Beogram 4002 (5513): A New Arrival from Virginia - Initial Assessment

I recently received a Beogram 4002 (Type 5513) from a customer in Virginia for restoration. It arrived safely packaged in a Beolover double box and so there was no shipping damage. I extracted the unit from the box and put it on my bench:

It has the usual scratches on the dust cover. Unfortunately, there is also some damage on the inside, probably from transporting the unit without proper packaging in the past. Luckily, there are reproduction hoods available from DKsoundparts in Denmark. The Beolover also offers them via the DKaudiolover store. They are exact reproductions made via die casting, like the original ones. There are no seams at the side panels etc...Beolovely! I removed the hood and had a look at the aluminum surfaces:

They are pretty good. There is a scratch in the platter, but not too bad:

There is some damage to the plinth on the left side corner:

The right side is pristine:

Sadly there is no way to fix plinth damages, but there are beautiful new CNC precision machined replacement frames available. They are made from solid wood (the original ones are veneer on composite board). See here for more info on these frames.

The keypad has the usual smudges from using it. They have a coating that rubs through over time:

Luckily, we are now able to restore them to 'like new' appearance, and we us a modern coating that is more resilient than the original material. See here for more information on our keypad restoration process.

After this inspection of the cosmetics, I removed platter and aluminum panels and had a look below deck:

As is the case for most Beogram 4002 and 4004, the transport lock bushings have completely disintegrated. This is evident from the many orangish fragments strewn around the enclosure:

Luckily, this can easily be fixed with a set of Beolover Transport Lock Bushing Set for Beogram 4000, 4002, and 4004. The Beolover bushings are easy to install and feature thinner walls than the originals, which gives a bit more room for adjusting the floating chassis to a perfect position.

This Beogram was equipped with plexiglass plinth guidance washers. They usually are also degraded. This shows the remnant of one of them:

They can be replaced with sturdy nylon reproductions available at the Beolover store.

I also noted that the plastic carriage pulley has the usual stress crack at the setscrew:

I will install a nice new precision machined Beolover Aluminum Carriage Pulley for Beogram 4002 and 4004. During this visual inspection I also found a MMC4000 cartridge floating around in the enclosure:

Of course this ordeal cost it its cantilever:

On the positive, this cartridge might still be restorable if the suspension is ok.

I plugged the unit in and pressed START. The carriage started moving and found the LP setdown point. The platter motor also came to life with a bit of rattling. This indicated it will need its shaft bearings restored with an oil infusion under vacuum. All good signs for a restoration project. In summary, I think this unit can be restored to like-new performance and close to new looks. Stay tuned!

Beogram 4002 (5513): DC Platter Motor Not Spinning Anymore

I restored the PCBs, DC platter motor and RPM panel of a Beogram 4002 from a customer in California in January 2021. Recently he contacted me stating that the platter motor stopped spinning. I asked him to return the parts so I could have a look.

After I received them I implanted them in my bench 4002. Indeed the platter motor did not spin anymore! The culprit was found quickly after checking the motor voltage at the red wire of the motor harness. I only measured 2.4V. It should be around 9V if everything is o.k.

The motor voltage is stabilized by 1TR2, originally a TIP31 power transistor. Since the Zener diode still made ~10V, it was most likely the transistor. I replaced it with a stronger TIP41:

And everything was good again in the motor voltage department. 9.6V at the red lead!:

In 2021 I had not understood yet that the power transistors on these boards often have issues. Maybe age related, maybe just wear from years of playing records. Informed by repeat transistor failures that I encountered over the years, I now always replace them all when I restore a Beogram 400x. So I set out to update this board to my current state-of-the-art. It is best to replace the two power transistors mounted on the solder side of the board when the board is installed. It makes it easier to position them correctly that the mounting holes match up. This shows 1IC1, which regulates the 21V power rail. It is usually a TIP120:

I always try replacing power transistors with stronger types for enhanced longevity. In this case a TIP102 is a good choice:

For some reason modern TIP replacements need some capacitance at their emitter in this circuit configuration to prevent high frequency oscillations superimposed to their emitter output. That is why I soldered a 100nF cap (yellow-orange) between the emitter and a conveniently located GND solder point nearby in the above picture.

The second transistor on the solder side, 1IC4, is usually a TIP125, 

whose stronger cousin, the TIP107, makes a good replacement:

After this I removed the board and also replaced the often fail prone H-bridge transistors with new types. this shows the updated board with the extracted parts:

I installed the board again and successfully tested all functions. These parts are ready for duty again and will soon travel back home to their Beogram 4002 in California!

Beogram 4002 (5513): Upgrades and Cosmetic Restoration

This post discusses the upgrade and cosmetic restoration of the Beogram 4002 (Type 5513) that I just restored. See here for details on the functional restoration. My customer decided to get the Beo4 enabled Beolover Commander remote control system and the Beolover internal RIAA preamp board installed. The deck also needed a rebuilt keypad and a new plexiglass dust cover to look like new again.

