*Hint:* It may be easier to reinstall the tape basket into the mechanism _before_ putting the new plastic posts on it. Unless you disassemble the mechanism further, it takes a lot of prying to get the tape basket to fit back into place with the new pegs sticking out.
I find it easier to pull the top metal bracket off which gives you more play to fit the basket into the mechanism. Especially important when the new pegs are installed.
I was thinking that even a modern smartphone would make an easier to see video, but can't deny the genuine retro appearance here. Is the idea to eventually play the video on the Betamax itself?
Those STK modules are the bane of so many Beta owners. Replacing the module and recapping the power supply is a good angle of attack, and I wish you luck in that!
Not even Beta decks, but some amplifiers also used STK modules 😬 I recall reading somewhere that some older Trinitrons used GCS (Gate-Controlled Switch, some kind of proprietary Thyristor that Sony used a lot) circuits in them and when these GCS went, back then they were already difficult to source, but today they're nigh unobtainium!
@@vwestlife Ah, so that's why it looked identical; I thought it could've been a really faithful reproduction of the font, but also thought it might've been an image taken using a Handycam itself. Also, I know you record all of your videos with camcorders but this really does look like an old video, even though it isn't.
I'd think that a number of parts just aged out or, by aging out, caused other parts to fail. Oh, and it should be possible to get that 3.15 amp fuse from, say, Amazon.
Ever since I heard about the STK modules being an issue to obtain, I started saving the Sony and Hitachi boards out of late model projection sets. Now I have a small pile of these and no need for them. If you need one or more, I'll donate it to the channel. I'm in the Ewing, NJ area.
I love your use of 4:3 analog video for this project. Authentic right down to the head switching noise at the bottom of the frame. (Gosh, I miss overscan!)
I love the fact that this was filmed on an analog camcorder. Do this more! I love seeing vintage camcorders used to film modern videos. Great Job and a Good video!
I found a really nice Betamax at an estate sale a few years ago. Complete with remote and a copy of The Outsiders for 10 bucks! Worked perfectly, belts all in good condition and everything. I got SUPER lucky with that one.
I'm happy to hear you're not giving up on that machine. Despite the flaws of the 711B3 mechanism (those posts you replaced, the STK regulator, as well as the plastic gears on the metal motor shafts that split and slip) it's a nice mechanism. Quiet operation and very smooth. If you do run into those motor gears slipping, I uploaded a model of the replacement to thingiverse that can be 3D printed (just search 711B3). I ended up breaking one of the posts on mine because it kept slipping and I was pushing the carriage to help it load/unload. Also, be careful ordering the replacement STK, as there's lots of fakes out there. Although I think if you're just using it occasionally and you're not leaving it plugged in all the time, you'll probably be fine. I used an ebay STK on my SL-70HFR and it's still going fine.
I'm sitting in a broadcast edit room that has a sony msw-m2000 in the rack. It's an mpeg vtr based on a beta tape drive. We don't use it anymore but it's a thing of beauty and i'm happy it's still here.
We keep our fingers crossed that you will succeed in the near future. It is always an Inspiration to give old technology a new life. So thank you for your footage. The people who are able to fix these problems are getting rare. I adore your work. Keep it up. We are looking forward to your next move. Greetings
I always liked your videos because they make you take your time and focus on the actual video and not try to grab your attention for over 75% of the video runtime. Anyways, it’s a bit sad to see a beautiful Betamax machine just kick the bucket just after trying to turn it on.
I had a dvd/vcr unit that was having issues with the drive opening. After opening it up and running some basic diagnostics the whole unit immediately died on me. So strange how it happens like that sometimes. Thanks for the video. It was in depth and helpful.
Nice to see a HandyCam in action, excellent video quality! That beta machine looks pretty cool, it’s a shame that the STK module started to cook itself. At the very least hopefully a future repair will keep this machine going. At least the plastics were fixed, a 3D printer would be a great tool if you deal with brittle/broken plastics often.
Great Informative Video! Great job getting the mechanism to work properly again, sorry you ran into an issue with the power supply. Replacing the STK Module and recapping the power supply is probably the best thing you can do at this point. Love that you recorded this on Hi8, and the fact it's in 4:3 aspect ratio.
The typical. You open your old device to repair specific things and others end up breaking. It's the same as servicing an old vehicle, you change something and something else breaks, you change that and something else breaks, and so on, all successively in a cascade.
For years I had 3 broken Betamax VCR's and 1 working, until a guy started selling replacement gears on eBay for that loading mechanism. Now have 5 working ones, two SL-HF300's, SL-HF750, and two SL-HF900's. I've also replaced MANY STK modules and capacitors in Betamax power supplies. The Elna caps especially are always bad. I also replace all the caps in the SLV-R1000 SVHS power supplies, the larger caps always leak.
