan.Nyquest DVDProductionswww.nyquest.co.uk

FOR SALE Sony KCA60,KCA30 used low-band tapes Sony BCT90,60 ,30 used Betacam SP tapes Sony VO5850 Edit Recorder Sony RM440 Edit Controller Sony BVW10 Betacam Player (SP mod) Panasonic AU650/750 M2 Edit recorders Aston & Chyron caption generators Video & Audio Distribution Amps etc etc Please call Pat or Roy (+44) (0) 208 974 6050 for details

Hi,

Can I just check whether anyone knows where to get a service manual for the Sony BVU-950P. Have been getting an "Error 10" code and my deck wouldn't accept any tapes.

Thanks for any help.

Best rgds,HL

Hi, I am thinking of getting a 5800 but want to know two things. 1) Will it play back low band and high band tapes and 2) Will it play an NTSC tape.

Thanks Steve

After loading a tape in to my VO 5630 it laced up and stayed in Stand By mode.

Could I have advice on how to rewind or take out the tape without damaging it.

Other tapes have been OK.

Thanks

Steve,

A 5800 will only play low band tapes. You will need a 9800 or 9850 to play both. If you buy a NTSC machine, it will play NTSC but there are no multi-standard 5800's. A 7 series machine will play PAL, SECAM and NTSC but only low band.

Help! I just bought some 11 u-matic items on auction. I am delighted to have found this site. It would be nice to know if someone out there would be interested in buying any of the items that I have available: 4-each vo-9600, vo-9800, vp-7020,vp-5000,v0-9850, vp-5020, vo-5600, and vp-9000. I was in the process of determining a proper price for the items, when I stumbled across your site. Thanks for the information provided thus far. Please email should you desire to purchase any of the above. Thank you, Captain Donald Quinn.

Nigel: l have an identical problem with my VO 5630. l posted a message a month before you, and as yet, have not heard from anyone who might be able to give me an idea as to the fault. Craig.

Nigel / Craig,

It has been a few years since I played with a 5630 but the most likely cause of the problem is that the lacing of the tape wasn't completed or one of the switches along the path wasn't activated properly. Best advice I can give is to see if you can manually, by carefully turning the worm wheel on the side of the cassette tray, complete the lacing. Another trick is to check all the little switches along the way to see if they are closed. Best of luck!

Hello!I've the VP-9000P player which was damaged during transport. The search knob was pushed inside the case and caused the front PCB (KY-105E or 1-622-391-65, but I suppose the first one is the board number) break. Maybe somebody out there has a dead VP-9000 or other machine with the same board and want to (cheaply) get rid of it before I'll start wiring my broken one? I can also trade it for a RM-500 remote. I'm from Poland, so I'll prefer european offers due to shipping costs and customs issues. If you are replying directly to my e-mail please remove ".NO_SPAM" from the address.

Hello,I'm after any Gary Numan videos on any format especially U-matic and Betamax. Please can anyone help. I'll pay good money. Please can you help. I know there must be some out there somewhere. If you can help please email me at [email protected]. Thanks

Thanks Roderick, I lifted up the circuit board covering the drum and checked the tape path. I touched the switch with the red light soon after the tape comes out of the cassette. This set the machine into life and managed to eject the tape.

Now playing a not very precious tape to check it again and it works.

I've wired the KY-150 board and replaced cracked capactior on it - and the VP900 works!

Hello, I'm from Way of the Goose, we're a charity in Coventry, UK (website - www wayofthegoose dot com)We have a stack of U-matic equipment in our store cupboard that we'd like to sell.* Sony players, VCRs & a portable VCR ( VO5800, VO5630, VP5030)* JVC portable VCR (PR-4800E)* Some lo-band & U-matic-S cassettesThere are also a few Hitachi cameras and some Sony Helical Scan video reels...Please get in touch for further info, photos etc.Thanks! Sorry for the long post! :)

Hello. I acquired a Sony VO-6800PS u-matic portable recorder a couple of years ago, and it worked fine until recently. Yesterday the "tape slack" warning lamp has began to flash.

Today, with the help of the self-diagnostics function and of the service manual, I have uncovered the displayed conditions correspond to the signal "1001 1L" (The REEL STOP signal is not produced after 2 second passed; the TEN REG switch is not turned on in the tension release mode).

What can I do?

