Hey, 

I rescued a beocord 1200 from my girlfriends parents loft today, its in very nice condition and has cleaned up a treat... the heads look good, no scratches but for the cover and the underside, inputs working, all powers up fine... score! 

So after cleaning it up and fitting a new drive belt (old one snapped: identical replacement sourced locally) I attempted to get it playing... no joy. It fast forwards and rewinds fine (rewind isnt the greatest... kind of slows down).

I can hear the switch lick in when I lever it into play mode, though nothing moves. Ive had the back off, browsed an old service manual and that's about as far as Ive got... iI dont really read well from a comp screen and cant print off the notes here.

I wondered if it might have something to do with the auto stop? Maybe the belt I ftted was wrong... Im not really sure where the dual belt fit if Im honest...

Is there anything simple that Im missing? Im used to old music gear but am a total noob when it comes to reel to reels. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I should add that Im definitely not in pause mode! ;)

Hey tIB
Welcome to Beoworld
Sorry, I am not a techie, but I'm sure someone will come along shortly to help.

Could it be possible that the lubrication in the motor has solidified after 30 odd years?
Just a thought.   If you don't get a response in a couple of days, don't be afraid to post the same question on the General forum.
Good luck,

Andy T.

Welcome to Beoworld !

Not too often we talk about these decks.

There are some mechanical points that are usually dry, most are related to the idler wheel
carriers and/or brakes.
There are also some felt pads under the reel tables that work lose, they are normally glued to
their bronze leaf springs.
The belts are fairly critical too and I hardly think that any off-the-shelf types and sizes will work.
I can supply correct belts as a set, they are good but not particularly cheap.
But check the idler wheel arms, pivots, brake pads etc. first.
A little acid-free oil to a couple of dry spots will often work wonders.

Most Beocord 1200's does not use twin belts.

Martin

After a morning of fiddling Im pretty sure Ive found the problem... I'd replaced the belt accessible from the reverse of the machine, on taking off the front plate there are two snapped ones in there also. 

I presume they are the main drive belts... going to get those replaced with some off the shelfies, Ill see how they go first... Id imagine they arent going to be perfect but stage 1 is getting all the functions up and running, once I know it doesn't need to be sent to a tech Ill think about getting it back to full spec.

@ Dillen when you say that belt set is not cheap what kind of price are we talking about? 

Thanks for the help and the welcome... Ill update later today with how its all going. :)

Does your Beocord 1200 have twin belts from the motor to the large capstan flywheel ?
Well, maybe not really that expensive but the belt set is EUR 30 incl. p/p. and comes with
detailed mounting instructions with photos and text.

Martin

Yeah it has twin belts to that.

After a long struggle Ive just managed to get the off the shelf belts on... we have movement!! :)

Will re-assemble and get back to you on those belts... Ill see what playback is like first and will prob order at the end of the month either way. 

Win! All working fine but for the counter... had enough of belts for one day so may tackle that one tomorrow. 

Thanks for the help, Ill post a link to some pics/recordings once Im home.  :)

Had a go at fixing the counter... couldnt find it in the service manual, I just ran from the counter wheel around the bake of the (bronze) right braking(?) reel. (Sorry I dont know the correct terminology).

Had it belted up with the unbroken belt that was inside it already; worked OK but affected rewind speed. The replacement belt is worse. Ive come the the conclusion that the counter belt inside wasnt the original (it was square as opposed to rounded- suspiciously rubber band looking), the replacement has too much tension. 

I can probably live without a counter, though if Ive made an obvious mistake in where Im attaching the belt feel free to chime in. 

Other than that its running like a dream; very nice and tidy in appearance (no scratches to player, a few on the dust cover, all original features bar the left standing leg in place), all functions (counter aside) in ful working order... Im a happy boy.

Might re paint the wooden case as I like the white surround. If anyone has a tip for paint that is similar to the original then please let me know. 

Andy