When I saw that module, I just shook my head. I have a pioneer SX - 780 amplifier that needs some attention, at least replacement STK modules and a few voltage regulators. I'll get to it someday.
The video tape transport noise and gentle hiss in the background is a nice touch. Looking forward to the future video where you get all of this VCR's annoying age-related issued fixed.
My Boss bought himself a new Sony SL-C9 Betamax VCR back in 1989. At the time there was a £100 trade in offer for your old VCR whether it works or not. I had two SL-C6s that I had bought for less than £20 each which I had managed to make one working VCR from. I gave him the other VCR with various faults and worn out heads and he got his £100 trade in.
I believe 12voltvids did a repair job replacing the STK regulator on a beta VCR, I can't remember exactly when. Look for dry joints around the PCB's especially the one you lifted up. Recapping the power supply is a good idea regardless, a future proof effort.
I obtained a Beta 1 VCR, in 1978, new in a box when the Beta 2 was about to come out, for $500.00, about half the original selling price. Around 1981 I obtained a newer Beta VCR 2 VCR with touch channel button and a wired remove. I even obtained the Sony Stereo Beta Hifi add on adaptor in 1984 to receive Stereo TV, which was new back then. 😊
Good luck on the repair! I have two Betamax VCRs that both need belts (at least that was the only thing wrong with them back in the day). I hope to get them running again one of these days as I have boxes of home movies that were filmed on Betamax.
The inside looks exactly like the SL-HF860D I have. Those STK modules are notorious weak points in these. My loader still works, but one of the gears on the left side is missing a tooth. Other fun failures in these machines are bad caps on the capstan motor, worn out upper drum (12voltvids has a fix involving Comet cleaner!), and that skinny worm gear on the loader motor.
I have found quite a few betamax vcr's at estate sales over, and stopped purchasing them years ago after realizing they rarely if ever work. I have 3 broke beta players now and have absolutely no clue how to repair them, you make them seem so easy! I take the cover off and just get overwhelmed at the million screws and wires that go behind eachother.
😲 I had no idea! "Betamax recorders continued to be manufactured and sold until August 2002, when Sony announced that they were discontinuing production of all remaining Betamax models. Sony continued to sell Betamax cassettes until March 2016." I graduated from junior high in '89 and an uncle recorded it on Beta. Still have the tape somewhere safe, but haven't watched it since then! Would love to find a working machine and try to view and maybe make a digital copy. 👍
Hopefully you can get the stk modual you need for this repair so we can see this Super Betamax vcr in action! I enjoy your videos a lot, they are therapeutic & entertaining.
Not sure if it's only the caps, only the STK module, or a cascade failure of both, but I think you're on the right track with your diagnosis! I've said it many times on your videos in the past, I'm a huge fan of most Sony products - and I still own almost every Sony Thing I've ever owned. I'd probably still be using Sony in my cars, if they didn't have such a bad track record with faceplate connector issues.
I have a Sanyo VHS VCR from 1984 and last year I had to replace it's STK module in its PSU. Luckily I had a spare out of sears VCR that was to fare gone to fix. I have a Sony TV from the 80s and it uses an STK module for voltage regulator and speaker amplifier.
I have a Sony SL-HF350 from 1987 (it uses the 711B2 mechanism), and despite being from a thrift store, it still works just fine. I think it needs new capacitors, though.
Oh SONY and the STK modules. 😪 Big headaches. Be careful on the fake STK modules though. I know they sell lots of them. I hope you can repair the power supply. Keep us posted.
I’m currently maybe 10% into an archival project of many Betamax tapes. I have a slightly older version of this unit - I hope it doesn’t die while I’m using it.
Classic broken plastic parts, what a pain. I've fixed several things with broken pegs by using appropriate size of plastic or copper tubing found at hobby or hardware stores. Getting a 3D part is neat, but not cheap. Maybe in 2024 you'll get a 3D printer and show us what you can fix with printed parts. I'm sure you will get a working power supply for this VCR. 👍
I'm not sure if that connecting going from the PSU to the main board can be easily unplugged, but if so, have you tried doing it and seeing if it is still getting hot? If it gets hot anyway that'd indicate 100% a failure in the regulator, but otherwise it could somewhere on the main board. If you can find a cheap one, thermal sensing cameras are really handy for diagnosing since bad components light up like christmas trees.
Hopefully you’ll be able to fix that Betamax machine, since you’ve made some progress in the mechanism. But Betamax is so rare and expensive, that most vintage repair technicians don’t know how to repair Betamax.
