SuperBeta SL-HF600 part 3. Smashes itself up.

[@chillidogkev]

I've done a lot of repairs in the past on VTR/VCR tape mechanisms...but no more. Been through all this kind of pain and in the end stopped enjoying working on the stuff. Horrible, pathetic, plastic wheels, gears and parts just did my head in eventually and even though I was very good and successful at the work I had to stop to preserve my sanity 😂😂😂 The piece of equipment that broke the camel's back was a Sony Betacam SP camera with an erratic tape load/eject mechanism from hell. Your videos and your calm, patient manner (on camera at least!) are just top notch. Very enjoyable indeed. You really are persistent and I admire that 👍

[@squirrelarch]

Really have to admire your patience & tenacity. Think i’d’ve launched this deck from a large canon by now.

[@wdavem]

This is a good video. I'm catching up after subscribing. I work for a videotape preservation organization as their in house maintenance tech. I just saw two sony DSR 1500's try very hard to break their threading mechanisms. One succeeded, the other is at least now miss-timed, I'll know next week. Those aren't my fault but you bet it has been my fault before (only 4 or 5 times since I started messing around 25 years ago, though I question that)... It scares me worse these days, and is important to tell people about!!! And so is 3d printing parts!!!!!! If they work it needs to be done!!! I really want to get into doing that. I should add that I've fixed 100's of machines, my fix-to-break- ratio is good professional quality.

[@MrBetaByte]

I've worked on a lot of the 711B2 and B3 chassis' but I can't quite see exactly what's happening from your video with the S ring and how it's interacting with the S coil assembly that also actuates the switch. My guess is a broken bit of plastic on the S ring. It might also be worth removing that small assembly at the back left of the deck, checking it and then reinstalling it making sure it is free to move as it should. I do have a 711B3 mechnical adjustment manual which covers everything including disassebly and reassembly but not that switch actuating mechanism. Only slight glimer is I have a later NTSC Sony Betamax in for repair at the moment with similar issues to yours which will be on my channel soon and if you're still struggling (I am however confident you'll sort it) I might bring that forward so I can offer you more help.

[@Petertronic]

Enjoying playing catch up on your channel (new subscriber!). Sorry can't help you with this beast, I didn't work on many Betamax's. I had an old donated SL-C6 for a while, what a tank that was! Look forward to future installments, fingers crossed.

[@video99couk]

There's a large back catalogue to wade through, almost 200 videos. More being released very soon too, after a short break.

[@Thepaddster]

I think you would be amazed with what 3D Printing can do these days. I have seen very small gears which required very accurate prints be fabricated on some of the small Prusa's which are all the rage on KZbin at the moment. That isn't helpful if your printer isn't a Prusa, and definitely not if your printer is a little older as they say that 3D printing is getting better every six months these days but hope for the future. At some point the fine plastic bits will not be a worry on old decks and it will be the head drums that become the nightmare.

[@wdavem]

Yeah thats interesting!

[@M3G4UK]

Agreed. I think a resin based printer would be better for some parts as the print resolution can be higher. Fairly sure the replacement transport gears I got for an older technics cassette deck were 3D printed.

[@dv_vid]

Superglue is what I would use provided you have the broken pieces that fit cleanly together.

[@allanbroadfield5121]

I find your programmes strangely theraputic. It takes me back to when i worked in a lab at the end of tottenham court road which was lined with shops selling videos. I agonised over Beta or VHS, settling on Beta which had the better quality, but my Sony C5 had no end of problems and with the lack of pre recorded tapes settled eventually for the inferior but more reliable VHS. I understand that the Sanyo Betacords were more reliable? Happy memories.

[@video99couk]

The C5 was my least favourite machine. Most of the complexity and unreliability of the C7 without any of the nice features. Sanyo were certainly more reliable, but so too were some later Sony models like the C30. I always visited Tottenham Court Road by tube if ever I was in London, I used to love it.

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

The 711B chassis (SL-C20) uses a micro switch for detecting the completion of the unlace cycle. The 711B2 chassis (SL-HF600) uses the right-hand side tape-end sensor coil to detect the completion of unlacing. I can't explain it in much detail here but 12voltvids has a good explanation on this.

[@video99couk]

Yes I've seen that, a magnet swings round to the takeup end sensor at unlace. So that's how they dispensed with one microswitch. My problems now are the detection of lace-up. The switch sits on an arm which swings, and this appears to be in slightly the wrong position.

[@DVDandFilmBloke]

I can only guess you can turn Beta Hi Fi off for tapes recorded with Hi Fi that aren't mastered properly, as in nothings recorded on the Hi Fi track. I've heard rumours that some VHS titles are like that, personally I've not really encountered that. Possibly the closest thing I have is a copy of The Wicked Lady (the Michael Winner version from 1983) released in 1989 from The Video Collection under the Cinema Club label (although the master is from 1988). On the tapes Hi Fi track the audio is only coming out of the left speaker for some reason (it was only noticeable when I digitized it and when I hosted an online screening of it I used handbrake to knock the audio down to mono), I know it's not a problem with the machine I used since it always records tapes with both speakers and when the Hi Fi would pop, it came out of both speakers so it's obvious they didn't master it properly (I don't own any other copies, nor would I want to since it's a crap film). It could also be if it shows on the display when the Hi Fi goes, for instance if the tape is damaged or the heads don't align properly it makes it far less distracting.

[@zx8401ztv]

Ooow naughty deck :-( Did that switch actually show ( open and close) through the wiring? I also wondered if the firmware board was wrong for that deck configuration. Swapped out by some pillock!. I'm not sure about the broken part, i have created bodgy parts out of metal tubes and screws. I've been very evil :-D And to keep it working, i charge nothing for the fix. (A odd version of sods law )

[@Judge_Dredd]

I wonder whether you might deliver both broken halves of that pin to a model maker who could make a metal pin replacement?

[@video99couk]

It's just too small and intricate. I'll have to raid one from another deck. But I must sort out the end switch first.

[@lukasgayer5393]

@@video99couk Oh, not at all! It is actually a pretty sound idea! I´d be more than tempted to use a 3D software and perhaps a resin printer to print like one hundred new pins, just to be on a safe side. The resin prints tend to be reasonably durable and I´m currently planning on replicating the (always) broken gears in Philips Charly decks I´ve got.

[@frankowalker4662]

It's so annoying about that plastic pin. Especially after all the trouble you went through to replace it in the first place. At least the power supply is now working, though.

[@lodizaki9611]

If you speak arapik very good ser

[@Monza62000]

just to let you know my boy has made loading gears an made them better ,,they are on ebay