Michigan Beogram 8002 Restoration

It is time for another Beogram 80002 restoration project.  This one comes from Michigan.

These are always a favorite Bang & Olufsen turntable to restore.  

Here is the unpacking...

The creative packing method is a little different than mine but it is sound and did a good job of protecting the Beogram on its journey here. 

The next step was to open the Beogram 8002 up and assess what the restoration will be like.

The first thing I noticed was that the Beogram's floating chassis was not locked down all the way.
Only one of the three chassis lockdown screws was engaged.

On the other two, one was not engaged while the other one was missing the lockdown screw.

The front leaf spring for the floating suspension has some odd glue on the screw used to set the floating suspension height. Perhaps someone wanted to make sure no one adjusted its position?

The black, metal cover beneath the tonearm home position has the usual deteriorated double-sided tape B&O used on these components back in the early 1980's.  That is always an expected part of these restorations.

I will set the pieces needing replacement mounting tape aside for now.

Another piece that falls into that group is the silver colored, metal deck.
It was completely loose as usual.  Removing it revealed the little spring the fits underneath the metal deck for static discharge was missing.  I will install a replacement spring for that.

The remaining part of the Beogram 8002 assessment requires opening the cabinet up to remove the turntable inner components.

To do that, three metal hangers for the suspension have to be detached from the three metal leaf springs.

With the floating chassis released, it can be slid to the right so the Beogram cabinet can clear the tonearm assembly.

Once the cabinet lid is tilted out of the way the inner components can be disconnected and removed.
It is easier and safer (for the health of the cabinet) to remove the inner components for the restoration tasks.

For the floating chassis removal the audio output assembly (rear, left in the cabinet) must be unscrewed and removed.  The wire harnesses from the floating chassis components to the main board (PCB 1)  also need to be disconnected.

The floating chassis metal hanger clips (to the leaf springs) should be collected and bagged up so they don't get lost.

After removing the floating chassis I discovered the missing lockdown screw.

That was a pleasant find.  I was hoping the static discharge spring might also show up...but no luck.

Here is the empty Beogram 8002 cabinet.  Ready to be stored away while work on the inner components is performed.

...and here are the removed Beogram 8002 turntable components.

This is where I discovered a couple of problems with this Beogram 8002.

Nothing unsurmountable but a couple of crucial things that will have to be repaired before this Beogram 8002 can function again.

The first problem is with the thin, plastic clip that holds one side of the tangential arm position sensors to the floating chassis.

The plastic piece is broken off.  Surprisingly, like the missing lockdown screw, the broken plastic piece was in the cabinet.

The bad thing about this broken piece is that it can't be glued back on. The edge of the position sensor board would just break the glue joint again.

The B&O molded plastic base is still there but I don't see any way to remove it without breaking it.

I will have to mull over that problem and decide what to do.
Worst case...I do have spare floating chassis assemblies.  However, I think I will try to come up with a 3D printed solution first.

The second crucial problem on this Beogram 8002 is with the spindle that moves the tangential arm assembly forward and back.

The plastic/nylon spindle nut has a broken edge.

That edge is required for the bracket that connects the arm assembly to the spindle nut.
As the servo motor turns the spindle nut travels along the spindle, taking the tangential arm assembly with it.  The Beogram 8002 will not work without a completely intact spindle nut.

There are a couple of solutions for the broken spindle nut.
I have some spare spindle nuts from other Beogram units and Beolover has made a 3D printed version of the spindle nut as well.

Other than the broken spindle nut and broken bracket for the arm position sensor, everything else looks fine.

Beogram 8000: Unpacking and Preparing for Use

We often get Beogram turntables sent to us for restoration where the suspension lock down screws are not engaged and the phono cartridge is left on the tonearm. In a lot of those cases it is due to the person sending us the turntable not knowing about the lock down screws and the dangers of leaving a cartridge on the tonearm. With the cartridge I think that it is sometimes left on because the person is a little gun shy about removing it from the tonearm.

When we restore a Beogram and send it back home we pack it very securely. That means removing and packing both the platter and cartridge separately. It also means locking down the suspension.

For Beogram owners that get their properly packed Beogram turntables back home the following pictures show how to prepare the Beogram for play again.

Unlocking the locked suspension just requires a medium size, flat head screw driver. There are three lock down screws that hold down three round, metal plates.

The flat head screw driver is used to back off the locking screws from the round metal plate.

Once the locking screw head is backed out high enough the metal plate is free to rotate. The plate is rotated to line up the larger hole with the locking screw. This is so the screw can be lowered down below the plate where it is out of the way for record play.

When locking down the suspension or unlocking it, make sure not to over tighten the screws. They only have to be snug.

The next step before using the Beogram is to mount the MMC phono cartridge.

Check the tracking force dial and make sure it is set to the tracking force you need for your cartridge. I am using 1 gram for an MMC-20CL cartridge.

To mount the phono cartridge to the Beogram I grasp the tonearm with my thumb and index finger so it can't move.

With the other hand I push the cartridge onto the end of the tonearm. Note that the connector angles down slightly.

It usually requires firmly pressing into place so be careful. That is also why I leave the stylus guard on the cartridge when I do this. This will prevent accidental damage to the stylus and cantilever.

Once the cartridge is in position the stylus guard slides off and is stored away. Don't discard it!

The turntable platter is set in place and this Beogram is ready to play records.