Repair & refurbish of Beocenter 3500

[Stephen Taylor]

Hello,

I bought a Beocenter 3500 at auction a few days ago with the intention of refurbishing it.

In general it appears well taken care of and the stylus looks OK so I thought it was worth a go.

I decided to plug it in when I got it home and wasn’t expecting much which turned out to be for the best.  It made a brief humming noise and then nothing, no lights illuminated,  I didn’t try to get it to do anything else.

The arm is not rigid but it does feel like there is still some type mechanism to which it is attached offering very light resistance.

I’ve ordered pretty much every replacement part available from Danish Sound Parts (great service btw – hope I’m not breaking rules by saying that).

My plan is to dismantle it such that I can remove the circuit boards, clean them up and replace the electrolytic and tantalum caps, rectifier etc.

I’ve also bought a replacement idler wheel – my philosophy being that I might was well replace what I can whilst it’s in bits.

I’m comfortable doing the electronics but I’ve been nervously poring over the exploded diagrams.  I’m not really sure where to start so I’m going to remove the cover and take it from there.

If anyone has any tips regarding removing and working on the mechanical parts then I’d be extremely grateful.  Have done some searching to see if there is anything information-wise out there already but haven’t found anything.  I do have a copy of the service manual which is more informative than I was expecting.

Also if there are any custom tools worth hunting down I’d like to hear about those.

Thanks very much for reading.

Steve.

[Peter Fraser]

Hello Steve,

These should be pretty straightforward — you shouldn’t need any custom tools.
Take your time, it’s a project, not a quick repair.

Turntable
Be careful when removing the tonearm; the wires are delicate.
The grease can become thick and cause the lift mechanism to seize or move very little.

Receiver
Take plenty of photos, as the old service manuals aren’t great at explaining disassembly, reassembly, or wiring.
The Flex PCB on the front panel is especially fragile — if damaged, you’ll need to order a replacement from PCBWay (Or your preferred manufacturer).
The front panel switches can become stiff over time. It’s better in the long run to remove the switch assembly and clean it properly, rather than relying on a quick spray-and-pray approach.
If you remove the front panel, realigning the switch levers can be tricky.
The wires are prone to becoming brittle with age, and there are no connectors.

DK Sound Parts
DK Sound Parts supplies most of the spares we can’t get directly from B&O, especially service kits.
Feel free to sing their praises — they’re also a sponsor of the website!

Kind regards,
Pete

Signature: Peter Fraser
Service Technician
Multicare Electronics

[Stephen Taylor]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for taking the time to reply with such great advice – I’m very grateful.

I’m in no rush with it so I’m going to take your advice and go slowly.  If I learn anything that I think might be of use to others I’ll post it here.

Glad it’s OK to praise Danish Sound Parts – you really do get a personal (and very prompt) service from them.

Cheers!

Steve

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