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
Feeling inspired by Craig's work on my BM6000 I decided to be proactive whilst the kids are busy with Minecraft!
A few years ago I bought a boxed Beogram 4000 and was excited to see it playing when I collected it. However, after getting it home and removing the cartridge I found it had a broken and glued mount which had finally given up the ghost - the seller never mentioned this surprisingly!
Being really disappointed I put it straight into storage and consoled myself with several glasses of wine!
After following Beolover's blog and his efforts to create a replacement part I got in touch with Rudy and bought one of his finished items but alas I never summoned up the courage to get stuck in!
Well today I have!
What a beautiful sight - the BG4000 is my favourite piece of B&O design, both aesthetically and engineering wise.
Not such a beautiful sight.
Preparing to remove the arm...
Oh and this make-do-and-mend repair will be going too - I have one of Nick's (Solderon) machined aluminium pulleys to go on here.
Taking pictures as I go is definitely helpful as I always end up with bits left over if I don't!
Fiddly job ahead for a novice like me!
Oh and this will need a repair - fortunately I have the missing bit!
Apprehensively unsoldering the tonearm wires...
...and the awkward ones underneath (I pretty much fluked this! )
And it's off.
Obligatory boiling shot.
With forceful shove of a sawn-off skewer the assembly popped out.
Rudy's replacement part next to the original broken one.
Somehow managed to solder the fiddly wires to the new part with my basic level technique - tested the continuity and all is OK. I need to get some kind of illuminated magnifying glass as doing this with the naked eye was really tricky!
£40 from Maplin.....articulated arm and fluorescent tube light
helps to add the picture........
Ahhh perfect - exactly what I need! My eyes are strained enough looking at a computer screen all day.
Your repair looks to be going very well......keep at it
Well done sir,quite an achievement.
Rudy(and Martin)are tenacious solver's of Beoproblems !
Your BG4000 appears to be in remarkably good condition too.There are probably other "usual suspects" that will need attention,but enjoy the deck for a while first?
Regards,
Nick
Thanks chaps!
Yes hats off to Rudy for his exceptional skill and innovation and Martin for his sheer knowledge when it comes to B&O! I, like many others on the forum, have benefitted no end from their experience.
For me vintage B&O items are like classic cars; I have a garage full of barn finds but nothing concourse level yet!
This morning I've reinserted the new mount + cartridge back into the tonearm with a little bit of glue so will now give it time to set before resoldering the wires. With any luck I'll get one of those magnifier lamps in time!
Well done! You’ll see the pulley is a treat. Don’t forget Martin’s belt!
Jacques
My Heath Robinson setup to get the slider indicator aligned up with the broken off end bit - hopefully won't get knocked by anyone before it cures!
Thanks Jacques - I have a pulley belt that I got from Martin somewhere! I'll need a drive belt at some point too!
Giving the keypad a clean...
...and back together
Popped in Nick's pulley and re lubricated the threads.
Whipped out the lowering damping mechanism to give it a good clean and lubrication.
With the weekend here it's given me the chance to get the arm reconnected. This was easier than I'd anticipated with the use of my new piece of kit!
I used a mirror to see the underside of the circuitboard for the two bottom wires.
Next job will be the mechanical adjustments although it seems some of the buttons on the control panel aren't working, and I stupidly broke the end of the freshly epoxied indicator arm again
2 tips:
1. When epoxi'ing parts together, always strengthen the bond with a small piece of paper over the join, soaked in epoxy. It takes the stress off the actual joint, if bumped accidentally.
2. When cleaning these brass contact strips, use Brasso, instead of emery paper. Brasso does not scratch the metal strips, as does emery or sandpaper.