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Old 17th Mar 2018, 10:52 am   #21
monaro0162
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Good morning folks, thank you for the replies.

The bulb is lit, and I have identified what look like 2 optical sensors, shown in the first photo. When the cassette is loaded, the machine does a partial tape load around the head and the tape blocks the light path to the sensors, all seems ok.

1 - machine powered on, cassette in the tray, tray in the up position, cassette not yet loaded into the machine: The motor to the right is spinning, the head is stationary.

2 - cassette tray pushed down: The machine partially wraps the tape around the head, motor to the right stops spinning.

3- press play: The machine fully wraps the tape around the head, the head spins up, the motor to the right is spinning, I can see the tape moving, it is coming out and going back into the cassette properly, the machine appears to be playing properly.

4 - press stop: The machine goes back to the partial wrap state, head and motor to the right stop spinning.

5 - press REW or FF: The indicator light lights up, huge clunk noise as one of the solenoids activates, the head spins up, but the motor to the right does not spin, and nothing further happens.

6 - press eject: The tape unwraps and the cassette ejects normally.

I've checked the belts and they all look ok. I'm thinking that this seems to be some sort of logic problem. I assume that the motor to the right drives the take up reels via a slip clutch mechanism, and it works ok during play mode. I assume that the same motor should be driving the supply and take up reels via slip clutches during REW or FF modes, but the motor doesn't activate. As soon as I press REW or FF, all that happens is that I hear the clunk noise, and the head spins up, nothing else. There is no attempt to fully unwrap the tape back into the cassette before rewind or FF.

I tried putting some tape over the sensors, it does not seem to make any difference to the operation.

I really need the service manual now, but I've been unable to find one on line. Would anybody have access to a manual?
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Old 17th Mar 2018, 4:22 pm   #22
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Does the AC motor on the right turn the reel idler(s) using a large square belt?
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Old 17th Mar 2018, 5:15 pm   #23
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Yes there is a square belt.
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Old 18th Mar 2018, 2:44 pm   #24
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

I managed to download the service manual (all 169 pages!)

Page 12-35 shows what looks like block diagrams of the logic control system SY-47 that controls the mechanism.

At the moment, I have come to the conclusion that the machine has a logic fault somewhere. Two reasons for this: The first being the locked state of the FF & REW lights, where they wouldn't respond to button pressing, or the stop function, not long after I first powered the machine up a week ago. They now do respond, but the AC motor still doesn't engage on FF or REW request. The second being that the motor does work during play, so I'm assuming that the motor and relays themselves are ok. Would anybody who has one of these machines, be able to report on exactly what it should do, when requesting FF or REW?

So at the moment this is dead in the water, as I don't have the time (or space!) to deal with it. Easiest next option might be to try a SY-47 board swap, if one could be found. I only paid £22 for the Sony, so I'm not too bothered. It would have been nice to have a play with u-matic, I guess you get what you pay for

Last edited by monaro0162; 18th Mar 2018 at 2:45 pm. Reason: edit
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Old 19th Mar 2018, 11:55 am   #25
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Hello again,
I may be able to help, I did post a reply earlier, which mentioned these intermittent logic problems.

They are usually due to the use of hardened steel roll-pins, whhich were used as vias instead of using plated-through holes to connect both sides of the PCB tracks.

I used to have all this info marked on my copy of the service manual, but sadly I disposed of them over 20 years ago.
However, you have triggered my memory, & I will try & describe where you need to look.
On the SY47 board, in its closed position, look at the tracks nearest the long sides of the PCB, on the non-component side.
There is one which carries power, I think this is nearer the hinged side, but can't be sure. and this is usually the culprit. Howver there are many such joints on this board, so its worth looking at them with a magnifying-glass.

Remove the original solder, clean the ends of the pin(s) with a glass-fibre pencil, and re-solder using 60/40 grade solder.

The original Sony mod was to link around the offending joints using wire links, but a good soldered joint should suffice.

