Sanyo / Sony Betamax Repair / Service skills required

[ColinBarrett]

Can anybody recommend a competent service technician who might be able to service a Sanyo VTC5000 Betamax VCR, among other things? I recently acquired one for the purpose of Betamax-to-DVD transfer for a relative but the machine was kapput on arrival due to the usual pinch-rollers / "tape-transport chewing of tape on lace-up and eject" problem.

I am in daily use of all manner of what my wife calls "junk" to digitise and archive 1970s, 80s and 90s analogue composite and component video recordings. Needless to say, my various VCRs - Betamax, Betacam-SP, U-Matic, U-Matic-SP, Video-8, Hi-8, VHS, S-VHS units, etc etc - are all treated with kid gloves in day-to-day operation.

There was an ex-Sanyo (Lowestoft) engineer whose ads I have seen only a few months ago on eBay and elsewhere who specialises in old Betamax machines, especially Sanyo, but I can find no trace of him now.

If anybody can advise, I'd be grateful.

Colin

[Red to black]

Hi Colin,
There are some very able Engineers/ex-engineers on this forum who are more than capable of repairing your machine for you.
What you need however, is someone who is fairly close to you, as postage/carriage would be expensive and risky (risk of damage to the machine).

The other problem now, is if the spares are still available.
CHS still has the parts listed on backorder (avail. 7-14 days), but last time I tried to order some, I was told 'sorry NLA', having said that, sometimes with CHS it depends on who you speak to.

http://www.chsinteractive.co.uk/

Just enter VTC5000 in the search box on their website.

How about trying to repair it yourself ?, there is more than enough people on this forum to help you if you get stuck, also see this website, there is a section devoted to Beta machines, and lot's of useful info available on here, faults lists, where to get parts etc. etc., do have a good look at this site, as the info. can be buried, this website is bigger than it first appears.
I have posted this link before on the forum, for Beta, V2000 etc.etc. info.

http://www.palsite.com/index.html

Cheers,
Baz

[AidanLunn]

There is Colin McCormick, in Plymouth, who, as I understand it, used to work for Sanyo during the period when they were making Betamax machines.

http://www.colin99.co.uk/beta.html

Changing the idler on these is simplicity itself.

[Mooly]

I agree with the above comments... spares availability will be a real issue now. Anything this age will need all the "rubbers" and friction (clutches in particular) surfaces replacing. Rubber tyres can often (if not perished or gone mushy) be turned inside out... a trick that works.

Belts... perhaps actually measure and try and source "universal" replacements if you can't come up with a belt kit,
http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/br...atchallpartial

[Michael Maurice]

I'm in NW London about 15 mins from Junction 4 off the M1 if that's any good to you.

Or if you want bring it to Cottered on May 29th and either myself or one of the others will look at it for you.

See this threadhttps://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66745:

[The_Archiver]

Colin,
The guy you may be referring to on that particular auction site is Kevin Lambert (aka knightman2), and, speaking from personal experience with this gentleman, I can highly recommend him for repairs and advice.
Other on-line sites for parts include http://www.visionaids.co.uk, http://www.elclondon.co.uk, and (for belts) http://www.cricklewoodelectronics.co.uk.
I am not associated with any of these establishments, they are provided as a source guide only.
Please let us all know how you get on, as these machines are great to work on and bring back to life!

Phil

[IanNVJ35]

Kevin Lambert is a real Beta enthusiast and when he has done repairs for me I have always been delighted. You may find (as I did) that apart from the main fault there are other minor faults and upgrades that can be done at the same time. I know that on my VTC-M20 he did a reel motor upgrade to ensure no tape spilling. Beta really is a great format.

[ColinBarrett]

Originally Posted by Red to black

Hi Colin,
There are some very able Engineers/ex-engineers on this forum who are more than capable of repairing your machine for you.
What you need however, is someone who is fairly close to you, as postage/carriage would be expensive and risky (risk of damage to the machine).

The other problem now, is if the spares are still available.
CHS still has the parts listed on backorder (avail. 7-14 days), but last time I tried to order some, I was told 'sorry NLA', having said that, sometimes with CHS it depends on who you speak to.

http://www.chsinteractive.co.uk/

Just enter VTC5000 in the search box on their website.

How about trying to repair it yourself ?, there is more than enough people on this forum to help you if you get stuck, also see this website, there is a section devoted to Beta machines, and lot's of useful info available on here, faults lists, where to get parts etc. etc., do have a good look at this site, as the info. can be buried, this website is bigger than it first appears.
I have posted this link before on the forum, for Beta, V2000 etc.etc. info.

http://www.palsite.com/index.html

Cheers,
Baz

Baz - I'm coming round to that way of thinking and having a pop at it myself. I've taken bits out of U-Matics and replaced them OK over the years, and the off domestic VHS hasn't beaten me either! I might resort to this. Thanks.

Originally Posted by AidanLunn

There is Colin McCormick, in Plymouth, who, as I understand it, used to work for Sanyo during the period when they were making Betamax machines.

http://www.colin99.co.uk/beta.html

Changing the idler on these is simplicity itself.

Yes, I've found Colin McCormick on the web already. Oddly enough, I come from Plymouth originally and was visiting family a few weeks back! His online "how-to" pages might be a good start for me.

Originally Posted by IanNVJ35

Kevin Lambert is a real Beta enthusiast and when he has done repairs for me I have always been delighted.

That's him!!! Good work.

Thanks to everyone for some excellent and helpful replies. OK - off comes the top of the Betamax machine. Must remember to switch off the AC supply this time............... I also have a Panasonic AG-8700 professional S-VHS machine with a tape-loading problem. That's next on the list.