You really should double, triple and quadruple check your work. Because it is extremely unlikely the VCR just happened to fail in some other way in the time you were fixing the tape loading mechanism. It is *EXTREMELY* unlikely. The first place I would look is the board you lifted to unplug the mechanism. Some other thing might have gotten knocked out or a wire pinched or you reversed the leads when you reconnected the little DC motor.
Oh man, I do hate those regulator modules! Way to much high end consumer video gear went into the trash because of those things. A family member had this ENORMOUS Proton brand TV, fantastic picture, very unique tube... and every time you turned it off the regulator module was giving the poor thing a good 'whack'. Eventually it would do that when the picture would go from dark to bright, then just randomly while it was on and then did kill itself. The tube couldn't have been even halfway used up. Nice mechanical fix you did though. I like the good fit if they work. Good repair method also (stripping off the crumbling plastic to get to the rebar).
I thought this was going to be about the drive piece attached to the loading motor. Those have a tendency to split and prevent the motor from transferring torque to the mech, so it can't move anything. I usually rough up the motor shaft lengthwise and apply a small amount of viscous glue (you DO NOT want liquid glue to get into the motor bearing) to reattach the drive piece. Roughing up the shaft allows the glue to hold better and prevents slippage. A better option would be to use a metal collar over the plastic drive piece but you'd have to find one to fit, so I just use the glue. But hey, at least these don't use idler tires, so that's a plus.
I've seen that happen on Philips "TurboDrive" VHS mechanisms too, there's a worm gear in these mechanisms that gets so brittle that it falls apart at the smallest disturbance.
My first VCR was a Sanyo Beta 9300 - weighed an absolute ton. I brought it from Dixons in Cheapside .It broke a coffee table it was on - wish I still had it ( the VCR not the coffee table )
Seems like Mr. Carlson's advice to check / reform caps before powering a device from storage may have helped here. He also uses a variac to slowly bring up the voltage, which provides a slower ramp up for caps and also provide an opportunity to observe high energy consumption.
I have few regrets - one of them is not keeping any of the Beta recorders (about 5) that I repaired as a teenager, sold them for $40 to fund something…
easy way to see if it is the stk, unplug all outputs from the psu board to the main unit, if it still fries, its bad, be warned those things can be pricey and apparently a lot of 'fakes' or, bad ones being sold as new around
stk5478 is just a three linear regulators in one package, it can be replaced with three discreet regulators LM7805, LM7809, LM7812. you can probably check if anything shorts stk first.
I tried recovering 2 giant sanyo betamax vcrs. One was a lost cause, the other lasted a few days before the rubber belts snapped and it started chewing up tapes. After I managed to find some replacement belts to fix it (after a month of waiting), it lasted a few more days before it stopped reading tapes altogether. At that point I just gave up. Terrible devices to work with. On the upside I did at least get to watch an episode of denver the last dinosaur.
Those STK modules are everywhere, really. From power supplies, to crt horizontal drivers to audio amps... even high-end amplifiers use them! These were the answer to a partnership between Sanyo and Matsushita/Panasonic for cost reduction and reliability (the entire circuitry on a single chip has good thermal response and in audio if your pre-amplified signal is contained on a shield/ground area, the noise stage and interference will be greatly reduced). Chances are that you can only get a knock-off chip, a pull-out from old electronics sanded and remarked from China, or a new old stock. From personal experience with stereo amps, the knock-offs are actually getting better in reliability, but with worse distortion and noise. In your case, with a power supply? Meh... as long as the filter capacitors are good, ripple won't be an issue. Look for voltage variations under load instead.
They are actually thick film, with resistors printed onto ceramic and transistor die bonded onto it. A way of saving space before surface mount became the way of doing things.
I say he needs to go over his work with a fine tooth comb. Components just don't happen to fail while you are doing work on them. It just doesn't happen. It worked, he took a screwdriver to it, then it stopped working. Even given the age of it, the known to fail part, I would still say there is about a 90% chance the fault is something he accidentally did. It happens to the best of us and far more frequently than we would like.
If the lines to the board are all common DC levels e.g. 5, 12, I wonder if there's enough room in the case to upgrade the power supply to a newer switching type if STK modules aren't available.
I had to replace the STK7217 in a Sanyo beta machine. The module was just passing the unregulated input voltage through to what should have been the 12V output. Lucky it didn't cause any damage to the machine.
Did you replace the 6800uf 35v capacitor? Every Sony betamax deck I work on has that cap bulging on the PSU? The 550 specifically has issues with one of the auxiliary voltages caused by that STK module
@@vwestlife i tend to use Nichicon or Panasonic caps from mouser. For whatever reason, every Sony betamax unit I come across always has that bulging cap.
