Beogram 4002 (5513): A New Arrival from Kentucky

I recently received a Beogram 4002 (Type 5513) from a customer in Kentucky. The unit came well packaged in a Beolover shipping container. This ensured that the unit arrived in good condition.

I extracted it from the packaging and put it on the bench:

It is in a quite nice cosmetic condition! The hood has only light scratching and the hinge areas seem un-cracked.

I removed the hood. The aluminum surfaces are in almost pristine condition with only minor marks:

The keypad is also in very good condition:

There is only very light deterioration on the START key and a few small marks. This nice original keypad warrants the installation of the Beolover Commander remote control system. I designed the Commander mostly as an elegant way for protecting such keypads. The commander allows full control of a Beogram without ever needing touching the precious keypad surfaces again. Their coating slowly deteriorates when it comes into contact with the fats and acids of the skin. So it is best to enjoy their beauty without actually using them.

The wood plinth is also nearly pristine. Both corners are in great condition:

I removed the aluminum panels and the platter and had a look 'below deck':

The unit seems mostly in original condition, which is always the best starting point for a successful restoration. I noticed that one of the plinth guidance washers has gone missing:

There are also a lot of orangish plastic fragments distributed around the enclosure:

These are an indication of decayed transport lock bushings.

As in most Beograms of this vintage the original plastic carriage pulley is cracked at the shaft collar due to the stress put on it by the set screw.

Luckily, this can easily be fixed by installing a precision machined Beolover aluminum replica pulley. 

After this visual inspection I plugged the unit in and pressed START. The carriage sluggishly started moving towards the LP set-down point while the platter motor rattled to life. The motor rattle is a sign of dry motor bearings, a common issue with the DC platter motor beograms.

The carriage found the LP set-down point and the solenoid engaged. All very promising signs suggesting that this restoration might be a straight forward process.

Stay tuned for a follow-up post about the work done to this unit.