ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Ive just bought a beogram 8002 that was in full working order when the seller sent it, in its original correct packaging. On assembling it, and connecting it up, the platter turns but starts with a hum and a feeling that it wasn't entirely happy doing so..I did make sure the transport screws were totally turned and locked away to their lowest position i.e. to their correct places. The arm has now travelled across the record but there was no light from the sensor arm and now that the arm has hit centre it refuses to return and gentle attempts to return it are met with no joy...it now is stuck in the centre with a record in place and no way I can see of getting anywhere with arm return or record removal. Before I contact the seller is there anything I could do that might sort this problem? Any help would be much appreciated as the beogram is looking lovely and I would dearly love it to work!
Hi,
That is a common problem with aged Beogram 800x turntables. Other than the turntable was supposed to be working did the seller provide any information whether the Beogram had been restored? Often times vintage audio components are sold as working (and they were) but eventually the original parts will fail. There are a lot of things inside a Beogram 800x turntable that can result in the behavior you are experiencing. To me it sounds like it needs a full restoration (as most unrestored Beogram 800x turntables do).
Prior to that however you need to rescue your album and get the tonearm back to the parked position.
The first thing to try is to see if you can get the Beogram to automatically return the arm to the parked position. Unplug the Beogram for a while, then plug it back in. It should try to return to park. If the automatic return doesn't work you will have to manually return the tonearm to the park position.Unplug the Beogram again and leave it unplugged for this manual procedure. The manual procedure is to get access to the tangential arm drive motor and pulley and manually rotate it to move the arm back to the parked position.Then you will be able to safely remove your record.In the compartment where the tonearm parks there is a black plate with a screw head towards the front. That screw head rotates a quarter turn to unlock and allow the plate to come out. Be careful though. The screw head is plastic and a flat head screw driver will often mess it up. I use a flat, thin piece of metal to fit better in the slot to turn the screw without tearing up the plastic head. Once the black plate is removed you will be able to see the tangential arm motor and pulley at the back of the turntable cabinet.The first thing to observe is whether the belt from the motor to the pulley is intact. A broken belt or slipped belt could be a culprit in this although my experience is it is with the sensor signals for the arm movement (either due to old electrolytic capacitors gone bad, connection problems or sensor problems).Whether the belt is in place or not you will need to manually rotate the drive pulley to turn the drive screw and return the arm to park.There isn't much room but using your fingers you should be able to rotate the drive pulley. Observe whether the arm moves towards the center or back as you turn it (sorry, I can never remember ... just have to try it). It will take a while moving it a little at a time but eventually it will get back to park.Then you can remove the record. Don't reinstall the black plate without first removing the phono cartridge. You could accidentally damage the stylus. At this point that is all you can do. The problem will remain until someone can restore the electronics. I can tell you that they are wonderful turntables when working so it is definitely worth getting restored.-sonavor
Hi and thank you for your exceedingly quick troubleshooting tips. Ive tried unplugging but that hasn't done the trick so I will try suggestion 2. The description did say" speeds are rock solid, the arm moves as it should and the whole unit works properly...tho the usual caveats re vintage equipment apply".I was in contact with the guy about it and no restoration was mentioned.Once ive removed the record and my MMC2 I have to weigh up what to do...obviously given that its pretty good to look at and much of it works as it should, where could I get it restored and how horrific would the costs be?Im in Scotland if that helps with suggestions....and where to try.Or do I ask for a refund and chalk it up to experience? I do feel bad if I go down that road if all was in good faith.
Hi again sonavor.Well i've managed to open the plate tho it was stiff as could be...can I lubricate the screw all all safely? then I noticed back of said black plate had the same gungy stuff as the metal cover for that whole arm compartment [which was detached when I bought it and I knew it was.] There was a plate loose in the compartment-shiny one side and gungy the other, that had unattached itself from the cover and was lying at the bottom of the the space at a quirky angle.Im guessing this has the same notorious double sided tape problems as the whole compartment cover.Can I reattach it with other glue? and could it have had some bearing on the malfunctioning? Ive no idea whether it became loose as I turned the screw or whether it was already lying loose. The record has been retrieved and the MMC2 too! I tried to see if the belt was moving as I moved the rotor arm and it seems to be...tho whether it is tight enough I can't say.
Don't worry about the belt for now. The belt shouldn't be real tight and needs to be the correct size. Martin (Dillen here on the forum) can supply the correct one. On the tonearm compartment panel I put some silicone grease where the locking screw fits in the panel so it turns easier. If the Beogram 8002 is in great cosmetic shape and you got it for a good price then I would recommend finding a restorer. It is no surprise about the shiny metal bottom piece coming off the black plate. Yes, the same double-sided tape was used to connect it as the metal deck and metal door that raises up. So that confirms that no restoration work has been done to this turntable. Here is a link to a few blog posts for a Beogram 8000 project I just finished up. The BG8000 restoration work is very similar to the BG8002. It shows the type of things that should be done.There are surely some good restorers in your neck of the woods.-sonavor