Thank You in advance for any suggestions (I prefer to begin any discussions in this chat-page).

Natale

Natale, I don't know this particular machine but in first shot I'd suspect the TEN REG switch. I supose it's a lever which detects the tape tension and trigers an optical gate. These gates are very reliable but tend to get dirty after some time. As you have the service manual - locate the switch and clean it troughtly with a brush or compressed air.

Hi and help,

I have a Low band V5800 PS. The video OP suddenly stopped sending me pictures. I get sound only. In terms of image, all I get is black with the odd white line and occasionally can see a bit of text that was on the tape.Does anyone know nwhether this is a head cleaning issue? if so where can I get a tape to clean it? If not, has anyone got a ceap replacement out there?

Best Martin

Hi, looking for a Sony CCY cable to connect U-matic decks to the BVT-2000 time base corrector - pref in working order but will consider one if it needs a little TLC. Cheers all, Bryan - Auckland NZ

To Maciek Szymanski

Hi Maciek. First of all, I thank You for Your answer.

However, I have tried to clean the Tension Regulator switch, but nothing is changed.

In my opinion the problem can concern the playback tension, therefore, the tension regulator solenoid or the tension regulator arm.

I attend Your opinion.

Thank You in advance for any suggestions.

Natale

Hi, does someone knows the new-prices of the U-Matic-machines an the year of production (starting production) ?

Anyone know of a high-band mod for the VP5040? In particular I want to be able to play high band NTSC tapes (I already have a high/sp machine for PAL). Thanks for any help.

colin

[email protected]

Hi there,Just purchased a Sony VO-5800 PS recorder, it all looked good and very promising till we put the cass in. It starts up and loads ok but the minute it wraps itself around the drum it reverses everything and pulls the tape back like I was shutting it off. (The recorder does not shot itself off).Any help will be appreciated. Got my technician trying to figure it out but this is the first time he's seen a 3/4" machine.ThanksAndy

Natale, I'm afraid I can't help to much - I don't know VO-6800 mechanism. The question is if there is no tension signal due to the swith failure or the mechanism failure. Have you looked at the open machine when the failure occurs? Is the switch activated or not? And when the failure occurs - just after the tape load or during the play operation?

Maciek

My VO-5850 recorder has problems with sound recording. As I don't have the service manual nor schematic I've to do some reverese-engineering ;-) and I'm not sure about head functions of this machine. There are two linear heads and I suppose taht one is combined record/playback head for audio and CTL tracks and the other one is the erase head. Or I'm worng?

Hi, URGENT!!!!!!!!Does anybody knows where one can instructions for timing the VO-5800 PS??

ThanksAndy

Andy,

What do you mean by 'timing for VO-5800 '?

Hi there,Looks like the gears shifted (moved, jumped) during shipping and must restore them to their original position.Meantime I did find a manual for the U-Matic, so I hope my tech guy can fix it.

GreetingsAndy

Hi,I have a Sony VP-7020 that currently has a tape stuck in it. It will not eject nor play, rewind or fast forward. I know there is a work around if you open it up, but I want to do it correctly. Can anyone help?

Thanks.Eric

Hi There! Great Site! I recently obtained a SONY VO-5800 and need any assistance anyone can give me in hooking this up to a flatscreen tv. I recently tried with a BNC (with Phonos) from the output BNC slot on the Umatic to a scart input on the monitor but no signal was recieved. I'm sure I need some kind of analogue to digital converter box but I also notice there is an 8-pin "TV" slot on the back of the player. Does anyone know if I can get this "TV" lead from anywhere, and if so, whether it will allow me to receive a picture on my flatscreen? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Many thanks.

Hi Jonothan, Welcome! There should be no problem connecting the 'Video out' to the 'Video in' of your flatscreen. You won't need a 'magic' box. Could you possibly have used the wrong connector on your Scart? Some of them are confusing with their labelling. Or, as most flatscreens have multiple inputs, just try a normal 'Video in' to make sure all is working.The TV 8-pin connector has the same signal as the 'Video out'. It was an old system which connected both inputs and outputs to modified TV's to allow you to record 'off-air'.

Hello-I'm trying to sell two U-Matic players- one is a VP-7020 player and the other is a VO-9850 player/recorder. They both work great.

Would anybody know of a good place to post this info? Or is anybody interested, perhaps?

Thanks!

I would go for eBay. Everything sells over there.

