My Beogram 4000 was so badly damaged during international shipment that it has taken a very, very long time to get it to where the 4000 is an actual functioning turntable. This now accomplished, with the 4000 dependably playing records, there are still a few loose ends I would like to tie up.

 

There is a handsome 4000 up for sale currently on eBay, from which I noticed in the photos that my speed indicator lamps are not nearly as bright and the eBay 4000. Also the photos showed the arm position indicator all the way to the left… mine won’t do that. I assume it is yet another adjustment, but I loath the thought of spending three more hours on this trying to figure out what is wrong. Any thoughts?  

 

Lastly and most important to me, my dust cover has had chunks taken out of it from the control panel coming lose and thrashing about during transit. This sort of damage can never be polished out.

 

However the most galling difference from my “restored” 4000 and the one on eBay is a handsome aluminum strip between the Plexiglas dust cover and the hinge with Bang & Olufsen on the left and the Royal Danish crown on the right. I have duct tape covering up what I imagine is a damaged or missing aluminum strip.

 

As such I am very serious about obtaining a replacement dust cover with hinge assembly. My Beogram 4000 may literally be back from the dead, but overall it is much too nice to have this battered dust cover with duct tape trim.

 

I would appreciate any advice concerning the two trivial loose ends, but I would be truly grateful for a lead to where I might find a replacement dust cover with that lovely crown adorning the right corner.

 

Thanks,

 

Jeff

That is a very nice 4000 on eBay. However lots of less good ones appear and many do not work. I would get one of those making sure it has the bits you want! They are not that uncommon despite what the ad says!

Hi Jeff,

I might be able to help you. Please send me a pm and I will see what I can do.

I have lately been scrapping a couple of Begram 4000 to get my own up and running, so I do have something (spare)

/Frede

Frede,

 

I am most pleased at the prospect of locating a few needed parts to bring my Beogram 4000 back to the condition that I would like it to be in.

 

I do have a question, is the aluminum trim piece atop the hinge a vinyl appliqué or an aluminum piece as found on the 4002/4004 series?

 

It doesn’t matter to me as if I can find a fairly decent dust cover with this correct B&O piece intact, it will be a huge improvement over what I currently have.

 

Jeff

Hi there its aluminium, I have a spare metal strip from a 4002 but its not in great shape, I have a BG 4000 lid but without the metal strip and I would like to find a part for it as they are just stuck on, the glue usually goes and the strip loosens and comes off.

 

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

 

Thank you for this information and the offer of a spare metal strip from a Beogram 4002.

 

The handsome Beogram 4000 currently on eBay looks as if it “might” have a vinyl appliqué strip which would not be nearly as nice as an aluminum strip… like the 4002/4004.

 

I am hoping to find a suitable complete dustcover to replace my badly damaged one. Other than the dust cover, my Beogram 4000 is fairly pristine and I would dearly like to complete the “picture.”

 

This BG 4000 had been in wonderful shape until it was badly damaged in shipping. It now functions well indeed, but the dustcover really distracts from the otherwise handsome turntable.

 

Jeff

Hi Thanks

Can you send the link for that ebay item and I will have alook at it.

I totally understand the problem with lids, its such a visual part of the whole thing. I have managed to find some really good cleaning materials after some research. I have also tried various techniques such as beleieve iot or not BRASO with fine paper and lots of water.

I have found this very good to take surface scratches of then have applied various shining pastes with ultra fine cloths.

I will get the names of the buffing stuff I use to you. I have also used computer wipes gently on my Beogram 8500 which is mint and it gleams after it. I have used a polish called Renova which ios used for clouded windows such as yachts and aircraft widows as the get cloudy and this seems to restore some clarity. I will find out the name of the other polish I have which I got from the States and add to post later.

Oh My beogram 4000 I got running across an LP last night for the first time and I thought great, can you tell me how you got into the control panel to clean up the sensors as they are a bit stiff and I want to tackle this.

 Cheers

 Kev 

Hi Kev,

 

Here is the link to the Beogram 4000 on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Beogram-4000-TOP-B-O-Bang-Olufsen-4002-Turntable_W0QQitemZ250185154622QQihZ015QQcategoryZ48649QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

 

I attempted to answer your question regarding removing the control panel on another thread. The problem is I am just an amateur who has been forced to “learn” how to repair my Beograms as there is no service facility anywhere near me.

