Andy, Don't force it! You've got 2 more hidden screws. Remove the tuning knob. Gently pry out the dialglass at the BOTTOM left and right corners, taking much care not to scratch it (I broke one plastic holder - don't you make the same mistake!). Behind the dialglass, right at the top, you'll see 3 screws - only 2 attach the wooden panel

Derek, Check 3D1 1N4004 - on mine it was leaky - I replaced it witha UF4007. It's underneath the PCB - you need to disassemble the PCB to get at it. Menahem

Derek, Yes, I used a Nichicon 220uF Bipolar - you can get it at Mouser, too (no minimums). There was an added (unintended) benefit to that: If you remember, I ran a post awhile back, regarding the AC motor getting really hot - well, now the motor runs just warm - a real improvement. It appears that my BG6000 is now 101% operational, without any issues

Derek, Good work! Just for the record, could you put up a photo of your AC motor, showing what "pulley" you pried off, and where exactly you inserted a blob of oil! Also regarding the AC hum, here are the 4 caps I replaced on mine, and the hum disappeared: 1. 1x Nichicon 4700uF 25V UHE1E472MHD6 2. 1 x Nichicon 220uF 16V BiPolar UVP1C221MPD

On my 2 Beograms - a BG6000 Quad, and a BG4500, I've had Soundsmith cartridges (SMMC20CL+ and SMMC2) for over 2 years now. Both of them became defective at different times (I have no idea what their defect rate is), and SoundSmith repaired them both at no charge. For that level of customer service alone, their cartridges are worth it - we can be

Hi CJ You'll probably have the same problem with the replacement piston, after a while. The middle piece of plastic (in which the magnet lies) is very fragile, and age does nothing to improve its breakabilty factor. I had exactly the same problem with my BG4500 about 2 years ago, and I epoxy-glued the front and rear plastic pushers to the magnet

Martin, That sounds like a great project! Next to the mains transformer is a bank of the 4 large capacitors - ROEderstein EGM (now Vishay, but the EGM series is discontinued) 2x 6,800uF/50V 30x40mm (I'd like to put in 8200uF here, but I'm not sure if it would overload the Bridge and Power Supply) 1x 2,200uF/40V 22x40mm (for this one only, I

Hi Martin, Regarding your BC9300 OpAmp upgrade - I'm going to give it a try, and see how it sounds. Which OpAmps did you use (I was thinking of the OPA2134)? SMD or TTH? How many OpAmps are there on the circuit - 2 or 3? Did you need to add any coupling or compensation capacitors to prevent oscillation, or was it a straight replacement? Menahem

If both cartridges are giving you low sound on the same channel, the first place I'd check would be the contacts of the mute switch for oxidization. A good quality contact cleaner, would do the job. If you have an Oscilloscope, check the signal paths of both channels to find where the sound output level drops. Menahem

You may need a new cartridge to correct the sound problem. Try Sound-smith.com in the USA - an SMMC4 would be fine. Buying a second-hand cartridge is very risky. Menahem