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
Good evening Guys,
At least I receive my new toy: a Beocord 1200, sold as out of order for a very great price.
Aesthetically it's in good condition:- Complete with B&O empty reel, reel caps, no scratches on wood, aluminium or black areas.- The cover is in better condition than I thought, no deep scratch, no breaks. Just a bit "smoked" but it might be the original color, I dont know.- One slider knob is missing and two silver knobs (main transport and headphone volume) have paint peeling.- Back feet are missing.- Two black buttons have faded markings.- The technical plan seems to be there (I havent removed the back yet but I saw the envelope from the front).- It turns on, Vu-meter are lighted so is the main red light. A slight hum comes out from the inside.- It can rewind but no other operation is working. Rewind speed decrease with the right spool getting empty until 1/6 of the tape is remaining where the rewind stop.
I've open the main board to found this two remains of belts. I know there's a third belt but i can see it from the front. Plans are to order a set from Dillen if he still have some.
I'll keep you informed and post pictures as it goes better.
Thank you.
Congrats, The cover is "smoked", waiting for pics, if ordering belt order lamps also, I had light in some lamps during tests but all gone now.
Following
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
First exploration, first questions…
It's difficult to guess what's working and what's not until I bring back "propulsion", that is at lest changing the belts!
Until then I noticed the track selection buttons dont stay depressed as opposite to other switches. Is it a normal behavior or something i need to prepare to find a fix?
Thank you (obviously, Soren ).
Track selection buttons are for recording, press down the button or both for stereo, (check the manual) and then push the control lever to play position, the buttons stay down and recording starts,. before doing anything READ the operation manual
Yes you're right Søren, I should have read the manual and I did last night.But I couldn't help myself pressing all the buttons!
Anyway, here are some pics of the tiny beast.
The rusty levers…
And the inside, of course without belts!
I've also checked the Audio part connecting an iPod ton the TV in and listening through the headphones. It worked in mono and stereo.The sliders crack a little bit but the needles do respond well.
Can't wait to replace the belt and check the tape part!
Good afternoon guys,
Yesterday I received the best set so this morning I was really excited to begin the work.
Opening, accessing the flywheel, sliding the belt around it in the hole etc…
Unfortunately, I came across a major ridiculously dumb difficulty: the locking ring securing the brake lever.
I ran to the workshop store, bought a Circlip plier just to figure out it was too big.As I suspect the metal pole or even the L shaped lever could easily break and send the Beocord right to the dustbin, I didn't tried any "custom technique" on it !
Now I've ordered micro pliers and wait for them to see if they gonna help me.
Here I am!
Good Sunday afternoon to alls,
Just a quick update to say that I've manage to gently remove the circlips and set the belts up.Opposite to what i thought, the hardest part was really removing those locking rings; fitting the capstan belt was like 3 minutes and the other two belts like a little less each. But those clips, with the fear of breaking the pole or the plastic L shaped parts… Uffff!.
Now the Beocord is playing, rewinding and fast forwarding. But of course this did rise up some other issue I will share in following posts of course looking for some advices .
Thank you to anybody who kindly helped so far.
Hi Alls,
A good news I wanted to share with you today!
Since yesterday, my Beocord 1200 is spinning well. But, as I was telling you above it made arise new symptoms one of which was à very loud humming in one channel only when playing (be it previous recorded tape or news test recordings).
After reading a lot on electronics on various forum, but of course without deep knowledge, I was felling like i need to "Recap". On a forum, someone was even saying something like "in 80% of the case, when someone say he need to recap, he dont even know what a capacitor do" which perfectly applies to me .
Anyway, I was ready to ask for help here but also fearing the solution was something I was not going to e able to do.
This morning, I opened the Beorcord again just to… watch. And suddenly I noticed the a small wire going from the play head to a little fork on the PCB where all the wire go was disconnected. I took my iron solder, fix it and, Voilà, the hum dissapered and the two tracks where working again. Needless to say how happy I am! Appart from some sliders scratching It seems to electronically work well.
Now there's still some other issues:1-there's a whining coming from the spools. Can't really tell where it come from with precision. -> Is there parts which could need some lubrification?2-Rewind and Forward works but have hard time in the ends (when the emptying spool is 1/6 tape remaining. I've tried to manually push the break levers to release the break cables, but i didn't really help a lot. Anything to do with lubrification too? Any other solution?3-Photostop doesn't seem to work. I didn't wipe a tape with acetone but when rewinding full tape, the motor doesn't stop. Light is shinning.
And a side question if I may:There's a voltage selector in the back (110, 130, 220, 240 V). It's set to 220V which was the average value in the country I live 20 years ago. It's now closest to 240V (235 actually). Should I switch the Beocord to 240v or should I let it at 220v?
Thank you in advance for your insights.
-
Before changing main voltage check the supply voltages after the transformer (read manual), for slow take up reel in FF, there is an adjustment screw below the take up reel (see manual) for slow revers check the breaks below the reel centers and that the pull pull force on the reels ares according to manual. and of course clean the rubber wheels and check that they are running free and are lubricated on the shafts (not on the rubber)
Sorry for the mess,
Hi Søren,
I'll check the voltage out of curiosity but if there's no actual reason do change it, I'll rather let it like as as it seems to work.
When you say "check the pull force", I assume it's by the means of that special tool which looks like a seringe with a hook? I dont have one.
Thanks
I've study the service manual and the only hint about something I feel able to perform was adding a little play in the Driving Plate (labelled P in Service Manual). I also turn a little bit the screw under the taking reel, but without any instrument to measure I turn it a little, tried to rewind a reel which did slow down as usual and then put the screw back to its original position.
I've also tried to drop a little drop of lubricant in the axel of the 3 middle pulleys but the drop just stay on the surface. I suppose i must lube it by underneath but there's a lot of thoses little locking ring and its beyond my knowledge to safely remove them without risking to damage the unit.
So far, the unit plays, record and is in good cosmetic condition. I really would like to take her to its best but hey, each one with his own skills.
As I said in another thread: not the best day for B&O servicing.
Thanks to anyone who helped or followed this thread.
I guys, I thought I could share a little funny story. Here we go…
When I bought the Beocord 1200 It came complete (B&O spool and rubber reel tops) but with a missing slider knob. Shortly after I started to hunt for complementary Beomaster and Beogram to rebuilt a whole system like in the catalogs.
I knew the seller had other items and I asked him for pictures and details about them to maybe buy them.They were a Beomaster 4400 and a Beogram 4002 both of them not what I was looking for.
BUT ! He sent me pictures including that one:
If you look closer you'll see this:
Yes, that was the missing slider knob!
He sent it back to me and now the Beocord is totally complete!
Congrats, what a lucky find
Thank you, Soren!I think about you yelling at me "read the manual!" each time I use it .
glad that I could help