New Beolover Commander Remote Control System for Beogram 8000 and 8002

I recently completed my work on the Beolover Commander Remote Control for Beogram 8000 and 8002. A few customer requests motivated me to port my Beogram 4002/4004 Commander System to the later 800x models. It seems more and more people aim to integrate these classic Beogram models with their modern B&O setups and remote control is part of the equation.

This is the reason that this time I designed a board that can be switched between using a standard classic Apple remote and Beo4 remotes. But it still needs a different IR receiver to match the 455 kHz modulated B&O remote control signals if a Beo4 is to be used.

Both versions are now available at the Beolover store.

I made a video that demonstrates the new 800x Commander system for both Apple and Beo4 remotes. The video also discusses the installation of the board on the Beogram keypad PCB. Enjoy:

Beogram 4002 (5513): New Wood Plinth, Dust Cover, Keypad and Installation of a Commander Remote Control System

I recently functionally restored a Beogram 4002 (Type 5513) for a customer in Virginia. He decided to also get its cosmetics upgraded with a new walnut 4000c style wood plinth, hood and keypad, and also get a Beolover Commander remote control system installed.

This shows the final condition of the unit:

Beolovely! Almost like new!

My first project was replacing the cracked wood plinth:

Its left front corner had taken a hit at some point:

I put the frame into the oven at 250F. After baking it for 30 min I took it out and with a carpet knife cut the wood panels from the metal fixtures. The glue gets weakened by the heat treatment and the metal parts are easily liberated when hot. The more difficult task is the removal of the hardened old glue remnants. I usually soak the parts in Goo Gone for 24 hrs. I spray the product on and then wrap the parts in plastic foil to prevent drying out:

After 24 hrs the glue can be rubbed off with a bit of effort. This shows the cleaned parts after washing them with dish detergent:

I use 3M 300LSE double sided tape for glueing the parts into the new frame. This shows the tape backed parts together with the new 4000c style walnut frame:

I use two small Beogram 400x aluminum cover plates as alignment help for gluing the metal frame pieces at the right height into the wood frame:

I also use a strip of parchment paper on one side of the metal parts for keeping it from sticking while pushing it into the corner on the other end. The aluminum plates have a thickness that matches the machined recess in the wood frame perfectly, which makes it easy to glue the metal parts at the proper level. This shows the nice alignment achieved with this method:

Her a shot of a corner:

Beolovely! On to the keypad.

This shows the original keypad with finger smudges (on the right) together with the restored keypad that I installed:

The first step was replacing the cracked original plastic brackets that hold the RPM panel in place. They often crack when people pry out the RPM panel in an off angle:

Luckily there are perfectly reproduced replacements available at the DKsoundparts store in Denmark. This shows the two new replacements together with the extracted original parts:

All one needs to do is transferring the metal springs to the new parts:

This pictures shows them installed:

And here bolted into the new keypad:

The new brackets need to be adjusted that the RPM panel is flush with the left keypad side:

Before I put in the new keypad I installed the Beolover Commander remote control receiver board:

It plugs directly into the keypad jack of the main PCB. This shows the keypad installed with the Commander auto-repeat indicator LED bolted in under the keypad screw:

My customer also wanted a new Beolover Carriage Motor for Beogram 4000, 4002, and 4004 installed. This upgrade makes the carriage run more quietly while drawing less current, which protects the H-bridge transistors. This shows the original motor still in place:

I unsoldered the leads and took it out. This shows the original motor still in the enclosure together with the new replacement:

The new replacement fits perfectly into the space with the two provided rubber rings for damping its vibrations:

This shows it bolted in with the leads soldered back on:

The final upgrade was a new hood. This shows the new hood together with a new aluminum trim strip:

The first step of the transfer is unbolting the old hood from the metal hinge. The screws are easily accessed after prying off the aluminum trim on the sides of the hood. This reveals the mounting screws:

The centered alignment of the new strip is a snap when using the Beolover alignment aides (orange):

I usually use a blue tape strip for making a pencil alignment mark:

Once the alignment has been marked, the hinge can be bolted into the new hood and the trim can be installed:

A crucial moment is the bending of the side parts. The Beolover bending block that is included with our trims helps getting a precise corner fold:

This shows one of the corners:

Beolovely! And here a picture of the completed hood assembly:

This Beogram was now not only perfectly restored on the inside, but also in perfect cosmetic condition on the outside! Here a few pictures showing off its lovely looks:

Beogram 4002 (5513): Installation of Upgrades (Beolover SyncDrive and Beo4 Commander Remote Control)

This post describes upgrades that I installed in the Beogram 4002 (Type 5513) that I just restored for a customer in California. The restoration process of this unit is posted here.

This unit received both the Beolover SyncDrive platter motor replacement and the Beo4 enabled Beolover Commander remote control. 

