Peter :

Most resourceful! Definitely worth trying to slide the piece forward - it seems to be set to 0.5g at present. I would suggest trying and would also consider something like a small piece of Blu-Tak under the arm holding the slide in place and also adding a small bit of the weight lost. You will clearly need to use your weight scale to get the tracking force correct.

Thanks! I went ahead and adjusted the piece forward (the hole is sitting approx. underneath the 1.5g mark), and now it's acting more like a Bang & Olufsen turntable should! It's sounding great with my 'test record' (a slightly beat-up copy of Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here", and nearby movements don't seem to faze it at all. I definitely want to find the proper slider piece for it, but for now, at least it's useful.  I will try to get the weight more in line with what it should be; what was the recommended tracking weight of the MMC20E? I have yet to find the specifications for this particular model of cartridge (how it even ended up attached to a Beogram 8000 is entirely unknown to me).

-Adam

Hello!

I did the same "mistake" on my 6006: I missed the slider (I found it later inside the chassis) and I moved the counterweight to the front. But then I put back the slider in place and in fact it changed the balancing of the arm (0,75 g) so I had to balance it again and guess what, it was in the correct position before of course! To balance just put the slider on the 0 g indication and press Play: the arm will stay still so that you can adjust that. Before finding the slider back I had done that with a bent paper clip, the extremity of which went into the missing screw hole. 

The MMC20E tracks at 1.5g. You need to get a MMC20CL really, or find a silver cartridge and get Axel to put a new stylus on for you!

I track my MMC20EN at 1g and it's just glued to the groove. 

Peter :

The MMC20E tracks at 1.5g. You need to get a MMC20CL really, or find a silver cartridge and get Axel to put a new stylus on for you!

Good to know. Not quite sure what the MMC20E is tracking at right now, but it sounds pretty darn good doing so! I definitely wouldn't mind finding one of the silver cartridges, especially the MMC20CL; as it stands, this MMC20E is the first of the 20 series I've seen 'in the flesh' anywhere (most, if not all, of the B&O 'integrated' turntables I've seen 'in the wild' have been fitted with MMC5s). A shame Axel is a bit too far away, or I'd make use of his services for sure. I wonder if SoundSmith would be willing to make me a SMMC20x with a silver shell...

Moving onto another issue: I've noticed that the muting switch of my 8000 seems to be ineffective, particularly in the left channel. I can hear a 'pop' when the stylus is lifted off of the record, and then a scratchy sound when the tonearm goes over the stylus brush near the rest position. Might there be a relatively simple fix for this?

Finally, I think I may have learned the reason behind the 'off-center' sensor arm in my 8000: the stylus set-down point on records smaller than 12" is a bit too far to the right, causing the needle to nearly fall off of the record! Is there a way to adjust the distance from when the sensor hits the edge of a record to where the stylus drops? Once again, thanks!

-Adam

I did ask Soundsmith about making a silver body shell but they did not seem that keen. Shame as their cartridges are superb but look wrong on a 4000 or 8000 deck. Soundproof is actually doing a review of the SMMC20CL+ cartridge for us. Worth waiting for. I actually sprayed my SMMC20EN silver!

Hi,

Finally, I think I may have learned the reason behind the 'off-center' sensor arm in my 8000: the stylus set-down point on records smaller than 12" is a bit too far to the right, causing the needle to nearly fall off of the record! Is there a way to adjust the distance from when the sensor hits the edge of a record to where the stylus drops? Once again, thanks!

Yes, there is, and the good news is you don't have to dismantle anything!

The SO (Switch Off!) switch is located under the arm resting position. To access it it's just a matter of removing the plate where the big plastic screw and the brush are. Just play something and unplug the deck to have all the necessary time to operate safely. You have to slightly untighten the switch screw and move it to the left by a mm or two. See what happens and re-adjust if needed. My advice is to cut a piece of cardboard of 1 cm by 8 cm to retain the arm if anything goes wrong.

Good luck! 

@Peter: That is one nice-looking cartridge! How did you reproduce the original-style lettering? Also, how did you mask off the stylus guard area? Anyway, I'll definitely be interested in seeing that review, even if there's little chance of me being able to afford one.

