The Workbench

Just bought a Beolab 5000

chartz — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:41:32 GMT

Hi,

After the Beomasters 6000, 8000 and 4400, I finally found a Beolab 5000 amplifier, sans Beomaster, working with intact lettering.

A nice project I guess! I suppose some work will still be required, and my pockets aren't deep enough to send it over to Frede!

Yes, pictures will come!!

beolab 8000 repair

jfa — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:20:26 GMT

My beolab loudspeaker has a relay problem - the relay energizes but the relay contacts don't tranfer the line voltage to TR1.

where can I locate and purchase this relay - item # RL1 - # 7600106 - 24V coil

Review: sellers of loudspeaker foam rings

Premiumverum — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:51:59 GMT

Hi all,

Thought I'd share this with you as there are a lot of people around here asking about refoaming and where to buy the rings. I have tried the two main sellers and have come up with very different quality!

I have a pair of M100.2 loudspeakers that needed a refoam of the filler drivers. I looked around on the forum and found this to be the main advised sellers by members:

www.goodhifi.com

www.audiofriends.nl

Both are Dutch, which was easy for me, but they have English web pages as well.

I saw a photo thread by member Jandyt who used foam from audiofriends, so I decided to get my rings there. Fast service and a how-to refoam guide on site. I followed the directions and used the method where no shimming is needed, as the M100 filler spiders are quite stiff and can mostly be centered with the four clothes pegs method (If I understood correctly from what I learnt here on BW).

One of the fillers went in fine and still is, but I couldn't get the second one centered. I finally got it in a position where the coil wouldn't scratch but the foam ring had to be bent in a very odd way. About a month later the coil started scratching again so I ordered a new ring from audiofriends, which gave the same problem again!

So, I tried another seller: goodhifi. Also fast service, and the ring I got was very different! I repaired the filler with no problems.

The difference between the two was in the foam. Audiofriends foam rings were thick foam, with big air bubbles in them, a bit like the foam you can pack things in. Goodhifi foam was much thinner, and the air bubbles were very small.

I think the audiofriends foam doesn't fit as tight as the goodhifi foam: it seems of a coarser quality and allows for a bigger tolerance, which (in case of my second filler) you sometimes just don't have in a refoam job! The goodhifi foam had a very tight fit and pulled my weird filler straight very beautifully, haven't had problems since.

So, to me it seems goodhifi sell a much better quality foam.

Reactions/more/other experiences welcome, and I hope this helps people with refoaming their loadspeakers!

Beomaster 5500 (2333) US to Euro conversion

beomaster224 — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:24:27 GMT

New guy, first post...

My BM 5500 just arrived from sunny Florida, only thing I forgot when I placed my bid: US mains So, I have a unit which says 120V @ 60 Hz on the backplate. Won't play too well in a 230V @ 50 Hz Euro socket... First thing I did was to open it, to see if I saw anything that would make me think it was an easy operation to change some wires... nope. All manuals I've found so far don't even mention the 2333.

Then, I read the post by 'Die Bogener' who helped another guy with an AV7000, but I decided I would rather kindly ask for some input on the 5500 since the wiring looks a little different and I sure don't want to blow up my precious BM (before I even know if it works at all...).

I hope I placed the post in the correct section. Thanks for your advice.

Penta questions...

GTS — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:28:57 GMT

So;

After looking for a second set of Pentas, I negotiated (what I thought was) a fair price with an eBay seller and a pair of Penta 1's arrived recently.

Regrettably the midrange drivers weren't so much "professionally refoamed" as promised, more "refoamed by a blind man using too much glue"... visually the job is horrific and one voice coil actually scrapes. Ideally the whole thing needs to be redone, though I'm wondering if simply attempting to remove the glue from the cones is likely to damage them?

Is there any way to test the displays without connecting them to B&O equiment? (Apologies if I'd missed this somewhere else in threads, I couldn't find much).

