I started a new project today: A Beogram 4004 that I received a while ago from California. This unit arrived in great condition in a Beolover shipping container. My customer did an awesome packaging job! This shows the unit after I extracted it from the boxes:
Aside from very nice aluminum surfaces this deck also has a decent keypad with only faint use traces on it:
The point is in pristine condition with very well defined corners:
I removed the aluminum panels and had a look:
As far as I can tell the unit seems pretty much in original condition, except that someone already exchanged the transport lock bushings.
Unfortunately, the locks were not properly re-installed preventing them from fully opening. Also the debris from the original deteriorating bushings was not completely removed from the enclosure:
Such fragments often get stuck under the floating chassis, inhibiting its movement.
After this visual inspection, I plugged the unit in and pressed START. The carriage started moving and the platter motor began to spin. It found the LP setdown point as it should with the platter off. The solenoid activated, but the linkages did not follow the motion, indicative of hardened lubricants. This is normal for the 4002/4 at this age. A thorough cleaning and re-lubrication will alleviate this issue.
In summary, this Beogram 4004 looks like an ideal starting point for a restoration to like-new condition.
Stay tuned!
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