@chartz: Thanks for the tip! I'd noticed that switch, but wasn't sure if it's position had any effect on the set-down point as indicated by the sensor. After some balancing of the sensor arm and the switch's position, it's doing a decent job finding the proper set-down point on all of the record sizes I've thrown at it thus far. About the only issue now is that the sensor is having difficulties with determining the size of records made of transparent vinyl (not sure if that's related to the re-positioning of the arm, but it seemed to not mind them before). What is the best solution to this problem?

Yet another question for the group: should I be concerned about the gunk on the arm carriage's transport screw? I'm not sure if it's affecting the movement of the carriage, but I do occasionally notice issues with mistracking near the beginning of LPs. If it's an issue, what should I use to clean it off, and what would properly replace the original lubricant? Again, thanks!

-Adam

AdamAnt316:

Yet another question for the group: should I be concerned about the gunk on the arm carriage's transport screw? I'm not sure if it's affecting the movement of the carriage, but I do occasionally notice issues with mistracking near the beginning of LPs. If it's an issue, what should I use to clean it off, and what would properly replace the original lubricant? 

I cleaned the spindle completely with petrol to remove the gunk, and re-oiled it with sewing machine oil, and teflon grease at the bearings and on the guiding fork (you can't see it, it's underneath the carriage). But this operation requires a fairly difficult disassembly of the deck, because you have to pull up the carriage! Be careful, there are fragile connections and a flexible PCB.

chartz:

I cleaned the spindle completely with petrol to remove the gunk, and re-oiled it with sewing machine oil, and teflon grease at the bearings and on the guiding fork (you can't see it, it's underneath the carriage). But this operation requires a fairly difficult disassembly of the deck, because you have to pull up the carriage! Be careful, there are fragile connections and a flexible PCB.

Thanks for the tips. Not sure if the entirety of the screw needs to be cleaned (there's only one band of what looks like gunk at one point along the screw's travel), but it's definitely something to think about. The problem I mentioned is by no means a regular occurrence, and I'm not even sure if it's due to that band of gunk (could just be the records themselves, though I've never noticed it before with the ones it occurs with). I'd rather not mess with the wiring of the arm, if I can help it.

-Adam

AdamAnt316:

@Peter: That is one nice-looking cartridge! How did you reproduce the original-style lettering? Also, how did you mask off the stylus guard area?

I used printable transfers - reasonably effective. Actually rather better for black cartridges and white letters! I masked the stylus very carefully with tape.

A black cartridge with logo!

The Black Tulip! I'm not sure I have much luck of finding a 4000/4002/4004, never mind one of those beauties. Interesting that you found white easier to print than black; usually, it's the other way around (I had to buy a special printer in order to be able to print white-on-clear decals for aircraft models). All you'd need to do is glue a piece of clear plastic over the stylus guard, and that MMC5000 would be all set.

-Adam

AdamAnt316:

The Black Tulip! I'm not sure I have much luck of finding a 4000/4002/4004, never mind one of those beauties. Interesting that you found white easier to print than black; usually, it's the other way around (I had to buy a special printer in order to be able to print white-on-clear decals for aircraft models). All you'd need to do is glue a piece of clear plastic over the stylus guard, and that MMC5000 would be all set.

-Adam

I used white transfers and printed black onto it - the white shows through. The cartridge is actually an MMC20S which has had a new stylus with a Shibata profile diamond put on by Axel. I wonder if the fault is a cracked solder joint. It does not sound as if you are in the UK!

Peter :

I used white transfers and printed black onto it - the white shows through. The cartridge is actually an MMC20S which has had a new stylus with a Shibata profile diamond put on by Axel. I wonder if the fault is a cracked solder joint. It does not sound as if you are in the UK!

Looks like it came out did very well.

I'm hoping this latest problem with the 8000 is something like that, and not a burnt-out component (I didn't smell anything after it happened, which is probably a good sign). The fact that it worked just fine after cycling power makes me wonder what it could be. Hopefully, Martin has seen something like this before, and can advise me on what the culprit could be.

And yes, I'm not in the UK, though you wouldn't have known that a couple of months ago! June and most of July had us drenched with rain just about every day. I went to see a concert where the Strawbs were performing, and the lead singer remarked to the effect of, "We came here expecting some nice summer weather. If we wanted rain, we could've stayed home!"

-Adam

As Peter also suggests, it sounds like a cracked solder joint or a capacitor fault.

