A photo of the Seattle pair prior to mechanical restoration.

As I have said before, this is the one piece of equipment that my old dealer's service department refused to fix. They stated that they had never found one with only one issue and that they were simply uneconomic to fix! Tim fixed mine - and it still destroyed tapes!!

Hi Peter,

The well deserved "difficult" reputation of the Beocord 5000 is pretty much universally accepted. Martin famously said that he would appreciate it if a Beocord 5000 never darkened his work beach, ever again. My regular shop in Atlanta didn't want to touch it..... or the Beomaster 4400. (The rational for the latter, I have no idea.)

Once I got the non-functioning deck working, the absolute first thing it did was chop my favourite tape and ground it to little pieces. I WASN'T amused.

As you said, there is never just one issue.

What I have with the first deck is something is locking the STOP button, along with everything but PLAY and FAST FORWARD. When I first tried it, nothing worked until I tried plugging it in with the ON engaged. That is where it started chopping my tape and EJECT doesn't work either until the OFF button is pressed, then EJECT works.

There is also a rather pronounced HUM coming from the buttons, which goes away when any of the non-working buttons is touched. I am not well versed with electronics, but I know something has hung up with regard to the STOP button. Guys, this is where I need the help.

This deck also started playing very, very SLOW, then immediately went to triple speed, and everyone sounded like Micky Mouse. And then like electronics possessed, the speed went to normal and it has played 4 tapes in a row, no distortion, no speed changes, and no tape destruction.

But OK, I admit it, I LIKE this Beocord 5000.

The second and formally working Beocord 5000 developed a "weak" motor after the cleaning, lubrication, (oil and grease), and Martin's new belts. It played perfectly before, but after doing TWO of these monsters, I was tired and left the shield for the circuit board out. I am hoping the bottom of the mechanism didn't do any real short damage to the board and that this is what is depriving the motor of power. I mean it worked great before. I just need the time to get in again and put the shield where it needs to be.

Any advice, especially about the locked, frozen, or stuck STOP circuit on the first deck would be greatly appreciated.

Soren, Jacques, anyone?

Jeff

The problems with this version of the Beocord 5000 are legendary of course.You have set yourself a challenge indeed.They are lovely looking machines and nicely made too,but oh boy were they unreliable!!!!

The Dealer I worked for had to admit defeat too,after we spent so many fruitless hours trying to overcome the problems.It was almost as though the machines had a "hex" on them!

B&O tended to "buy in "the tape mechs for later machine's,and quietly swept this debacle under the carpet.

B&O at the time blamed users for not using the tapes that they recommended (BASF)which the machine was allegedly designed with.My own experience though,was that BASF tape was the worst thing you could use!!!

It's hard to imagine that any machine problems could not be  overcome,but perhaps in time, like the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle etc,it will all be explained.

There is probably an enthusiast out there who will finally sort them,but it's not me alas!

Good luck with your's sir,

Nick

Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE

Hi Nick,

Thank you for your candid commentary.

Legend has it that the design staff at B&O insisted on a profile that matched other B&O products of the day, thus leaving the engineers insufficient height to work with. Thus challenged they went on to design an over-engineered nightmare in an attempt to make the best possible cassette recorder of the time.

In the fifties and sixties B&O was faced with intense competition from much larger electronic manufactures and they needed to make BOLD statements, to stand out, and in fact, survive.

The Beogram 4000 in the seventies was just such a product, and a success. The Beocord 5000 wasn’t.

This is a lot like Rolls-Royce in the early fifties, they knew they had to offer an automatic transmission, but lacked the resources to design one from scratch. Thus, they purchased, under license, the 4-speed Hydramatic from GM.

Rolls-Royce then, in a misguided attempt to make the best, better, sanded and polished the internal works to perfection, and you know what? It didn’t work, as the gears required the roughness to shift.

In any case, I do have an enthusiast willing to work on my Beocords but I have waited for about a year to get them on his schedule and I just couldn’t stand it any more. This is the ONLY reason I attempted what I did: clean, oil, grease, and change the 5 belts.

Now I have one working Beocord that has several functions out, including STOP and REWIND. I am not trained in any of this, but I know the STOP is locked or stuck as there is a considerable HUM coming from the buttons that disappears when any non-working button is depressed.

