The Sony SL-F1 was Sony's second portable consumer Beta deck and the first truly "small" one, using the miniaturized pancake brushless motors and mechanism of the SL-F11's deck with a range of accessories to use it as a home VCR, portable video recorder, a digital audio recorder, or anything in-between.
The American release of the SL-F1 was renumbered the SL-2000, with the Tuner/Timer becoming the TT-2000.
In Japan, NEC released an OEM version of the SL-F1 series as the Vistack (as in Vi(deo)stack) P6, with many Sony accessories rebranded under the P600 series.
The main deck, the VC-P600, is a very nice grey recolor of the SL-F1. The tuner-timer, battery charger/AC adaptor, carrying case and strap, and many other accessories were sold in a matching color with NEC branding. The camera in this outfit was a rebadged Hitachi camera, but it seems NEC also resold many of the cables and other SL-F1 accessories made by Sony as well.
In the United States, continuing their partnership going back to the early days of Beta, Zenith sold a rebadged SL-2000 as the VR9800, with the tuner/timer sold as the VRT9850.
In early 1984 extra components from these machines (in particular the changed-up controls) were put in nice black cases and sold as the Sony SL-2005.
Year | Document name | Description | Photo |
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1981 | Sony SL-F1 Operating Instructions | Japanese
manual for the SL-F1 portable Beta deck PDF version |
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1981 | SL-F1 System Combination Example | Foldout diagram showing the different ways to use the SL-F1 portable Beta deck |
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May 1982 | Sony SL-F1 brochure | Sales brochure for the Sony SL-F1 portable Betamax and accessories |
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NEC VC-P600 Portable Video Deck Instruction Manual | Operating manual for the NEC rebranded "Vistack" version of the SL-F1 |
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NEC TT-600 Portable Tuner Timer Instruction Manual | Operating manual for the NEC rebranded "Vistack" version of the Sony TT-F1 |
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VC-P600 System Combination Example | NEC version of the SL-F1 configuration pamphlet |
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NEC RB-600 Operating Instructions | NEC version of the RMT-F1 infrared remote instructions |
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NEC V-A600 Operating Instructions | NEC version of the AC-F1 battery charger/power supply unit |
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February 1984 | Sony SL-2005 Service Manual | Service manual for the later rebadged black-trim portable Betas made from leftover components from the Zenith VR9800 - I haven't scanned this one because its several hundred pages with pullouts, but I think most of it is probably also relevant to other 711P chassis machines - if you need a section out of it, get in touch and I will try and scan that part |
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