Repairs, Parts & Pricing

Repair costs vary on the basis of parts availability, time taken to repair and the general condition of the machine including wear, mechanical damage, corrosion, etc. In many cases, video heads are no longer available for Beta machines, so their condition will determine if the machine is worth repairing. I have a video head tester to determine their condition. Second-hand heads are only used for repairs as a last resort.

Even a machine which can't be repaired is worth keeping and trading in for the other good parts it might contain rather than throwing it into landfill. Often the electronics such as power supply fail yet the mechanicals like video heads which are no longer available still have plenty of life.

Depending on what machines I have chosen to use as parts machines, most parts are available including whole boards if necessary. Quotes for repair are a minimum of $50 and will be allowed against the total cost should repair proceed. Should repair of the machine be un-economical, then trade-ins are accepted or counted against the cost of supplying a replacement machine. Otherwise the machine will be returned to you intact, not as a box full of bits.

These prices were suggested in 2006 when the site was developed. Since then some of the older and larger machines may cost much more or be uneconomical to repair because of the price and/or lack of availability of replacements for the many belts used in them.

Item Service / Parts Cost
SLC9 DC/DC problem Changeover repair service $100
Repair load mechanism Subject to part availability $100
Belt kits (all models) Subject to parts availability $80
Sony SLC5 & SLC7 Fix servo / tracking problem $100
Sony Power supply Repair interference faults $50
Sony Power supply Repair failed unit $100
Sony head drum motors Second hand units. (rare) $100
Repair Beta IR remotes If 'basically' complete $40
Spare parts / availability Price on application $?????
The beta machine capstan rollers can become worn, dirty and uneven over time and with use. They are difficult to source and expensive when you do find them.

For a demonstration on how to refurbish a capstan roller using a grinding wheel in a Dremel super tool (or similar) see the video on YouTube HOW TO REFURBISH A SONY BETA CAPSTAN ROLLER WITH A DREMEL.

This will work unless the rubber on the capstan roller has cracked or perished or the support bearings have failed.

USEFUL TEST JIGS THAT I HAVE DEVELOPED (mainly for the Sony SLC9 machine repairs)

A. Sony beta head drum motor repair jig.


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This is created using a normal head drum and motor but with the magnet mounted the other side of the circuit board. (instead of on top of it).

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This provides a quick mount and dismount arrangement. It provides 9V supply to the motor and will drive it when the press button switch is pushed and gives about 4.5V as a control voltage.

Hence the functionality of the board can be tested outside of a machine. The most common failure is the hall effect sensor, see PALsite's Hall Effect Sensors page.

B. Sony power supply DC/DC convertor tester.


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This unit supplies 12V to the DC/DC circuit board and then provides:
  1. An indication of the current drawn by the unit.
  2. A BNC output to monitor the 3.3V AC waveform of the DC/DC used to power the gas display filament.
  3. The -38V rail (centre indication on second meter with toggle switch one way).
  4. The +28V rail (centre indication on second meter with toggle switch one way).
Repair details of the DC/DC can be found at PALsite's SL-C9 DC-DC converter page.

C. Sony SLC9 load mechanism electronic control interface.


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This one is a little tricky and I had to develop it to diagnose whether the load mechanism, the control mechanism or both had failed.

The SONY SLC9 has a microprocessor dedicated to the tape load mechanism. The gears on the mechanism can break plus there are guide alignment issues.

See PALsite's SL-C9 Technical Page half way down.

The drive circuits (transistor and diodes) can burn out when a tape jams in the mechanism for some time. Holes can even get burnt in the circuit board.

The inputs are, tape in, cassette up, cassette down. The output is tape motor drive down (loading) or up (unloading)

The interface control is driven by a 12V plug pack and has plugs and sockets which allow it to be placed in line with the SLC9s control to the carriage.

It can then be used to either monitor the machines "normal" operation and indicate switch and motor drive actions or be used in "remote" or slave mode, to control the load mechanism from outside the machine.

(It can also operate the carriage outside the machine if necessary during repairs.)