This old beast was given to me. It`s a Betamax that thinks its a VHS by the way it behaved, and it is fubar. Can I get this one going? Watch and learn.
About time you did one of those!I have been refurbishing beta's for quite some time now (since 2002).This 7250 was one of Sanyo's more advanced beta's and perhaps their slimmest model.They achieved that by making the loading ring from thin metal (instead of the thicker plastic reinforced type.The slot flap also pivoted downwards, all their other front loaders pivoted from the top upwards.I have seen many bodged repairs from those desperate to get these beta's working to transfer 'a few tapes' to disc'. (not saying you do those type or repairs though) but I was shocked to see you fitting a 'O' ring to get this going. Those original tyres are still around and should at least be FLAT and not rounded) and recommended .Also re grooving the spool edges makes these friction type assemblies work better.I always grimace when I see cotton buds being used anywhere near those fragile video and Hi-Fi heads. Why? because I've been sent a few with just that having been done and ripping those heads off in the process. So not recommended at all.When you tried this out after fitting said 'O' ring I was surprised you didn't leave off the top reel spool cover as it let's you see even better what is going on. The back tension on these also benefits from a check as the one way clutch under the left spool sometimes sticks with sitting for long periods.Also on this model Sanyo used a brass centre idler in the place of the usual plastic ones. This deck also used the same idler for FF and REW /UNLACING and PLAY/SEARCH modes so will be under even more pressure.(No doubt to aid the slimming process as all others used two idlers and higher spools )I would get shot of that 'O' ring as soon as you can.The other two belt's for lacing and cassette hatch loading also benefit changing too as they are getting old now. Caps in the PSU too.You were lucky with that SuperBeta model as Sanyo denied us PAL users the same privilege. They left it to Sony.Otherwise nice to see a Sanyo Beta being worked on here. With no degrading/put down comments. And No, Sanyo were not 'crap', far from it, but very ,very focused on giving the customer the best deal without too much performance loss and good reliability, features for the money. They also came up with some very unique ideas too. Unlacing for their beta's was one. Centre loading VHS decks was another.The Plasma interference issue is very common.I've serviced decks here in the UK and have been told ,there is a lot of interference on my screen, (and none whatsoever when being tested here.) Usually plasma are the offenders. Also vcr's don't like BLU ray and other 'modern' players sitting on them either VHS ones too. It can cause grief with playback nothing to do with said vcr.Nice video
I have on of these, and mine had a problem with the tensioner arm, I didn’t know it could be adjusted with a screw, fools luck a played with it in stop mode, pressed play and it worked like new! For any of you having problems with your βeta Hi-Fi dropping out and general lines in your picture that won’t track out on a known good tape, this screw is the culprit, it’s located to the right and below the tensioner arm.
Nice work here 👍🏼, it was cool to see the beta machine too. Interesting to see all those capacitors on the board up you pulled up, thirty-three or so years old still totally fine, like in so many of these players. The real issues seems to come down to dirt and worn movable parts. Fascinating.
I worked at a Sanyo repair centre and while it was owned by Sanyo, we weren't allowed to work on Sears units (we had to send them to the Sears repair centre, even out of warranty). Later Sanyo sold off most of their repair centres and we were owned by one the former managers, then we could fix anything. Sanyo and Sears had an agreement not to step on each others repair work.
Sanyo Beta machines were always more reliable than the Sony/Toshibas. The VTC5000 was the best-selling VCR in the UK in 1983 and there are many of them still plodding away with barely any need for repairs. Just belts, and they work. Very basic and never did perform all that well but a masterpiece of cost-reduced design.
Interestingly, listed on the BetamaxPAL site for the VTC5000 there's a mention of a capacitor replacement in the power supply when there are lines on screen: www.palsite.com/5000tech.html As the machines are fundamentally similar could this cap's analogue be making the interference issue worse?
@@jasejj Yes. I added this solution myself because I experienced this problem with my 5000. If I recall correctly, Colin (video99.co.uk) talked about this problem on his website.
