Beomaster 8000 Type 1903 - Arizona Restoration Project - First Look

I have been waiting for a while now to clear out other restoration projects so I could return to some Beomaster 8000 restorations.

The first one is a very nice, one owner Beomaster 8000 from Arizona.

The two, round control wheels operate smoothly and cosmetically, everything looks great on this Beomaster.

I plugged the Beomaster in but no "standby" red dot appeared on the display.

On to looking inside...

The center control bar on the Beomaster 8000 slides to the left in order to unlock the cabinet and access the screws hold the bottom control panel in place.

After removing the control bar, I could see that this Beomaster 8000 has been worked on in the past.
One tell is that two of the three, flat, metal springs for the control bar are missing.
Those springs just lay in place under the control bar and easily fall out when the Beomaster 8000 is opened up for service.  Unfortunately it is more common than not to open up a Beomaster 8000 and discover missing control bar springs.  I guess people lose the springs or forget to put them back.

Here is a photo comparing this unit with one that has the control bar springs.

I will have to see if I can fabricate some spares.

Another issue I quickly discovered was that the metal lid for the filter control panel did not open and close properly.

That lid is supposed to be spring loaded so that it slowly raises by itself with the control bar is pressed.
In this case, the lid has to be lifted manually and it free-falls shut.
That problem is also common though, most likely a broken lid lever.

This Beomaster 8000 unit has the original B&O configuration of the audio input sockets.
The tape RCA input and output jacks are on the TAPE 1 source.  Later, after serial number 2554003, those changed from the TAPE 1 source to the TAPE 2 source.

I lifted the front control panel into the service position next.

That confirmed that this is an early serial number Beomaster 8000.  At least, prior to B&O changing the Microcomputer Board.  This unit has the type of Microcomputer Board where the metal shielding case is soldered closed.  Later serial number units changed to a metal shielding case that snaps together.

I believe that began with serial number 2375027.

Here is a photo of the Microcomputer and Display boards.

Those boards appear to be original and untouched.

To the left side of the cabinet are the Preamplifier, FM, Filter and Left Channel Output boards.

The capacitors on the Preamplifier and FM boards look to all be original.  The Left Channel Output board looks like it has had some electrolytic capacitors replaced before.

I can also see the metal door lid mechanism now.  It does have a broken lever.
The lever can be replaced.

Behind the Microcomputer and Display boards is the Beomaster 8000 power supply and the Right Channel Output board.

The capacitors on those boards have been replaced already.

My next step will be to get out some test leads and trouble-shoot the power problem to see why the Beomaster 8000 standby LED is not coming on.

I will cover that in the next post.

Beogram 4002 (5523): A New Arrival From Louisiana - First Impressions

I recently received a Beogram 4002 (Type 5523 with DC platter motor) from a customer in Louisiana. It arrived safely packaged in a Beolover double box, and no shipping damage occurred. This post gives a first assessment of the unit. I extracted the Beogram from the packaging and put it on my bench

As in most cases, the dust cover was fairly scratched up:

Luckily, this can be fixed with a nice shiny new reproduction hood and a new reproduction aluminum trim!

Under the hood, the unit has nice aluminum surfaces:

Like most, after almost 50 years, it has a few minor dings and blemishes:

There is a bit of damage around the platter cutout, possibly from carrying the unit around without tightening the transport locks:

On the positive, the platter is still very nice:

The plinth still has decent corners:

Unfortunately, there is a bit of damage on the right side

This could possibly be fixed, but my customer wanted the frame replaced with a new CNC-machined 4000c-style oak frame anyway.

The keypad seems to have had its coating removed:

It probably had a worn coating in the areas where fingers touched it, and removing all of it resulted in improved looks. This can be fixed with a new reproduction keypad plate. See here for more information about our keypad restoration service.

After this visual inspection, I removed the aluminum plates and the platter:

I found some 'well-known parts': A new Beolover Tracking Sensor LED Light Source (Beogram 4002 and 4004) and a new machined aluminum pulley had been installed at some point:

The DC platter motor had a non-spec pulley installed. This one has the wrong shape since it is cylindrical and lacks a crown that keeps the belt centered while the motor spins:

If I can successfully restore this motor, I will fit it with a properly crowned Beolover DC Platter Motor Pulley for Beogram 4002 and 4004.

As found in most, this Beogram 4002 had also completely lost its transport lock bushings:

This will be fixed with a set of Beolover Transport Lock Bushing Set for Beogram 4000, 4002, and 4004.'

At this point, I plugged the unit in and pressed START. The carriage came alive, and the platter motor started running with a shriek. A clear sign that its shaft bearings are in urgent need of reinfusion with oil under vacuum. The carriage found the LP setdown point and the solenoid engaged. All good lifesigns!

When I pressed STOP to return the carriage, there was no reaction. I had to use the ">" button to manually drive it back. This may indicate a dead transistor in the electronic switch, or a very oxidized switch terminal under the STOP key. We will see.

In summary, I think this Beogram 4002 is a good starting point for a restoration to like-new condition. Stay tuned for updates on this project!

Beogram 4004 (5526): A New Arrival from California - First Assessment

This post assesses the condition of a Beogram 4004 (Type 5526) that I received from a customer in California. The unit came safely packaged in a Beolover shipping container and there was no shipping damage. I extracted the unit from the box and put it on the bench:

The unit is in pretty nice condition. The hood has a few scratches but not too many:

I removed the hood and found a bunch of orangeish transport lock bushing fragments:

The degradation of these bushings is a common issue with the 4004. I will fix this by installing a Beolover Transport Lock Bushing Set for Beogram 4000, 4002, and 4004. This shows the entire unit:

The aluminum surfaces are in pretty good condition overall! The main plate has a few dings around the opening for the platter:

These are most likely the result of carrying the unit without removing the platter and/or tightening the transport locks. The keypad has early-onset finger smudges from pressing the keys:

This could be fixed with a new rebuilt keypad.

