Sony VO 5800 Umatic Deck Help!

**mixtape** · September 30th, 2008, 10:54 PM

I recently purchased a Sony VO 5800 umatic 3/4" tape deck. Everything is functional on the unit except for the play button. Fast forward and rewind, eject etc. all work fine. When I press play the umatic player responds however after a second it stops. When connected to a monitor you can actually see the video play for a brief second. I was interested in fixing this problem. Afterall, finding a working umatic player is rare these days. If anyone might have a response as to what the problem might be, would be great. I appreciate any help regarding this matter. Again thank you for your time!

**judydoggie** · October 6th, 2008, 11:03 AM

The problem isn't with the PLAY button. There's a tape tension sensor switch inside the machine that'll cut power to the motor and return the machine to stand-by mode if it's actuated. The only other thing that could be wrong is that the relay that the switch operates is faulty. The latter is a quick replacement of the relay; the former necessitates beaucoup troubleshooting as it may be the tape, the take-up belt/motor, any of the tape guides, the pinch roller motor, or the sensor switch return spring. I hope this helps.

**habbers** · October 15th, 2008, 02:13 PM

Agree with Judydoggie.
Blimey a 5800, pretty asure that is a low band player recorder from memory

It has various brakes and tensioners it could be if not the relay/solenoid.
I remember watching these being serviced many years ago, my background is production/creative more than technical mind, although always interested in how it works as well.

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**mixtape** · June 16th, 2009, 10:36 PM

Believe it or not after having, not touched it for quite some time, I bought another 5800 for 50 bucks. Just when I bought the other deck, the other one started to work out of no where. For about 6 months or so both decks were working great. Then one of the 5800s was not wrapping the tape around the head so I powered it off and shut it down for the day. The next day it worked fine and I never had a problem with it. Strange....now 2 days ago the old original deck went back to the same deal...not working when pressing play. I figured ill shut it off and see what happens on Saturday. Perhaps it just needs a cleaning with a texwipe inside? I guess you cant expect much from 25 year old equipment. The 5800 was actually a high band umatic deck, it went with the 5850. These decks are so old though that they lack timecode. If I cant get this one to work, Im thinking of getting either a 9850 or a BVU. Thank you for all the help!

**websterpop** · September 6th, 2009, 08:47 PM

I stumbled upon this forum and was wondering if anybody can help me. I just purchased an old Sony VO-9600 U-matic tape player. It has a tape inside and will not eject it. It makes a clicking noise when I turn it on and then won't do anything. The standy light lights up when it is turned on. Is there any way to manually get the tape out? Any information would be greatly appreciated.