Beogram 4004 (5525): Leveling Platter, Final Adjustments and a Spin with Freddie Hubbard's "First Light"!

The functional restoration of the Beogram 4004 (5525) that I am restoring right now is coming to a close. After I rebuilt the DC motor, it was time to do the platter and tonearm adjustments. The platter needs to be leveled with the aluminum plates first before the arm lowering limit can be set. There are two videos on my YouTube channel that show how to adjust the platter bearing and the subchassis (in a Beogram 4000, but the process is very similar in the 4002).  This picture shows the arm lowering limit adjusted:

When lowered the needle should miss the lower parts of the strobe bars on the platter. This is an important adjustment in case the record detection mechanism fails to disable arm lowering. This is the main reason of the existence of the lowered sections. They are wisely located at the set down points to prevent damage to the needle. There is a video on my youTube channel that shows how to adjust the lowering limits.

 The next step was to adjust the tracking weight. As usual I installed a M3 nut to replace the flimsy circlip that is supposed to hold the counter weight screw in place. This upgrade makes the tracking force adjustment 'shipping survivable':

And then I calibrated the tracking force for the 1.2g point:

There is also a video about the tracking force calibration process.

The final adjustment was the tracking feedback sensitivity. I used my new 'favorite most unliked record': The soundtrack 'Gaily, Gaily' by Henry Mancini and adjusted the tracking sensor alignment:

As usual the (blue) light intensity trimmer on my SMD LED based light bulb replacement part proved useful for fine-tuning the feedback. I posted a video that shows the tracking sensor adjustment procedure in detail.

And then it was finally time for a first test drive of this Beogram! My love affair with CTI Records continues and chose one of my recent acquisitions, Freddie Hubbard's "First Light" album from 1971, which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite records. Lush arrangements by Don Sebesky complement Hubbard's precise yet sensuous trumpet play. Just awesome! What a great (and in my opinion under appreciated) direction in the evolution of Jazz! Check it out! The above discogs link has a few YouTube tracks posted.

It was interesting to listen to this record with the Axel Schürholz MMC20 cartridge (with aluminum cantilever). It sounded clean and crisp! Very awesome! This is Beolove!