Hello, anyone have any experience using the BVT-810P TBC with the the VO-5850P or VO-9600P u-matic (low band). I know the BVT-810P is intended for use with BVU high band/sp u-matics.There was never a low band machine with TBC and just working out best way to transfer some low band tapes. I also believe the VO-9600P would give a better picture than the older VO-5850P.Also, off topic, looking at transfering vhs-dvd using machine with TBC, for a better transfer. A good machine that comes to mind is the Panasonic AG-8600 (player with built in TBC), i believe one of the last industrial models Panasonic made. My question is, do domestic machines give a better picture (forgetting about TBC) due to HQ circuits and similar playback enhancements that perhaps the older industrial machines dont have. Modern vhs decks seem to give a very good picture with very little dropout. Obviously, a domestic machine doesnt allow for connection of external TBC.Any thoughts on best machine for transfer? I always rate the Panasonics over the JVC and Sony, but the Panasonics are prone to cap failure.

The Value of home recordings

Do you have tapes full of old TV shows you recorded in the seventies? Don't throw everything away without looking!

This may come as a surprise to some, but TV studios until recently did not keep tapes of everything. The tape was expensive and so it was recycled, or thrown away. Some well-known examples of series with episodes gone missing are "Dad's army" (one or two episodes missing) and "The avengers" (first series missing) and "Doctor Who" (over a hundred missing episodes).

If you are about to junk your early tapes, check http://www.missing-episodes.com first. Just to make sure.

Afternoon, I'm hoping someone has advice for the following problem

I was dubbing a VHS tape from a VO-9600, using a Beta SP tape. The Beta SP tape played to the end and now will not eject, rewind, fast forward, etc. The Umatic is in standby mode. I've had the top and bottom of the unit off to see what could be done; the tape is still wrapped around the drum head, and it looks like possibly there is not enough tape/slack left for the unit to catch? At any rate, when powered on the head spins for about 2 seconds then whirrs to a stop. If I press and hold rewind when powering the unit up, the indicator light illuminates briefly and then the unit goes into standby mode. Is it possible to manually rewind the tape when it is in this psition?

Serpico, this doesn't make sense!You're playing a VHS tape in a U-matic machine? Where does the Betacam tape comes into play?What machines are you using?

Anyway, if you are using old stock it may be suffering from 'sticky tape' syndrome. Try manually resetting and ejecting the tape by turning the worm wheel on the right hand side of the loading mechanism. Takes a while and is boring but your best bet.

craig, nigel and serpico009 : I have a sony vo-9600 which was doing the same thing, loading the tape and then locking into standby mode. I manually activated the final loading solenoid and that unloaded the tape so it could be ejected.

What caused the problem was the belt located at 9 o'clock on the reel table (12 o'clock being the rear of the unit). When the belt gets old and stretched it loses the necessary bite to move the tape loading arm to the final lock-in. My replacement belt was a square .075 x 4.4".

With no cassette in the unit, the composite ring with a wide cam to trip the two side by side sensors activates both. Note the sensors at about 1 o'clock. When a tape is put in and lowered by the loading motor, the cam is rotated to the rightmost sensor only. When play is pressed and the loading arm loads the tape around the head, the cam should rotate and activate the leftmost sensor only. With the belt stretched or slipping, the cam will stop just short of the leftmost sensor and voila, "standby mode" is activated.

Hope this helps !!

Hi there Umatic fans ;)

I was wondering if there is any way to remotely control a VO-5800PS (which has a 33 pins remote connector) with traditional 9pin rs422 protocol? Via wiring or via a convertion box?

Thanks!

Roderick, sorry my wording was a bit convoluted. I have the Umatic hooked up to a VCR, and I'm recording VHS copies from some of our older Beta-SP masters. Def not jamming a VHS tape into the Umatic!

Buckethead, first off awesome name! My friend and I have gotten way into "The Elephantman's Alarm Clock", great album. We've gone through 3 used Umatic units within the past 2 years or so, and in at least one case it was because of a cracked or worn out belt (which a local repair shop would have fixed for $300!). I've had this happen before when I let the tape Umatic tape run to the end, and have fixed it by alternating between FF and RW until the tape catches.

"I manually activated the final loading solenoid and that unloaded the tape so it could be ejected." I'd like to try this, what should I be looking for inside the unit?

