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Hello,

I'm a new member and this is my first post.  I think the Beogram 3404 is a bit of an oddity, but I hope someone can help.

I recently acquired this record deck, which has had one owner since 1981.  It is in good shape, but it has one major problem.  The black plastic piece (don't know if it has a name) that supports the tonearm does not seem to be functioning.  The needle rests, unsupported, on the record deck; it does not lift or drop when "start" is pressed. If I manually place the needle on a record, it will play, but at the end of the album it will not lift up, but it drags/scratches accross the record back to its starting point.  I don't know if there is something I can do to get this black piece to maintain and then drop the tonearm, or if it is actually broken and needs to go in for a repair.

If any can offer advice, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Michael

The lift mechanism is probably gummed u7p and will need cleaning. The fact it does not lift at all is a bit concerning as usually it is just very slow. The mechanism needs disassembling and cleaning - best done by someone who has a little experience though not beyond DIY. The service manual is on site - I think - there are, I think, two 3404s - these are an American market model.

Hi Michael,

The 3404 looks to have the same arm as the European market's Beogram 1700, and I had a very similar problem with the arm lift on my BG1700 - a completely locked up arm lift mechanism - it wouldn't lift at all - even slowly. 

There is some really useful help on this thread,  although I would always respect Peter's advice on anything to do with Beograms!   

Cleve

Michael,

Apologies, the link failed on my previous post - this might work!!

Try this link

Cleve

Thank you both for the information - I am out of town for the next week and will try some DIY work on it when I return.  I'll post the results of my efforts. 

O.K., thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I made some progress but now have a different problem.

I read the related posts (thanks Cleve) and learned quite a bit. I was able to open the unit up and find that the notorious brass pin was totally stuck. I cleaned the pin and applied some lubricant. The result is that the tonearm now has up and down motion, allowing it to drop the needle smoothly onto the record.  Fantastic!!!

But now I have a different problem.  Once the tonearm drops the needle at the beginning of the record, it immediatly slides it back to the starting position.  The record continues to turn and the tonearm stays in the down position as if it thinks it is on the record. Even if I try to manually place the needle on the record while it is turning, the tonearm slides back to the starting postion.

My guess is that there is a thread about this but I have been unable to find it.  Let me know if anyone has thoughts or can direct me to the appropriate thread.

Thanks,

Michael

That was a simple fix - it appears I had the counterwieight set at O, O and there was not enough pressure for the needle to catch the grooves of the record.  I now have it set at 2, 2 and things are working fine.  I don't know if this is the best wieght set-up for sound, but the needle is playing through the record and then lifting at the record's end.  I am really happy and satisfied about this!  The forum was a big help.

If anyone has thouhts about the appropriate counterwieght/tonearm wieght settings or how high the black piece that holds the tonearm should be, please let me know.

Thanks,

Michael

defrancesco1:

If anyone has thouhts about the appropriate counterwieght/tonearm wieght settings or how high the black piece that holds the tonearm should be, please let me know.

Michael,

It depends on which cartridge you have.  An MMC 20s would work best at 1.5 grams, and MMC 20EN at about 1.2/1.3gms.  Given that these cartridges will all be getting on now, the higher end of the recommended tracking weight is probably wise.

As far as the black piece that lifts/lowers the arm there is a small screw in the black piece that can be adjusted and this can provide the sort of fine tuning you are licking for.  

Setting the tracking weight is slightly more complex than just adjusting the counterweight to the correct read out.  There is a good thread showing how to do this

Cleve  

Michael,

My link didn't work (again)  try this one