If you send me a picture of the non-component side of the SY-47 It may trigger my memory further.
You would be lucky to find another SY-47 board that hadn't got this problem, unless it had previously been modified. The ravages of time will have increased the corrosion, so I am not surprised that it has come to light again.

David.
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Old 19th Mar 2018, 12:47 pm   #26
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

It sounds like you are lucky.
I can remember chasing a missing signal on a Tek scope with another scope.
You need access to both sides of the via hole to fix it and in my case it was the main board that all the plug ins went into. It was a total strip down. The job had bounced at least two times before I got lumbered with it.
With a full manual you should be able to look at the track layouts and find them all and do them.
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Old 19th Mar 2018, 6:54 pm   #27
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

David,

Yes you did mention the through pin connections earlier, and it has been in the back of my mind that they could be the cause. This is also backed up by the observation that the 'stuck' FF and REW lights seemed to clear themselves when I had the control panel loose and on top of the machine, but still connected. I seem to recall that the lights started working again after the cable loom was moved about a bit, may be the flex was transmitted back to the board. I've tried opening all the boards on their hinges out of the chassis, and closing them again, and re-seating all the connectors, but still no joy.

At the weekend I'll take the SY-47 board fully out (or whatever board is at the end of the umbilical cable from the control panel) to inspect it and try a rework of the through connections.

Many thanks for your help.

Paul
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Old 20th Mar 2018, 11:40 am   #28
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Hello Paul,

I hope the suggestions will help.
As I say, I have serviced hundreds of these machines, & it was a very common fault on the series 2 U-Matic. I must have missed your one! I wonder where yours originated from?
I was based in London, but serviced machines for various organisations, including the Police, Universities, the Science Museum, etc, as well as editing facility houses. By the time Sony got to the series 5 they used plated-through holes & the problem did not occur.

They are a good solid machine, generally very reliable, have fun!

David.
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Old 30th Mar 2018, 11:27 am   #29
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

David,

The machine still has the same symptoms: The fast forward and rewind light light up when pressed, I hear a loud clunk, the head drum spins up, but the tape doesn't attempt to fast forward or rewind.

I have attached some photos which might jog your memory. There are lots of those little steel pins you mention, the soldering 'looks' ok, but I suppose it would only take one bad connection to cause the problem.

It would be nice if I could identify what was causing the AC motor not to engage in ff and rew modes, but going through the logic looks like a nightmare!
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Old 30th Mar 2018, 1:45 pm   #30
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Some progress.

This machine has two faults:

1-intermittent logic lock up when the rew light sticks on, the machine doesn't respond to any other commands, other than eject which operates correctly.

2-when it is not in the above state, it plays but, ff and rew don't fully work, the ac motor does not engage.

I have found that 1 seems to be related to physically inserting the cassette in and out.

So I thought I'd try and see if the machine actually records, by winding the cassette back to the start position, with the clear bit of the tape visible. Made a 30 minute test recording, and after a lot of winding the tape back by hand before trying a playback, it works! The picture quality is remarkably good too.

So its worth continuing with and I need to trace why fast forward and rewind don't work.
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Old 30th Mar 2018, 4:06 pm   #31
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Hello again Paul,

After looking at your pictures, I have a feeling that we may be looking at the wrong PCB.
Can you take another pic of the complete underside of the machine, with the SY-47 closed?
I seem to remember that the logic was spread across two PCB's, both at the bottom.
I wish I'd kept my manual, I could pinpoint it quickly if I still had it!

Thanks,
David.
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Old 30th Mar 2018, 4:09 pm   #32
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Paul,

I've just scrolled back to your original pictures on the first post on this subject.
What's the name of the narrow board that swings out from underneath?
I seem to remember it may be this one.

David.
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Old 30th Mar 2018, 5:57 pm   #33
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Photo as requested.

I traced the umbilical cable from the control panel to CN8 4th connector along right to left on the SY- 47-2 pcb. I think the key panel might be ok.
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Old 31st Mar 2018, 12:52 pm   #34
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

I found what the problem was.