I have a number of Sanyo beta machines and the VTC 9455 is by far their most unique machine. Multi system with a switching power supply (TL494) and a mechanism that keeps the tape threaded in all modes.
Yep. What Sanyo front load Beta machines may lack in picture quality, they more than made up for with a durable design that's relatively easy to service. And, though the Sanyo front loaders (with exception of the VCR8700GM) could not do BetaSkipScan, at least the video heads tended to be less worn compared to other machines that always kept the tape threaded.
Rewinding and fast forward with the tape loaded does indeed cause more head wear. But that wasn't considered when they were making them because a head was considered a consumable part and when it wore out after 1000 hours it was supposed to be replaced. Of course that is a problem once they stopped making parts. Now we really don't give a shit about features, we want a long lasting head in order to get those precious recordings transferred.
Did you re-connect the black wire back to the transport shield? It connects to the right screw on the top of shield between the board and the drum. (I used to forget it and would sometimes get lines or strange interference. I also blew one up from the wire touching parts on the board.) Haven't serviced one of those in over 30 years, I used to manage a S.F.S. authorized warranty station.
As usual, another interesting and informative video. Thanks. May I ask if you have memories or comments - good or bad, about the Sony SL-2710? I've got one that has always worked well but it has been years that it has sat on a shelf. I've got a number of tapes to digitize but I wonder if I should get my hands on a second working Beta machine for backup if I shouldn't trust the SL-2710 to continue working. Thanks again!
The Sony 2710 was a really reliable machine. Much better than the SL2700 that was much more expensive and was basically overkill. The 2700 had direct drive reel motors, and so many more circuits that it became known for all the problems it had. The 2710 was a simpler design with fewer parts to break.
Brilliant video, as always. I have 3 PAL Sanyo beta vcrs and they all display the noise on my recently discarded plasma. Oddly my Sony betas weren't affected by it. I've since gone back to a Samsung crt with an HDMI input and all of my analog video equipment looks so much better on it.
Oh, a Beta repair video. I'd SO love to send you an Aiwa AV-70M for a complete overhaul. This is a subcompact (albeit, heavy), Beta-HiFi deck, that effectively has a Sony transport inside, but it unlaces the tape like a Sanyo. Problem is that it's been in storage for awhile. And when I recently tried it, I was getting no picture, wavering linear audio & a strange "blip-blip-blip.." noise coming from the deck. It would play for a bit, then shut down. Took the cover off & saw a loop of tape, repeatedly forming just after it passing by the capstan/pinch roller, then being taken up (so tape tension issue, perhaps?). This was the cause of the weird noise. If only it wouldn't cost so much to send it up from MA.
I had this VCR back in 1985. It was stolen in '87. I loved it - in many regards, it was the best VCR I ever owned. The picture quality was exceptional compared to contemporary VHS VCRs. Even VHS HQ decks from the mid-'90s didn't look better.
@@12voltvids HQ was actually a host of image processing and noise reduction circuits, and not all HQ VHS VCRs had the same image processing gizmos. In the original JVC spec it included noise reduction - both luminance and chrominance - and also white clip extension and as you indicated sharpness processing. But due to cost concerns this eventually got scaled back to just white clip extension plus one other improvement, so "HQ" VHS VCRs' picture quality varied quite a bit. Toward the end of VHS it looked pretty good with all the processing, probably better than Beta ever did, even SuperBeta. But by that time recordable DVDs were around...
@@sunspot42 I am fully aware of the 4 circuits but the vast majority had only the 2 mandatory circuits. Of course if you copied a tape it looked far worse and some machines had an edit switch to turn the processing off. VHS never looked as good as beta until the VHS et technology hit and that allowed an almost svhs quality picture on a standard tape. Jvc was the only company that used all 4 enhancement circuits but even they only used it on their higher end and svhs models.
