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This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Hi
just received a beomaster 900k.
it works fine and the exterior conditions are very good.
but i have 2 main issues:
1. Stereo light works only on Tape and not on FM.
2. Should the radio panel be illuminated ? I can not see any lightning.
In any case wonderful object and wonderful sound.
What about using it to play music on iPod?
Thak you guys out there.
Hello and welcome to Beoworld. The Beomaster 900K is a classic; but the FM stereo decoder was an additional feature in the first sets which meant thar you can't receive FM stereo if the decoder hasn't been fitted. There should be light in the dial, it is provided by two lightbulbs which are replacable from the backside.
Have fun with your new B&O!
Vinyl records, cassettes, open reel, valve amplifiers and film photography.
It seems that i have to open it.
Noget anbefaling ?
To answer your last question, you should be able to play your iPod through it by plugging it into the 5 pin DIN tape socket at the rear and selecting it on the front panel. You'll need a suitable lead, avail from Sounds Heavenly at the foot of the page.
I replaced the panel light bulbs in my 900K. The new bulbs are 10mm x 28mm 6.3V 1.9W 300mA E10. There are plenty of suppliers if you google.
Thank you.
i own the 900 since 3 days ago and I really love it.
My first piece of B&O and I still love it!
It is rather easy to open - two screws on the bottom and four to six on the rear panel, can't remember - but there are a couple of things to watch for. You will first need to disconnect the built-in antenna from the rear panel connector (if you still have it, it's often cut off or at least missing the connector). Then push carefully from the front panel and the chassis will slide out through the back, but on a 900K, you will need to disconnect the built in speakers halfway out. It's a single connector and should be pretty obvious.
It's possible that both dial light bulbs are actually out, but it's very common that they don't work because the fuse has corroded in its holder (the dial lamps have their own fuse, which doesn't power anything else). Clean & replace if needed, but be prepared that the metal connectors of the fuse holder might crack. Then you need to replace it as well.
--mika
Opened.
The stereo encoder is not equipped.
i changed the bulb lights but they DO not light up. When should they light up ?
could it be the fuse ? Where is it ?
thank you
They should light up always when the Beomaster is on. I can't remember the fuse location well enough to describe it, but it isn't in the same place as the other fuses. Follow the wires from the bulb sockets and you'll find it.
It's in one of the front corners of the main PCB.
Martin
SOLVED !
It was the fuse oxidated !
Now the ols Beo is glowing in the night !!!
thanks to all you out there.
Hello Martin, I have just accidentally bought a 900k. It was an ebay thing. I put 80 euros on it to see how i'd go. It was late, I was drunk, you may know how these things happen. The only other bidder suspiciously brought it up to about 2 euros less than my maximum bid but there you go. After freight it's going to cost me about $300 Australian which maybe isn't such a bad thing. I haven't received it yet but the exterior isn't perfect but I have a good cabinet maker who can make it right again.
That aside, I just fully read the description of the thing and it hasn't got the stereo decoder.
Do you know if there are any of these left in captivity anywhere?
Hey Guy, I have also just bought a 900k and have found since that it is an early model without the stereo decoder.
Do you know where I may find one?
That said, I'll probably just hook my phone up to it and listen to streaming radio.
Thanks for the tip on the bulbs, it's probably going to need them.
Thanks for getting back to me Guy, yes I thought so too.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Bang-Olufsen-Beomaster-900-M-/151251235393?ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:DE:1123
what do you think about this one? i have asked the seller buy i'm not sure they understand what a the decoder is.
Too expensive for what you need - be patient and a cheaper one will come along! I bought mine for £10, with decoder!
Yeah thanks for the advice. I feel that 70-80 euros was too much to pay for the functioning one I bought as it is.
Unfortunately it's the tyranny of distance for us down under because the freight costs are always very expensive and then, unless the items are packaged extremely well they tend to arrive in one or two pieces more than when they left. The 3400 in my picture has a crack in the timber frame and was not functioning when it arrived from Austria. It was packaged terribly. Maybe when it was first put in the box and the materials were packaged around it, it may have been sound, but after being tossed through several hands on the long trip to Northern New South Wales, Australia, I mean, it was heavy, it came with a matching (and useless) beocord which just turned into a dead weight to smash the 3400 with inside the box.
Suffice to say, they are fairly robust things though the left channel on the 2ndary tape input doesn't work, I don't get a stereo light for FM Stereo and the preset station function is just boken, the 3400 takes the signal from the Pro-ject DAC and turns it into some nice sounds through the 4 beovox ( I think they're 3700s) I have from the same period. I have a beogram of some description that came with a 1974 Beomaster 2000 (which also came with a useless beocord) but I can't be bothered with the $400 plus for a stylus from that guy in New York.