 

The panel is held in place by brass clips. As I recall you need to press slightly to one side or the other and then lift up the end. If the side you are trying doesn’t release, try the other side. Eventually the panel will come off. As I mentioned in the other thread, my panel is quite loose so removing it is fairly simple. (Too simple)

 

As for the polishing, any and all information is appreciated. My Beogram 4002 was also damaged in shipment as the platter came loose from the Styrofoam packing material when the 4002 was dropped upside down. This resulted in considerable light scratching. I purchased a very good wet sanding kit and that did the trick, but was a LOT of work.

 

I also tried the Novus products, but the wet sanding had superior results. My Beogram 8000 which I have owned since new had only minor scratches and the Novus removed the majority of them with little trouble and a lot less work.

 

Polishing the dustcover is a lot like polishing a car. If you have deep scratches in the paint you are forced to use a very coarse polish which cuts into the paint until you have reached the bottom of the scratch. However, with the scratch removed, the paint will look dull, requiring a milder abrasive. You keep going to finer and finer polishes until the surface is shinny and ready for wax protection. Aside from the wax, the same principle applies to plastic.

 

However no amount of polishing is going to remove the chunks of plastic that the control panel took out of the Plexiglas dust cover.

 

Best wishes with your Beogram 4000. They are incredibly well made, but considerably more difficult to adjust as compared to the less sophisticated 4002/4004. None the less, very much worth the effort.

 

Jeff

Hi Jeff thanks

I think you may be refering to the Aluminium control plates which I have taken off, but what I wondering about is how to get under the plastic housing to the underside were the buttons sensors are, hope you follow what I mean

Cheers

Kev

Hi Kev,

I haven't had to go into that area, so I really don't have the answer. However, I am certain that someone more knowledgeable that I will be able to help you here.

The more you work on your Beogram 4000 the more you are bound to appreciate the sheer quality that went into making these turntables.

 

It is a lot like working on British motorcars, you curse the oil leaks and wonder how anyone could engineer an automobile that required the removal of 37 parts to get to a regularly changed item… yet no matter how hard you try you still have to admire the workmanship and quality of each and every piece.

 

Anyway, I love my Beogram 4000 as you probably can tell.

 

I hope someone answers your question ASAP.

 

Jeff

Cheers Jeff

 I am pretty dedicated to them, to help keep these lovely things going. I have been facinated by them since I was a boy when my dad had a beogram 1200, all my friends thought it was so space age. At that time most folk I knew had the old cabinets or turtables with Pick axes on them. I also remember clearly when I broke his stylus tut tut! and my brother went to get a new one from the shop, we were stunned at the cost. But in saying that I knew it was something special and I have that worn out system to this day, as you can guess it came from a large famly and it had no chance of looking good for long.

Now I was wondering did you ever manage to sort the skating problem with your tone arm I think you mentioned, I have got the tone arm on mine working but its needing the slider ajustment springs re-positioned as the are mm out. This is my next task.

I was wondering if the skating problem was linked to this or whether perhaps the tracking speed left or right is set too high. But in saying that the turtable is a a hundred times better than the condition it was in when it arrived. When I opened it up there were peices and parts missing but luckily I found them inside the cabinet after a good bit of searching. The wheel was off the spindle and various parts were off.

The metal control panel was off. but I knew this had happened but it was all secured down well and packed great, thankfully. The up and down bottons on the control board were jammed down with the force off the copper springs, they were pushed flush with the force. Thats the main reason I want to get under that area to see if I can adjust them to be more responsive.

If you can let me know about the tracking problem though if you have any tips as this is something im tackling just now.

Cheers

Kev

 

Hi Kev,

 

My initial problem with the skating was due to a maladjustment in the plate that comes off the front of the diaphragm and the photo resistor. By adjusting both the screws that hold the photo resistor in place, it can be slid back and forth until it is positioned so that by rotating the turntable, the servo motor only just starts to turn after 4-5 turn at the beginning once the pickup is lowered, and thereafter every one turn of the turntable.

 

If the diaphragm arm is off to one side or the other, then once the arm drops, the servo motor is engaged, and doesn’t stop until it reaches its full extension – at either end.

 

My 4000 is still experiencing some skating at the end of a record, as the slide transport starts to rise as it nears the center. I am assuming that this is because one of the contacts is too low and as it glides over the appropriate contact at the end of the record play, it presses up on the transport, thus changing the pressure on the needle. I will get to this, but needed a break away from tinkering with the unit.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Jeff

Hi guys:

 
I'm not sure if this will help but I had similar problem with the tone arm assembly sliding. I also posted to this forum for help before I figured out the adjustment procedure for the photo resistor under the tone arm.

