Chris, the silver panel is hiding a heavy weight. If it's on a funny angle, it might just be dislodged in transit. Hold the tone arm firmly and you should be able to lift the silver panel and weight out. Might be an idea to take of the cartridge first to avoid Mobing it. You should then be able to slide it back into place correctly.
With the weight on and the cartridge on, if you slide the weight selector (next to the silver panel) to 'zero', the arm should be perfectly balanced. You cant play a record like this though, so slide it back to 1.5 grammes.
You say you haven't even seen one of these before, whereas most of us were weened on these. It won't move across without a record on the platter. The grooves on the record effectively pull the arm across.
If it doesn't lower at the start of play, and it doesn't raise at the end, then inside, a little brass pin has got stuck in a brass sleeve with lubricant which has aged and solidified. If this turns out to be the case, then we will talk you through how to fix it easily.
Keep us informed, eh.

Andy T.

Jandyt:

Might be an idea to take of the cartridge first to avoid Mobing it.

To explain this.......

"Mobing" something is a Beoworld expression which has come to mean trashing your B&O. Taken from the exploits of our very own doyen of the site & much admired member mobeyone who has a slightly chequered history when it comes to some of his DIY efforts,😁

Chris.

Very well explained Chris.😂😂😂😂

Craig🙂

Right first things first. I pulled the flap open with the weight in, and pushed it down again seating it all the way in.Then set the slider to "0". I think it could be a problem with the lubrication because if i lift the arm slightly with a finger, it stays where I lift it to, instead of falling back down, and seems to stick there, unless i nudge it back down. Does that make sense?

 One more thing - how to check the transoprt screws? The spinning bit was secured with tape and foam in transit, but when first spinning it it seemed to catch on something underneath, so i lifted it out and the three large screws underneath were up far enough to cause one of them to rub, so just screwed it back in a bit. Is this a transoprt screw? If so then they are al loose, but not fuly out because then they rub. Hope you understand my crappy descriptions!
 

They should be all screwed anti clockwise until they are loose.
Are you game to go inside it Chris?
Whatever you do, DON'T undo the screws that hold the torsion spring which helps the lid open! It is a sheer b*****d to get back together!

Andy T.

I'll do anything to get it working, don't mind having a fiddle :) Just remember I don't know how any of it works so explanations will need to be as simple as my descripions of the problem!

 
edit: I think you were right about it being a lubrication problem, the arm does not seem to move freely up and down or left and right at all. This could be what is causing it to skip, as it is not free enough to be dragged inwards by the grooves in the record? Perhaps getting it to raise and lower is of more concern at this point though.

Chris, tomorrow (Friday) is Beoworld monthly prixe draw, so we will be busy on that thread.
Perhaps we can work through fixing it together over the wekend.
In the meantime, might I suggest you get some Isopropanol (from your chemist) and some sewing machine oil (not 3 in 1 too acidic) I use clock oil, and also some cotton buds (for cleaning ears out)
Let me know which evening you want to do this, and I'll give you my undivided attention.(Not Wednesdays©)

Andy T.

Chris,

        if you're still after some cheap & cheerful Beovox speakers I have a pair of

OK I think I'm ready o get this thing working now, as I now have all the components for my system on the way :). By the way thanks for the offer Medogsfat but I have some speakers on their way now.

 What I would appreciate is a general outline of the procedures then more detailed help if possible, and I will outline any problems again if people need. You've all been really helpful so far so thank you!

The problems I can se at the moment are the arm not raising / lowering, and skipping towards the outside of the record every few seconds as if it is stuck in position. Could possibly be the same problem, as the arm feels a little sticky in its movement.

Thanks again everyone  🙂