The SyncDrive directly replaces the DC platter motor of all Type 551x and 552x Beograms. These Types often suffer from intermittent RPM stability issues due to dry motor bearings, oxidized RPM relays and trimmers. The Beolover SyncDrive completely bypasses the motor control circuitry, i.e. it is unaffected by the above issues. It also improves the longterm RPM stability due to its digital control system. Installation of the SyncDrive is completely plug and play. No soldering required.

This shows the SyncDrive module bolted into the mounting posts of the original DC motor:

Next came the installation of the Beo4 enabled Beolover Commander remote system. It also installs plug-and-play without soldering. The remote module essentially taps into the keypad connector and so can control the Beogram in parallel with the keypad, which remains functional. The Beo4 version allows seamless integration of a Beogram with a Beo4 or Beoremote One controlled B&O system.

This shows the module installed together with the Beo4 remote switched to Phono:

And then it was time for a little victory lap with this beautiful restored Beogram 4002! I selected a recent acquisition for my vinyl collection, 'Man to Man' by Hot Chocolate (Big Tree Records BT89519). This wonderful album came out in 1976, a perfect contemporary to this Beogram! My favorite track is probably "Heaven Is In The Back Seat Of My Cadillac". Very funky!...;-). Of course this record was cleaned on a CleanerVinyl ProXL setup, which restored it to its original glory with quiet black space and music tracks largely devoid of clicks and pops! 

While I was enjoying some more Hot Chocolate, I focused on the installation of a new reproduction aluminum trim on the brand new hood that this Beogram came with. This shows the hood together with the aluminum trim:

I usually align the trim prior to glueing with my custom designed alignment aids that clip into the hood sides. A strip of residue free blue 3M tape allows making a pencil mark across strip and hood. Here a close-up of one of the alignment pieces:

After glueing the strip in place on top of the hood, the sides can be bent down. Beautiful!:

I will now listen to some more records with this Beogram 4002, and then it will be time to send it back to its owner in California!

Beo4 Enabled Commander Remote Control: Seamless Integration of Beogram 4002 or 4004 with More Recent B&O Systems

A few months ago, Dirk, a fellow Beolover in Berlin, contacted me and suggested that it would be a nice thing being able controlling his Beogram 4004 with a Beo4 remote control. He has a Beosound 9000 in his living room, and wanted to integrate his Beogram in a way that it ideally would behave as a 'Beolinked' source.

I appreciated this idea and figured out how to modify the existing Beolover Commander remote. Basically, it needed a 455kHz capable IR receiver for communicating with a Beo4 and then I had to figure out how the Beo4 'ticks' in terms of codes it sends out in certain operational circumstances and rewrite the firmware.

Since the Beo4 is a fairly complex remote control with many modes, this was not trivial. But in the end I think I was able to arrive at a useful point, where the Commander equipped Beogram would pretty much behave as if it were connected to the Beosound via Beolink. 

I made a short video that demonstrates this system. The video contains footage that Dirk sent me. It shows how his Beogram interacts with his Beosound. He even figured out how to make a Beoremote One work with the Beo4 Commander! Very awesome! Enjoy:

The Beo4 Commander is available at the Beolover Store if you want to try this at home!..;-).

Beogram 4002 (Type 5513): Full Upgrade with SyncDrive Platter Motor, Commander Remote Control and Internal RIAA Pre-Amplifier

My customer from Kentucky decided to give his Beogram 4002 the 'full treatment' and asked me to install all three Beolover upgrades that are currently available for the DC platter motor Beogram types:

1. SyncDrive synchronous platter motor: The SyncDrive improves RPM stability and consistency and levels DC motor Beograms up to AC motor performance.
2. Commander remote control system: The Commander is the perfect addition to 4002 and 4004 Beograms for protecting their fragile keypad coatings. It uses an Apple remote for controlling all functions of the Beogram. In addition the Commander adds auto-repeat functionality and an improved << >> scanning function.
3. Internal RIAA pre-amplifier: The Beolover RIAA replaces the original output board and allows directly connecting the Beogram to any high-level input of modern amplifiers, like CD, DVD or AUX.

All three upgrades are plug and play, i.e. there is no soldering required for their installation. I started with the SyncDrive. This shows the original DC platter motor still installed:

The SyncDrive bolts to the same mounting posts and it only needs one cable connection to the main PCB:

Then I removed the keypad to get to the output board. This shows the original board still in place:

The Beolover RIAA pre-amplifier has the same form factor like the original board. Simply plug the wire harnesses into matching board headers on the RIAA board. At the same time I also plugged the Commander remote control board into the keypad header on the main board:

The final step was putting the keypad back in, plugging its connector into the Commander board and bolting the auto-repeat indicator in with the keypad screw:

And then it was time to play this lovely updated Beogram 4002 a bit more. I selected another great Milt Jackson vinyl, "Olinga", which was recorded in 1974 on the CTI label (CTI 6046). Before play, this record was ultrasonically refreshed using a CleanerVinyl ProXL setup reducing clicks and pops to a minimum. 

Beolovely!

I will now play this deck for another week or so and then it should be time for sending this upgraded Beogram 4002 back to its owner in Kentucky!