Hi I have a sony betamax, I can see even though there is no tape inside, the mechanizem inside is in position like there is a tape inside. Only know this because I have a working beta sony to compare. Any help? When i press power ect it does try to eject but that metal tab piece doesnt move the one that normally grab the tape and brings it around.

On Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 8:17:34 PM UTC-7, wrote:
Hi I have a sony betamax, I can see even though there is no tape inside, the mechanizem inside is in position like there is a tape inside. Only know this because I have a working beta sony to compare. Any help? When i press power ect it does try to eject but that metal tab piece doesnt move the one that normally grab the tape and brings it around.

The most likely problem in the current century is a snapped belt (rubber band)
That means you want to open the gizmo, find the rubber scrap that used to
be a belt, measure it, and cut something out of a tire innertube that more-or-less
matches (or get an O-ring the right size from a mechanical-supplies outfit)..

A cleanup and light greasing (silicone grease is messy, but effective) might also help,
and if you find dead insects in the mechanism, those ought to be removed.

Except for the little brittle parts of the heads, a wipe with cotton swabs moistened
with isopropyl alcohol is usually beneficial to the moving and contact-with-tape parts.

On Wednesday, 3 April 2019 05:48:34 UTC+1, whit3rd wrote:
On Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 8:17:34 PM UTC-7, wrote:

Hi I have a sony betamax, I can see even though there is no tape inside, the mechanizem inside is in position like there is a tape inside. Only know this because I have a working beta sony to compare. Any help? When i press power ect it does try to eject but that metal tab piece doesnt move the one that normally grab the tape and brings it around.

The most likely problem in the current century is a snapped belt (rubber band)
That means you want to open the gizmo, find the rubber scrap that used to
be a belt, measure it, and cut something out of a tire innertube that more-or-less
matches (or get an O-ring the right size from a mechanical-supplies outfit).

A cleanup and light greasing (silicone grease is messy, but effective) might also help,
and if you find dead insects in the mechanism, those ought to be removed.

Except for the little brittle parts of the heads, a wipe with cotton swabs moistened
with isopropyl alcohol is usually beneficial to the moving and contact-with-tape parts.

I always marvelled at how they simplfied the mechanisms as the years rolled by. Last generation VCRs really didn't have much mechanicals in them.

Beta was 1970s, so probably a handful of belts that have rotted, broken or stretched. Try to resist paying premium belt prices except for places where speed stability is critical.


NT

On 03/04/2019 06:07, wrote:
On Wednesday, 3 April 2019 05:48:34 UTC+1, whit3rd wrote:
On Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 8:17:34 PM UTC-7, wrote:

Hi I have a sony betamax, I can see even though there is no tape inside, the mechanizem inside is in position like there is a tape inside. Only know this because I have a working beta sony to compare. Any help? When i press power ect it does try to eject but that metal tab piece doesnt move the one that normally grab the tape and brings it around.

The most likely problem in the current century is a snapped belt (rubber band)
That means you want to open the gizmo, find the rubber scrap that used to
be a belt, measure it, and cut something out of a tire innertube that more-or-less
matches (or get an O-ring the right size from a mechanical-supplies outfit).

A cleanup and light greasing (silicone grease is messy, but effective) might also help,
and if you find dead insects in the mechanism, those ought to be removed.

Except for the little brittle parts of the heads, a wipe with cotton swabs moistened
with isopropyl alcohol is usually beneficial to the moving and contact-with-tape parts.

I always marvelled at how they simplfied the mechanisms as the years rolled by. Last generation VCRs really didn't have much mechanicals in them.

Beta was 1970s, so probably a handful of belts that have rotted, broken or stretched. Try to resist paying premium belt prices except for places where speed stability is critical.


NT


All belts need at least checking, including any mode switch belt.
Another age related common defect is cracked plastic of first pinion on
the mode switch motor (plastic on steel does not like temp
changes/brittling of plastic over time)

On Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 1:07:36 AM UTC-4, wrote:


Beta was 1970s, so probably a handful of belts that have rotted, broken or stretched.


Well, Sony made Betas up to the early 2000s, so you only missed that by a couple of decades.

On 4/3/2019 6:52 AM, John-Del wrote:
On Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 1:07:36 AM UTC-4, wrote:


Beta was 1970s, so probably a handful of belts that have rotted, broken or stretched.


Well, Sony made Betas up to the early 2000s, so you only missed that by a couple of decades.


I'm surprised to hear that, I got out of VCR repair in 1994, when I
decided the purchase price for a new VCR was getting so low, that people
would rather buy a new one than pay my repair prices.
I timed it right, I alerted another tech I was leaving so he could take
over my work, I went back 13 months later and he said he only came in 3
days a week to do any repairs that came in.
I did 11,000 repairs in a 10 year stint, but did very little Sony
repair, maybe 1% or 2%. Although in another job (1972) I repaired Sony
1/2" reel to reel video recorders, the AV3600 and AV3650, then later
3/4" Umatic cassette recorder and players, VO-1000 and V0-1600.
In the 80's we had 3 big box electronics franchise stores in our area,
they all boomed when vcr's came out and the sales were very brisk.
We did manufacturer warranty and store warranty repair for all three.
Old memories!
Mikek

On Wednesday, 3 April 2019 12:53:00 UTC+1, John-Del wrote:
On Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 1:07:36 AM UTC-4, tabby wrote:


Beta was 1970s, so probably a handful of belts that have rotted, broken or stretched.


Well, Sony made Betas up to the early 2000s, so you only missed that by a couple of decades.

Betamax was released in 75. It was a home product rather than the earlier Umatic. They may have lingered on in small amounts but they were pretty much dead in the 80s. They lost, IIRC due to failure to license the tech to others. IME most beta decks are late 70s, some early 80s.


NT

First of all, model. The original thread was about a Superbeta, all of which used the newer J loader rather than the U loader. Is that what you have ?

If what you say is correct, (not "true" because you have no reason to lie) that means a tape was forced out of there. the J loaders were quite fragile with the arms that wound the tape. They can get out of kilter and just need some friendly persuasion to get back in whack. Gears breaking was rare, and the really wild gears were metal, sheet metal but metal. However the would pop out their tracks and jam up. If a tape was jammed up and wouldn't let the tape out it might very well fail that way.

The way to tell a U loader from a J loader is that the J has two arms grabbing the tape when inserted, the U loader only has one. In a U loader it just goes around a circle like to get the tape around the head. It is important to know which you have. If you give up the model I might know which it is..

The gears are probably OK but they are out of whack. If you can get it here I can probably fix it and I DO have some parts in stock. However that might not be quite practical. I am in the US, Ohio, Cleveland. I worked on tons of these things.

Next best thing is if you got image hosting post some pictures. If I see exactly what state the mech is in I might be able to tell you what to do.

Model and pics. Best I can do. Without that you are ****ed. (or bring it or ship it)

Note that if it is not NTSC I cannot confirm correct color. I can confirm good video, the [presence of color, the AFM (sound) carriers and almost everything but I do not have a multirate monitor right now. I can fix the mech, but if it is not NTSC that's pretty much it.

On Tue, 2 Apr 2019 20:17:31 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

Hi I have a sony betamax, I can see even though there is no tape
inside, the mechanizem inside is in position like there is a tape
inside. Only know this because I have a working beta sony to
compare. Any help? When I press power ect it does try to eject but
that metal tab piece doesnt move the one that normally grab the tape
and brings it around.

Sounds like you need to pull it apart.

I have a camcorder that uses a standard beta cassette.