*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.

@MannoulaZ

5 ай бұрын

yes

@ajaugenti1976

5 ай бұрын

Agreed!

@PlutoniusX

5 ай бұрын

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.

@xp8969

5 ай бұрын

Filming this on VHS was a bold choice 😂

@jorgeconstanza136

5 ай бұрын

Sir, just check that there aren't any small loose metal pieces making a jumper and short circuit.

The fact that you made this video on period accurate hardware brings me more joy than I can ever express. Thank you.

@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648

5 ай бұрын

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?

@kaitlyn__L

5 ай бұрын

@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 he just uses old cameras a lot

@kreuner11

5 ай бұрын

​@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 the idea was to make a cool retro video

@spongbros

5 ай бұрын

Video is beautiful.

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!

@richardbrobeck2384

5 ай бұрын

For sure back in the day when my shop did warranty on Sony stuff I used to keep those modules in stock !

@Alexis_du_60

5 ай бұрын

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!

Your use of the correct Sony OSD font on the thumbnail has not gone unnoticed

@vwestlife

5 ай бұрын

That's because it's an actual frame grab from a Handycam.

@XaneMyers

5 ай бұрын

​​@@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.

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'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.

@mjouwbuis

4 ай бұрын

@@chad2787 or old stock, which also still exists. Even then you should watch out. Relabeled types were even around in the 1990s.

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.

My father recently passed away and when we went through his stuff he had a fully functioning VCR. Silver linings and all that.

@DerekLippold

5 ай бұрын

I’m sorry for your loss

@SonicBoone56

5 ай бұрын

Sorry for your loss :(

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 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!

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.

I love how these videos have that background hum and look of a video tape from back in the day. Great video!

@vwestlife

5 ай бұрын

That's because I actually recorded it on a video tape from back in the day.

@Ericstrains

5 ай бұрын

@@vwestlife 👍

Be careful, there are some relabled knock-off STK modules. love your videos. I get to use ALL of my 40 inch screen, not just the middle third.

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.

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.

I loved that you filmed this video using a retro camera. So ASMR ❤❤❤❤

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.

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 don't know why but the Title made Me laugh and smile for awhile.

This is quite possibly one of the greatest channels I have stumbled upon on youtube

Wow . Your vids never disappoint! Looking forward to a full repair of this one .

Great video VWestlife, nice repair job. Shame the bloody machine had other problems. 👍

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

😲 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. 👍

I have the exact same issue with my loading mechanism. Thanks for sharing, now Im buying these plastic parts for it.

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.

@adlad75

4 ай бұрын

Wish there were more analog tech repair shops around, but seems like there aren't enough customers to keep them afloat, unfortunately. 😢

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 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. 😊

That is so amazing. I’m glad you fixed it.

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.

We're definitely waiting for the next video in this sudden series lol!

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.

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.

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.

Nice repair. Too bad something else broke. But I'm looking forward to part 2.

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.

I have this exact model with this exact problem so this is truly a godsend

Nice to see the Hi8 Camcorder in use again

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.

I have two Sony shelf systems with the same amp that’s dead. Looking forward to your repair to see if I should even attempt doing it myself.

Nice fix on the loading ! and yes those STK modules are getting hard to get

That reenactment made my morning! I love a good laugh.

The faster and more reliable of top loaders

Ah yes, the notorious STKs. Didn't realize they had a power supply variety too. As audio amps they were horrible, even when they were working.

Oh the joy of recapoing power supplies on old tech

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’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.

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

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 really enjoyed this video!

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).

Be aware of fake STKs! There are more fakes on eBay than real ones apparently. I got busted already. I ordered a module for a Technics active speaker for almost 100 Bucks. The module that arrived in the mail was roughly the same shape but weighed just a fraction of the real one... Luckily I got a refund at once. Still searching for that hybrid, though.

@jamesbennettmusic

5 ай бұрын

I came here to say this, too!

@vwestlife

5 ай бұрын

I ordered it from an electronics surplus company, not eBay or Amazon, so hopefully it's legit.

@albinklein7680

5 ай бұрын

@@vwestlife I have my fingers crossed for you! I also have a reputable source for those STKs here in Germany; but unfortunately they don't stock and cannot get the one I need. I would really like to fix that speaker system. It is a very rare JDM only high end deal. But worthless without that STK hybrid...

Fun fact: the 7-Eleven Betamax mechanism was known informally as the Slurpee mechanism inside Sony.

Using the Handycam was an amazing choice. This mechanism seems a bit fiddly - especially because it has small plastic pieces.