In the event these speakers prove unsalvageable (there's some shipping damage to the stainless, unfortunately) what's sellable asides from the amplifiers and the displays?

beovision 6 22" red light flashing when tv is off

benj_paris — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:03:44 GMT

Hello everybody,

I have a technical issue with my beovision 6 22".

When I switch off the tv the red light is fixed and after few seconds the red light is flashing.

I don't know if it's a big issue or not, on my beocenter 1 when the tv is off the red light is on but not flashing.

I also have the error: TV 0328 22-2D several times...

Have you got an idea of what it could be?

Hoping this is not a big issue...

Thank you very much in advance.

Rgds.

Benj.

What Are You Working On Now ?

Eugene — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 17:08:40 GMT

Right now I am cleaning up a Beocord 3300 and replacing to rotted old belts. What are you working on ?

BeoVision Avant 28" 50Hz slowed down

widerstand — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:14:33 GMT

Hello!

I just got this problem with my avant:

From mains powered on, it can be switched on, everything is allright, picture 100% sharp and clear, no flyback lines.

Sound is okay, crisp and no hisses.

when i want to change mode(VCR, Camcord), or switch channels, it just freezes, for example it changes the channel, sound is okay, but pciture appers 20 seconds later.

contorls dont work, e.g. if i want to change volume it lags, minutes later it appers on the little red display.

anythng pressed on the remote, the little red lcd becomes more lit up(so active, that command is recived).

has anyone met this problem before?

my set has never been serviced, it's 100% original.

Greetings

widerstand

Loss of remote commanding of DVD1 via MX5000

gburgess — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:09:42 GMT

I am experiencing an odd problem with DVD1's and my "new" MX5000. The MX5000 had all capacitors replaced a year ago. I connected a DVD1 Mark 1 via SCART cable to the MX5000, and it worked fine after I set the MX5000 to Option 1. I also have a Beosystem 7000 connected via an AUX cable. Later, when I was sending option commands, the DVD1 stopped accepting commands altogether, and in fact would not even go to standby when the MX was commanded to standby (this with either a Beolink 1000 or Beolink 7000).

I swapped my DVD1 Mark 1 with a DVD1 Mark 2 that was hooked to my Avant. The Mark 1 worked fine when connected to the Avant via RGB, S video, and separate datalink cables. And the Mark 2 worked fine with the MX. So I thought there was something wrong with the DVD1 Mark 1 and the SCART.

Well, while troubleshooting an issue with simultaneous two-way communications from both the MX and the Beomaster 7000, I sent Picture Option 0 to the MX. And then the DVD1 Mark 2 stopped working right after ward! I sent various combinations of Picture Option 1, V Opt 1, and even got out my Beo4 and followed the DVD1 instructions for sending Video Option, Tuner, 1. Nothing works.

So my conclusion is that sending the option commands is somehow telling the MX to stop relaying remote commmands to the DVD1, or that some option command went to the DVD1 to tell it to stop responding.

Any ideas how to get my DVD1 back working again?

Beomaster 2400 remote input selection mod tip

arnqvist — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:48:25 GMT

Hi!

This is my first post here at this Forum!

I recently purchased a Beomaster 2400 with remote and I use it alot to play music from my computer aswell as my Playstation etc.

The remote adjusts volume, switches between FM-stations and Phono-input. But not Tape-input! Which is a pain if you use the reciever alot with external sources.

So i found this neat little way of modding the Program Selection circuit so when you press the 4th FM button (or any button you like) it switches to Tape-input. It even powers on as it supposed to and the indicator is showing the correct "T".

It was real easy and required just one cut in the pcb and one jumper cable which makes it real easy to restore to original configuration.

Connect the collector of TR16 (closest at R107) to after the Diode D31 and make a cut in the PCB between D31 and R120.

I'm far from an electronic expert but it seems to me as an harmless tweak.