Hilarious seeing this Beta deck, being somewhat late model, have a linear regulated power supply. We had a Sony VHS deck that had a proper switching power supply! I would advice against replacing the failed STK IC with a new, reproduction or fake one. If it was mine I will replace that IC with several independent voltage regulators instead. If I read it correctly (STK5476) it has three voltage outputs, two at 12V 1.5A (2.5A pk) and one at 5.3V 1A (2A pk) and has a "cutoff" function, aka turn-on function. I found some regulators that may be suitable. The ROHM BAxxDD0 series have an output current of up to 2A, have a turn-on pin (2.0V on, 0.8V off - compared to the STK5441's (one that I can get a datasheef of) 3V on, 0.6V off) and are available in the required 12V outputs, however, 5.3v is an oddball number and the 5V device should suffice. One plus is the package - it is TO-220 full pack, hence negating the need for insulating pads or washers. One drawback - the Zener diode used for pre-regulation must be reviewed (check the voltage coming into the STK regulator), since these regulators only have 25V maximum input compared to the 30V of the STK parts. (ROHM part numbers: BA50DD0WT for the 5V output, BAJ2DD0WT for 12V output) One note: the 5V output of the STK IC is fed from a lower voltage power supply with a separate pin so there is zero problems using the mentioned regulators. The two 12V outputs are fed with its own power source - the mentioned Zener pre-regulator. Hope this can help!
The STK5441 ICs on the earlier SL-HF400/600/900 etc models blow up all the time, causing the exact same symptom (clock display lit but nothing else works).
Reminds me of the time I was replacing belts on a Sony auto reverse cassette deck. Took me ages to get the belt on, then when I powered it back on, all I got was a dimly lit VU meter and nothing more. The power supply crapped out on me after replacing the belts. Much the same with my PlayStation 2, which last night, after 20+ years of service finally crapped out. I get the idea that Sony and their vendors can’t make a power supply last over 25 or so years.
@@crashbandicoot4everr Yeah, my electrical skills are only good enough to work on cars. The thought of trying to find a problem in all the traces or a chip or something made me just throw the whole tape deck away. I’ll stick with my Technics stuff until it dies and then I’ll buy another. After having a Panasonic TV for 20 years with zero issues, I think Technics stuff will last a lifetime.
Oh no! Broke more after a repair :( Well, hopefully you can fix the amplifier. I like seeing old technology that can be fixed, being fixed! If the amp was burning up, that could be drawing so much current to pop the fuse, and then when you replaced the fuse it sagging the voltage away from everything else. Also, like how this feels like an 07 YT vid :D
I wonder if any Betamax VCRs ever used a W load like a VHS does? I know the opposite is true because I once found a a VHS where all the rollers that thread the tape round the heads was on a ring, just like on a Betamax, that was one of the weirdest things I ever found. It had a great picture quality though, I wish I still had it.
Was it a Sony ? The first Sony VHS machines were rebadged Hitachis. At the time I recall Sony saying that when they designed a VHS machine they would do it with their preferred ring loading technique.
That switch, is only to start the Drum. at least in most VCR's. another switch, de activates the drum and etc.. perhaps, you might find out if this vcr is a one or two switch setup.
Some of those electronics are determined to not be fixed. I bought a Kenwood single well cassette deck a few years back. It worked fine except for a very noisy motor. I decided it was time to get into it and oil the motor. I ended up having to tear the machine completely apart to just remove the mechanism. Removed motor, pulley and took apart and oiled. If you haven't done a FULL service to a tape deck motor, it;'s alot of work. You have to desolder a circuit from the motor to be capable of re assembling it then re solder. In short. everything worked perfectly except for whatever reason the flourecent tape counter stopped working. I did all i could think of to fix it and the only thing I could come up with is the sensor went bad at the same time. Irritating!
I always hated the lack of reliability in old VCRs, nowadays It's almost impossible to find one in working condition. And it's a shame because I really want to copy my VHS tapes to a computer. I have a Philips Explorer SVHS camcorder, and It all works fine except that the image is in B&W. If anyone has any idea what It might be happening with It I would really appreciate It. Nice video as always!
I would check the circuit board and the connector is the only thing you removed, make sure when you put the screws in you didn't pinch any cables short anything out!
it is possible that you pinched the wire when reinstalling the loading deck and the wire shorted and blew the motor reversal chip witch is usually a ba or bu number sometimes an number. the chip is a small single line chip that looks like a ba6209. just like the stk voltage regulator package is also used as audio amplifiers the ba chips are used as audio amplifiers and voltage regulators for lower power applications like boomboxes and small radios. it is possible that ba chips are used in the power supply.