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My search for an MCL2P is over now anyway – no point, as the MCL2AV that I bought has stopped working. I’d not had it long so the eBay seller has agreed to take it back and refund it. I’ll wire my old MCL2A back up for now.
Given that the MCL2AV has gone, and given that I have an ML distributor box with sockets going spare, I think I’ll give up on the MCL plan and go for a Beolink Passive 1657 with an IR Eye. If my BC8500 ever goes the same way as the MCL2AV I’d likely replace it with something later such as a BS3000 or BS4, so having the Beolink Passive to drive my lovely little Boevox CX50s at the back of the room would be an advantage.
Location: LiverpoolAh that is interesting. I already have 2 of those older rectangular IR receivers which came with MCL2A and MCL2AV. Of course they have bare wires rather than a DIN connection that the 1657 requires, but it’d be easy enough to fit one and I think I can see how I would wire it up on other thread you posted a link to!
I wouldn’t mind a round IR eye with eh volume control, but the eBay sellers are asking a lot for them. I could use one of my old ones and live without the volume controls for now, until a round IR eye came up at a good price.
Mind you, if I do this properly I won’t need the MCL2A or 2AV, and could sell both on eBay, which will go some way to paying for the new IR eye! I’m not too short of funds but I do like a bargain.
Location: LiverpoolAg good – at least I have an alternative then. If I can’t get an MCL2P I’ll get a Beolink Passive and an IR Eye, and connect it to my ML Distributor. The Beolink Passive amps come up cheap on eBay sometimes, but the IR Eye demands a much higher price. I have occasionally seen them sold as a package through (a 1657 with an IR Eye) so I might look out for that.
Location: LiverpoolI have not yet been able to find an MCL2P for sale, so I was thinking of buying a Beolink Passive such as the 1657, as per your earlier suggestion in this thread @Madskp. I know that would not supply power to the MCL2AV but it would at least still work.
I think I do have an alternative though – note that I have my Beocenter 8500 connected to a 1611 converter via Audio Aux Link, then that is connected to an ML distributor box which has 3 unused sockets at present.
Could I connect a Beolink Passive such as the 1657 to that via Masterlink, or could I connect the 1657 directly to my Beocenter vas Powerlink? I know this would mean I would also need the newer IR Eye as the older rectangular type that I already have would not work, but would this alternative (made up of newer components) work?
Location: LiverpoolAh yes, there they are. Three AAAs now replaced, and it’s working! It’s not obvious; you have to jimmy open the flap with a little screwdriver, but at least I know where it is now!
I don’t much need a landline (we still have one in our house but it rarely rings). I was more interested because it looks good, and now I have volume controls for both my Beocenter and Beovision right there on my desk – brilliant! I also have a Beotalk 1200 which I don’t use as an answerphone, but just for the useful caller display. It’s shouts “MUM!” in my voice when my mum rings. Who wouldn’t want that!?
Thanks for your help (again) Guy.
Location: LiverpoolThanks – I’ve downloaded it ready for when it arrives. I’m using a Windows 10 PC (I’m a keen PC gamer, so Mac is no good for me!). I’ve held off on installing Windows 11 for now as it needs me to change some BIOS settings and then reinstall, and I simply can’t be bothered with all that just yet!
Location: LiverpoolI managed to find another Beolink PC2 going cheap on eBay (some sellers were asking a lot for it though!). I was too curious not to buy it in the end, so I bought it and it’s on its way. I’d be grateful for that software then, if you have it.
Location: LiverpoolUpdate – the new cable arrived, and there is no longer a hum when it is connected and switched on (but not playing), so the cable was part of the problem, but only part.
There is still a hum, not as loud as before but still very audible, whenever it is playing.
There is od music on the tape that came with it and it plays in okay-ish quality. If I record new music however it’s poor quality when played back, particularly on the right channel. Very variable and scratchy, and lower in level than the left.
It seems the right place to start is the capacitors on the power supply board. I have the service manual and it’s quite easy to identify them, so while I’m no electronics expert, I should be able to get the multimeter and soldering iron out, get hold of the capacitors! Wish me luck.
Location: LiverpoolJust coming back to this, I managed to get a Masterlink Distribution Box, one came up cheap on eBay. It’ll come in useful because I have decided to keep one of the Beolab 2000s I bought as a package with my Beolab 3500.
As for the Beolink PC2, I missed out on the one that was on eBay but another will come up, and I am just too curious not to buy one now! One thing I didn’t think of though – will I be able to get the software for it?
Location: LiverpoolMy understanding is that the BL6002 (unlike the Beolab 6000, which I have) lack the RCA input, and only have Powerlink inputs?
While I don’t have the same speakers I do have the 6000s, and I have a Beocenter 9000, and I have connected then successfully in the past. I was able to connect them with RCA-to-RCA cables because my BL6000s have an RCA ‘line’ input as well as Powerlink.
I’d ask Steve at Sounds Heavenly if he has the cables for that, if I were you!
Location: LiverpoolI lost out on the Beolink PC2, I forgot when the auction was up and the time passed without me bidding. It hasn’t been relisted so someone else must have bid for it. A shame, because it came with all the cables, even a double masterlink cable. Never mind, I wait for another one to come up.
