Toshiba BETA HiFi VCR - no A/V

[Douglas Reedy]

I am attempting to get my old Toshiba BETA Hi-Fi deck [model V-S443] working
again nearly 15 years after having given it up for dead. I replaced the
capstan belt (easily accessed from a panel on the bottom of the unit) and
now tapes will play but I'm not getting any audio or video -- except during
playback if I briefly rewind for a second or two, then press play. After a
moment I hear audio and see snow for about 1 second, then the video returns
to black screen and the audio goes silent.

A friend of mine suggested that a possible reason for the brief audio is
that while the tape retensions after the rewind it is coming into contact
with the hifi head. I've also consulted the following online resources for
VCR self-repair:

http://www.repairfaq.org/
http://www.fixer.com/osm/
http://www.diyvcrparts.com/help.html

I am suspicious of the video drum and a little confused by the (above)
online resources I have consulted which state that the upper drum rotates.
Both the upper and lower sections of the drum are stationary with an angled
slot between them, which appears to have a little "head" inside. When I load
a tape I can no longer see if this "head" to determine if it is moving, but
when I eject the tape the "head" is in the same exact position. So if indeed
this is the (or one of the) heads, I have to assume that the servo inside
the head assembly is not running (or is otherwise unable to turn).

I should also mention that while the supply reel is turning during playback
(and since the tape is properly moving through the transport one can assume
the takeup reel is turning as well -- the BETA tapes I have don't have a
window on that side), during rewind and fast-forward the reels are not
turning at all. I've read that this points to a problem with the idler, and
mine appears to be the geared type. I don't have a dummy cassette in order
to get a better idea of what is going on with the idler, but I plan to try
and make one. Aside from a multimeter I don't have much in the way of test
equipment at my disposal.

These be my questions three:

1. Is there a way I can determine if my drum servo is dead?
2. As my drum does not rotate, is that a head I see peeking out from the
angled slot?
3. Should it move while the tape is playing? Can I attempt to (carefully)
move it in the slot?

Any advice or pointers to online resources for BETA decks would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,

Douglas

 

[the terminator]

In article <dvCwb.21740$up3.10216@fe1.columbus.rr.com>,
"Douglas Reedy" <plook@despammed.com> wrote:

working
again nearly 15 years after having given it up for dead. I replaced the
capstan belt (easily accessed from a panel on the bottom of the unit) and
now tapes will play but I'm not getting any audio or video -- except during
playback if I briefly rewind for a second or two, then press play. After a
moment I hear audio and see snow for about 1 second, then the video returns
to black screen and the audio goes silent.

Could be clogged heads, or a damaged control track. Check the tape and
see if the lower edge is wrinkled. Many machines will mute if the
control track is lost.

Also make sure the tape is lacing up correctly. Sometimes it gets
caught in the cassette and is only half threaded.

A friend of mine suggested that a possible reason for the brief audio is
that while the tape retensions after the rewind it is coming into contact
with the hifi head. I've also consulted the following online resources for
VCR self-repair:

Can't be, as Beta HiFi doesn't need a separate head for audio carriers,
unless it's a PAL/SECAM model.

http://www.repairfaq.org/
http://www.fixer.com/osm/
http://www.diyvcrparts.com/help.html

I am suspicious of the video drum and a little confused by the (above)
online resources I have consulted which state that the upper drum rotates.
Both the upper and lower sections of the drum are stationary with an angled
slot between them, which appears to have a little "head" inside. When I load
a tape I can no longer see if this "head" to determine if it is moving, but
when I eject the tape the "head" is in the same exact position. So if indeed
this is the (or one of the) heads, I have to assume that the servo inside
the head assembly is not running (or is otherwise unable to turn).

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Seems many of these
sites default to vhs without bothering to mention it is vhs that they
are referring to.

Beta uses a head drum assembly with the heads mounted on a disc within
the drum. The upper and lower parts are fixed, the heads are found in
the opening between them.

You should hear a buzzing sound when in play mode, as the heads make
contact with the tape. You might also be able to see a shaft, or a
disc, on top of the drum, that rotates as well. Depends on the design.

I should also mention that while the supply reel is turning during playback
(and since the tape is properly moving through the transport one can assume
the takeup reel is turning as well -- the BETA tapes I have don't have a
window on that side), during rewind and fast-forward the reels are not
turning at all. I've read that this points to a problem with the idler, and
mine appears to be the geared type. I don't have a dummy cassette in order
to get a better idea of what is going on with the idler, but I plan to try
and make one. Aside from a multimeter I don't have much in the way of test
equipment at my disposal.

If the idler is slipping, then the tables will not turn. Could be too
much tension during that mode, whereas during play the capstan can
overcome it. maybe you can find another idler, or just change the tire.
Also check for any slipping belts that might be driving another wheel to
transfer power to the idler.

These be my questions three:

1. Is there a way I can determine if my drum servo is dead?
2. As my drum does not rotate, is that a head I see peeking out from the
angled slot?

Yes, it is a head.