Cheers

Here's the mod on the layout and schematic:

http://www.humbugvisuals.com/random/Bang_and_Olufsen_Beomaster_2400_schematic_remotemod.jpg

http://www.humbugvisuals.com/random/Bang_and_Olufsen_Beomaster_2400_remotemod_v001.jpg

Penta midrange refoam

Orava — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 10:43:35 GMT

They are aviable foam and rubber surrondings for Pentas midrange speakers.

Do anyone have any experiences about them, is eiher of them better than other?

Original is foam but if replaced with rubber, it will last longer but does it affect the sound of speakers?

Anyone have rerubber them?

Redline 140 floor stands repaint?

Jimburg — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 01:32:23 GMT

I am starting to restore a pair of redline 140s and the stands have quite a bit of rust and paint missing. Does anyone have any ideas how I could repaint to either a very similar finish to the original, or something that would look suitable for the black redlines?

Any ideas appreciated.

Electronics for beginners......

SamWise72 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:44:16 GMT

Vintage B&O appeals to me for a variety of reasons; I like good design, I like great sound, and I like to see things used beyond their lifespan. Another appeal for me, though, is that I would like to be able to repair old electronics. I'm a guitarist, so there's lots of amps around my house, and I have a late 60's Hammond Organ that needs some love, and it's all soon to be joined by some B&O.

How should a completely inexperienced person start learning to diagnose and repair electronics? If the same question was raised about bicycles, I'd recommend this site: http://sheldonbrown.com/ which introduces you to every part of a bicycle, describes pictorially how to identify components, and also explains every repair technique in terms that a complete neophyte can understand. This site took me from being barely able to change a tube to being able to build a bike from the ground up (except wheels, which still scare me!). Is there a similar resource for vintage electronics, or how would you suggest I start learning?

Refoaming Beovox S80

Leslie — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:19:11 GMT

Did my first attempt refoaming larger drivers like the Beovox S80 I just got.

No batteries used to center the cone, just the touch of my hands! And it sounds fantastic!

MCL/Masterlink System ausgefallen

wolferich — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:10:06 GMT

Ich habe mehrere IR-Empfänger im Haus, die über MCL an ein MCL2P angebunden sind. Das MCL2P ist über Masterlink an eine Ouvertüre angeschlossen. Jetzt funktioniert auf einmal die Steuerung des Systems über die IR-Empfänger mit der Beo 4 nicht mehr.

Signale der Beo 4 werden von den Empfängern empfangen, da dann jeweile ein LED angeht. Bei der Ouvertüre kommt aber nichts an, sie schaltet sich auch nicht wie sonst an. Am MCL2P leuchtet die LED rot. wenn man die Lautsprecherstecker nach dem entfernen einsteckt wechselt die LED ganz kurz auf grün und geht dann wieder auf rot.

Die Ouvertüre lässt sich am Gerät selbst korrekt bedienen. Ich habe allerdings keine Lautsprecher dran, so dass ich nicht weiss, ob auch ein Audio Signal ausgegeben wird, aber es sieht momentan eher unwahrscheinlich aus, das wenn die Ursache bei der Ouvertüre liegt.

Ich kenne mich grundsätzlich mit elektronik aus, kenne aber nicht die Details dieses Systems. Jetzt frage ich mich, wie ich den Fehler eingrenzen kann. Kann mir hier jemand einen Tip geben?

Attyca 1 project

Krona — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:20:46 GMT

My attyca 1 is in need of renovation. The bench has a scratched edge. Has anyone tried to restoring an attyca bench with a scratched edge? Do you have any good ideas to restore the edge?

I'm thinking of putting an angled sheet of brushed aluminum or stainless steel.

Refoaming Beovox CX50 and CX100

Agent00soul — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:45:45 GMT

I got a pair of CX50 and a pair of CX100 that need refoaming.

A couple of questions:

1. Dillen talks about shimming the coils. How do you do that, exactly?

2. White glue seems to be recommended for glueing the rings but does that really stick to the metal frame? My idea is to use Casco water-based contact glue. This doesn't dry as quickly as traditional contact glue and can be adjusted before it sticks, if you mount the parts soon after applying the glue.

