Beocord 1200: Right reel does not run continuously

[van Jensen]

Hi all,

I really enjoyed recording with my “new” Beocord 1200 in the last two months. Everything worked fine BUT since today I have issues with the right reel when playing a tape.

The tape is “pulled in” from the left reel and played back properly but the right reel stalls briefly, the tape stops briefly and then the right reel starts again and winds up, only to stall again briefly and the whole thing starts all over again … please see attached Video.

What could this be? Something with the motor or the drive belts?

Many thanks in advance for any tips!
J.

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Location: Cologne
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[van Jensen]

What I did so far:

I replace the belt for the take-up reel. No improvement.
Then I also replaced the two belts that run from the motor to the flywheel (many thanks for the very good description how to do this to Danish Sound Parts). No improvement after that either.

I tried it without breakarm (below the right turntable) and without the break wire (around the turntable) – no improvment.

The Capstan runs smoothly and at the right speed in play mode as the music runs in the right speed and without problems.

I therefore suspect that there may be something wrong with the clutch – what could be the problem? Or any other thoughts?

Are there still adjustment options on the device? In the Service Manual it says on page 41 that a screw D can be adjust the pressure on the clutch?

Many thanks in advance for any hint – I really want to use the recorder again.

Thanks
J.

Location: Cologne
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[Madskp]

No experience in this kind of machinery other than my father had one we ocasionaly tried out when I was a kid.

However my memory told me that there was a thread about repair of these in the old forums, so her is a link to that thread. Hope it might be helpfull https://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/18355.aspx?PageIndex=1

Location: Denmark

[van Jensen]

Thank you very much for the link!

I‘ll have a look at it.

Best
J.

Location: Cologne
My B&O Icons:

[van Jensen]

Hi @Madskp,
I had a look at the thread and learned a lot new stuff about the BC1200 – very helpful. I wasn’t aware how to search in archived forums. Unfortunately concerning my issue no news.

I’ll further try to get the take up spool up and running somehow as I really enjoy listening to tapes on this beautiful machine.

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by van Jensen.

Location: Cologne
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[Madskp]

Just a tip for searching archived forums. In my experience a google search starting with Beoworld and then the search topic will usually work better than the site search function

Location: Denmark

[van Jensen]

Thanks, that makes life easier 😊

Location: Cologne
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[van Jensen]

After I cleaned and oiled everything around the clutch again at the weekend, there was no improvement.

I spent hours with try and error and then I pulled and pushed a little on the clutch with the felt cover and suddenly the rear disc on which the drive belt runs gave way and slipped backwards a little (see pictures). On further testing, I noticed that when I pulled the disc back to its original position towards me, it engaged with a small jerk. The clutch can then engage properly and the takeup spool runs properly for a while. After a while, however, the same problem occurs again. Apparently the disc with the felt has slipped back a little and there is a lack of friction so that the spool runs smoothly and evenly.

1. is it normal that the disc with the felt can come loose and slip backwards (is this part of the functionality of the clutch)?
2. if not, what is the best way to fix it?

Thanks for any  help!

J.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by van Jensen.

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[van Jensen]

I checked the adjustment work on the clutch/take-up and carried it out where necessary.
– I set the distance between the belt guide and the spool disc to the specified 3.18 mm
– The distance S (on page 42) between the belt pulley (with felt) and the driving disc (default 0.5mm to 1.0mm) to 0.7mm
– Set the tension of the right-hand spool to between 90-95g with the tape control lever activated (at 19m/s) using screw D.

I have now been able to adjust the following behaviour:
Starting the normal forward works tape motion perfectly. After a longer running time (30 min or 45 min), the belt pulley jumps back a little (not as far as in the pictures above) and the friction of the clutch is lost (see pictures below). If I now push the pulley back to its previous position, everything works perfectly again until the same effect occurs again after a similar playing time.

I have taken some photos which show how the distance to the drive pulley has increased (tape control lever in neutral position).

My next step would be to try to fix the pulley somehow (glue? clamp?) so that it can no longer jump back. However, I have no idea whether this would work and whether I would be putting another necessary function ‘out of action’.

Any feedback/help appreciated – Thanks J.

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[van Jensen]

Now that I am sure that I have found the cause, I have taken a closer look at the belt pulley. There are notches on the inside edge (see detailed photo). In my opinion, these have been driven in there so that the outer ring with the felt sits firmly on the bearing.

I therefore decided to push the outer ring slightly backwards, apply 2-3 drops of glue to the outside of the bearing and then pull the pulley forwards so that it is fixed in place.

Then I readjusted the friction again (approx. 95-100g) and since then the device has been running perfectly again! Keep the fingers crossed!

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[Simon Down]

Hi

Found this interesting and glad you sorted the issue. I have recently bought and worked on 1200 to get it working well. Most recently at vertical there was a rubbing sound on play that disappeared at horizontal. Couldn’t worked it out for a while, but it turned out to be very small cracks in the plastic housing for the main motor. The weight of the motor stressed the cracks. It probably wasn’t the right way to proceed but I Dremmeled off some metal from the motor just to give it a bit more space to circulate and problem solved.

Keep up the good work

Simon

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