Vintage Products

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

Dillen — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:30:49 GMT

Swap left and right channel where they go to the amp board. This will tell you if the fault lies in the amp or earlier in the signal path.

Martin

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

possessed — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:07:19 GMT

Yes, only one channel work with phones too and with the receiver. I've cleaned the switches etc not sure what else to do. Have to give in on this one, which is a shame.

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

lausvi — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:37:32 GMT

Is it the same with headphones too?

I had the one channel only -problem once with the BM3000 of mine and that was caused by dirty switch, the test mode -switch! You could try to switch it up and down several times to see if there is any life on the channels.

Does it happen on all sources? Slim chance is that if someone would have adjusted the other channel down by the adjustments on the bottom cover but that wouldn't affect radio.. (If the adjustments look fine (same postition for left ja right) don't change them as they are almost impossible to get back again well)

Also it's possible that the other channel is dead - some amplifier problem - that's better ask someone else than me!

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

possessed — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:16:04 GMT

Hi, OK switches are all fine. I still have only one channel working (unless in test mode), which was my main problem in the first place. Any suggestions?

Thanks again.

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

possessed — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:49:12 GMT

Oh, that's a great help! Thanks very much, I'll give it a go next week and let you know :-)

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

lausvi — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:15:27 GMT

Removing the face plate is not necessary to clean the switches. You can first try to spray them with contact cleaner from the back (of the switch). First you have to take off the wooden top and side -plate - there are four screws on the bottom sides and two on the rear (just next to the grill) The diagram on the bottom should help you on this.

The switches can be now accessed from the rear and you can try spraying contact cleaner inside them and then switching them on and off several times to help the cleaner getting inside the whole switch. This is the way I made my BM3000-2 to work again. It might not be enough if the contacts are corroded badly - try first contact cleaner few times - at least it should make a difference. Other methods and opinions allowed! :D Also refer the discussion above

Inside you can see three biggest caps next to the transformer. Also there is a number of smaller caps around the boards - the ones that go bad are those cylinderical white/cream- coloured ROEs. They have the capacitance and voltage markings on the top like 250/6 and 25/25 (capacitance in uF and voltage in... volts! :)

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

possessed — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:41:33 GMT

Seems like a silly question but what is the best way to remove the face plate? I also am having the problem of only one channel working.

Also, what is the best way of cleaning the switches - is it possible to do this with a spray without having to dismantle everything.

Finally one more question, what are the Caps you are referring to? As you may gather, I am a complete novice and haven't been able to track down a manual for the 3000-2.

Any help/suggestons would be much appreciated, thanks.

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

gary — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:27:54 GMT

Thanks Nick and Martin.

It helps to know how the switch disassembly has been done successfully, and that it's worth the effort if/when they become intermittent again. It *is* rewarding, to go against entropy!

Even if it causes the occasional gibber.

gary

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

Dillen — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:41:55 GMT

I can only second what Nick just wrote, you will get the best result this way It goes for all contacts, potentiometers etc. that the dirt and oxidation will have to be removed mechanically to achieve optimum performance.

It's a lot of work if you have to do a Beomaster 3000 and you may want to take a couple of photos for reference on wire colors etc. but it is very rewarding.

I've done a couple of Beomaster 900's and 700's the same way though they prove to be much easier.

Martin

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

solderon29 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:36:20 GMT

The switch contacts actually become oxidised with age,and become blackened depending upon the atmosphere the equipment has been kept in.You can measure the increased resistance,so it's no surprise that signal quality is affected.You can achieve a temporary solution with solvents,but need to be careful what you use,so as not to damage the plastic contact holders.Also repeated washing out with some solvents,will remove the lubricant from the mechanism.

Dismantling the switch is "do-able",but yes,you do need to desolder the connecting loom,and then the individual switch sections,which seems quite daunting at first.

The results are really good though,with not only no switching noise,but improved sound through less signal losses.

Regards,

Nick

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

gary — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:31:18 GMT

Martin,

I feel a little better, I had done much as you describe to clean the switches. With the faceplate off it is possible to position the cleaner spray tube between the white plastic movable pieces and the stationary contacts to flush them all. I started with the LPS brand cleaner (not LTV as I said earlier) which is plain solvent. Later I repeated with the lubricated cleaner.

But I couldn't actually see all the contacts so I don't know if there may be some dirt remaining.

Nick, can you describe how far you disassembled the switches? Did you unsolder them?

It took a fair amount of patience just to reassemble the faceplate!

gary

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

Dillen — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:33:01 GMT

The potentiometers can be serviced in the Beomaster 3000 (and 3000-2 and derivate models) without touching the sliderule controls.

Take them apart and clean it all well. Most important is the contact track that lies along the resistive track. This will have to be cleaned using a glass-hair brush. Rub until its shiny and all oxidation has gone. The resistive tracks can be cleaned using contact cleaner and cotton buds, wipe dry afterwards.

The sliding part inside the potentiometers have little contact points that will also clean well using the above mentioned method.

A little amount of silicon grease can be added to the sliders plastic tracks to add a little smoothness and you will have noise-free potentiometers again for many years.

The row of switches is a different story. They are extremely hard to access but usually responds well to contact cleaner in large amounts. You can add a little contact cleaner first and let it soak and losen up the oxidation for 5-10 minutes and then, with the Beomaster at an angle and on some newspapers or similar, spray large amounts into the switches to simply flush out the dirt. The dirt needs to be removed from the switches rather than shifted around inside.

Martin

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

solderon29 — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:16:49 GMT

As you say,the switch is a good quality device (German)

The only permanant solution to the intermittant contact problem is to actually dismantle the switch assembly!!

It can be done,although it needs great patience as you can imagine,but the results are good,and the repair of course lasting.

I've done several (mad or what?) and I only gibber occasionally!

Regards,

Nick

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

gary — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:41:42 GMT

Martin,

You may be right about how long the switch cleaning lasts, but the persistence of the lubricant makes me optimistic. I don't look forward to having to take the faceplate off every few months to renew the cleaning! Is there any other solution? I don't suppose new replacement switches are available?

I'll definitely leave the sliderules alone.

Thanks again for your help. At least it all works great for now!

gary

Re: Beomaster 3000-2 switches and meter lamp

lausvi — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:50:08 GMT

gary:
I tried just contact cleaner (LTV) at first which improved the switches somewhat but still not satisfactory. Then I tried contact cleaner plus lubricant from Radio Shack and that did it. The switches and slider pots now work as new, solid contact and smooth action.

Hi.

I have a Beomaster 3000 (same as the 3000-2 with just some small changes). It too had noisy sliders and the switches were all dirty - it was impossible to get both channels working without fiddling the switches on and off. In my case the contact cleaner worked - and still works after at least 4 months. I did noticed that the noise came back but after second cleaning or so it has been ok.

I by the way just replaced the caps too! Also good to know about the meter lamp type - sounds that you did a good job with it!

I was also wondering if the sliderulers can be taken off but I didn't wanted to break anything so I let it be - they weren't too dirty anyway. But I would be interested if somebody knows how it could be done!