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Sanyo 1983
Betamax VTC-5005



beta vcr logo

Technical

vtc5005 rear view
Rear Connectors



Idler Assembly

Fault and repair guide

No reel rotation

This is a very common problem which can have several causes. The first thing which fails is usually the reel idler assembly. Replacement units are readily available and can be fitted easily after removal of the cassette carriage. Before replacement check for a broken reel motor belt. This is a small belt which transfers drive to the idler. Finally, the last thing to suspect is the reel motor. Sanyo produced a modification to improve drive to this motor. This involved decreasing the value of the in-series resistor in the motor power supply (replacing a 3.3Ω with a 2.2Ω). However, it is not uncommon for the motor itself to fail in which case it needs to be replaced.

No tuner input

This is usually caused by failure of the RF combiner / splitter unit. Unfortunately it is not easy to repair this unit.

Timer and/or standby LED fail to illuminate

This is caused by dry joints where the LED are soldered onto the front PCB. In order to gain access to the PCB you'll need to remove the front panel and the servo board on the LHS of the deck.

Further Information

This machine is very similar to the VTC-5000, see also the quick fault solutions for the VTC-5000.

Quick fault guide

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FaultSolution
Machine won't rewind/fast forward and cuts out after a few secondsReplace the reel idler belts and tires.
Tape will not lace up fully then stops and unlacesRemove idler and base plate give a good clean remove both reels clean main shafts light oil plus bearings
The tape wil load the tape but not unload. Tape jam followsThere is not enough motor torque to pull the tape back to the cassette. The motor needs lubricating. Perform a mechanical maintenance of the right take up and surrounding parts. Add a small drop of precision oil to the bearing area of the main reel motor. Access the bottom part of the machine, locate the motor. Unscrew its bottom "cap". You will see the bottom bearing. It is very important to add 1-2 drops of precision oil here and a to be on a safe side, also a little bit of precision, thin grease (G 1/3 by Orelube for example). This procedure will save most motors.
Detailed YouTube video on servicing Sanyo video recordershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHT3QJ-r2w0
Black zig zag lines on screen when playing a tape. Also some bad recordingsThe head control box at the top left hand of the beta. This has a earth clip with black wire that hold it into place and earth the box. Your box will most likely be rusty or dull grey. The earth has bad connection. Remove the box and very carefully remove cover that sits at the back of the beta. Then solder a wire to the PCB at the terminals that connect PCB to the outside case. Now bring this wire outside box, and refit back cover. Refit box and solder the new wire to the black one that you removed from clamp. now you are done. it has fixed 6 of these for me and friends!!
Intermittently pauses itself when playing cassette, counter works finePlays fine with no cassette but counter intermittently not counting. Solution: C5204 on PSU needs checking. Found one example to be low in value, ESR high at 12Ohms and leaking electrolyte on the board.