Sony U-Matic SP VO9800 Error-20
 

I've got kind of a big problem on my hands, and I know that with U-Matic machines there are no "new" parts available. But at the same time I'm not too sure what the issue is.

I'll try to be as descriptive as possible (the VTR is a Sony U-Matic SP VO9800).

I've got a tape in the machine and it will not eject. It's not even threaded in the machine; the front indicator lights indicate it is Standby mode. When I turn the machine on I'll hear the heads start to spin for a second or two, and then nothing. The front LCD will switch from 00:00:00:00 to "Error - 20".

I've opened both the top and bottom up. I wasn't able to get the big circuit board out of the bottom (even though I had removed all the screws---something else was keeping it in place), but I did flip open the circuit board on the top, and I was able to look around. Nothing around the head seemed out of place, but I did find the plastic tape door for the machine (which I thought the previous owner's had just thrown out because it was broken) stuck at the front of the machine, behind the operation buttons. With the power cord unplugged, I tried lifting the tape carriage to see if I could at least get the tape even with the door and just manually push out the tape, but I wasn't even able to do that, even after disassembling the top of the carriage.

I didn't have time to take the front off, but I'm not sure if I'm missing something or what? Any ideas as to what the problem is?

Sony decks are real cuckoo-clocks -
is there a worm gear or such you can manually spin to unload?
if not may be possible jump power to the loading motor to get the tape out.

I finally figured out how to lift the entire tape carriage out (there was a little white power pin at the side that needed to be disconnected, but I had to take the right side panel off to get at it). Anyway the BIG problem was that the rolling sprockets for the carriage were out of alignment by only 3 holes (or whatever you want to call them) on the left side. Just that tiny amount caused the machine to give Error-20, since the tape was loaded crookedly.

i just had to re-align gears on a betamax deck... Sony and their damned over-engineered loading mechs

I do know that the eject motor is going since I'm finding with my test tapes (these are the large tapes, not the small one) is that when the tape nearly- or fully-rewound, it'll eject normally, but if I try to eject the tape when it's at the end, the system will get the tape up, but then it doesn't seem to have the power to move it forward, out of the machine. Hopefully sometime I'll be able to get a donor machine that will have a cassette carriage that is still working great, so that I can just replace the system.

Let us know how this goes. Always nice to hear about VCR fixes, especially the rarer ones (U-matic).

Unfortunately, while the machine did work for a few days after I had fixed the cassette compartment, the Error-20 has returned. I managed to find a small place in Texas that makes new belts for the different U-matics, and I've switched out all three belts, but that doesn't seem to have done anything. So, unless it's some capacitor that's blown, I'm kind of stuck as to what else has gone wrong (the machine doesn't even want to thread up a cassette, although when the cassette tray is up in the empty cassette position, the machine doesn't say Error-20, however, when there is a cassette in, or just when I'm testing it and I've got the cassette cartridge out of the machine, the Error-20 appears).

Do you know the name of the place in Texas that makes new U-Matic belts?

Did you ever find out where the belts were? (Hoping that maybe you and he PM'd, but forgot to share the info here.)

Nope, and now that I was given two more U-Matics with errors I am still looking for a place. Well, a place that does not charge a hefty "inspection" fee....Perhaps a list should be made with rates we have found around the US...

try Pete at Starlit TV - they dont have a inspection fee

I called up and they did not even know what a U-Matic 3/4'' machine was! They also claimed to have never worked on those decks before.

Hi

There use to be a cassette alignment jig tool that was used by techs to alighn the cassette tray. Cassette tray maybe bent or mal-adjusted. Check sensors on it as well. Sometimes easier to swap in whole tray assembly from a donor deck.

I found this fix video on youtube today. Worked Perfect for my "new-old" Sony VO-9800

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZPGUFpXy8I

I just bought the machine which tested perfect at the seller's place, had got it home and tried it and my tape tried to load but didn't pull out around the drum then went ERROR 20 and I was ready to kill the seller then kill myself ! The above-linked youtube video saved two lives today !

steve

Hi all,

I had the same problem with my VO-9800P. After an accurate inspection, I found that the problem was due to a bad wire on the cassette basket assembly. Please find the attached image.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

Well, thanks for the suggestion - 7 months afterwards so WAY too late - but that wasn't my problem.

Turned out it's a common problem with some of these machines. For whatever reason the tape carriage is slightly out-of-alignment sometimes and doesn't move. Solution is to either open the top, reach in and turn the little tape carriage sprocket wheel a bit one way then back again and it resets and will eject when the button is pushed.

Or, power off the machine, wait a few seconds, then push and hold the eject button then power on the machine and it ejects. Seems to give the tape carriage a bit of a jolt and it ejects.

steve