Thank you again, you guys are princes.

serpico009, try this : Remove the top cover. Pop up the hinged pc board that covers the reel table. What you need to do is activate the optical cam sensors (side by side at 1 o'clock). I found it easiest to do if you remove the single screw from the sensor mounting bracket and swing it up for access. You might be able to do it in place, if you have the patience and dexterity. Cut a piece of cardboard from a cereal box, about three or four inches long and 1/4 inch wide, and bend it to form an L shape. Starting with the power off, insert the cardboard L into the left sensor only (the one closest to 12 o'clock). Keeping that sensor activated, rotate or push the cardboard tool so that both left and right sensors are activated. Next, remove the tool from both sensors and the unit should unload the tape.

Wanted

I require a working NTSC Umatic player (or recorder) which can accept large and small tapes. Importantly it must be able to play High Band / SP format recordings, so the VP5030 and similar machines are unsuitable. What would be appropriate would be an NTSC VO-9600 or VP-9000 designed for the USA market for example. The 110V mains requirement is not an issue.

Price must be sensible including UK shipping.

Cheers all,

Colin

www.video99.co.uk

Hi all,I've got a serious problem concerning my Vo-5800PS.When I insert the tape, it goes in fine, but when it is in, it automatically start Fast-Forwarding the tape. Pressing the Stop or any other key doesn't do anything. After 1,5 minutes of tape forwarding it stops.None of the key work now, except the Eject key (which is a relief :-)).But I can't get the tape to Rewind or Play.Anyone had this issue before, or even better, know how to solve this?Thanks for your respons(es).Werner

VP9000 not running - help!I've bought a VP9000 (USA model) which I need urgently for playing some NTSC High Band tapes. The machine arrived in a strange state, the loading ring was almost completely laced up despite no tape being in there and the carriage being up. I powered up the machine on a big 110V transformer, and the head drum sat there spinning. Dolby and SP LEDs lit on the front but no other lights (ie no counter display), which is all very wrong.

I wound the loading ring back to the start position and powered up again, and usually the head would just spin (eventually going slower but never stopping). Occasionally at power up the loading motor would run for a moment so getting it closer to the almost-laced position again. No other response.

I suspect a PSU fault but have no diagrams for this model. Any help most appreciated. Anyone else seen this kind of problem?

Thanks!

Colin

www.video99.co.uk

Re VP9000: Fixed it! The 5V supply from the servo panel, which is distributed to logic around the machine, is derived from a 12V line via a discreet regulator. In the circuit is a N25 semiconductor fuse, that's 1A fast-blow. It was reading 600 Ohms. I replaced it for tonight with a subminiature 1A glass fuse and the machine runs fine. I'll order up a N25 fuse later.

How about that, and without a service manual!

Colin

www.video99.co.uk

SECAM on Umatic:Can someone answer this please: We all know that PAL and NTSC recordings can be in low, high band or SP. But I've only ever seen SECAM on low band machines. Is this because (like VHS to S-VHS) SECAM was not natively supported by the High Band and SP machines, but instead transcoded to PAL for recording?

The reason this matters is I want to be able to cover every possible Umatic tape, and SECAM High/SP seems elusive, hopefully because it doesn't exist.

Thanks for any help,

Colin

www.video99.co.uk

Buckethead: Thanks so much, that did the trick! I had to do it 3 or 4 times but it finally worked. Once the tape was retracted I just manually ejected it using the wheel, no problem.

But (there's always a but!) a new problem has arisen: very bad picture output! I've tried both of the vid outs (2) and it is outputting a very noisy picture, lots of static/snow and some rolling bars.

The signal goes from the Umatic to a VCR and from the VCR to the monitor. I checked all the connections and the bad signal originates from the Umatic. I fear I did something irreprable when I fixed the other problem.

Serpico,It sounds like the machine you are using has had a rough life! Have you tried cleaning the heads? When you do, make sure to also clean the ACE head (big black thing in the tape path before the drum). It reads the control pulses from the tape which could be the cause of the 'rolling picture'.

thanks Roderick, giving it a try now. It gets used infrequently here at the office to dub copies from old SP masters, it may collect some dust. But god knows what it went through before we bought it! They're easy to replace cause the used ones are fairly cheap in the US but the catch is you end replacing them after a year. I'm fairly competent in a DIY, learn-as-you go kind of way but I don't have the skills to fix these things or replace parts.

