I have found a source for the sensors (covered on my channel) and they're not too expensive. I tend to replace them in-situ rather than take out the whole head drum which carries risks. Sony used hygroscopic glue on various devices including professional gear, and it often causes problems. At some point they must have realised it was a problem.
I'm working on a modern replacement but it isn't too straight forward. I do have lots of the THS103's so I'm all good for now. I even had a conversation with Toshiba (who made these) but it ended up being a dead end.
For cleaning, I've used: pointy toothpick, sharp-angled x-acto knife with the very tip cut off, and q-tips with much of the cotton removed. For replacement: I just got some THS103A from Ali Express for about $1 ea. Now I forget if they were DIP-4 or SIP-4, or if it matters.
Today i cleaned the Hall sensor on a HiFi Betamax. I remove the rotation magnet , unscrew the M7 screw and lift up the magnet. Now you can easily lift up the Hall sensor , be careful, also on the difficult side. 100% clean now.
This doesn't affect the picture but not cleaning it can cause the head drum motor to stop working so cleaning it before it does fail saves a lot of work and trying to source a new old-stock sensor. The glue becomes conductive over time, especially in humid conditions and will eventually short out the sensor and the only fix is to replace it.
It's hard to believe that gluing was the cheapest solution for SONY. In any case, it looks to me as if there is still enough space to press down the Hall sensor in the area of the connecting wires with a second plastic part that is clipped on from above. To do this, the lower part must be shaped in such a way that the sensor cannot bend significantly towards the wires.
Arguably it's poor form from Sony for using glue but it's a belt and braces solution that Sony often seemed to do and after all, it did last many years in normal conditions before it caused issues. I do always mechanically bend the pins so the sensor presses into the plastic assembly so no glue needed.
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I have found a source for the sensors (covered on my channel) and they're not too expensive. I tend to replace them in-situ rather than take out the whole head drum which carries risks. Sony used hygroscopic glue on various devices including professional gear, and it often causes problems. At some point they must have realised it was a problem.
Suprised they didn't just put on say like a cap over it then you lever the cap off when replacing.
I'm working on a modern replacement but it isn't too straight forward. I do have lots of the THS103's so I'm all good for now. I even had a conversation with Toshiba (who made these) but it ended up being a dead end.
For cleaning, I've used: pointy toothpick, sharp-angled x-acto knife with the very tip cut off, and q-tips with much of the cotton removed. For replacement: I just got some THS103A from Ali Express for about $1 ea. Now I forget if they were DIP-4 or SIP-4, or if it matters.
It was a common failure for the C20,24,30,33,40 and 80 series in the mid 80's. Used aceton for cleaning.
Acetone is probably safer on the coils should any get on them but I seem to be getting quite accurate with my scrubbing!
Today i cleaned the Hall sensor on a HiFi Betamax. I remove the rotation magnet , unscrew the M7 screw and lift up the magnet. Now you can easily lift up the Hall sensor , be careful, also on the difficult side. 100% clean now.
Great job and another way to do this. Thanks for sharing.
What is the bad effect of Hall effect sensor problem on the picture? Do you have a video you can show? Thanks..
This doesn't affect the picture but not cleaning it can cause the head drum motor to stop working so cleaning it before it does fail saves a lot of work and trying to source a new old-stock sensor. The glue becomes conductive over time, especially in humid conditions and will eventually short out the sensor and the only fix is to replace it.
It's hard to believe that gluing was the cheapest solution for SONY. In any case, it looks to me as if there is still enough space to press down the Hall sensor in the area of the connecting wires with a second plastic part that is clipped on from above. To do this, the lower part must be shaped in such a way that the sensor cannot bend significantly towards the wires.
Arguably it's poor form from Sony for using glue but it's a belt and braces solution that Sony often seemed to do and after all, it did last many years in normal conditions before it caused issues. I do always mechanically bend the pins so the sensor presses into the plastic assembly so no glue needed.