The original rosewood veneer wood frame is in pristine condition with perfect front corners:

After this visual inspection, I removed the aluminum plates and platter:

Under the panels, it looked 'original'. I plugged it in and pressed START. The carriage sluggishly moved to find the LP setdown point. Once it found it, the solenoid engaged. The platter motor was also running. All good signs!

In summary, this Beogram is an excellent starting point for a restoration that will bring it back to like-new performance. Stay tuned for my restoration report!

 

Beogram 4002 (5513): A New Arrival From Louisiana - First Impressions

I recently received a Beogram 4002 (Type 5513 with DC platter motor) for a full restoration from a customer in Louisiana. The unit arrived safely in a Beolover shipping container without shipping damage.

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

As in most cases it had a pretty badly scratched hood! But this is no problem anymore since there are now very nice reproduction hoods available from DKsoundparts.

I removed the dust cover and had a look at the aluminum surfaces and the keypad:

The keypad has the usual smudges from using it:

Luckily, we are now able to restore them to like-new looks!

The platter is in pretty good condition. It only has one small scratch:

The original rosewood plinth is also in nice condition. The corners are still pretty sharp:

There is a little chip on the left side corner, but not too bad:

The RPM panel plexiglass window is a bit scratched, but one has to find the 'perfect viewing angle' to really notice it:

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

It has the usual degraded transport lock bushings:

This can be fixed with a set of Beolover Transport Lock Bushing Set for Beogram 4000, 4002, and 4004.

I plugged the unit in for a quick function test. However when I pressed start nothing happened! Completely dead. I opened the fuse compartment:

Both fuses were burned out. So something 'dramatic' happened previously. I noticed some grey slime coating the wiring to the transformer. 

This made me think the short circuit might be in the transformer and I hooked the Beogram up to one of my bench power supplies. This is easy to do. Just apply ~25-30V to the main reservoir capacitor terminals (make sure the polarity is correct):

This brought the Beogram back to life. After pressing START the carriage started moving sluggishly towards the LP setdown point and the platter motor rattled away (which indicates its shaft bearings are dry).

So it seems the problem is most likely inside the transformer. I will probably replace it with a modern universal power supply like I did recently in a Beogram that needed to be able to run at 240V in the UK.

In summary, this unit is a near perfect starting point for a restoration. Stay tuned for my restoration report once this Beogram is back to like-new performance!

Beogram 4002 (5503): Initial Assessment of a Unit Rescued From Ebay

Recently I saw a pristine Beogram 4002 (Type 5503 with AC motor) platter being advertised on ebay. I contacted the seller about it and he reminded me that he already had sold me a Type 5513 in nice condition a few months back. During our conversation I learned that the rest of the unit was also available and in pretty good condition at that. We agreed on a price and a week later I received the entire Beogram. He packaged it very well, and so there was no shipping damage. I love interacting with people who care!

This shows the unit on my bench as received:

As usual it had a well-scratched hood:

Luckily this is not a showstopper anymore since there are perfect reproduction hoods available. I offer a replacement service, too. I removed the hood

The keypad had the usual finger smudges from using it:

I will replace it with a perfect new Beolover keypad.

A number of strewn around orange plastic fragments indicated degraded transport lock bushings:

These will be replaced with new Beolover replacements made from resilient Nylon.

On the positive side, this unit has an original rosewood plinth in nearly pristine condition with nice front corners:

The aluminum surfaces also are in almost pristine condition. Especially the platter is in excellent condition:

It is difficult to find perfect platters, especially the older heavier ones that come with the AC motor Beograms like this one.

For some reason people manage damaging platters at an alarming frequency. They are especially fragile since they have a surface coating that is easily damaged through ill-advised cleaning attempts with alcohol, harsh chemicals and/or abrasive cleaning pads or cloths. It is best sticking with a soft cloth and water and some mild hand-dishwashing detergent and accept any damages that cannot be removed in this way. It is easy to make things much worse.

I removed the plates and platter for having a look below deck:

The unit seemed in original condition without major evidence of 'human creativity', which is always the best starting point for a restoration. It has the usual degraded plinth guidance washers:

Obviously this unit sat in a basement or attic for a while: Rodents had a go at the power and output cables. This shows the damage on the power cable:

I always wondered why rodents love eating cable insulation. Plastic does not seem to be a tasty snack! Why not go for a happy tasting nut instead?? We may never know!...;-). Luckily I have a bunch of original cables in good condition in stock that I extracted from parts units I came across in the past. So this is no showstopper either.

I plugged the unit in and pressed "ON". It came alive and sluggishly launched the carriage towards the LP set down point. It then ignored the set down point and came to a stop a few inches after that with the motor spinning against the very loose carriage belt. Too much friction due to hardened lubricants...

That it missed the set down is most likely related to a dead sensor arm bulb (the B&O logo at the end of the arm was dark). I pressed 'OFF' and helped the carriage to get moving back towards its home position.

In summary, this unit is a perfect starting point for a full restoration. The cosmetic issues can all be fixed and its life signs suggest a predictable restoration process. Stay tuned for my report on the restoration process. Once I am done it will be offered on my 'restored B&O for sale' page.