Location: LiverpoolThanks _ I forget to look at the old forums but I’ll have a look. I’ve not opened it up yet but I’ve been playing around with it- it does at least play, and record, and it appears to play at the right speed. If I plug headphone into it the sound quality is still pretty muffled, but the loud hum that i get if I connect it to my Beocenter is not there when I listen via headphones.
The DIN cable is really old and worn (it may be original!) so I will replace that first, then give the heads a proper clean, then it’s trial and error from there. I don’t have a demagnetiser for the heads but I may buy one.
I have no practical use for a reel-to-reel tape recorder of course, but it does look very cool! I’ve stood it up next to my other equipment (it has clever swivelling legs on the back that help it stand up). It would be nice to get it working better but it’s not the end of the world if I can’t.
Location: LiverpoolYou were right – thanks! The tape was already loaded when I bought it, it was obviously loaded incorrectly – when I checked there are printed arrows on the ends that show which side should be facing out, and when I took a closer look it became more obvious anyway – the ‘correct’ side that hits the heads is the familiar red-brown colour of tape, the other side is black.
There’s a lot of hum when I connect it to my Beocenter (even when not playing), and the sound quality is poor, but I’ll give it a bit of once over, clean and demagnetise the heads, and so on. I’ve found a service manual for it online. This is my new project then!
Location: LiverpoolI’m such an amateur with reel-to-reel – I didn’t even know there was a correct side! I’ll try and reverse it and see what happens – thanks.
Location: LiverpoolYes there is a PC in the same room, which is in use all day, and I already do have quite a lot of digital music stored on it.
The Beolink PC2 is going quite cheap on eBay so I might buy it anyway, just to see if it works. If nothing else, that twin Masterlink cable that’s included with it would be worth having. If it doesn’t work I’ll just put it back on eBay.
Location: LiverpoolAh, I knew it would be too good to be true! I was hoping it would have some kind of setting that would prevent it from conflicting, but the manual doesn’t seem to give too much info on the configuration.
Location: LiverpoolActually you know, there’s a very cheap Beolink PC2 going on eBay (which I believe is effectively the same as the Beoport?). Is there a way for me to have them all connected – Beolink PC2, Beolink Converter 1611, Beolab 3500 and Beocenter 8500? The Beolink PC2 on eBay has a Masterlink cable included which is split, so it can connect to two other Masterlink devices, so I’m thinking one connects to the BL3500, one connects to the 1611, and then of course my 1611 connects to my Beocenter 8500? Or am I simplifying it too much!? I’ve read that the Beolink PC2 acts as a master, so would this interfere with my Beocenter 8500?
Location: LiverpoolThanks for testing. I’ll stop worrying about the clock then!
As for the HDMI sound, in my setup, even if the TV is playing an HDMI source, you cannot get the sound from that source to play via the AV command on the Beocenter at all. It will play sound from the TV’s tuner, or from inputs connected via Scart or YPpPr, but not those connected via HDMI. Probably not surprising given that these 1611 and 1614 converters predate HDMI.
It’s no big deal for me though – the BL3500 was bought for audio only, and it’s the audio system I really care about. I just wanted to test it all out of curiosity really to see what these things can all do.
I only really bought the BV8 TV on a whim because it was cheap on eBay (local collection – £80!) and included a Beo4 remote. It looks good, but I rarely switch it on except when I’m in the mood for a bit of retro gaming, so I don’t really mind too much if I can’t connect it all together.
This has all been very educational though – thanks everyone for your help.
Location: LiverpoolMe again! The 1614 arrived today so I plugged it in, connecting my BV8 TV to my Beocenter 8500. It works – I set the TV to V-Opt 1 and the Beocenter also to A-Opt 1, and now if I press AV then CD for example, the CD audio comes from the TV speakers, and if I press AV and then TV, the Beocenter switches to Aux and plays the TV sound through the Beocenter. This is just as you advised in this earlier message Guy:This is dependent on ‘Option Settings’. If TV and BC are in V.OPT 1 and A.OPT 1 respectively, each will normally play sound though their own speakers and be controlled directly by the Beo4. In this setup, if you press ‘AV’ before selecting a source, if will play through the ‘other device’ – i.e TV will play audio through BC8500 speakers (if connected) and BC8500 will play through TV.
One strange thing though – it won’t play HDMI inputs via AV on the Beocenter. Other inputs will play through the Beocenter (Scart, YPBr), but not the two HDMI inputs. I’ve messed around with the very complex input settings on the BV8 for a couple of hours but I can’t find an option to make those HDMI inputs work via AV.
I only mention hat out of curiously though – the main thing is I know that both my 1611 and my 1614 work!
Location: LiverpoolThere does not appear to be any way to set the time on the BV8. It does display the correct time when you view the programme guide, so I assume it is simply getting the time from the digital terrestrial tuner. The only time settings I can find in the menus relate to time zone, daylight savings, and the play and sleep timers – no way to actually set the time manually.
Location: Liverpool -
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