This plate is attached to the rather large cylindrical collar on lower part the tone arm. On the 4002 at least the plate is attached in a rather crude way; a simple collar around the cylinder and a self taping screw to tighten the collar. The metal collar is made of soft metal. What I found when adjusting/tightening the screw is this:

You will align the plate perfectly and when you go to tighten the collar to lock it in place, some how the arm slides again. What happens is that when you tighten the collar the soft metal can cause the plate to deflect a bit and actually it rubs ever so slightly the molded plastic covering of the photo sensor underneath.

When making this adjustment you might want to loosen the collar and pull the entire plate assembly up slightly. Then if there is any downward deflection after tightening it will not rub.

Hope this helps,

Derek

 

Hi there

Thanks very much for that info, I was not to keen on moving this assembly as in the service manual it states about keeping a 1mm gap between the plate and sensor, so i thought that sounds a delicate job.

I will give this a good look at, can you tell me when you tighten the screw or loosen it it just moves slightly and wont all fall apart? I think this sounds like the reason for the problem of the sliding towards the middle and if it is I may not need to do further work on the turntable apart from minor adjustments. I forgot to add that sometimes the tone arm lower onto an Lp then I get this sliding action for approc 1- 2 cm it settles and plays, but, on occasion the tone arm pops up as soon as it lowers is this all related to that area you mentioned?

Thanks a million guys for your help with this, it is really appreciated.

 Kevin

 

I'm not sure that I understand your question. Perhaps try rewording it?

Essentially the plate is attached by a crude clamp. By tightening the clamp it locks the plate to the tone arm. As the tone arm swivels it regulates the light on the photo sensor. If you do not tighten the clamp vibrations or any shock to the turntable such as a simple move will cause the plate to come out of alignment so it should be tightened.

The distance between the sensor and the plate is not critical ie you don't need special guages to measure the separation. Just be visually close to the suggest distance.

 

Derek

Thanks Derek

I did my last post in a rush and its not as clear as it should be, I did look at the sensor plate area last night and I noticed it was slightly loose. I moved it slightly left and right and it did make a difference to hoe thw tone arm responded when it lowers into the groove.

I must thank you for the help given with this, it has made a big difference to the way the Beogram functions.

Thanks

Kevin

Happy to help Kevin!

With patience you will be able to get the arm sensor set up perfectly.

Just remember that the sensor arm and the tone arm must always be parallel. If it looks even slightly crooked the plate is not set properly. Keep in mind that if the hole in your LP is not centered then the arm will wobble so you should try on a few lps to see if any offset is consistent.

Also take note of the cantelever on the cartridge. It should always remain stationary. If you see the cantelever wobble from side to side, the plate is not adjusted properly.

Do a search on previous 4000/4002 posts for other tips.

One final note. I noticed on my 4002 that there was some adhesive on the tone arm cylinder and clamp. It looks like loctite or some thead lock. I assume once the plate is alingned a drop of adhesive is also placed to really lock the alignment. Martin perhaps you can confirm?

Cheers,

Derek

  

 

Hi Jeff

Thanks for your help, I adjusted the sensor and The Beogram 4000 is playing, occassionally it decides that it wont lower, but if I leave it running it just clicks and lowers of it own accord. The only thing that is a problem is that it is not lifting at the end of play just continues to turn, any ideas? Its sounds great though so far so hopefully this will continue

Hi Kev,

 

There are copper arms on the carriage itself that engage switches at the end of play. These arms are adjustable. I am guessing that the arms are out of adjustment thus not making contact with the switches. I hope I got this right as one should never answer a technical question at 6:00 AM, like I am doing now…. but today is promising to be a full day and I wanted to answer your question.

 

Good luck!

 

Jeff

Cheers Jeff

You are spot on I managed to idetify what part was responsible for the arm uplift at the end over the weekend, its now running like a dream. I am also running out of things to fix on the Beogram 4000 unlike what you had to do with yours. I am about to tackle the dust cover which has fine scratches but will be looking at swapping ideas with you on this. I said before that I had got some stuff for polishing its called Crystalclear metal and plastic restoration polish. www.pinnaclesupplies.com 

I would say that this stuff is good and it comes with really fine cloths 0.2 denier which are fab for polishing. I will be doing this tonight while putting the Beogram through its paces. I Have a long list of vinyl I want to play. Thanks again for all your help and I look forward to hearing from you again.

Cheers

Kevin

Cheers Kev,

 

My Beogram 4002 was in truly flawless condition until the owner decided that the original packing material was sufficient and Customs Canada decided that the 4002 was a bomb, of all things. (NO sir, I am not kidding.) Anyway, they X-rayed the box and then attacked it, ripping it apart. The platter landed on the dust cover and it did a number on the Plexiglas.

