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
Congratulations Søren! Well done!
I am following this thread from the beginning. A complete overhaul, sometimes too technical for me, but worth reading.
Glad you did it with all the technical help of the other BeoW here on this forum!
Enjoy it, take a cuba cigar, a whisky and listen to your BM4400!
I hope more pics will follow and see the BM in its full glory!
//Bo.A long list...
That is awesome Søren. Way to stick with it.
-sonavor
Bravo Søren!
You did it, you actually did it!
I know that I can safely speak for virtually everyone here at BeoWorld who has followed your incredible adventure….. we are so very PROUD of you, your determination, tenacity, and steady attention to detail.
And thank you for the most generous commentary….. I am delighted that I was able to help keep your spirits up.
This is a victory like few others! Congratulations!
Jeff
Beogram 4000, Beogram 4002, Beogram 4004, Beogram 8000, Beogram 8002, Beogram 1602. Beogram 4500 CD player, B&O CDX player, Beocord 4500, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 8004, Beocord 9000, Beomaster 1000, Beomaster 1600, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 4400, Beomaster 4500, Beolab 5000, Beomaster 5000, BeoCenter 9000. BeoSound Century, S-45.2, S-45.2, S-75, S-75, M-75, M-100, MC 120.2 speakers; B&O Illuminated Sign (with crown & red logo). B&O grey & black Illuminated Sign, B&O black Plexiglas dealer sign, B&O ash tray, B&O (Orrefors) dealer award vase, B&O Beotime Clock. Navy blue B&O baseball cap, B&O T-shirt X2, B&O black ball point pen, B&O Retail Management Binder
I am so glad for your success, Søren. This has been a real thriller, but like all good stories it ended happily.
/***
http://tinyurl.com/qj9cjsf
It does always come to that, doesn't it, silly little things.
The other day I was working with a pupil and told him to check a PCB because the kit was not working. Visually, nothing was wrong and all the correct components were at their correct places. I told him to check the tracks with an ohmmeter and bingo! a track was broken just at the soldering point of a resistor and it was invisible, even magnified under the thread counter...
So yes Søren, familiar story, and above all: WELL DONE MY FRIEND!
Jacques
My congratulations too for your resurrected easter egg.
Good one Soren !
I admire your persistence. Get your bv1600's hooked up and have a day off :-)
Martin
Many congratulations - you really have put a huge amount of effort into this and I am sure you will now enjoy what must be one of the best 4400s in the world! I am deeply impressed.
Peter
Dom
2x BeoSystem 3, BeoSystem 5000, BeoSystem 6500, 2x BeoMaster 7000, 2 pair of BeoLab Penta mk2, AV 7000, Beolab 4000, BeoSound 4000, Playmaker, BeoLab 2500, S-45, S-45.2, RL-140, CX-50, C-75, 3x CX-100, 3x MCL2 link rooms, 3x Beolab 2000, M3, P2, Earset, A8 earphones, A3, 2x 4001 relay, H3, H3 ANC, H6, 2014 Audi S5 with B&O sound, and ambio
Congratulations on a job well done. Look to the east at 7:00 pm EDT - there will be a toast to you from Florida.
Will pick up my true old magnetic compass and face 80-85°, in my left hand a well mixed Rum and coke, and will say out loud: "SKÅL Rich". at the same time listening to BM 4400 connected to P45s, playing from CD Bruce Springsteen, No Surrender.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
So Søren, now that you have your Beomaster 4400 brought back from the brink, as it were an electronic Phoenix and now performing brilliantly, can you not say that it is absolutely beautiful?
I can only imagine your pride on what you created from such a dubious candidate for restoration, yet you did it.
Have another rum and Coke® and tell us how you feel about your 4400 and please let us know how it SOUNDS!
Not to compete in any way with Rich, but I am currently drinking a toast to you and your Beomaster 4400 from beautiful British Columbia. True it is cheap white wine, (budget restraints being what they are, but it is the thought that counts!)
I celebrate your victory with you my friend!
Congratulations Søren!
you finally succeeded in finding the fault after the great work you did before restoring the BM4400.
Enjoy your great work!
Ralph-Marcus
Un-bloody-believable.....I have been watching with great interest from Australia. At one stage I thought you were going to outshine even the great Icelandic sagas with your BM4400 story.
Well done, and congratulations. I'm about to launch into recapping a BM8000.....now if only I could work out what to do with this oscilloscope....
RaMaBo: Congratulations Søren! you finally succeeded in finding the fault after the great work you did before restoring the BM4400. Enjoy your great work! Ralph-Marcus
Ralph, a big thanks to you, your advices and help, kept me going, and I learned a lot from this journey, it will keep my BeoVirus alive and blooming, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I´m still wondering why a small failure like this, can have such an impact on a circuit, and I am studying the schematics to try to understand it.
BTW, the BM was playing 4 hours yesterday, connected to P45, Bvox 1600 and BG 1202, playing FM and some LPs.
I haven't had much time lately to check out Beoworld. But I just to had to see how you were doing with your 4400 project.
I'm really glad to see that you have solved the problem and brought this wonderfull classic receiver back to life...Well done
I will also salute with a good Danish beer (Easter Brew)
With all these international toasts and salutes I think the world’s breweries, wineries, and lacquer concerns must have had to put on an extra shift! And they owe it all to Søren and his magnificent achievement.