Great video. Thanks

Nice a betamax VCR I love beta related videos nice topic video for today I need to fix my dad Betamax VCR. Have a nice day Kevin.

We love you VWestlife

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.

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…

Dam V...you have the Patience of a Saint. This stuff would drive me nuts!!

Use a tester to probe and check all voltages. You may discover some inactive lanes.

Amazing video

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 )

I love the camcorder video look. Who needs fidelity when there's style to enjoy!

I don't care about Betamax, but today I learned what a worm drive and a tape basket is, and I'm only three minutes in.

I have a betamax hifi recorder with a brushed silver front and it sounds very good I made a mix tape a few years ago with it.

I see you finally upgraded your camera 😉

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.

@Alexis_du_60

5 ай бұрын

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.

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.

@vwestlife

5 ай бұрын

The VCR was working fine, except for the loading mechanism, when I first got it in 2016.

@pault6533

5 ай бұрын

@@vwestlife Understood. However, industry documents recommend reforming capacitors after one year device storage.

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.

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.

@dashcamandy2242

5 ай бұрын

😯 Yikes!

I hope you can repair it! Almost every single VCR i get, no matter the brand, has dead capacitors on its power supply.

STK modules are prone to heat building up, my dad has a Technics SA-R210L stereo amplifier receiver with USB fans on top of the vent openings to cool off the circuitry and the STK module especially when set to 'PHONO' as my dad has a ProJect turntable connected to it. With Betamax well passed its prime by '89 thanks to JVC's VHS format that won the format wars, SONY were already manufacturing their own VHS VCRs, infact I have a SONY SLV-SE710 from 2001

Welp, RSVP Sony SL-390 VCR. At 35 years old, it had a good run.

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

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.

@MrDuncl

5 ай бұрын

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.

@christo930

5 ай бұрын

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.

I have my Sony SL-HF450 from 1986 and it still works perfectly without any issues. It loads Betamax tapes and it plays and it works.

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 had an early model from Toshiba one hell of machine

@vwestlife --- Did Beta ever have anything in Asia like D-VHS / D-Theater in America?

Hope you were able to fix this unlike that double deck Technics cassette deck you failed to repair which also broke its power supply.

RIP Beta. My dad bet on Beta too hahaha. I could never find anything good at the Video store.

The fact that you're using a VCR in 2024 is enough for a thumbs up.. )^_-)/

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).

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!

Just to check, that connector you snaked back under the pcb, no chance it went in backwards, right?

@vwestlife

5 ай бұрын

It's keyed so you can't plug it in backwards.

@SBBurzmali

5 ай бұрын

@@vwestlife Yeah, the unit didn't look that incompetently design. It was worth a shot. Even if the voltage regulator is shot, I'd still keep an eye out for shorts, nothing sucks worse than waiting weeks for a replacement part only to immediately fry it because there was a short somewhere else on the board.

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.

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 guess this somewhat proves the theory of Sanyo branded Betamax decks being somewhat more reliable than Sony’s offerings?🧐

those stk modules run stupid hot

it makes me think of my SL-HFR70 before it died .... First . it was the loading mechanism that was intermittent , then the VFD began to show wrong caracters . And finally , 3 days right after that , the drum died while i was transfering a tape .

I have a super beta deck with the receiver I just got it rebuilt and the display restored to it also had a broken composite output board I got that fixed to.

That bit probably bounced into the bowl of Cocoa Puff breakfast cereals.

I still need to get my SL-F1UB (the UK version of what you guys got as the SL-2000) out and repaired, or more specifically the TT-F1UB tuner-timer, as it refuses to power up, and at the time I last had it apart, I didn't have enough giveashit to pull caps and replace them, but I should do it, at some point, maybe, I dunno... :\

@MrDuncl

5 ай бұрын

I have powered my SL-F1s just from a standard 12V power supply. I only recently got the tuner-timer and haven't tried it yet. It seems a bit pointless when there is nothing for it to receive.

@twocvbloke

5 ай бұрын

@@MrDuncl Connectivity (A/V In & Out), power, remote control functions, and of course, completeness, it's nice having that satin silver stack of portable (in 1980s standards anyway!) equipment on show when I get it all out of the boxes, it's a neat setup, I have a Ferguson-branded (JVC originated) VHS setup somewhere that was a competitor, and it just doesn't look as good, though it doesn't work properly either as the mechanism needs work, but it's packed tighter than a borg cube in there with wires and mechancials all squished in so I never bothered to fix it...