SL-HF900 Sony BETA

[GregS]

I played with three units. I got one working just by using it,
or letting it warm up and work the FF REW play, etc.
The other two I have tried everything and they still have problems
with sticking tape. Some work better. i just did another Sony Beta
and I got it working replacing the belts. I notice other units
DO rewind the tape from the heads to FF or REW, whick makes
the HF900 more problematic in sticking. I guess to
use the editing functions, the head must be active.

A long time ago I removed the dark screens from
the displays to make them more visable.

greg

 

[GregS]

I work at a Hollywood post house where we deal with old 2" quad tape,
some of which often sticks really bad. We bake the tapes in a food
dehydrator at 135 F for 12 hours and they play like new again. I don't
know if Beta tapes suffer from this problem but we have baked some
3/4' U-Matic cassettes with success.

You DON'T want to use a home oven for this as you're likely to make
things worse but the dehydrator with the accurate temperature control
and circulating fans works great.

Sony in general uses really crappy lubricants that gum up in a few
years. SGL grease is one of the worst. Nye lubricants are not cheap
but are truly excellent. We use 368AX, 363F and Nyeoil II. Your deck
might benefit from a total tear-down clean and re-lubricate. We do
this a LOT on digital and analog BetaCam decks. We also change LOTS of
capacitors.

G=B2

I don't know if I will do anything like that. I thought one
of the tapes I was using was relatively new, but
not sure.

One of my turbo ovens at home has a dehydrator mode
at about that temperature. I just dried some Habeneros
with it.

greg

 

[GregS]

If the tape is sticking to the drum, then it could be a worn drum,
dirty drum, or bad tape. Sometimes one bad tape will contaminate the
drum, and cause other tapes to stick. Sony tapes from the late 70's
through the mid 80's are particularly bad at going sticky. Even a new
tape can be bad if it was stored improperly.
Andy Cuffe

One machine was in continous use, but not much use. The other machines
were in storage, and one of those started working after some workout.
So, bad tape could very well be a major influence.

greg