12voltvids SVHS always looked weird to me. They boosted the luma resolution thru the roof, but the chroma was hardly changed if memory serves. The picture had a very weird look as a result.
@@sunspot42 the chroma was the same as it is a color under format. Lumanence resolution went from 230 to 400 tv lines. Chroma remained at 60. Svhs done right looked ok, but hi8 looked much better.
From Scandinavia, we like your videos, really good faultfinding examples as it should be told for the new class school of engineers. Please do keep up the good works. As for us swedes we do like canadians. Easy to get entry into the country, you guys do metrics, you guys know europeans, we are not thought of as being from outer space.
Absolutely positive, because in 1984 I worked for the Sony corp and wouldn't have been videotaping the seminar. In 85 I worked for the depot, and was recording the seminar to take it back to the shop so the other techs could watch it. I left Sony in October 84 and started at the warranty depot where I remained for 20 years.
Thanks so much for posting this! I just got one of these and kind of stumbled my way through cleaning it, but I didn’t know to remove the tape guide. Will probably crack it back open to do that. I have a question about tracking - maybe you know. It seems like all the tapes I have require the tracking dial to be turned all the way to the right. Makes me think some component has drifted out of spec. Is there an internal pot on this machine that adjusts the range of the tracking dial?
I have used a normal VHS vcr with my plasma tv lots of times, but never had any interference. The quality of vhs on a 50 inch screen is horrifying but it did the job it was asked to do. The recorder was an old SABA (so, a JVC) model and the tape transport was closed in a metal box a bit like the one in this video. Cheers and have a nice day :-).
I have a sanyo vhs vcr from 1984 and its just 2 head mono. had to replace all the belts. the rubber tire was bad but i didn't replace it with an oring i replaced with a belt that was exact size of the old one. Replaces caps psu so clock wouldn't flicker. My sanyo vcr is used regularly to play my 200+ movies.
OMG! You just (hopefully) helped me solve the same problem with my Panasonic NV-SV120 SVHS. It does have similar pattern of noise and I cleaned the heads as good as I possibly could. Fact is it stands next to my plasma Panasonic Viera. I'll have to check if this is also the root of the problem.
One question, would replacing the belt on the idler involve a huge process in dismantling the machine? Its the only fault ours has, as its not gripping the wheel. We hope it might not be necessary to dismantle the machine extensively as its only the belt which needs changing. What do you think? Thanks for making this video btw, we've been studying what you've been upto whilst fixing our sanyo betacord.
The white lines/interference could be due to bad connection between the grounding tab on the top of the drum and the drumspindle. Have had this symptom on many vhs players back when I worked as repair tech. And it can be very intermittent some times and some tapes makes this appear more than others. Try cleaning it and then regrease with some silver conductive grease or similiar. Thanks for all your great videos and the work you do to keep these machines going.
You missed the point completely. The interference was also on the Sony 5200. That is why I showed it to prove that it was not just affecting the Sanyo. The noise was actually coming down the AV cable. As soon as the plasma was connected (the audio line) interference in the picture was noted on the CRT display as well.
@@12voltvids Yes I did, I stand corrected ;) I watched the video again now, got distracted when I saw it the first time and must have missed the end completely. I usually don't comment before I've seen the entire video, but this time I obviously didn't see it to the end ;) However if you ever encounter the same symptoms some other time and you can't blame the plasma, maybe it's worth a try to check that tab :) I've not worked on many betas since they weren't/aren't that common in Sweden were I live so I really enjoy these videos. Keep up the good work :)
Yes I am very familar with the head ground strap. There was a model of VHS machine, I forget if it was an NEC, Mitshbishi or a Fisher that a screw on the bottom came loose and caused a symptom that looked the same type of symptom.
Thanks so much for the video! Could you do a video about how "Sticky-Shed Syndrome" can be fixed; at least for one more pass? Thanks again for all the great videos! I wouldn't mind sending you a machine of my own for you to fix :)
ihartmacz "Bake" your sticky tapes in a food dehydrator. The problem is too much moisture. Get the tape dry. The guy from Oddity Archive did that with sticky U-Matic tapes and some audio cassettes.
