Hi everyone,

I'm currently working on a Beocenter 3500.

Very dirty, and it had been stocked in a cellar for 10 years!

I am about to re-cap and replace all the trimmers which are so corroded that they are completely black!

I have completely removed the fascia and cleaned it (the B&O guys had a stock of screws to use or what?).

What a job. I hate smokers too, I can tell you. The small plastic cover for preselections was there but it's yellow of course...

The wooden sides are in good condition, as well as the lid once polished (hours and hours of dedicated work here too).

I had difficulty repairing the arm but I think job done (the arm tube was out of its bearing assembly for some reason and I had to find a new spring).

I found the cartridge cap in the original box (!) but no cartridge, unfortunately, as some of you may know.

No belt to be seen either (and I hear that Martin can't supply this one), but the idler tyre seems to be in good condition. The speed adjustment mechanics are stuck.

Well it's coming along slowly, and I shall keep you informed of course, with some pictures to boot.

Craig:

Medogsfat:

Currently refoaming 2 X sets of Beovox CX100's & 4 X sets of CX50's. Should keep me occupied for this coming week.

Next up are a pair of Beovox P30's which have been sat in the back of the car since Tuesday. First impressions are that there is likely to be some refurbishment of the Rosewood (Palisander) cabinets required. I'll do some photo's if any major work is needed on these.

Chris.

That would be great idea Chris! Got a few diiferent pairs of speakers, that need caibinet work.

 

Craig

 

Well I've emptied the car boot & given them the once over & my suspicions are affirmed. There is a quite a nasty worn corner to one of these which is going to need sorting out (there are also some very minor chips to the back edges which will get the same treatment - once I figure out what it will be). Other than that the cosmetics are surprisingly good once the spattering of white ceiling paint have been removed. I'll start with methylated spirit on steel wool to get shot of the paint spots & tired surface finish before going ahead with any remedial work.

They are a very very dark (but gorgeous) shade of rosewood so I don't think this is going to be a straightforward job if I want the restoration to look right. Give me a week

Chris.

Chris.

I would like to see the process and the products you use Chris....

I have a few Beovox sets that need a cosmetic rufurb myself. In my case I am waitng for warmer weather so I can do the work out in the garage or outdoors. I dont like all the fumey stuff and stains in the house.

Stripping sanding steel  staining steel wooling resanding restaining then laying a coat of varnish over top. I prefer the deep red rosewood to the lighter teak finishes or blond oaks.

I have one set I am considering wrapping in white laminate or perhaps a colored laminate

OK, I decided to have a quiet evening relaxing & experimenting with a few products - mainly Beer

Tools/products required :- A selection of Ronseal woodstains, a tin of Cuprinol "natural" woodfiller, 400 grit abrasive paper, a black permanent marker pen, french polish/button polish, steel wool & beeswax. - Beer - lots of.

I found that the best "base" to start from is a wood filler by Cuprinol simply called "natural" colour woodfiller. The reason I chose this is because it readily accepts any wood stain without compromising its main function.

I experimented with several woodstain colours (Ronseal ones) & the best match I found was Peruvian Mahogany due to its deep red/brown tones. It appears strange at that Rosewood stain doesn't in fact give the correct results but this isn't actually iuncommon when the end colour is diluted with a base product. You really need to find a colour which is darker than the actual finish of the wood you are trying to match.

Here's a photo of the first application - unfortunately darkness has descended and I needed the flash to get a picture which makes the filler appear much lighter than is the actual case.

More tomorrow with the finished results & an explaination as to the need of a marker pen

Thats nice Chris but when are you going to refoam the surrounds or perhaps you could teach SWMBO how to do it.

Now this is more like it.

Picked this up on the cheap during the Stupor Bowl when most of us Yanks are getting sloshed and screaming or throwing empty beer cans at the TV. First piece I have bought in a while advertised as good working and it does for the most part but the lid bangs a bit when it closes to play a CD. In much better condition than the mess I picked last August or late July.

and now the mess I rescued last summer. Some folks dont take very good care of their stuff.

 

Stupor Bowl indeed. Lifetime Steelers fan. I had so much Scooootch in my belly by the start of the 4th quarter that I did not care that they lost! Now, OT: What is the opinion of using copper or brass wool vs. steel? I am concerned about the magnets, or not?

Oh yes Eugene - I've seen plenty of CD players like that, enough fluff in there to stuff a mattress

Anyhow here's how the nasty corner is looking prior to the final rub & polish, there's some blending in of the grain to see to first which is where the permanent marker pen comes into its own so I'll leave that for later.

Chris.

Almost there now.

I have finished the filling & sanding. To blend the repair in better I simply followed the darker grain line in the veneer with a black marker pen & immediately wiped the mark following the grain with some of the same magohany stain on a rag. I have lightly sanded the cabinets with 400 grade wet or dry paper & all that remains is to give them a coat of French polish, rub down with steel wool & finish with neutral beeswax.

Will post pictures of the final results later this week, got a function to attend today.

Chris

Well, you could have fooled me - nice job there!

Very nice corner repair Chris. Fixing up the cosmetics on some of my speakers will be my spring/summer job. Good thing to do in the garage or outside in the sunshine. Dont really like all those smelly chemicals in the house plus I wouldnt want to have a spill.

On to the CD 3300. Second time I have seen  this problem on the power supply board. First time the result was smoke-power failure and I hadnt even removed the board yet. Mindful of the last go round I carefully removed the board only to find the exact same problem. I would suppose that output is getting pushed by the heatsink it rests againt resulting in the peeling track.

Doesnt matter now, its pinned over, insuated and hopefully fixed permanantly.