To James re VHS with TBC:I'm impressed with a Panasonic NV-FS200 I picked up on eBay for next to nothing. The TBC can perform nothing short of miracles on some otherwise unplayable tapes, and the Digital Dropout Compensator is a real bonus too. I've once had a multi-generation tape though which played better with the TBC switched off. The FS200 is a TBC-equipped version of the FS88 (I have one of those too).

PS: Re that VP9000 Umatic I repaired (just to get back on topic!), I measured the current through the N25 ICP (fuse) to the 5V rail derived on the servo panel and it was around 240mA. It is now fitted with the proper N25 having obtained some cheaply from Cricklewood Electronics.

PPS: Still looking for an answer as to whether SECAM recordings existed in High/SP band, or was it only on Low Band where SECAM was recorded differently to PAL onto the tape?

Colin

Thanks, will keep an eye out for an FS -200, as there seems to be a problem with my AG-8600, despite changing all the bad capacitors. Another model that has built in TBC and is of pro quality is the AG-4700

Regarding secam high band U-matic, i have a manual for the BVU-50S, which is a high band secam portable u-matic from 1979. I think there was a secam version of the BVU -200 as well.

Does anyone have a PAL U-MATIC deck available for sale?

James:Re capacitors, have you tried a Atlas ESR60? Perhaps borrow one (they cost £89 to buy). It's a magic unit which tests the Effective Series Resistance of capacitors, see mine here:http://www.colin99.co.uk/extras/jvc_psu_3.jpgAs you can see, it's detected a duff capacitor in a JVC power supply, in this case low value but several others in the PSU had the right value but terrible ESR. A session with one of these may show up more capacitor trouble in your old Panasonic.

Re the Umatic Secam High-band: What I'm trying to find out is whether Secam High-band or SP recordings, are still is Secam. They may be transcoded to PAL for the recording then back again at playback. I know low band Secam recordings really are Secam recordings, but High-band and SP may not be. Are there any hints in the user manual?

By comparison, crummy old VHS records Secam as a Secam recording. But slightly less crummy S-VHS records Secam as PAL, so a PAL S-VHS player will play a recording from a Secam S-VHS recorder.

I'm trying to find out whether I need a High Band/SP Secam Umatic player to be able to cover all Secam Umatic tapes. Tricky eh? From what I can see, Secam wasn't used much in studios, they tended to work in PAL because it's easier to edit with, then convert to PAL at the transmit stage.

Regards,

Colin

Hello, I have a VO6800 recorder and i would like to know wich kind of tapes fits with it, and where i can buy them

thank you

Colin: I have a capacitor wizard, which works quite well, with a needle movement indicating good, compare or bad. Not quite as good as your Atlas. I have found that all the surface mount electrolytics needed replacing in my Panasonic, and Panasonic actually sell capacitor kits (an expensive way to buy caps). I retro fit standard radial caps. As long as the original caps haven't leaked and you don't damage tracks after removing the old onesI always thought secam couldn't be edited and had to be transcoded to PAL.In this manual i have, it mentions a secam high band alignment tape (RR5-1SB-SECAM) as well as the pal high band alignment tape (RR5-1SB-PAL), leading me to think they were recorded different. The manual also refers to a 924khz colour under sub carrier, but i think this is the same for PAL high-band as well. So, i'm not sure...I'm sure with 1" C format, it recorded the same as PAL and we changed a card on the input, to secam in and a card on output to get secam out. A lot of Sony stuff was denoted 'PS' pal/secam.Will post if i find out more about HB/SP secam.

VO 5630 and BVU 950P for sale - used in audio post - make an offer

I have a question I hope someone can help me with; is the Audio Monitor minijack on a VP-5020 mono or stereo? Thanks.

Hello All,

I was currious if anyone has any old reel to reel video spools,N1500,N1700 tapes lying about they might want to part with ? I am currently researching vintage video formats for a anthropological video research project of mine, any assistance or material presented would be much appreciated. Please feel free to e-mail if anyone can help.Thank You for Your Time.

Cheers, Lance.

My u-matic JVC deck suddenly only sends out a picture that is completely snow! Audio is okay but video useless. I cleaned the heads but no improvement. Any tips?

Hi, Just got a Sony u-matic vo-9800. Anyone know where i can obtain the menu codes? cant seem to get video out in any usable form. ebay seller says works perfectly, so assuming something is not set up properly. thanks!