 

I used Micro-Surface sandpaper on the Plexiglas to fairly good results…. a bit too much work for my taste, but the result was good. We are talking 4 hours of polishing. The firm is in Indiana and their product is worthwhile.

 

None the less I found your source of considerable interest.

 

I used Novus on my Beogram 8000, in part because the dust cover wasn’t all that bad, but also because I have owned this Beogram since new and United Van Lines destroyed it. Two shops and no repair in sight. Then a friend in California sent me an ugly but working 8000 and I swapped mechanicals. Now I have a pristine and working 8000 with a nice dustcover.

 

Keep up the good work…your Beogram 4000 is worth it.

 

Jeff

Hi Jeff

I have looked into the plexigals repair kit https://www.micro-surface.com/default.cfm?page_id=90&id=3KLENS&storeid=1

This looks really interesting, I polished some parts of the Beogram 4000 lid last night and it is coming up really well. As you know this is always an uncertain path to take as its such a fine job to do, I have spent hours on polishing and cleaning these decks but the perspex is always a long laborious task. The kit I have sent a link to you for looks really good and I think I am going to purchase this.

The majority of the scratches I think are really fine but one on the left hand side is deeper which I think will need a bit of detailed attention, I am still wondering if polishing with a kit like this will take the glossy surface off altogether as it has a nice glaze to it despite the scratch.

The scratch on the left is maybe 2-3 cm long and I know it will eventually get to me so I think it will need good tools before I tackle this. Is the kit in the picture similiar to what you got?

You know thats typical of customs, they have done this to me before too, I recently got a cd from Russia and this was opened and I noticed stamped by customs, these organisations seem to not give a monkey's about peoples property. could you not get compensation for any of this damage? I mainly buy my B&O item within the UK, I recently drove down to Manchester to pick up a fab beocenter 9300, fantastic condition it was very carefully put in the car, but when we opened the packaging the sensi touch panel had moved up as the glue that held it had deteriorated. Now if this had gone in the post I reckon this would have arrived in pieces and parts, thanfully I sorted this out and it is now gleaming like new.

Cheers

 Kevin

Hi Kev,

 

Scratch removal is step process. It the scratch is slight, and then you only need a light abrasive to cut down to the bottom of the scratch. Once removed you go to finer and finer polishes until the original surface condition is restored. This means the original glossy sheen.

 

However if the scratch is deep you will need a harsh abrasive and this will drastically dull the Plexiglas. What you are actually doing is slicing microns of plastic off your dustcover. You keep removing plastic until you reach the bottom of the scratch or damage.

 

Once the scratch/damage is gone, you begin taking the plastic back to a smooth and reflective surface again. There is no cutting corners here, you must go slowly with ever finer abrasives, either chemical or sandpaper.

 

One could always use an orbital buffer, Griots (Seattle, Washington) makes an especially good one which will not create enough heat to damage the Plexiglas. However, as brilliant a product as this it on a fine automobile, I don’t think I would dare use it on a dustcover. You would really need to know exactly what you were doing, but you could really save a lot of work…. if you knew how. (I don’t.)

 

Once again, keep up the excellent work.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

Hi Jeff

 Thanks, I have to tell you about an interesting conversation I had with a company rep in Glasgow regarding scratch removal from plastics. A chap named *** Kanikula contacted me after I e-mailed him enquiring about materials they may have to help with this type of work. Now I was a little taken aback when he suggested this was a good opportunity to discuss what options they have with me and would like to visit to look at the type of problem we face in restoring perspex on turnatbles etc. They seemed to think that they can offer a range of materials to help and they also are looking at tapping into a market for projects like this. I am hoping if I can get the time this Friday to meet and discuss this, he said he would give some samples of materials they have for high finnish polishing of plastics. What do you think? I think if they would offer good deals it may be something to promote on Beoworld, it may take a lot of effort out of searching for proper materials for this type of work.

They have a new device called a "Micro mesh belt polising kit" for finishing and touching up intricate, small areas. This kit contains a polishing tool with a spring-loaded, tension end that you slide 1/4" x 13" MICRO-MESH polishing belts onto. The tool allows you to index and rotate the belt so that maximum life is achieved. This kit will enable you to mirror finish small parts without changing its geometry. It also allows you to keep a flat edge on critical surface areas to be finished. The tool is ergonomically easy-to-hold and use. Each kit contains: 1-spring loaded polishing tool and 9 1/4" x 13" MICRO-MESH polishing belts in grades: MICRO-MESH 1500, 1800, 2400, 3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000.

What do you think

Kevin

Hi Kev,

 

I am exceedingly interested in how your meeting goes. Please keep me informed.

Thanks! 

 

Jeff