Please don’t anyone say clean the contacts….. I knew to do that, TWICE.

I just need a tip of what to either look for or do to get STOP to work.

The other issue (I hope) is the result of fatigue, as after doing both decks I was exhausted and forget to put in the circuit board shield. I thought that one was DONE, but no, it used to function beautifully, but now the motor lacks power.

I just need the time to go back in and put the shield where it belongs preventing the mechanism from shorting out part or all of the circuit board.

Thanks for your response.

Jeff

Not surprisingly Jeff,I don't have any technical  info now on the Beocord's under discussion,but I agree with you as to the design parameters.B&O were rather "all at sea" during the seventies,as they couldn't compete with the onslaught of super engineered kit from the Japanese hi fi makers.

They did get their act together later though,and I notice that you have a Beocord 9000 in your collection.This is a fabulous machine and is everything and more of what the '5000 should have been!

The later '5000 machine from the eighties, is no slouch either of course,and can still impress once properly refurbished.

We will be following your reports with interest in due course as to the progress of the work.

I'm amazed at the tenacity and ingenuity of many B&O enthusiasts,and the solutions they have arrived at to restore the older kit.Prap's "never say never" is more optimistic?

Nick

Nick,

Yes indeed, the knowledge-base here is truly remarkable: maven enthusiasts who share....

I too am very impressed with the Beocord 9000, a truly wonderful machine, and I especially like seeing the indicators through the window in the top. Very clever that little touch. Mine has been "laid-up" for an eternity due to a voltage surge that took out my McIntosh C-27 Pre-amp along with ALL the power on the third floor of our house. A REAL explosion, a bit of smoke, and now (are you ready?) 16 months after receiving my C-27, it is still at the factory due to issues with glass manufacture. Once I have that pre-amp back, the BC 9000 will get a LOT more usage.

Right now the Beocord 5000's are the new "toys" so the working one in the living room, the one with all the issues, gets most of my attention and use. Today I was "blasting away" with the Beolab 5000 and M-100 speakers. Made for a great start to the morning. (I am so glad my neighbors don't mind....)

I keep scratching my head as to why almost none of the buttons on the right side work, yet all the ones on the left side do.

It is not remotely the same thing, but I had a terrible time with the AFT on the Beomaster 1600. (Stunning design, but avoid these like the plaque.) I wanted to tune in KING-FM (Seattle) and I needed that AFT off, but the switch, it turns out, was stuck. Once I "charmed" the switch, problem solved, and I have the Classic King-FM on the 1600.

I am thinking it must be something similar with the Beocord 5000, as I know the STOP switch is somehow still engaged, although I don't see where. I have no electronic background, of ANY kind, but even I know all that buzzing coming from the buttons on the left is not a good thing.

If I don't receive any helpful directions beforehand I plan to take a look at the switches that DO work on the other Beocord when I go in to replace the circuit board  shield.

We'll see. Thank you for your interest.

Jeff

Welcome back Jeff, sorry but i cant help you, Rich gifted me a BC 5000, he even included new belts and some spare parts, when it arrived I took a look at it, investigated on the forum and said oh my god, it is now waiting at the end of my to do list, so I will be following here to see what you and others come up with, wish you luck and a lot of fun

Soren

Hi Soren,

Thank you for ....well..... ALL of that.

John will eventually get around to tackling these 2 Beocords, but I have been waiting for about a year, and I just couldn't take it anymore, I had to try.And at least I got the one that was DOA up and running. Still no STOP (etc) but it plays BEAUTIFULLY! The sound quality is truly exceptional, and I love the meter display!

Oh boy, the Beocord 5000 is a complicated beast! Every spring has to go back in the same spot so PICTURES are a must! (That and 3 full pages on notes.)

If anyone is interested, for ANY reason, I have LOTS of internal photos.

The next thing on my TO DO list is get back into the formally functioning Beocord and see if reinserting the paper electronic shield restores the power (strength) of the motor. Assuming this omission fixes my problem, I will get under the control buttons to see if anything is different between the working model and the non-working model.

And guys, anyone who has changed the belts in say a Beocord 8000 series (like my 8004) or even in the Beocenter 9000, either is a walk in the park next to the Beocord 5000.

There will be progress, and I will update when there is.

Jeff