One of these days (once I get my collection of Mercedes Benz W108's into a shed I'm building with timber from my property and my W115 on the road, and the upstairs part of my house complete) I am going to send the 2000 to Menahem to get him to do a rebuild on it. I actually regret being sucked into buying the 900k instead of spending the money on the 2000, but as I said, I was drunk, it was late, it was impulsive. That said I have a place for the 900 in my office, fingers crossed it arrives in one piece!
Update, the speakers are all S45 TYPE 6302 - the early type that have the back set up so you can hang them from a solid screw in the wall, not a stand.
the tyranny of distance
Can you offer any advice on getting these things open?
Yes and as I thought, it was packed reasonably well but there was the capacity for it to move around in the box.
So annoying! (and it doesn't pick up FM in Stereo, the volume treble and bass pots are scratchy and the left channel doesn't sound as present as the right through the tape input)....
Very few of these machines have stereo decoder as it was an extra accocery at the time, that needed to be mounted by a service workshop..The potentionmeters are sometimes scratchy.The 900K came in different versions, and differ a bit to open.Usually there are screws under the cabinett to unscrew, and a couple of smalls screw on the backplate on the bent horizontal plate.Then unscrew the wheels to the potentionmetersWhen you pull out the amp from the cabinett, take it easy and slow as the internal speaker needs to be unplugg when you have for 25% of the amp out. of the cabinett. Christian
My re-capped M75 are my precious diamonds.
I have seen lately quite a few of the 900M - post facelift models on ebay, they have the darker face on them.
Being the later type do you think they would be more likely to have the stereo decoder in them?
Colin: I have seen lately quite a few of the 900M - post facelift models on ebay, they have the darker face on them. Being the later type do you think they would be more likely to have the stereo decoder in them?
I believe it depends more on the original country of sale than the actual model. If the country had no regular FM stereo transmissions when the unit was first sold, it's more unlikely the original buyer had this rather costly option installed. I have three earlier gray fascia 900s (one from Finland, two from Germany) and they all have the decoder.
*
For many variants, you don't need to take of the knobs as the entire fascia comes out with the chassis (from the rear).
Do you think you might like to sell me one of those decoders?
Nah just kidding.
I think my whole 900k is showing signs of its 50 years.
I'm struggling to get anywhere near a decent sound out of it.
I probably should start with the speakers.
How do you go about getting them? Can I just remove mine and take them to a speaker repairer?
What's likely to have failed internally? For a start my "stereo" light doesn't work when I have stereo stuff connected to it.
I don't think you'll find anything wrong with the speakers, unless somebody has been deliberately poking at them. Try a known good pair of external speakers to isolate the problem. More likely the unit is in need of a fresh set of capacitors and/or a transistor or two. Also, as you say, it is soon 50 years old - you shouldn't expect that great a sound out of it, although it does sound nice when in good order.
The stereo light has nothing to do with the actual signal (except on FM). If you select the tape input for example, it should just light up. If it doesn't, the bulb has failed, its socket is oxidized, or the switch bank has bad contacts.
Spend a few minutes pushing every button on the switch bank if you haven't already. That often restores the operation (or you might hear where the problem is) and might even improve the sound in case there are oxidized contacts.
Some of the early BM900K speakers actually dry out. The cardboard becomes brittle andfalls apart around the flexible area resulting in a distorted and "flapping" sound (as you know it from 1980s wooferswith foam rot).The solution (apart from finding good original replacements) is to brush on a good contact glue of a typethat stays flexible (I find the black 3M type particularly good). Just "paint" the whole cone using a soft paintbrushand of course treat the damaged areas.This is, of course, only possible if there are no parts of the cone missing. In severe cases a replacement isthe only way.Some speaker repairers can't do much to oval speakers - but some can.
I Have used these PHILIPS AD4681X4 4x6" as replacement speakers. The fit the mounting holes without modification
//Bo.A long list...
Apart from the ideological issues arising from the bastardising a piece of B&O history, (I would need to go to confession to clear my conscience!) how did the Philips speakers sound?
Colin:how did the Philips speakers sound?
BO, do you have any general resource for the PHILIPS AD4681, or is it just spekaer you have been lucky to find ?A funny memory of the PHILIPS AD4681 is that somewhere in the early 80th when I played bass in a new years comic acting play. The sound guy had all the speach and vocal singing addressed by homemade boxes consisting most likely 20-30 PHILIPS AD4681´s for each side of the stageThose distributed the speach easily for a audience of almost 400 people. Christian
Christian, I bought them on "Tradera" from a guy who sells a lot of stuff there. I've seen the same ad a number of times so I guess he has a general source. If you make a search there for "ad4681x4" I'll think you find it.
Didnt have any luck
Do you have working link on tradera ?,BO ?
AD4681X4 bredbandshögtalare 4ohm 2pack på Tradera. Högtalarelement |