SL-F30

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1984

Technical

Rear view	Cassette load/tape lacing mechanism design The SL-F30 mechanical design whilst the same in function was a simplification of the earlier SL-C series mono machines. The two part motor and solenoid plastic plates were joined into one and the metal drive selector arm (driven by the solenoid to direct drive either to the cassette tray or the load ring) was replaced by a plastic arm.
Pendulum assembly	Stops in play or record This is becoming a more common problem these days. The first thing to check is that there is adequate torque on the take up spool. If there isn't much then the cause is usually down to two contributing factors. The first is the drive pendulum which can cease up and the second more serious factor, is wear on the reel motor bottom bearing. The pendulum is simple to replace but the bearing is moulded into the chassis and replacement necessitates that the entire chassis be replaced. One possible compromise is to fit a small piece of plastic into the bottom bearing to raise the rotor and allow it to move freely. Sony supply a repair kit for this purpose.
Hall effect sensor attached with glue	No head rotation You may find that the head drum fails to rotate. This is due to a problem with the Hall effect device on the head drum motor which is secured by a blob of glue. Full details on how to fix this can be found on the head motor page.
View inside	Deck goes into rewind This can be caused by failure of the tape end sensor. You can check this by unplugging the sensor at its socket on the PCB.
Broken gear (left) Gear assembly	Failure to load a tape The cassette carriage can fail to operate. This is caused by breakage of the plastic gears in the side of the mechanism. Often one of the teeth is missing. When this happens the faulty gears must be replaced and the mechanism correctly realigned so that the left and right side "tray arms" are at the same position relative to the front panel. This is done by releasing the plastic tab on the gear away from the motor side and selecting the correct mesh position with the teeth of the drive cog on rod which connects between both sides of the cassette tray.
Load motor / gear assembly Load motor / gear assembly	Power supply problems This VCR uses a STR1229A (IC001) at the heart of its power supply. If you experience PSU problems then this is the first thing to check. Be sure to check outputs 'onload' as the regulator can otherwise appear OK.

Quick fault guide

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Fault	Solution
Capstan motor speed varying in play.	Check capacitor C316, if ok check IC303 (UPC455BC)
Grainy pictures in e-e mode.	Suspect failure of the tuner BTS81
Intermittent or erratic clock/timer operation.	Check timer chip IC001 on panel TM57
Intermittent or no lacing/unlacing.	Check for failure of the shuttle block
Intermittent or no remote control operation.	Check capacitor C5 for dry joints
No or poor capstan servo lock, tracking control inoperative.	Check transistor Q345 for failure
No or poor playback pictures.	Check capacitor C156 on panel YC15
No capstan motor rotation, no playback record.	Check resistor R406 for open circuit
No functions.	Check for failure of IC602 (LA7205) on the SS34 board
No power on, clock OK	Check IC601 for failure
Poor servo lock on playback of own recordings.	Check the control track head for contamination or wear
Preset tuner functions inoperative.	Check for failure of IC005
Stops after few seconds in the rewind a review modes.	Modification: change resistor R2 to 33kohms (panel RD20)
Tape transport erratic / intermittent or no rewind / fast forward.	Check the pinch arm assembly and the brake solenoid
Will not enter record mode, record tab safety switch ok.	Check IC601 on the SS34 panel for failure
No picture	Check the drum
Squiggly patterning on playback until machine has warmed up.	Replace all three 47µF and both 22µF capacitors in the Power Supply, with high quality parts rated at +85°C.
VCR does not record when you hit record	Make sure the record tab on the tape has not been removed. If it has, tape over the hole.
No display/picture output	Don't forget to check the head cleaning guide on PALsite.
Tape does not wind-up on tape reel bij playback.	This is possible by a blowing fuse on the video print board, they are called PS001 or PS002 or PS003 and look like a ordinairy transistor case.
wrong functions on the buttons on frontside.	The remedy to solve this problem is, remove the front from the cabinet and replace all the buttons from the U-25 board, the buttons have by his age a resistance inside.
Start but not load the tape	Clean the switch of the right of the loader, if continuous equal verify IC'S connected at motor
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