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This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
My Beogram 1203 turntable has some issues. I bought this second hand so it's new to me.
I'm a dj used to using Technics turntables so I know how vinyl should sound.
The main problems are that it's very sensitive and the needle gets stuck in the grooves constantly. Is it just that this turntable requires completely dust free records, that maybe that the needle needs replacing, or that the weight of the tone arm is set incorrectly? My technics would play through fine dust without issue but maybe that was set up better...
The main turntable/plate appears to be slightly tilted/dips down by about 5mm. Is this normal or faulty?
Are there specialist repairers I can take it to in London, UK for a proper service?
I don't want to give up on this beautiful thing but might have to return to my faithful Technics.
Have you loosened the transport screws underneath the platter?
What weight are you tracking at and which cartridge are you using? The platter should be level - check the transit screws - there are three which are accessed by taking the top platter off. All should be fully released so the platter can move up and down. The usual thing that seems to go wrong with these is the motor so I think yours should be easier to get working than most!
Peter
DJ equipment is usually very sturdy, a little dust is pushed out of the way and the tonearm and needle will takea bash in any direction, it will even track the record backwards, but it's usually also quite rough with the records.You shouldn't compare DJ equipment to livingroom stereo units - let alone B&Os turntables which are some of themost gentle decks in the world when it comes to protecting your records.
Martin
Thanks for your response. I haven't touched these so I'll give it a go. How loose should they be?
Hi Pete, thanks for your response. The cartridge is a B&O SP14. I believe the weight I'm tracking at is bang on between 2 and 3 so 2.5. I have touched the transport screws so will give that a go. I'm not sure how much they should be loosened by. Should they be unscrewed as much as possible without them coming out completely and so that the platter is level?
Transport screws should be fully losened, until you can feel them go against a stop.
I would say this should be the first thing to do, you may find it will cure all of your other concerns.
I have now loosened the screws so they are fully loose but not falling out/over. The platter is still tilted though and now the needle is way off the vinyl so the tone arm needs resetting and doesn't seem to be lowering at all.
Do I need to adjust the screws until the platter is level or could there be something under the platter making it uneven?
I can't spot anything stopping it from being level.
OK much better now that I've loosened the screws except the platter is still tilted, the record still sticks fairly frequently even with cleaner records and I think sounds a little slow. I have adjusted the back weight on the tone arm in the process of all this so maybe that's too heavy/too light now making the records stick. Could the sounding slow be to do with either of these issues?
Try adjusting the wheel on the back right hand side, this is the speed adjustment.
If it continues to play slowly it is fairly likely that the motor may need overhauling. This is a common fault in these players as Peter mentioned.
Have you properly balanced the tone arm? It is pretty important to get this right.
I hadn't realised there was a pitch control wheel - I'll give that a go. I'm not sure the tone arm is properly balanced - bar some rather unclear instructions I found online ages ago I have no hard copy to go by. I'll see if there's anything about on youtube...
torimayo: I hadn't realised there was a pitch control wheel - I'll give that a go. I'm not sure the tone arm is properly balanced - bar some rather unclear instructions I found online ages ago I have no hard copy to go by. I'll see if there's anything about on youtube...
You set the weight adjusting screw at the arm base to "0" (zero) then you turn the "disc"at the back of the counter-weight until the tone arm balances - the "pin" must be floating 0,5-1 mm over the surface of the lifting mechanism at the arm base.
Then you adjust the stylus pressure adjustment screw to the desired stylus pressure.
1.2 to 1.5 g is recommended, depending on which pickup you have.
Pitch perfect now and with a bit more weight (2.5) it's not sticking or skating in the places it was before. My turntable seems to need a bit more weight than that recommended - hope it's not damaging the records or needle... Thanks so much for all the advice - feel like i've just 'saved' this gorgeous piece of equipment!
Having the same table since recently, I first will buy a new belt for it to start with (old one is gone).What I'm wondering about is the plastic 'dots' on the platter. These look/feel quite hard to me and I feel they could/would damage the records. There are very tiny holes in the 'dots' are the suppposed to be litle rubber çaps' in there maybe ? Would make sense to me but Internet gives no explanation on it so far.Of course I should have asked you guys here rightaway.