This picture shows the result of my efforts:

Beolovely! Looks like new, is fully controlled by a Beo4 set to 'Phono' and is ready to be connected to any modern high level amplifier input! Ready for the future!...;-).

The first step was removing the keypad to get to the output board:

The Beolover Internal RIAA Pre-Amplifier for Beogram 4002 and 4004 directly replaces the output board of the Beogram:

The RIAA board can also be configured to bypass the RIAA pre-amp in case the deck will be occasionally used with a classic Phono amplifier input (i.e. the board will work exactly like the original output board). This is done by plugging it into the circuit via the 'not amplified' designated in-

and output jacks on the board:

In this case I configured it for RIAA output using the other jacks. This shows the input plug seated in the lower row of the input jack labeled 'RIAA':

The output plug needs to be plugged into the jack marked "RIAA out"

Now this Beogram can be connected to any high-level input like AUX, CD, or DVD etc...

The microswitches visible on the above picture are set for the standard 40dB gain and to use the B&O typical input capacitances of 56pF. If a different gain setting is desired, switches 1/2 and 5/6 can be flipped, which activates the trimmer pots right and left of the switches. With these the gain can be varied continuously between about 30 and 50 dB. This is a great feature if you have a cartridge that still sounds good but has a bit weaker output on one channel. Just set the pots to get a balanced soundstage. Or use the pots to match the volume of other audio sources on your amplifier.

While the keypad was still out it was the perfect moment for installing the Beolover Beo4 Commander Remote Control for Beogram 4002 and 4004 board. It simply plugs into the keypad connector on the main PCB:

This shows the Commander board seated next to the RIAA:

Now it was time to exchange the original smudgy keypad with a beautifully restored one:

Beolover offers keypad restoration service! Just send your keypad and we will make it like new again!

The exchange is easy. I slid the PCB with the actual switches out of the keypad

and removed the plastic parts that hold the RPM panel down:

Then I installed everything in the new keypad:

An important step is to align the plastic parts correctly that the RPM panel clicks in aligned with the left side of the keypad and that the plastic parts are parallel to the keypad sides: 

Once this has been done, the keypad can be bolted back in. Since this Beogram also received the Commander the autorepeat indicator needs to be bolted in with the keypad screw:

A strip of adhesive tape helps keeping the autorepeat indicator wiring in the right place . At this point it is a good idea to leave the keypad still a bit loose and not press the RPM panel fully in since the keypad needs to be aligned with the surrounding aluminum panels before the bolt can be fully tightened. Note that the keypad connector is now plugged into the jack on the Commander board.

Now it was time for a function test of the Commander. I plugged the deck in and used my Beo4 remote switched to Phono (if a Beo4 does not come up with the phono setting after pressing 'list', it can be added - see Beo4 manual). I pressed go and the carriage started moving. All good in the Beo4 Commander department:

The final part was to exchange the badly scratched plexiglass cover. It had the typical scratch marks on top

but also on the inside, probably from some transportation mishaps in the past:

If there are damages on the inside of a hood it is virtually impossible to polish it back to a like-new state. Since new reproduction hoods are available from the DKsoundparts store it is best to simply replace them. The Beolover's DKaudiolover store is stocking these hoods. They have an excellent quality and look exactly like the original ones. They are made by injection moulding, i.e. have no seams etc...

Removal of the original hood is easy. Just use a razor blade to separate the side parts of the aluminum trim and the screws can be accessed:

Then remove the bolts on both sides and the hinge can be removed. This shows the liberated metal hinge together with a new hood and aluminum trim. 

Sadly, the original trim usually gets damaged during removal. It also frequently does not fit exactly on the new hood since there are small dimensional differences between original and new hoods, i.e. the bent side parts may need to be re-bent, which usually looks ugly.

While bolting in the new hood is simple (don't over-tighten the bolts, though - it may crack the plexiglass), installation of the aluminum trim is not. It needs to be precisely centered, while also aligned with the recess in the back of the plexiglass part, all while it is highly sticky. This can be daunting when done the first time. I designed centering aids that make it easy to mark the center position for the trim installation:

They clip on to the right and left ends of the side parts of the hood. The trim is then simply placed on top 

and centered between the ends of the plastic parts:

I usually apply a strip of blue tape along the recess for the trim. This allows making a mark defining the aligned trim position:

The pencil mark is easily removed from the trim after installation with a finger tip. After the mark has been made the hood hinge can be bolted in:

Make sure you use the provided new screws and discard the original ones. Now the aluminum trim can be installed. I use a specially designed plastic block for bending the sides of the trim down:

Beolovely!:

Here a few more impressions of the awesome looks of this completely restored Beogram!: