Beta Blowout: Hunting for a working Betamax deck
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- I've never played a Betamax tape in my life, somehow. Clients have brought me a bunch to digitize. Will I find a good VCR in this stack of Sonys?
Gear you'lll see: Sony SL-HFR70 with HFP-200 Betahi-fI stereo processor, SL-HF300B, and SL-HF400. Please comment with repair recommendations!
Thanks to Betamaxcollecters.com and mrbetamax.com for online resources that helped in researching this video.
So, should I get any of these repaired? Does anything look DIY-able without too much fuss?
You really need to press the power buttons long enough to wait and see a green light ON THE BUTTON to turn on the machine. You lightly and quickly pressed those buttons and I did not see the power buttons go green on those first two players -try those power buttons again and hold firmly for 2-3 seconds. Also digital set-up usually requires three connection to complete playback -I know its bull shit new tech crap like when I don't get a signal on flat screen because my red audio isn't hooked up. So your mono player might not be recognized by virtual dub if its setup for right and left audio -trouble shoot that. All three may work -don't wiggle the outlets
I am a vcr repairman I also fix betamax and betacam machines so I can get them working for a really cheap price if you have the knowledge to make your own parts to fix the machine
Great video that deserves more views.
I appreciate that!
I have so many betamax tapes from the 80s of my family that I've also been searching for a working player to capture them! That second machine you show looks almost exactly what we had, but it was like more silverish. Same button layout.
No video but audio, video heads need to be cleaned!
Just got a mint SL-HF400 from an estate auction for 50 shipped. Works perfect with good pictures. The ones you have all look repairable. I would check the loading motor and/or what triggers the loading operation.
Thanks for the tip! I watched one repair video and that looks like a great place to start.
Beautiful recorders are all worth repairing 😄
If I can find someone local who'll take 'em on, that might happen! I recently acquired another one and it looks like it's in great shape.
Amo las videocasseteras ... sobre todo las beta... Felicidades///
Bien dicho y eso que tengo Streaming,blu ray.micro Sd,como hubies egente como tu en el Mundo,saludos.
The third deck loaded use a pre recorded tape to see playback.
i been recording footage from vhs running through my capture card and sometimes encounter signal loss on some of the tapes.
good video
The heads are dirty
The first two don't appear to properly power up as the LED in the power switch doesn't even light up.
The last one could actually be working just fine, as the tapes you've used may just have been used to record audio on with the matching hifi processor, people actually did that back then, especially when they paid extra to get hifi audio xD
hi you have got to be a tec to have a betamax today as lot of caps are going bad in the decks
there's one in the uk he's very ace at working on them
this why i went to betacam they work ace i like them big time
hi i will say the the betacam decks some of them will need alot of super glue in the front panels
and rework the side holder parts that hold the fronts on and new feet just turned of 40 feet
USA = 120V~ , F Antenna Connectors and NTSC, London = 240V~ , IEC Antenna Connectors and PAL
The first deck looks like an SL-HF300 while the second deck looks like an SL-HF400. It's likely that both have a bad STK-5441 regulator in their power supplies because not all of your voltage rails are operating, which is why the POWER light won't illuminate and your VCRs won't take cassettes but your front panel florescent display is working on both machines. You have 5v for your SYSCON (system control) but no power for your motors and solenoids, which is what also powers the green light on the POWER button.
Your SL-HFR70 has no video. If you are connected to the VIDEO LINE OUT, check to see if you have anything from the VHF output. If you have video from the VHF, then you've got a bad capacitor on the video output. Finding the cap is easy: follow the circuit trace from the signal line of the video output jack all the way back to the first cap on the trace, likely a 1000 microfarad at 6.3 volts. However, if video quality from the VHF is acceptable, just go with that.
Thank you for the detailed answer! I took the HF400 to the shop for repair. They replaced a few dollars worth of parts. I haven't fired it up yet, but am looking forward to.
@@scottthemediahoarder How about the SL-HFR70? Were you able to get video from the VHF antenna output?
Just FYI. Some beta machines wont automatically accept tapes like VHS. You need to turn the unit on before inserting the tape else it wont work.
Great video! Eagerly awaiting Part 2... did you find a working betamax machine eventually? Can't wait for more!
hi had alot of home decks they are juck the later one's i have played around with the later betacam sp and digi
i will say they are miles better and last longer and the sound is mind blowing better than the hi-fi decks no drop out on the audio
as i only use them for audio now as computers can do all the video editing
i have had alot of betamax decks in the past sorry they just can't take the wear on them
betacam deck all ready have high hr's on them and they keep running as long as the audio is working i am 100% ok
note i have worked on alot over the years and i have alot of them i pulled pulled parts of out of the 60 decks i have i only lost 4 as parts
and i have alot of working spares from them i know how to take them apart right way
Betamax es una maravilla
Could be dirty heads
As another viewer commented, auto-turn-on when you push a cassette in was a relatively late vcr feature, only the last couple betamax models (LONG after these) would have had it, so you need to turn it on 1st. The 1st 2 vcrs didn't turn on when you pressed the power button. And since these have real time counters, if the counter isn't moving, it's not detecting anything recorded on the tape. It's a long shot, but I'd clean the tape heads, especially including the audio/control track head. 90+% isopropyl alcohol is fine, but don't use q-tips on the video heads - the cotton can snag and break them. The traditional way is chamois cleaning swabs, but 12voltvids recommends using paper - seems strange, but he's a pro tech, so I defer to his vastly superior knowledge and experience. Q-tips would be fine for the stationary audio/control track heads and guides though.
Also, is that a pair of Panasonic AG-1970s? (One of them sadly having had its jog/shuttle amputated?) Nice! 12voltvids has had bad experience with them, but I have fond memories of one from my high school media class, and the AG-1970 and AG-1960 I e-bayed years ago still work great.
The 1st 2 that didn't turn on, as for repair, I'd put an ohmmeter on the power button, see if it's working. Or get a Sony VCR remote, put it in VTR1 mode (which is what Sony Betas without a VTR1/2/3 mode remote switch used) and see if that will turn them on.
Also also, if the shop you have a connection with doesn't work out, I have no idea what his rates are (and have no connection beyond youtube viewership), but from watching his many videos repairing Betas and other VCRs, if he's willing, he would be an excellent option to send your VCRs to for repair. IIRC, he's in the Vancouver, BC area, so hardly close to you, but at least he's in the same country.
My dada has a bunch of old hunting videos on a scotch t120 blank vhs tape but one of the reels is broken and it won’t play
Dad*
4:37 I dOn"t KnOw BeTa MaChInEs!
What capture device do you use?
I'm using the USB3HD capture box from Startech.
Hi from the uk😁
Tracking
Absolutely awful format. I'm so glad it failed, VHS is the one I use and have done for over 35 years...
Awful format is vinyl and overrated too.