Thank you Kevin. That's most helpful! I'm waiting for some replacement electrolytic capacitors to arrive for the PSU, so whilst I'm fitting those I'll mark the pot in its original position and give it a tweak. I'll change the blue Sanyo cap whilst I'm there too. I'll report back once I've had a proper look at it.

Many thanks again!

Success!

You were right, Kevin. It was that .33uf 25v blue Sanyo capacitor that was causing the tracking centering problem. I replaced it with a .33 35v tantalum capacitor and it's working great now. Also the PSU caps arrived so I replaced all of them too.

One thing I noticed though was on the video board, 1 of the 1000uf 10v electrolytics was leaking onto the board and traces. Removed, board cleaned, traces repaired and new cap installed. All working great (touch wood) I'm going to leave it on test for the day just to make sure all is ok. All that needs to be replaced now is the front button membrane thing, but I doubt they're available now. Hey-ho.

Thanks Kevin!

Hi , i have a Sony SL-C7EC that has not been used for 15 years . When i turn it on everything works fine but when i put a tape in it starts doing a humming noise ( like a tape rewind noise ) . this noise noise fluctuates from high pitch gradually to low pitch . the tape does not need to be re-winded and i cannot play the tape . any idea what this is ?

Zane303;

Sitting for that long it's more than likely a belt or rubber idler slipping.These models are not only very heavy but have numerous belt's too.If they are NOT stretched (like soft elastic)or hard and cracked/split they can be refreshed with 120 grit paper and also a soak with washing up liquid helps too.Keep isopropyl alcohol away from any rubber though as it will dry it out.

I would also check the electrolytic caps in the PSU too as when they go high ESR they take out other components which can be a pain for some to source.

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

Hi! I am new to this site.

I just bought a SL-3000, but it came without psu. Does anybody know the pin out of the 4 pin DC connector which is on the right hand of the recorder?

Zane303,

Does your C7 eject the tape?

I'd recommend changing all the belts as they are likely 40 years old. New belts, with their 'youthful' firmness provide more torque for the aging mechanism and will certainly help waken the machine up, making it operate better!

I have a question about the Sony C6:

The clock display is probably about 60% brightness of what it should be. Is there anything I can do to restore the display to full illuminance?

Hi all, would anyone know if the Sony SL-HF150 shares i"s power supply with other VCR's

Or know of anyone who can help me find one?

Regards James

Mark, I have a PSU for the SL-3000. Not sure what the pinout is though.

James

Hi all

Would someone have a hard copy of the SL-HF100 service manual looking for the actual manual and not one downloaded from the net .

Thanks in advance

Hello, i am looking for a multi connection for Sony SL-F1E

Hello, i am looking for a multi connection for Sony SL-F1E type: VMC 330

Hi Betaphiles:

Hope all are enjoying life?

I'm looking to obtain a good, fully working SS28 servo board for a Sony HF100.

Anyone can help feel free to contact via e-mail address (under my name)

Cheers..................Kevin

Hello i need a help please.

C9 does not eat the cassette.

The microswitches are OK.

Display and tunes led not light on. When turned C9 on, the mechanica moves and the heads second rotate. Power led and frame lighting.

What to focus on, please?

When the DC Dc converter is bad, it only just doesn't go on display?...others should work, yes?

Thank you wery much.

The supply voltage is ok, only 26, 38 volts are missing. Switches in lift tested again, cassette does not load.

Please help me.

Many thanks

i have an NTSC SONY Betamax model SL-5400 VCR without owners manual Can anybody have the time t scan and send me the owners manual of the Sony SL-5400 VCR in english please

Any greetings wound wil apreciated

Thank you

i have an NTSC SONY Betamax model SL-5400 VCR without owners manual Can anybody have the time t scan and send me the owners manual of the Sony SL-5400 VCR in english please

Any greetings wound wil apreciated my email is [email protected]

Thank you

I have 2 SL-F1 that still work very well except for one little problem:

When I rewind a tape i often notice an annoying phenomenon as if the tape sticks and jumps off producing a series of tears: "strap" - "strap" - "strap" .... I have noticed that some brands of tape they do it more and others less, for example some Sony do it less while the Dupont do it a lot. It resembles the Stiking phenomenon.

In some cases the ribbon transport stops completely.

What can be done?

i4yfc.fabri,

Check out the SLC9 page under technical for Betamax models under the heading "irregular rewind/review."

It is likely to be due to increased friction due to wear on the upper drum.

You can use an ink rubber to scruff up the surface of the upper drum to cure this issue but take care to move the heads out of the way at the same time.

I have also used cleaning pads we call JEX pads (CLEANING SUPPLIES) here to do the same job.

regards Noel - (betaheaven.com) in Australia

Hi All, New to this chatting thing. I notice Kevin Lambert is on here who kindly sorted a few of my machines over the years. The Idler is now playing up on my VTC5000 does anyone know where I can get one from to fit myself. The belt seems ok so I am guessing its faulty idler it doesnt flip to the left upon rewind but does on picture search reverse for about 3 seconds then flips to centre and just stops. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Matt

Hi Matt:

Good to see you here.

You say the idler (center pulley) is playing up.It sounds to me like it's a bit stiff on the shaft for it not too move like you state.

As the geared top part does the search and PLAY modes and the rubber lower the FF,REW and take up after stop.

Also on the very early VTC 5000 's (with the flip out right side end sensor and one piece clutch).Some of these center pulleys were shiny for the contact part of the rubber idler tyre. Sanyo soon realized that mistake and all other plastic friction areas were grooved.

The one piece clutch's (which could be tricky to set up and therefore make the back tension at times a bit higher than required) were also exchanged after time for the more reliable and consistent two piece ones fitted to their Beta's right up until the end of production.

As for your issue i would see if the center pulley is a bit stiff or not move freely and then make sure the others mechanicals are also free to move.

Also a video of said action is a big help too..

...Kev