3. There is a 6.8 uF cap in the crossover (Beovox CX50). I suppose this is electrolytic. Would it be a good idea to replace this with a polyester cap?

Beomaster 6000 Refurbish

sonavor — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:58:11 GMT

I have an update kit from Dillen for my Beogram 6000 and am ready to begin work on it. I really wasn't familiar with this receiver and it wasn't on my list of vintage audio equipment to own. It came along with a Beocord CDX unit. The two came as a package deal for practically nothing so that is how I got to this point with it. It wasn't supposed to be working but when I brought power up on it slowly with my variac I could here a click inside the receiver. When I got to 120 VAC power was on and the unit worked. You can see in the picture that it has the problem where the FM tuner display is stuck on 74.8. Dillen has supplied me with an IC that should fix that. The controls need deoxing but they do function. While waiting on Dillen's parts to arrive I probably shouldn't have used the receiver but I wanted to get familiar with it prior to upgrading it. I played it through some RL 140 speakers and it sounded really good (I only used an ipod as an input source though). I started to like it. All of a sudden, last week, while playing some music through it, the receiver just shut down. Power would not come on at all ... no stand-by light or anything. I tried unplugging it for a while and still nothing. I thought I really screwed up and likely damaged the unit before even starting with the upgrade kit. As I am now starting the upgrade I decided to see how the unit looked on my dim bulb tester (while bringing up the voltage from zero to 120). Again, as I applied power I heard a click inside the receiver and then noticed the standby light was on again. Power is restored! This time I will not use the receiver until after the recap. I am wondering if the lost power is due to some kind of fault in the protection circuitry? I can see a protection circuit should shut down the output but it should be able to reset after being unplugged for a period of time. It seems like the variac forced the reset by bringing up power slowly.

Beomaster 3400 blowing primary fuses

zeloff — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:29:59 GMT

Hi everyone.

I'm a proud owner of a Beomaster 3400, which blew the primary fuse a few days ago. I really would prefer to fix it myself (or try my very best) than to send it to the butchers on the official B&O repair service here in Portugal. The last time I sent it there it came back missing a few parts, namely the metal 'rods' that held the cover up when opened and the aluminum spacers thay lay between the wooden frame and the panel itself, plus a misplaced linear pot and they failed to tell me they didn't fix the tuning dial string thing-y which had broken off, although I requested it...

Long story short: it's blowing the primary fuse and if it's a simple repair I'd very much rather do it myself. Does anyone have a clue on where to look?

Although probably unrelated, the D8 rectifier has failed in the past. Testing the four 1N4007 diodes the official B&O repair service here in Portugal soldered together showed one of them was gone and I replaced the whole thing with a W01M.

Also, somewhere along the way someone put a 1A (fast) fuse between the secondary and the D8, and TR8 has also been messed with. Does anyone have the original specs of D8 and TR8?

All the best

Zé Loff

Beograd 5500 cd won't play

ZaphodB — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:10:49 GMT

Actually it will but you have to leave the CD in the machine for almost a day, it will then play that CD perfectly. Turning it off and leaving it when you next press play it works perfectly again, all the functions work. However if you open the drawer to put another CD in it will attempt to play, showing the number off tracks sometimes but will then fail, making an odd hissing noise. Leave it for a day, return and it will play straight off!

Any idea on what's wrong? I have change the capacitor that is mentioned a lot, but this seems to have made no difference!

On another subject, I have found that there is an iPod docile for this system that was made but I can't seems to be no way to buy it or the parts to build it.. Any ideas on what has happens to it? As I for one would love to have one!

Beocenter 7700

Johan — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:50:31 GMT

Hi!
I bought a BC7700 some time ago, but I only yesterday found some time to work on it. It came with the MCP7700, a pristine SC77 and a couple of RL60s, all for about 90 euros. The speakers are in really good condition look-wise. I haven't had time to open them up, but a rattle suggests at least the ABRs need fixing.

