Sony Betamax SL-F1 portables, TT-F1 tuner/timer and HVC-4000P camera. Make our own cables. 

I did exactly the same with the power supply, but my F1 runs smoothly from a 1.6 amp ac adaptor for many years now. And no problem with the audio/video outputs like you did. Been digitizing lots of tapes over the past, maybe 15 years, without even servicing my F1...what a robust beast SONY produced back then. So much pleasure watching your videos...from South Africa. Keep it up and always so nice to see the old technology coming back to life.

We had the very same setup (SL-F1 + TT-F1 + HVC-4000P) back in 1983... this video brings back lots of memories! But the multiway connector was certainly flaky.

I've wondered the same thing before and even dropped a comment in one of your videos about the possibility to make a custom connector to get video and audio out of that rectangular plug without using the tuner timer unit. You can cut the cable from the tuner unit and repurpose it. I believe you can power the unit up via the rectangular connector, You just have to activate its input by shorting out two pins. Lookup pins 10 and 26 in the schematic. Edit: After digging into the schematic I found that the main power 12V input (8 and 9 pins, not sure why two pins, maybe for better conductivity) is activated by a momentary switch S2 in the power control IC801, that in turns activates the relay RY801 to switch power from the battery input to pin 8 or 9 (12V), What you could do when you build an external power supply is put a momentary switch in it and connect it's wires to the S2 switch, which means power SW B (pin 26) and batt chg (pin 10). Again this should be a momentary switch, The hold is done by IC801 via the relay RY801. At least that's what I think, Lol.

Thank you so much for the mention - much appreciated. I am working on a video on the connector on the TT-F1 to extract the AV and have a power supply too. I have sourced a direct ICC connector but I'll be using a loom from an spare TT-F1. I'll also be doing a video replacing the really fragile flexi interconnect on the F1 too. 😊

Great work Colin each time you release a new Video my knowledge expands and I thank you for that. Cheers

Hi Colin - the four pin DIN plug used by QUAD might have the spacing on two pins you need

I have three SL-F1s in my collection and I think it's a great recorder that plays all tapes well. I use the SL-F1 to play tapes that I receive from time to time before I put them into my good recorders

Hello, recent subscriber. Wanted to say that your content is very interesting and entertaining. I found an unknown condition Sony PVW-2800 at at thrift store a couple weeks back (for $27, a steal? I think so) and came across your videos to learn about this machine and tape based media in general. To my surprise, I was able to clean the various heads along the tape path, and it works beautifully. I have an existing collection of Sony PVMs that I've hooked up to the machine, and I've enjoyed playing with the editing/recording functions. Now I'm on a mission to find a second compatible machine to do recorder/player based editing. All in good fun. Anyways, keep on with the repair videos!

I've seen two TT-F1's over the last few years and both had collapsed channel change buttons! It's worth checking that these aren't inhibiting the on-off button, I don't know if they are part of the same key matrix and the manual isn't very clear on that point, worth a check though!

As a 18 year old in 1984 I sold my Roland Juno 6 Synth to buy a FI, TT and HVC camera set up. I was fascinated by this video camera lark. But the thing never lived up to any expectations I had. 30 mins battery time, poor camera picture, heads constantly needed cleaning. I don’t like to be negative but it was probably the worst piece of equipment I have ever bought. I gave up with the camera pretty quickly and just used it as my own video recorder before switching to Panasonic VHS machines. Which were brilliant. Side note, the price of a Roland Juno 6 on Ebay is about £2-3K. Note the price of a Sony F1 system😂. I paid approx £1300 for this kit. Which is equivalent to heaven knows how much in 2024.

Probably good old capacitor failures in the timer . I actually owned one of these in the early nineties bought second hand for about a months spare cash and used it for filming holiday trips and family parties ect . I recently bought one with the back pack case which is very cool it’s in my to do pile I wonder if it will work as good as yours. I also have the three versions of the cameras with the vhs converter units so will have fun reliving my youth. There was a version of the camera badged up as grundig that I believe was fitted with a vhs plug

These were usually quite solid decks, the main problem were those stick batteries, but I guess they might have been better when they were new 😆

I'm impressed with the video machines. Considering the Tuner/Timers don't work I'd salvage an AV plug off one of them.

💯⭐️🇹🇷👍TÜRKİYE Benim 100 adet civarında betamax ve vhs cihazlarım var hepside harika cihazlar sony agırlık bu video için teşekürler

Well done Colin :-D Sony is a control freak. Never simple or obvious. You may need a 5 Amp supply to cope with the current surges. What a greedy machine lol :-D

Now pity the sl-f1 wasn't designed to receive the remote control signal which the tt-f1 does. Also i haven't been able to find a (new) fat ribbon connector plug so you probably have to find a junk one from say a old printer and like the Sony with the screw assembly, much easier to handle. Maybe based on the Tuner output a laptop plug pack with the same power outputs could be a useful power supply.

Good morning friend, I'm here from Brazil, I watch all your videos on your channel and I'm also a writer. I'm a technician with much less experience, I need a tip about a defect if you can give me some help. I have a super VHS JVC model HR-S7900u with audio noise after about 20 minutes of operation. It starts to make that noise, it keeps popping, the audio goes down and the noise overlaps the audio on the tape. I believe it could be the audio head or the amplifier stage of the audio head. because when I pass external audio through the inputs and outputs of this same super vhs there is no noise and the audio does not turn down after 20 minutes, there is no defect. If you could give me a tip or advice. because I am a beginner technician in these devices. The image of this super video is normal, only the audio makes noise and loses gain when playing any VHS tape. This video is mine for my own use, it could be the audio head or audio amplifier stages or source electrolytic capacitors lacking filtering somewhere on the board. I need technical help.

I have an SL-F1 and TT-F1 for use with my PCM-F1. The TT-F1 used to give me exactly the same issues. Would never come out of standby. I found that by pressing the charge and timer record buttons on the timer a few times would then let me press the standby button and it would fire up. After much use it's now pretty reliable first time. Once in a blue moon it struggles to get started but once again, pressing the charge and timer record buttons a few times seems to make the standby button wake up! Not sure why?

I bought a SONY tubed colour camera new in 1982 (still works), and the F1 VCR and TT new in 1984, but I ditched the TT years ago. So, does the F1 have a dropout compensator (I'm assuming it does), so, why does the TT need one? Or, is the TT switching the VCR DC on and off? Dropout was NEVER a problem on the F1. My camera is an HVC-2000P. Light sensitivity and comet-tailing was atrocious, andvreds were "weak." The "K-Connector" camera plug "clicks" in place, rather than screws in, like VHS (I preferrred VHS camera plugs, although the "K-Connector" always worked fine, and was faster to connect and disconnect). The oldest surviving F1 recordings from 08 March 1984 onwards, still play perfectly, and PQ is reasonable, by the standards of the time. I have two NP-1 Nicads (£35 each in 1984 😲) and they do still work! I use several AC adaptors to power the F1, and I have some adaptors which plug in to the multiway socket and provide video and audio out. My F1 certainly got around over the years! It recorded on the old Quay Street Granada "Coronation Street" set in 1990 (the video was on RU-vid for a decade, until somebody made a fraudulent copyright claim, and RU-vid removed it, although the video was mine), and in 1986, my F1 went to the top of Blackpool Tower, and filmed the 1986 illuminations, featuring green lasers! ... I didn't have a case, so I used to wrap the F1 in Cling Film to keep it clean and dry! I recall, in 1984, being AMAZED by the compact lightweight F1! ... Although, the little JVC portable VHS-C VCRs made it look like huge!