Hi Glenn,The menu's on a VO-9800 only show up on the monitor output AND need a video signal at the input. Then switch the machine to 'Local", make sure the 'Search dial" is in 'Jog' mode and off you go! 'Menu' + 'Search' = step through the menu's, 'Data' + 'Search' = Change settings and hit 'Set' to store the settings.

I have a VP 5030 now basically working after replacing drive belt athough still struggling on rewind, but of course after 25+ years tapes could be stiff too.

I have tapes from two sources and one is a studio production. To get the tapes to track I have the tracking control fully anticlockwise and possibly need to go further.

I am guessing the nominal tracking point on this machine has drifted and somewhere inside the centre point of the front control can be adjusted.Hence can anyone please point me to the correct PCB and part reference(s) for the internal adjustment trimmer(s)?

Thank you in advance.

Anybody out there who has a KC-1C Cleaning Cassette to spare?

>>Evenin' all. Cool site by the way. I've just bought (aka rescued) a U-Matic recorder/player (funnily enough) from a guy in Stoke. Being a film & tv student in my 2nd year - i'm not even in the low band category when it comes to knowing about VTR tech in detail...but I am learning.Can't seem to find any info on the net about this deck and nor does anyone else. When I research how it works I plan to record onto it on playback tapes on it. Therefore it would be great if someone could give me some info on this machine such as its' specific spec, year of make, common errors, dos' and don'ts' etc. This is my first u-matic buy as I am beginning to collect old pro and broadcast tech, and impress the uni girls...haha maybe not.There seems to be so much conflicting info about U-matics. I read on one site that Broadcast Video U-matics came out in the early 80s'...yet on another that BVUs' came out in exactly 1976, which is also when the 200s' came out. Could my u-matic be one of the first High Bands?Any feedback good. Thanks for reading. :-)

Unit notes:SONY BVU 200PNo: 11438

I've been tasked to look for a U-matic camera. Can anyone here fill me in? Are there any for rent or for sale anywhere? The only site I could find that used the words camera and U-matic is in Kathmandu.

Hi all,

I'm looking to sell a U-matic BVU-820 + BVT800. Do you know what they are going for these days.

Sincerely,

Jonas Sorman

Good evening Colin99 . I 've worked with BVU high band in SECAM in french TV station FR3 (now france3) . I remember the machines were the same as PAL but you have to change one (or more) of the 3 long circuitboard to convert the machine in SECAM . Regards Francois

Wanted - Sony VO-9600P or VO-9850P decks in serviceable condition. Will pay good price for these decks if anybody has any. Thanks

Andrea:

What do you mean by "U-matic camera" - a camera that can work with a U-matic recorder or a U-matic camcorder? You can use any camera with composite output with U-matic. If it's broadcast camera with 14 or 26-pin socket you can hook it up to the portable U-matic and you have an ENG setup (you can control your camcorder from your camera, review recordings in viewfinder etc.). As for camcorders I've never hared about U-matic camcorder or camera dockable recorder. I suppose they has been introduced with Betacam. In the golden age of U-matic, and even in early Betacam usage the ENG setup was camera + portapack recorder + optional batery belt to power everyting :-).

Hi I have a VO 9800P.I am getting blocky video output on high contrast areas at random points in my tapes (6 different tapes)However if a crossfade happens at one of these points the "blockyness" dissaperas as though it only occurs at certain frequencys??I am no expert on this, will a head cleaner sort this. Machine bought from MVS video supposed to have had a service we have only used it 3 times since now this apperas but only had 3 months warranty (bought 6 months ago)Thanks in advance.

Dave.

Nyquest, How are you watching the tapes? Are you using the 'Monitor' output or the 'Video' output? Is it going straight into a monitor or through a digital device?

Blockiness is normally associated with digital pictures and the VO-9800 is a analog machine.... If you are feeding the signal into a digital capturing device, my guess would be that that is where the problem sits. Try to connect the machine directly to a video monitor and see what happens. And if you could post a picture of the 'effect' somewhere, that could help people solving the problem.

Cheers

Hi guys,

I found an old A4772008 in the basement at work. It rewinds, fast forwards, ejects and pauses. It just won't play anything. It seems that the drive motor isn't engaging the take-up reel.

It won't play the full-size or the smaller size tapes. I have no idea why it was put on the storage shelf or when it was last used.