Removing the front panel reveals part of the mechanism and what look like slider plates with sprung loaded lock out pins, that are activated with piano keys. Whilst putting the machine through the different modes, I noticed that a couple of the pins were sticky, and were not returning to their correct position when poked with a screwdriver. A few drops of WD40 got them moving freely and now I have fast forward, rewind, and a fully functional machine!

I've given the heads and tape path a quick clean, and made some more test recordings. The video and audio quality are really good. I see no drops outs, the picture is very stable, and the colours seem fine too. I shall buy some more tapes, connect it up to my AV system, and do some comparisons between U-matic and VHS.

So another historical piece of technology to add to my museum of magnetic media. Happy Days!
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Old 31st Mar 2018, 4:39 pm   #35
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Good to hear that you've sorted it.
We didn't have many mechanical problems way back when they were new, it's a long time ago. The smaller PCB on the bottom, I seem to remember did have some key function logic, so if you develop further similar faults later, it is certainly worth looking at the feed through roll-pins. They don't re-solder well, so bridging with a wire link was Sony's official answer.
If you are comparing U-Matic with standard VHS you will see the superiority of the U-Matic, even though its only low-band. The VHS used slant azimuth to avoid cross-talk, and the video tracks are very small. The U-Matic however has wider video tracks with a guard band.
The chroma on VHS is also more noisy.

The trade-off is of course that the U-Matic tape run time is a maximum of an hour, but then it was never meant to be a domestic format.
The Series 2 U-Matic was replaced by the Series 5, an altogether more electronic & up-graded model. There were later variants, as well as the broadcast Hi-band versions.

I still have the alignment tapes & tape-tension meters etc for all this old kit!

Have fun!

David.
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Old 31st Mar 2018, 6:33 pm   #36
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

David,

Dried up grease would not have affected these early in their life, this type of fault would have been rare back in the day.

On the picture quality I understand that there were 3 variants of umatic
1-low band (my machine)
2-high band (better performance, backward compatible with low band machines but only in black and white.
3-umatic S, high band, physically smaller cassette.
Is this right?

It will be interesting doing some comparisons. And comparing the audio too. For VHS I'm intending to use a Panasonic NV870, one of the first machines with the HiFi soundtrack. I remember the sound being great on the NV830B I had back in the day. So the next job is to sort out the 870, as at the moment it doesn't load properly.

Whilst getting the Sony running, somebody offered me a SYS-47 board, but the photos of the board showed a completely different pcb. I'm guessing that there might have been an update to the VO-2630, with a revised pcb (with bigger IC's) at some point during its life. I'm trying to identify the date of manufacture of the machine that I have, its serial number 41283. The manual I have is from January 1983.
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Old 1st Apr 2018, 5:00 pm   #37
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Glad you were successful with your faultfinding.The 2630 was a very reliable workhorse.The Umatic stable included Lowband,Highband and Highband/SP.The lowband machines were the VO and VP series,used in education and industry, and the highband and highband/sp were known as BVU,used in broadcast.Regarding backwards compatability, because of the different luminance carrier frequencies and preemphasis/deemphesis, playing a highband tape on a lowband machine would result in tearing/bearding on highlights and other problems.It was possible to modify lowband machines to record/replay highband and to modify highband/sp to replay lowband.This enabled the transfer of lowband material to another later storage medium by using a BVU machine with better tape transport/dropout compensator etc.The S you refer to is probably the 20minute cassette used in the battery portable machines.Hope you get many hours of pleasure from using your machine.Peter.
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Old 1st Apr 2018, 5:04 pm   #38
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

I should add to post#37 that the later VO and VP units had also highband/sp capability.Peter.
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Old 1st Apr 2018, 6:49 pm   #39
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Here is the different sony vo-2630 panel from my machine has a small sub panel fitted.Not sure what it is used for
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Old 1st Apr 2018, 7:04 pm   #40
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Default Re: SONY VO-2630 U-matic Video Cassette Recorder

Few more pics
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