@@theannoyedmrfloyd3998 Of course, once you've dehydrated the tape, immediately transfer the recording and consider the original as trashed once you successfully do the transfer; the sticky shed will come back on the original tape relatively quickly and with a vengeance.
Sanyo made at least 2 chassis made of that plastic material, my VCR has a different chassis. I didn't know plasma TVs caused interference like that. At my home, my fluorescent lights cause interference, lines appear in the TV when the fluorescents are on when the TV is connected with a RF cable.
I have 2 of these VCRs - the Sanyo model and the same Radioshack Realistic model. Both have the same loading tape mechanism problem. Do you know what idler tire O ring size is? I am hoping the same type of rubber O rings will help my VCRs get tapes to play properly. Maybe I can also repair these VCRs some day (this has always been a project pushed back for the past 20 years.)
Is there a way to replace the belts on this machine? I've read that "bad, dried out belts will result weak, fast forward/rewind, weak or no rew search in play mode, eating tapes, problems at times loading tapes."
Who would think that a plasma would cause such an odd fault, on some of the noise shown i would be thinking about low head output or low tape tension allowing bad contact. But i would be wrong, shoot me quick lol. I've seen some machines that become upset if the top metal case didnt have a good local ground, but that was a rare fault. I cant remember anything bad about sanyo, not the best but they worked :-D
It stumped me for awhile. I was sure it was a head issue. There was a fair bit cut as I pulled my hair out on this for awhile. I was getting frustrated so I dragged out my other deck out that I knew worked to confirm if my suspect of interference was correct. Sure enough some noise. I still didn't know for sure it was the old plasma as there are 10 CFL bulbs and 2 8 foot tubes with electronic ballast plus the inverter for the lights on the LCD monitor. I knew then it was interference and not a head, rotary transformer fault ect.
it sounds like you had a nightmare there, but you know that some vcr's can really be upset by local noise. The head preamps have a good bit of gain, no supprise that noise can get in. On the old piano key machines the whole thing was metal, so it was quite stable noise wise. But the carbon static brush touching on the drum spindle played up, and it often looked like the tape was bad or noise. I still have my old jvc piano key machine, i never did fix the swaying picture with head speed variation, a new d.c motor and belt helped a lot but the servo just seemed to play up when the motor was worn. No amount of servo adjustment or board changing made any difference. I don't watch tv now so it dont matter. Sorry waffle mode :-(
I have a machine very similar to this here,.. it did work last time i used it, but been in storage for a while. maybe i'll try it out some time, as i have 75 tapes for it.
Personally i think Sony had the Beta machine. Sony did make the boards and chips for the sanyo and toshiba machines but many of the capabilities of the chips were not utilized on the competition machines.Sony for example on the machines that Sony made for Zenith only recorded at B3 speed. They would play B2 and 3. The sony branded would record in B2 and 3 and play 1,2,and 3 speeds. In the color circuits the sony machines used an ACL, auto chroma level that referenced the burst and VIR level diring record and play if the signal had VIR (vertical interval reference). If no signal was present it defaulted to the preset level control. On the designs licensed to the competitors that feature was locked out. Even though they used the exact same chip sony enabled it on their machines only. That gave the sony machines an edge in terms of picture quality and signal to noise. Put them side by side and you will see the difference. Well perhaps not now because these machines are now very old and don't perform as well as they once did.
I had a Sanyo 4400 Beta and the fast forward/rewind motor would randomly stop causing the machine to go into stop mode. I took it apart many times thinking it might be the idler tire but it was the motor itself. I got rid of it and bought a Sony SLHF-300 and never had a problem with it except for some conductive glue on the drum assembly. I chopped the glue out and its been running fine for years. I have a Sony SLHF-900 that constantly needs head cleaning. Is it worn out I wonder ?