Any ideas?

Thanks,bebop

Correction.

The machine is NOT an A4772008 but rather a VP2000.

Thanks,bebop

After migrating 50 tapes with no problem, the picture on our borrowed BVU800 went blank. We replaced the video cable and had video for the first 3 minutes of our next tape before it went blank. Any ideas/advice would be most appreciative. We have 85 more tapes in the collection to digitize.

hi, anyone know the pin to pin connections to connect a RM-440 to a VO5850P and VO5800PS CHEERS

I've purchased recently a SONY VO-2631 machine. Works perfect, thanks God, but i want futher information about this format, like gaps sizes, head positions, pin assignment of inputs and outputs, where to download the Owner's and service manuals of the VO-2631.

Thanking in advance,Gus Argibay.-

To bebop1065 and anyone else that want to try to back to life any of this beauties, those that has been left per indetermine time on the attic or basement: don't be scared (have no fer)in leaving the machine in power on and in stop position during one or two days before operating them; the normal heat (warm) produced by th machine itself, will evaporate the humidity that affects the efficiency of solenoids and most important, the parasitic capacitances of the electronic boards, wich shifts the adjustments made at factory, and will soften the lubricants of the mechanism too.It worked on my machine, that was stored since 1998!

Hi there

I need some advice. My question is this:

When the machine is switched on, there is no red LED counter displayed. It's been years since I used one of these machines and I can't remember if the counter comes on once a tape is inserted. As you may have guessed, I don't have a tape to try it out. Is the timecode display knackered or am I right about the need to insert a tape first before it lights up?

Thanks in Advance

Dave

I just read my above message and realised it doeasn't mention the model. Doh.

It's a Sony VO-9600P and it is for sale on Ebay at the moment, but I will have to revise if the LED is knacked.

Cheers

Dave

Dave: Don't forget to leave the machine in power on at least by one day, this assures that it is not going to have humidity problems due to the much time without working. This it is a cheap and safe method, agree?Hope this info help you.Best regards,Gus.-

To Dave, re VO9600.

See my posting of 6th Sept. I found with this fuse blown and no 5V supply, that the LED timecode readout was not working on a VO9000 (similar but different model). I would suspect that the 5V line might be missing on your VO9600. You should see the LED display operate without a tape inserted.

Colin (www.video99.co.uk)

has any one got any PAL vo-6800ps, vo-8800ps in Australia please email [email protected]

no ebay, private sellers only.thanks

I have a few Ampex tapes that will only play half way through before coming to a literal screeching halt on my VP5030. The unit has only just been serviced and is otherwise in perfect working order. Has anyone got any idea what could be causing this and if there is a fix for it what would the fix be?

Rich,Older Ampex tapes (80's & early 90's) are rather prone to 'sticky tape syndrome' the most likely cause of your problem. It is caused by the emulsion on the tapes absorbing too much humidity which softens the emulsion and it starts scraping off during play. The tapes can be fixed by extracting the humidity from the tapes. There are commercial places that will do that for you or, if you have a fair bit of time on your hands, you can attempt it yourself. Google 'baking a tape' for useful hints - but do not put a tape in the oven as the search title may suggest!!

Hello U-matic experts! I have many old U-matic tapes of TV programmes I made which I want to transfer to digital video, hopefully using the DUB output on my U-matic deck (VP-9000P); I know this is similar to S-video but not the same. I have a Sony DUB to S-video cable, but that is only giving me a B&W output. Does anybody know how I can alter the chroma signal to give me a colour output so I can avoid using composite video for my transfers? I believe there may be some 'magic box' available, or perhaps I could build one if it is fairly simple? I'm sure if someone was able to provide such a converter box there could be many customers for it! Thank you in anticipation. Charles

Does anyone have a user or operators manual in photo-copy or PDF format. If not, can you help me understand why the unit I have (VO-7630)is constantly in 'standby' mode - light on. However, I can't see a switch for this or a 'remote' function.

Help appreciated.

Does anyone have a high band ntsc player for sale or for rent have 2 hours of tape to transfer any help much appreciated

Hi there everyone!!

I want to sell a JVC U-Matic CR6060ET pal/secam/ntsc Recorder/Player. It is a working machine and flawless. Contact me for photos, info and make your offer.