3. Should it move while the tape is playing? Can I attempt to (carefully)
move it in the slot?

No, leave it alone.

Any advice or pointers to online resources for BETA decks would be greatly
appreciated.

Google is your Friend. Just try Betamax.

 

[LASERandDVDfan]

I am attempting to get my old Toshiba BETA Hi-Fi deck [model V-S443] working
again nearly 15 years after having given it up for dead. I replaced the
capstan belt (easily accessed from a panel on the bottom of the unit) and
now tapes will play but I'm not getting any audio or video -- except during
playback if I briefly rewind for a second or two, then press play.

This would suggest that the heads are clogged, damaged, or something is not
allowing the tape to travel in the path correctly.

A friend of mine suggested that a possible reason for the brief audio is
that while the tape retensions after the rewind it is coming into contact
with the hifi head.

I think he would mean the linear audio head. That would be the stationary
head, probably located to the middle-upper left section of the head drum.

Beta Hi-Fi uses frequency multiplexing with the video signal, so there are no
extra heads for the hi-fi audio as it's all in the video signal, between the
luma and chroma carriers to be precise.

I am suspicious of the video drum and a little confused by the (above)
online resources I have consulted which state that the upper drum rotates.

The only Beta deck I can think of where the upper drum rotates is the Betamovie
camcorder. Otherwise, the top and bottom drums are fixed with a head disc in
the middle being the only spinning part.

When I load
a tape I can no longer see if this "head" to determine if it is moving,

Look at the head drum from above. There should be a junction of wires and
soldered connections on the top centre. When the deck is in any of its
transport modes (REW, FF, PLAY, REC), this centre section should be spinning at
an extremely fast rate, which is precisely 1800 RPM.

but
when I eject the tape the "head" is in the same exact position. So if indeed
this is the (or one of the) heads, I have to assume that the servo inside
the head assembly is not running (or is otherwise unable to turn).

All heads are mounted on a single disc component. The servo control is done on
a circuit on one of several mainboards. Those Toshiba Betas, particularly the
stuff since the VS-36, were built like complex tanks. Almost nothing but metal
for the chassis, but also filled to the brim with circuits.

I should also mention that while the supply reel is turning during playback
(and since the tape is properly moving through the transport one can assume
the takeup reel is turning as well -- the BETA tapes I have don't have a
window on that side), during rewind and fast-forward the reels are not
turning at all. I've read that this points to a problem with the idler, and
mine appears to be the geared type.

Your deck uses a rubber idler tire, which is driven by its own motor. To get
to it, you will have to detach the loader carriage from the chassis.
Fortunately, it's modular, so you just need to take the front face off,
disconnect the loader, undo a couple of screws, and take the whole carriage out
as an assembly.

Another thing you can do to check if the idler is working during playback is to
find a TDK or a Kodak Beta cassette. These cassettes do have an observation
window for the take-in reel in addition to the supply reel.

These be my questions three:

1. Is there a way I can determine if my drum servo is dead?

Yeah. If the drum spins at full speed, as observed from the centre top of the
drum, and with a quiet, steady noise as its working, it's working.

2. As my drum does not rotate, is that a head I see peeking out from the
angled slot?

Yes. The drum should not rotate unless a tape is threaded and the machine is
in one of its transport modes.

3. Should it move while the tape is playing? Can I attempt to (carefully)
move it in the slot?

DO NOT touch the head chip unless you are going to clean it with a chamios swab
and alcohol.

Any advice or pointers to online resources for BETA decks would be greatly
appreciated.

www.betainfoguide.com

BUT, the site is currently down. - Reinhart

 

[Douglas Reedy]

Thanks to you LASERandDVDfan and The Terminator for all of your sage advice
and recommendations. With your help I was able to manually turn the servo PC
board atop the head to get it freed up and turning. Once I applied power and
loaded a tape the servo spun the heads up to speed, a little noisy at first
but after a few seconds quieted down to a whir. They had pretty much locked
in place from 10-15 years of sitting in the same position.

On a couple of HiFi tapes (in HiFi PB mode) I am getting occasional clicks
and a few seconds of bad audio now and again. Doesn't seem to be in the tape
itself as I can rewind and replay the section and get clean playback. When I
reten'd (FF/RW) the tape in question I noticed the tape flow was not smooth
so I think the shell might need replaced (BASF tape).

As a test I recorded a 20Hz to 20KHz sweep over 20 seconds, a 440Hz tone,
and some music from CD. The 440 tone was clean and unwavering, the sweep
caused much aliasing and many clicks to appear in the waveform on playback,
but the CD audio was pristine.

Also the FF and RW transport modes seem to work OK now that the servo is
spinning. Not sure if the two are related but I am very happy! So at this
point it seems my BHF deck is working well. I almost don't want to touch it
since it's working, but is there any maintenence (cleaning, lubrication) I
should attempt?

Thanks again for taking the time reply.

Douglas

----- Original Message -----
"LASERandDVDfan" <laseranddvdfan@aol.com> wrote in message news:
"the terminator" <none-at-@valleynet.on.ca> wrote in message news:
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.repair