I started cleaning the BC7700 (not thuroughly, yet, just get most of the dust and other other crap off it) and testing it a bit.
It seems to work pretty well. Obviously the tape deck needs new belts (they are still intact but so enlarged that they were lying on the bottom of the machine. :-) )

The part of the hinge for the programming lid (the one that is slid into the alu plate, I believe it is 2038 - "Friction plate" in the service manual) is cracked and needs replacing. Would anyone have a spare?

By just looking at the caps I can't see anyone obvioulsy cracked, but I guess they will need replacing anyway.

When playing (any source) the right speaker comes and goes. It appears that by increasing the volume it comes back, but that could also just be a random coincidence. Also I found that adjusting balance may make it come back, but again could just be coincidence. Turning off, and then on again, the speakers by pressing "Speaker 1" button in the programming section also seem to have some effect in bringing back the right speaker, but I wouldn't say it consistently works. Oh, and speakers 2 show the same behavior.

I should also mention that pressing "Mute" mutes the speakers but not entirely, very low volume is still coming out.

I've been reading (probably every post regardning the BC7700 and other systems) on the forum, but I couldn't find one with my particular issues.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!
/ Johan

Beogram 3000 type 5228 problem

rabble — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:33:04 GMT

Hi,

i just aquired what appeared to be a perfect new turntable. Looks as good as the day it was purchased. Unfortunatly when I turn it on, all that happens is a click and the orange light is on. I can turn the table by hand and the tone arm does everything that it's supposed to . The belt came off after turning it by hand, but in any case the motor does not turn by itself. The owner told me that it has been standing for four years unused, but that it played perfectly the last time. He is willing to give me the money back, but as the unit is so good looking, I really would like to save it if it's possible.

Andrew

Beocenter 2500 Problems

BerndE — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:35:51 GMT

Hi,

I have a Beocenter 2500 from 1992 (Type 2601). The Beocenter is connected to a pair of Penta III from 1999.

A few days ago the sound that came out of the Pentas was very thin and lacking bass. First I thought that the Pentas might have a problem, but I thought that is unlikely that both Pentas have the same problem at the same time. So I hooked the Beocenter to another pair of speakers (BL8000) and had the same problem. So I guess there is a problem with the pre amplifier stage. The sound is not distorted, it just seems like the lower frequency spectrum is missing.

Is this a known problem? I have the service manual, but it would be great if anybody could give some pointers to the problem.

And the tape deck of the machine stopped working a while ago. I did not bother, because I hardly use it. The tape just doesn't start. Might be a problme in the tape control circuit. So this would be a good chance to fix the tape as well.

Thanks for any help

Bernd

PIN-code issue after switching off my BeoSound 3200 for a few months

JIeo — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:44:21 GMT

Hi!

I'm very confused.
BeoSound 3200 was switched off for 2-3 months because of the repair of my rooms and now it doesn't work partially:
1) It doesn't react for no one keys of its front panel except the "LOAD" button. Therefore I can only load CDs.
2) It doesn't react for no one keys of my Beo 4 or Beo 1000.
3) It works in slave mode (connecting with BeoVision 9000) but only 1-2 mins, then it turns off automatically.

I have already tried all options (0, 1, 2). BS3200 indicates that the option value is changing but it boots not.

It looks like some PIN-code issue because previously its red LED had blinked after the power disconnection for more than 10 mins and then it asked PIN-code after turning on. Its red LED only illuminates now :((

How can I enter my PIN-code or reset it? I have some repair experience! Or I only must take it over to service centre?

Please help!

Thanks in advance!

Beovox 5000 - Upgrade

classic — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:22:24 GMT

I have started to upgrade my Beovox 5000 MKIII designed for Beolab 5000 (1967-1972).

I am planning the following:

Replace the capacitors in the crossover network

Replace the internal wiring to the bass driver

Replace the external cable

Coat the cones of the midtone- and bass drivers

/Frede