Sony SL-3000 E - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Geoff 555 · 27th Jul 2020, 11:41 am

Hello everyone, I will be having one of the above arriving soon, my son has had it stored for 20 years at least and needs the space. He has not touched it.
So what is the things to look out for please, any information gratefully received with thanks.
Cheers.
Geoff.

Welsh Anorak · 27th Jul 2020, 12:30 pm

Firstly this portable machine has a separate power supply, so that would be a good place to start. Not sure if it's switch-mode, but if it's like the C7 there will be a couple of capacitors coupling the ouitput transistors that must be repaced befor plugging in - they're 4.7uF on the C7. Not been in one of these, so not absolutely sure.
Regarding the machine, a warm place helps, then a good clean of the tape path. Inspect the belts and ideally replace them. Then it might be fault finding time - or you may be lucky.
Reminds me I have one in the back that's been there for probably 30 years, complete with the HFC-2000 camera. Must dig it out.

Geoff 555 · 27th Jul 2020, 1:16 pm

Hello thank you, I have tried a search for a belt kit but have had no luck as yet. I will start with the power supply.
Any help with finding a belt kit would be very apreciated.
Kind regards.
Geoff.

Welsh Anorak · 27th Jul 2020, 7:11 pm

I'm not sure, but I think the deck has a lot in common with the C5/7 mechanically.

hamid_1 · 28th Jul 2020, 12:46 am

I picked up a couple of these machines separately about 7 years ago, which was long after Betamax had gone out of common use. I expect they had already been disused for at least 20 years by then.

The first one came on its own, with no tuner-timer-power supply unit. Not a problem, since the SL-3000 only needs a 12 volt power supply. If I recall correctly, the power connector is a normal barrel type but with the centre negative, unlike virtually all modern power supplies which are centre positive. Again, no problem, I found a mains adaptor with reversible polarity and powered up the machine. Not surprisingly it didn't work - the capstan motor was siezed.

I tried heating the stuck capstan motor with a hairdrier then sprayed on some switch cleaner lubricant, allowing it to trickle down the spindle and hopefully penetrate the inside of the motor, which is otherwise pretty well sealed. Eventually I was able to unjam the motor and get it to turn. I was rewarded with a working machine, but after a few days the capstan motor started to become stiff again. Luckily another machine came up for sale fairly locally, it was cheap and came complete with the TT-3000UB tuner-timer-PSU plus the rather clunky HVC-2000P video camera, so I now had the complete set.

This one didn't work either. The tuner-timer was dead - it had a blown fuse in the power supply (which is a linear one, by the way.) There seemed to be nothing obvious wrong with the power supply. When I replaced the fuse, it started working. Hooray!

The second SL-3000UB had a good capstan motor but a strange video fault. When playing back a tape, there was an almost black screen with just some semblance of a picture in the background. I was using an old black and white portable TV for testing, but the first SL-3000 had worked with with it so it must be a fault in the player's video circuits. I didn't bother trying to investigate. Instead I just swapped the capstan motors between the two SL-3000's so I now had one fully working set plus one for spares.

Strangely enough, I don't recall any trouble with the belts. The SL-3000 is a piano-key VCR probably more closely related to the first generation SL-8000 / SL-8080UB than the slightly later C5 / C7 machines which had electronic controls. Home video technology was developing rapidly at that time. The heavy 'portable' SL-3000 was quickly superseded. Unfortunately spare parts are hard to obtain, since many people didn't bother having them repaired, they just replaced it with something more modern. Consequently dealers didn't keep much stock of parts. Generic parts like belts should still be available but you'll probably have to order them individually rather than as a kit. Let's hope you don't need anything too exotic otherwise you'll have to do what I did and buy another unit with a different fault for spares. Good luck!

Libratron · 28th Jul 2020, 3:42 am

I have a SL-3000E.
Prepare to replace all belts and find stuck the BHF-1100D Capstan motor.
Sadly the motor need replaced with a working one.
in add replace, all light blue sanyo capacitors on the servo board, for return with a steady tracking. Clean all idler with alchool to return with a original grip.
It's a really good VTR, i used nowdays with my PCM Adaptor PC-X11 Sansui.

Libratron

Geoff 555 · 28th Jul 2020, 7:56 pm

Hello everyone thank you, it looks as if it could be interesting, has not arrived yet.
One question if I may please, what is the difference between the SL- 3000 and the SL- 3000E?
Kind regards.
Geoff.

dj_fivos_sak · 28th Jul 2020, 8:14 pm

The North American (NTSC) model is the SL-3000/TT-3000 without any suffix in the model number. The 3000E is the European model and the 3000UB is the UK one. The main difference between the E and the UB models is the tuner standards, I (UHF) vs B/G (VHF/UHF) of the TT-3000E/UB tuner/timer unit.

Fivos

patrickgnl · 28th Jul 2020, 8:32 pm

Regarding the seized capstan motor I stumbled across this while looking for this model on the webb https://www.palsite.com/3000tech.html

Hope it helps...

Patrick

Geoff 555 · 29th Jul 2020, 9:20 am

Hello Patrik thank you for that, it seems that the capstan motors 'could' be a bit of a problem but sortable. WD40 dont know about that I think I would go with Plusgas, have used it to free off many things.Fivos thank you for the info about the differences.
Cheers.
Geoff.

27th Jul 2020, 11:41 am	#1
Geoff 555 Heptode Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bristol, UK. Posts: 981	Sony SL-3000 E Hello everyone, I will be having one of the above arriving soon, my son has had it stored for 20 years at least and needs the space. He has not touched it. So what is the things to look out for please, any information gratefully received with thanks. Cheers. Geoff.

