[Tim Lamar]

Tim,
Many moons ago, Sony (and everyone else) used to recommend that you fast forward and then rewind every Betacam tape prior to use. THis was referred to as “packing” the tape. I knew very few who actually did it. But I personally had it cure problems just like this on Beta decks.

I have 3 DSR-11s and I have used this trick successfully before. The logic is this: your tape has more than the normal tension and the deck is sensing that as the “end of tape” tension reading and going into “end of tape” mode. This tension system is VERY precise (remember these tapes move really fast and if the deck didn’t slow the spin rate down prior to the end of the tape, the deck would literally spin the end of the tape off of the hub). Either the machine is out of whack or the tape has too much tension.

This can happen from the factory. The legend was that tape reels that came from the beginning and/or end of the huge source reels, could have extra tension as the loader wound it extra tight.

If your tape is exposed to humidity, there is a school of thinking that says the effect of the humidity being dried out can, effectively, cause the tape to stick to itself on the reel- hence, extra tension- interpeted by the DSR-11 as the end of tape.

I recommend fast forwading and rewinding the reel a couple of times and see if you notice an improvement. Of course, try another tape also- preferrably one from a completely different lot (in case the problem was in the original tape). Let’s make sure it’s the deck before we start messing with it, the tapes are a more likely culprit.

If you eliminate tapes as the cause, there are certainly tension adjustments within the DSR-11 but I have found the solution to about any deck transport problem is a complete “transport assembly” replacement. Really not that expensive ($250 to $350).
A skilled tech with DSR-11 experience can make it all better in the time it takes for the assembly to ship and a couple of hours work.

Caution: Do not allow someone without solid experience adjust your deck- any tape you put after that is at risk without warning!

Hope this helpful.

Tim