Some recap work but I am not finished there. Examining the board I found a few voids in the factory solder that should be filled and I also will be touching up all the cable connectors.

 

 

 

 

Done

That's superb Chris, you can have a go at mine which are bashed on the front corner

Chris they look superb. Really like P range speakers.

 

 

Craig

The photo's don't do them justice TBH, they're much nicer in the flesh. They were pretty roughed up with very dull & lifeless lacquer when I got them, now the stunning rosewood veneer just glows. I tell you, nothing beats time/effort & a bit of knowledge to get the job done right (it does help having a brother who's a master cabinet maker to pick their brains).

@ Step1 - bring 'em on down lad.....

Chris.

Very nice work, Chris ! 

Martin

Yes they are very nice Chris I will be using the technigues you are Soren Mexico shared with me this spring/summer.

 

The 3300 CD is done and it works. The lid no longer bangs when it shuts. I did some fiddling with the gearing as well adding a little lube. the belt is in fairly good shape but I should probably replace it soon. I also replaced the rotting rubber lid stopes with felt.

Now when I touch the play button it takes about 3-4 seconds for the door to close the CD to spin up the first track read and the music to start. I have so far mostly been feeding it old scratchy CD's and it has only dropped 1. the sound is clear and very detailed. I have yet to try a CD-R yet. it wouldnt play them before but I could probably live without that option.

I cant make any focus adjustments (if its even necessary) because the information to do that is not avilable in the service manual on this site and I dont see any old ones available at this time. Maybe it doesnt need it anyway.

 

Eugene,

This is the standard Philips TDA1541 circuit.

You can make the initial startup much faster by doing my regulator mod, and you can measure the laser current to 50mV, all as shown in my pdf here.

All B&O CD's with Philips TDA1541-based circuit

If there is only one pot on the CD servo PCB, it's for the laser current only. And therefore there is no focus adjustment.

Menahem

yachadm:

Eugene,

This is the standard Philips TDA1541 circuit.

You can make the initial startup much faster by doing my regulator mod, and you can measure the laser current to 50mV, all as shown in my pdf here.

All B&O CD's with Philips TDA1541-based circuit

If there is only one pot on the CD servo PCB, it's for the laser current only. And therefore there is no focus adjustment.

Menahem

Thanks Menahem I may need that info for the mess I picked up last summer. This CD player is working as good as I could hope for. Reads CDs and now reads CD-R's within a second or two. The sound is lovely. No sense in rocking the boat at this point

The 3300 I picked up last summer will play CD but struggles with CD-r (ususally wont play them) Its biggest fault is playing the first disc after an extended period on standby   (a couple of days). doesnt like some CD's, new, old it doesnt matter. It does seem to like a Shirley Bassey CD which is what I would use to get it going. Once it "warms up" and plays through a CD or two its fine for the most part.

Considering the deplorable conditions in which it was stored for over a decade I kind of suspect some dried up solder joints. My next step is to open it back up and go over it pretty muck joint for joint.

Chris these look great - Well done!

 

Eugene - if you struggle to find the correct belt for the lid mech on your CD3300 I can help you there. Maplins sell a 46mm cassette belt which is a perfect fit, part code YX76H Also fits the CDX & CDX2.

There is a store right on my doorstep.

Chris.

Thanks Chris I may take you up on that real soon.

Not really relevent but here are two slightly different display panel designs for a Beocenter 7700. Just thought it would be cool to post a pic of them together before they get stored away, installed or passed along.

Medogsfat:

@ Step1 - bring 'em on down lad.....

Chris.

I would love to, but they are in Hereford right now !!! I keep asking for them back but my mum seems to be reluctant to part with them atm. I think she prefers the slim profile to the S-45's, as they just moved into a 14 century farm house so speakers in general don't really suit the overall look of the place!

I find your methods quite interesting Chris. My mums o/h is a picture dealer and often restores frames. I am sure he mentioned oil paints for the grain but I like the pen idea!, sounds so much easier and less messy!! I really do think miy speakers would be very difficult as the damage is significantly worse and involves the metal trim

Depending of course on the level of damage, the alumium trim shouldn't present too much of a problem. I was a metal worker in a former life

A photo would be useful.

Chris.

Undergoing sounds test. Everything appears to be working. tape works, tuner is good and all presets. IR is good. Display is good. Sounds real nice. The only small bug is the tone arm drop about 1 or 2 seconds into the first song (parallel Adjustment ?). The heat sinks off the power amp side are even, runs cool at lower volume levels. the sink off PCB 4 (small power supply board behind the transformer can heat up the sinks more so than the amp side. even at moderate volume levels (34).

What a magnificent piece of equipment. I really like this a lot.

 

This is my newly acquired, 'poor condition' BC9500. I haven't delved in much. mains cord cut.  But It's in better condition than I hoped. Bought it off Craigslist from Florida, 2190 miles away. Managed to get the CD door open with the screwdriver'trick' (thanks, forum). But the mechanism is a little loose from shipping, so I had to put the transport screws back in to align it. Glad they were there.  Typical glass loose,but it's all there, save a fingernail sized chip that's mostly out of the way. (anyone ever tried repairing chips like this?) I'm missing half of the plastic channel for the lower glass CD side. The most curious thing so far is the screw on the Cassette side. I tried to open it like the other, but couldn't. There's no slot in the screw head! Is that unusual?

Patiently waiting for the P45s I just bought to go with. Hope shipping goes well.  I'm still fiddling with my Beocord 8002. one channel gives nothing but rumble.  The suggestion was it might be in the signal path, but I switched the tape mechanism to a different 8002 (better condition) and the problem persists. changing RCA cables does switch the sound.  Any thoughts?

Cheers, Brian