No nothing on Panasonic SVHS. I have an AG1980 but it is so far gone. Bloody propriety modules with leaky SME caps, and a professional one that needs about 80 of them replaced. Haven't gotten around to ordering them yet. One day that one will be worked on again.
@@12voltvids Yes it's so jumbled up inside with boards and wires that I am stuck with a Panasonic SVHS, the other day someone pushed the cassette inside which got stuck the drawer arm refusing to come back so had to open it from beneath to roll the motor pulleY, finally was able to take it out Now I badly need a schematics (AG 7500) by the way where did you get the ESR meter from RS components? And about digibetacam DVW series do you have anything on it? Any extension boards possible to get these board are with suffix EX..best regards
The 810 chassis that sony used on the 5000 series was similar but kept the tape loaded all the time. I should drag out my old SL5200 and do a side by side so you can see the difference as there are differences.
I would say it was the 28th. That isn't my writing. I took the camera and port recorder from the shop I worked at and filmed the seminar and took it back to the shop. I didn't label the tape. Notice it is a scotch tape and s Sony label. That was one of the other guys I worked with that labeled it. After they were done viewing it I brought it home to do some insert editing to add some video inserts using the slhf900 I borrowed. If you watch the full video I did inserts on some of the graphs from the service literature so you can see how bad that machine was doing video inserts with no flying erase heads. This was recorded with an sl2000 and a shitty camera. Probably an hvc2400.
I am not picking on you Dave. I totally respect your abilities and your eager willingness to share your knowledge with everyone, free of charge. I just thought it was funny and I did think you were testing your audience to see if we would pick up on the date. Thanks again. Congratulations on 50K subscribers. I am going to add you to my list of youtubers I support on Patreon.
I actually didn't catch that myself and I was the one that shot it. The shop I worked at had 3 techs including me at that time. I was the only one that had any VCR training as I had worked for Sony working on Betamax. So when Sony put on the course I was selected to go, and the boss wanted it recorded so the other 2 guys could watch it. I took a porta pak and camera there and recorded the seminar. Then took everything back. Someone labeled the tape and put it on a shelf. I ended up taking the tape home after it was watched, and promptly forgot about it for 30 years. I didn't even look at the date, or give it any thought, just read out what was written. Shows that people do pay attention. I am waiting for someone else to catch a few easter eggs I have planted in a few videos. I won't say what videos they are in, or what I did but someone with sharp eyes, and or ears should find them. The only clue I will give is that it is in a video or videos I published in the past month. Could be a line I borrowed from a movie, or something more obvious. Put in specifically to see who is paying attention. Someone already asked about the ground wire in this one. That was one that was put in. (I showed the screw going in without the wire, done intentionally to see is someone would notice.)
I have a real nice 21" Sony. The last of the analog sets they made in 2008. Beautiful picture. It is used in my conversion room where I convert different formats to DVD.
@@12voltvids I recently lost a big sanyo TV due to the remote packing up , could be the last one made , the picture was mint , could not make out those lines across it , never seen a picture that GOOD , but not the speakers . Now I have something smaller " preferred " , GROUNDIG , now i have thick lines on it with the PS ,but at least the color is right , unlike the tablets , they are as FLAT as they look , and flimsy . lol
not perfect, i see scratches on crt too. beta and vhs (and 2000 and laserdisk) was created for crt. 4:3 and blah blah blah. why u use plasma? p.s. every time when i see beta mechanism i make facepalm, horrible complicated
No noise on crt. That is artafacts from shooting a low rez Sony trinitron with a high rez camers. The lines were caused by the plasma kicking back noise over av cable. I could show you it come and go by touching the audio terminal. I should hook up an av cable to the large crt in the corner for VCR work.
Yes perfect. You are confusing drop outs which is a tape issue not the severe interference that I was getting before. The odd streak now and then is a drop out as these tapes are over 30 years old.
