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
Hi all,
I'm new to all things B&O, and this Beogram 8002 came to me with some other equipment that I was interested in purchasing. I did a little research on this turntable before taking possession of it, thinking it would be a neat learning experience for myself.
I have been repairing coin op equipment for over 16 years now (mostly solid state pinball and video games), and for the past 4 years have evolved into vintage audio repair as well.
This particular turntable was owned since new by the previous owner who obviously had good taste, and some money to spend. The rest of the lot included a late 70's Marantz receiver, and some early Bose 901's, but sadly, the Beogram suffered a breakdown, and was put in storage for quite some time.
Before I got it, the owner powered it up and said that the lights came on, but nothing happened. I figured since it was essentially free, I had nothing to lose by just plugging it in and seeing what it did or didn't do.
Here's the symptoms:
Plugging the unit in, does various things. The first time I plugged it in, the platter very slowly started turning counter clockwise. Slowly but surely it sped up, but took several minutes to do so. The display was garbled, dim, and kept flickering, but getting slightly brighter as it warmed up. Originally it was totally blank. None of the function buttons have any effect, but somehow, out of nowhere, the platter slowed down, and just as slowly, stopped and started turning clockwise.
At no time did the tonearm assembly ever move.
So, I opened the unit up and did some preliminary checking. The belt for the tonearm was completely loose, but replacing it with some rubber bands just as a band aid, hasn't gotten the tonearm to budge. The servo motor has never turned at all.
The hinge on the back is shattered, and without a replacement, is not repairable. Looks like if I'm gonna restore this, it's going to be one of the more difficult parts to attain.
The directional arrows on the photo arm flicker on and off similarly to the display but the lamp seems to come on.
I pulled the transformer, and checked the voltages, which from what I've seen in another thread check out as OK.
I have not yet figured out where the test points are for the power supply (looks like pos and neg 15v rails, and 5v logic) so I don't yet know how to diagnose any further.
The drive magnets do hum/buzz as soon as it's plugged in as well.
Taking apart the control panel shows nothing that looks obviously wrong (loose, broken wires, fried components, blown caps, etc.) But the button pad was gummed up with something that was spilled or leaked on top. Not much, just two buttons, and it wasn't evident inside the case except where the buttons are, so I don't think it was shorted out from that, just that the buttons were stuck. Been cleaned out now of course.
This came with a pair of MMC4 cartridges (one spare in the top of the storage compartment) no way for me to tell if one or the other is new, or has hours upon hours of use.
So, can anyone point this B and O Newbie in the right direction? The questions I have are these:
If it's worth repairing (and I think it is, just because of what it is) how do I go about finding the info to repair it? Can someone here guide me through some troubleshooting steps? I have good equipment for soldering, and can certainly replace any component, but I do NOT have a scope, and never needed it for the repair work I've done in the past.
If it's just a goner and will cost more than it's worth to repair, is it worth selling for parts? I see that the cartridges themselves sell for 75 bucks each or more. To me that will get me the parts I need for the Marantz receiver I need to fix.
I don't need another turntable, as I have a pair of Technics 1200's that I've hot rodded already, but this one is pretty neat, and of course, I'm always into fixing stuff that deserves it. I just don't want to send it out and pay hundreds to do so, as it's not worth it to ME to do that. Nominal cost of parts to fix it is fine, as my labor rate is pretty cheap.
Thanks in advance.Vinny P
Yes it is time to save this beauty and you Dr. Martin aka Dillen here on this forum. He is the master and have kits and belts specially made for these type of Beograms.
Maybe this could intrest you?
I guess in 8002 regulators are in midle bottom of player like in my 8000?
I did full recap, rebulb, carefully check in solderpoints and general overhaul + greasing.
blah-blah and photographs as needed
Thanks for the encouragement.
Could you let me know how to get in touch with Dillen?