Martin

Dillen:

As Peter also suggests, it sounds like a cracked solder joint or a capacitor fault.

Martin

Good to know. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't something impossible to replace overheating and/or burning out. I'll have to try and do some troubleshooting. Where should I start, and what should I do? As usual, thanks!

-Adam

Well, first find out what causes the problem.
If it's a capacitor, it will have to be replaced.
If it's a cracked solder joint, it will have to be redone.

The last many Beogram's I've seen of this type had lots of both and the
symptoms can vary a lot. As a matter of cause, I like to replace all electrolytic
caps from 1uF and up and also check for cracked solder joints in every Beogram I see.
You can't judge anything or even try to locate an eventual other fault before this is done. 

Martin

Another update: during further testing, it once again began to lose speed. While it was slowing down, I tapped the front panel, and it zoomed back up to speed. Does that mean a cracked solder joint is to blame? And if so, what would be the best tool to use to try and find it? Also, are there any tricks to removing the circuit board? Once again, thanks!

-Adam

Look at the solder side of the board, that's possible with the Beogram in
service position.
Redo any peculiar looking solder joints, there will be many.
A magnifier will help you and in rare cases a microscope is needed.
Remove the old solder and add fresh. I like to use solder with a hint of silver in
it to help prevent future cracking but less will do.

And do be careful when you work on the board. The large caps will hold voltage for a long time
after powering down and there's always a risk that shortening something to that power will ruin something.
I often discharge the caps through a resistor before servicing as a matter of cause. 

Martin

Dillen:

Look at the solder side of the board, that's possible with the Beogram in
service position.
Redo any peculiar looking solder joints, there will be many.
A magnifier will help you and in rare cases a microscope is needed.
Remove the old solder and add fresh. I like to use solder with a hint of silver in
it to help prevent future cracking but less will do.

And do be careful when you work on the board. The large caps will hold voltage for a long time
after powering down and there's always a risk that shortening something to that power will ruin something.
I often discharge the caps through a resistor before servicing as a matter of cause. 

Martin

Good to know. Is there a good way to hold the unit in the service position, besides propping it up against something? I've heard that letting the top part tip too far over will cause the hinge to snap. I've also heard that some B&Os with this sort of hinge had prop rods to hold it in position, but I didn't see any sort of one in this 8000 when I had it open the first time. Will standard 60/40 rosin core solder be OK?

Good tip on the discharging. Will any resistor do? I assume I connect one side of the resistor to ground, and touch the other side to the positive terminal of the caps. I haven't had to do this too often with the stuff I've serviced, but when it comes to something this complicated and valuable, better safe than sorry.

-Adam

An update: After crudely putting the 8000 in the service position (note to those who may be doing this: do NOT use the Play button to move the arms out of the way to access the under-tonearm door while two of the bottom plate hooks are pulled out of the suspension springs; the drive coils didn't seem to like that...), I took a look at the underside of the board. Using a magnifying glass, I was unable to spot any solder joints which looked cracked. Some looked a bit blobby, but nothing overtly faulty in appearance. Exactly what should I be looking for, and where? I assume whatever's come loose has something to do with the motor control, but I'm not sure which area of the board, if any, covers that. I'd rather not have to reflow every single connection on the board(s), if I can help it. Any sort of photos of known bad solder areas on 8000 boards would help. Also, would still like some info on how to properly put the 8000 into the service position, without propping the tonearm cover door on something or causing the bottom hinge to crack. This is the first time I've worked on a Beogram at the component level, so I need all the help I can get. Once again, thanks!

-Adam

Another question: would it be OK to operate the unit in the service position? I'd like to be able to probe around the board with a plastic tool while it's operating, to see if the area of the intermittent connection can be located while it runs. Again, thanks!

-Adam

Hi,

I just took my beloved Beogram 8000 out of storage and cannot get it work. All the lights come on, the speed indicators seem to want to work, the play, stop, and tonearm postioning controls also work. But the turntable platter will not rotate. Everything was in perfect working order when I packed it up 6 years ago. Is ths something the "cap kit" you metioned can address. By the way, what is a "cap kit"?

Thanks,

Michael

Hello,

I had a similar problem with my platter stopping in the middle of a record. It was just a bad solder at a connector's base.