Well, we all enjoy life, and a good cold beer, a nice glass of vine or a well mixed drink, is part of the joy, as is listening to good music from a good playing vintage B&O amp. Combined with selecting an LP that fits to your mood, thats when life is perfect.
Here she is playing Grieg, The Morning, in the morning light coming through the window. On this occasion a strong cup of Java was the drink.
Hello Søren,
What a very handsome instrument you have CREATED! You sound almost like the proud father of their first-born child! (You really do!)
So now that you have this superb Beomaster 4400 receiver may I humbly suggest a proper turntable for your next project?
I know when I am in the mood for concert that sounds like the real deal I always go for my favourite B&O possession, the Beogram 4000. Now finding one of these gems might be a bit difficult, but not so a Beogram 4002 or 4004, either would be a wonderful addition to your collection.
Failing that either a Beogram 8000 or the “zenith” of the line, a Beogram 8002. (I have all five and love them all.)
Trust me on this, any of these choices would add a great deal to your listening pleasure AND I guarantee you that repairing any of them would be a walk in the park after your resurrection of your Beomaster 4400!
Give it some thought.
I AM proud, its the first big job I have done in BMs, but as for the BGs, lets go here.
WOW!
Congratz is in indeed in order. This thread has been an exiting leason on persistance and it is wonderfull to finally log on to find that you have reached your personal goal with this BM4400.
Way to go Søren!
Ah Søren,
I see that you are way ahead of me, as usual.
Hello Soren,
Like so many others I have read each and everyone of your posts. It has been a difficult journey I know for someone so humble as you but a rewarding one. I have been lost many times regarding the technical aspects but have been fascinated none the less. What we all an learn from what you have done is that it is the simple things like broken traces that can make a difference in when something works and when it doesn't and not something more sophisticated like a bad component. Thank you! Also out of curiosity what do you use to clan the component board with?
John
jfrancis:Also out of curiosity what do you use to clan the component board with?
Thanks John, I normally use mineral spirit for the PCBs, but this one was so dirty that I had to use isopropyl alcohol, after soldering I use mineral spirit.
Isopropyl alcohol will clean off the print on the solder side if left too long on it.
Søren (since you have arguably the “best” condition 4400 around) and anyone else who cares to comment, I have two Beomaster 4400 questions and would very much appreciate knowledgeable impute.
Thank you for your enlightenment and enjoy your 4400.
1. I have only been listening to the BM 4400 for some 10- 15 hours, but yes I think it is very "neutral" with all tone controls in "0", my BM 2400 sound "different" (not bad).I think I will have to listen to it for some more hours, before everything is "burned inn". At the moment I dont listen for quality but for failures, checking for temp and funny sounds, kind of nervous listening mode.
Tape1 engaged at the same time as FMs or Phono is correct, for monitoring recording sound going to Tape, depressing FM or Phono one more time will disengage Tape1.
Many, many thanks for your response, which was exceedingly helpful.
Part of me shutters at your term “burned-in” but I guess that is the accurate way to describe your amplifier.
While I understand your “nervous” listening for faults, you really should realize that what you have is essentially a new vintage amplifier which is most unlikely to disappoint.
All new parts, ridiculously careful testing all point to years of trouble free operation and enjoyment.
Today I was very brave I turned the volume up to 6, (very loud), P45s connected, burning in, is maybe a bad description, but as a with new car you have a running in period, where you go soft with it. I like to do the same with my electronics. Except for my coffee brewers, they have make strong coffee from the first day.
There is also higer failure rate at begining of component use, or should we say, if it is going to break, it breaks early rather that mid-aged.
So a little stress is ok imo.
blah-blah and photographs as needed
This is beyond interesting and highly educational. How long (usually) does this burn-in process take?
DMacri:Orava is on to something. Most electronic devices will fail in the first 30 days, or will probably last for more than 15 years of steady use. The burn in time probably varies by component and circuit. I'm not sure I can come up with a definitive answer for that.
In the case of capacitors is it theoretically possible for them to go though wild changes before settling down?
Piaf: In the case of capacitors is it theoretically possible for them to go though wild changes before settling down?
I dont think it is possible, because if they do that, it might cause seriuos problems elsewhere in circuitity.
I do "burn in" mainly to see if semiconductors ( or even solderingpoints) will make troubles or not. And if they do, it will happen quite soon.
Piaf:In the case of capacitors is it theoretically possible for them to go though wild changes before settling down?
No. If they did, nothing coming off the factory assembly line would ever work.
Personally I don't believe in this. It will probably take 0.01 seconds for a factory new electrolytic capacitor to work up to spec after first power on. That is not to say that something couldn't slighly alter (apart from normal aging), but when mysticians extend this to completely dry & inert components such as film capacitors, resistors of for heaven forbid power cables, it all gets just silly.
The "bath tub" style failure rate graph, on the other hand, is well known from reliability theory so it is always a good idea to test drive a new assembly for a while before declaring it works. Modern mass production doesn't have time for this, thus the high early failure & DOA rate of consumer electronics.
EDIT: forgot to say: well done Søren!
--mika
I agree completely - I don't believe in burn in but I do believe in testing newly added components and repairs carefully to make sure they are working properly. If this counts as burn in, I am all for it! I don't think components need to be run in like a car though!