27th Jul 2020, 12:30 pm	#2
Welsh Anorak Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: North Wales, UK. Posts: 6,920	Re: Sony SL-3000 E Firstly this portable machine has a separate power supply, so that would be a good place to start. Not sure if it's switch-mode, but if it's like the C7 there will be a couple of capacitors coupling the ouitput transistors that must be repaced befor plugging in - they're 4.7uF on the C7. Not been in one of these, so not absolutely sure. Regarding the machine, a warm place helps, then a good clean of the tape path. Inspect the belts and ideally replace them. Then it might be fault finding time - or you may be lucky. Reminds me I have one in the back that's been there for probably 30 years, complete with the HFC-2000 camera. Must dig it out. __________________ Glyn www.gdelectronics.wales

27th Jul 2020, 1:16 pm	#3
Geoff 555 Heptode Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bristol, UK. Posts: 981	Re: Sony SL-3000 E Hello thank you, I have tried a search for a belt kit but have had no luck as yet. I will start with the power supply. Any help with finding a belt kit would be very apreciated. Kind regards. Geoff.

27th Jul 2020, 7:11 pm	#4
Welsh Anorak Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: North Wales, UK. Posts: 6,920	Re: Sony SL-3000 E I'm not sure, but I think the deck has a lot in common with the C5/7 mechanically. __________________ Glyn www.gdelectronics.wales

28th Jul 2020, 12:46 am	#5
hamid_1 Heptode Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks. UK. Posts: 811	Re: Sony SL-3000 E I picked up a couple of these machines separately about 7 years ago, which was long after Betamax had gone out of common use. I expect they had already been disused for at least 20 years by then. The first one came on its own, with no tuner-timer-power supply unit. Not a problem, since the SL-3000 only needs a 12 volt power supply. If I recall correctly, the power connector is a normal barrel type but with the centre negative, unlike virtually all modern power supplies which are centre positive. Again, no problem, I found a mains adaptor with reversible polarity and powered up the machine. Not surprisingly it didn't work - the capstan motor was siezed. I tried heating the stuck capstan motor with a hairdrier then sprayed on some switch cleaner lubricant, allowing it to trickle down the spindle and hopefully penetrate the inside of the motor, which is otherwise pretty well sealed. Eventually I was able to unjam the motor and get it to turn. I was rewarded with a working machine, but after a few days the capstan motor started to become stiff again. Luckily another machine came up for sale fairly locally, it was cheap and came complete with the TT-3000UB tuner-timer-PSU plus the rather clunky HVC-2000P video camera, so I now had the complete set. This one didn't work either. The tuner-timer was dead - it had a blown fuse in the power supply (which is a linear one, by the way.) There seemed to be nothing obvious wrong with the power supply. When I replaced the fuse, it started working. Hooray! The second SL-3000UB had a good capstan motor but a strange video fault. When playing back a tape, there was an almost black screen with just some semblance of a picture in the background. I was using an old black and white portable TV for testing, but the first SL-3000 had worked with with it so it must be a fault in the player's video circuits. I didn't bother trying to investigate. Instead I just swapped the capstan motors between the two SL-3000's so I now had one fully working set plus one for spares. Strangely enough, I don't recall any trouble with the belts. The SL-3000 is a piano-key VCR probably more closely related to the first generation SL-8000 / SL-8080UB than the slightly later C5 / C7 machines which had electronic controls. Home video technology was developing rapidly at that time. The heavy 'portable' SL-3000 was quickly superseded. Unfortunately spare parts are hard to obtain, since many people didn't bother having them repaired, they just replaced it with something more modern. Consequently dealers didn't keep much stock of parts. Generic parts like belts should still be available but you'll probably have to order them individually rather than as a kit. Let's hope you don't need anything too exotic otherwise you'll have to do what I did and buy another unit with a different fault for spares. Good luck!

28th Jul 2020, 3:42 am	#6
Libratron Pentode Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Martino di Lupari, Veneto, Italy. Posts: 204	Re: Sony SL-3000 E I have a SL-3000E. Prepare to replace all belts and find stuck the BHF-1100D Capstan motor. Sadly the motor need replaced with a working one. in add replace, all light blue sanyo capacitors on the servo board, for return with a steady tracking. Clean all idler with alchool to return with a original grip. It's a really good VTR, i used nowdays with my PCM Adaptor PC-X11 Sansui. Libratron Last edited by Libratron; 28th Jul 2020 at 3:51 am.

28th Jul 2020, 7:56 pm	#7
Geoff 555 Heptode Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bristol, UK. Posts: 981	Re: Sony SL-3000 E Hello everyone thank you, it looks as if it could be interesting, has not arrived yet. One question if I may please, what is the difference between the SL- 3000 and the SL- 3000E? Kind regards. Geoff.

28th Jul 2020, 8:14 pm	#8
dj_fivos_sak Heptode Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Lefkada, Greece Posts: 969	Re: Sony SL-3000 E The North American (NTSC) model is the SL-3000/TT-3000 without any suffix in the model number. The 3000E is the European model and the 3000UB is the UK one. The main difference between the E and the UB models is the tuner standards, I (UHF) vs B/G (VHF/UHF) of the TT-3000E/UB tuner/timer unit. Fivos

28th Jul 2020, 8:32 pm	#9
patrickgnl Pentode Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 115	Re: Sony SL-3000 E Regarding the seized capstan motor I stumbled across this while looking for this model on the webb https://www.palsite.com/3000tech.html Hope it helps... Patrick

29th Jul 2020, 9:20 am	#10
Geoff 555 Heptode Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bristol, UK. Posts: 981	Re: Sony SL-3000 E Hello Patrik thank you for that, it seems that the capstan motors 'could' be a bit of a problem but sortable. WD40 dont know about that I think I would go with Plusgas, have used it to free off many things.Fivos thank you for the info about the differences. Cheers. Geoff.