Hi all! Just got hold of some old stuff.... a VO-6800PS and a BVU-150P. I just have power for the VO-6800, not the BVU. Does someone know the pinouts for the 12v 4 pin XLR power cable for the BVO-150P.

RegardsRobert

I just picked up 2 x Sony V05850P machines and have a few questions. These are Australian machines and I assume they are PAL format (Maybe what the P stands for in the model name?). Do I need to purchase PAL specific U-Matic tapes? Can U-Matic tapes be used more than once like conventional VHS tapes? I did not receive power cables with the units but the 3 pin socket looks very much like a computer power cable. Can anyone confirm if they require a special cable or if a computer cable will do the job? Thanks, Blake.

Blake,Welcome to the wonderful world of U-matic! You don't need PAL specific tapes, all U-matic tapes will work with your machines. And yes, they do use normal IEC powercables. If you are in Sydney, I have a pile of old U-matic tapes that are just taking up shelf space, you are welcome to pick them up. They are obviously used but may just get you started.

Thanks for the info Roderick. I am in Melbourne, I have just ordered some tapes and some power cables. I look forward to setting the units up and learning how they work.

To Charles re s-video vs dub.

I've been through this myself. There does not seem to be a simple conversion from dub to s-video. There are two ways around this:

Feed the composite signal into a unit with (digital) comb filter. This will extract to s-video and recover virtually all of the signal integrity. I use a GTH Electronics ACE unit, and colour bars played back through this are far better than composite fed straight to a monitor. That said, I've actually found a strange ringing problem between umatic decks and the GTH ACE box which I cured by feeding via another video recorder. It may well be that you can get very good results by going into a video recorder at Composite and out at S-Video, if the machine has a comb filter (analogue or digital). Machines to try are high end SVHS or Hi8 decks from Sony or Panasonic.

The second method would be to feed the dub into a video recorder which supports dub in and s-video out. One or two Betacam decks could do this, and I even have a scrap S-VHS deck which can (the heads are shot but it doesn't matter for this). It's a Panasonic AG7350 or similar, from memory. These old bangers turn up on eBay from time to time, so that's a possibility if you have the space for one.

Hope this helps.

Colin

To Rich re screeching halt:I've had this problem today playing some clapped out tapes on a VP9000 (NTSC). Solutions I have used include:1: Reduce the back tension by adjusting the SKEW control fully to the right. This is a good one!2: Bake the tapes in a good quality fan assisted oven at 50C for 3-4 hours. Run them within 48 hours of the bake process.3: Make sure that the defective tape has not contaminated the machine. Clean the guides and heads with Isopropyl Alcohol and head cleaning sticks (you can buy these from grandata.co.uk). Next, play a known good tape and ensure there is no squealing, even with the SKEW control fully left (maximum back tension). If necessary leave this known good tape playing until all squealing stops, ie the tape has cleaned up the tape path.

After all of the above, try your dodgy tape again. Start by inserting the tape, SKEW control fully to the right, and see if you can get a good freeze frame. If this is OK then the heads are able to spin OK against the tape, and you can try releasing pause to see if it will run without squealing.

If it still squeals after all of the above attempts, you could only try another machine. Sometimes one machine will do this where another won't.

Hope this helps.

Colin (www.video99.co.uk)

Hi All. Does anybody know were i can buy new sp umatic tapes "big ones" that are longer than 20mins in the uk?I have a VO-9850pMany Thanks.Mike.

Google is your friend!0.27sec found this: http://www.stanleysonline.co.uk/category-100.htm

Hello folks, We are downsizing. I have a Sony Video Cassette Recorder VO-2631 with about 50 Used Tapes (KCA-60s and UCA-60s etc....) and a Service Manual for a JVC CR-8300E. The recorder works.

FREE used U-Matic Tapes, to anyone who wants to collect from Solihull (near the NEC, Birmingham UK)

I don't know much about U-matic things but I hope I came the right place! I am just trying to clear out and it seems a shame to throw these out, I don't have many, about 10 tapes, a mixture of KCA -30, KCA-60 and KCS20,

I picked them up when I was at university and they were clearing them out (it seemed like a good idea at the time), so probably full of peoples media coursework, who knows!! I've dragged these across the country up from brighton, with no way to play them, and now i've given up and want someone to reuse them.

if you want to pay postage I can post them, I just don't want them to go to waste.

please respond ASAP

thanks,

Francesca