Bang & Olufsen BeoCord 1100 Cassette Deck -Trying to Fix

In this video I attempt to repair a faulty 1976 Bang & Olufsen BeoCord 1100 tape player/recorder purchased from eBay for £20.
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things. I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things, so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series. Many thanks, Vince.

[@raulfantauzzi7547]

Volume coming out if cd player is too loud ... Lower it and listen to the difference ... You are very exellent in keeping it real ... Thank you ... your choices are exellent and please keep bringing life to my world... Much love and respect ...

[@dratum3047]

Man it was heartbreaking to hear the end of the video about these videos not doing well..you're my fav channel!

[@Bannimann2]

Many people think every youtuber must be a millionaire, but the truth is quite different.

[@andrewwilson8273]

After 1 day and he's on 21k views. It looks like some of these vids are starting to get traction. I have some B&O equipment and I look at Vince's videos to give me some insights into the old equipment. I am sure that I am not alone. Vince is at about my level of skill so it's useful to watch. I bet that if he were to optimise his tags and promotion toward B&O users then it would give better results!

[@jpgcne]

i love these videos

[@MajesticalHonky]

Sadly, I can think of an issue that might be affecting his views but I haven't wanted to say anything because I don't want to hurt his feelings. I like trying to watch his videos to relax or background noise while performing another task... this particular issue quite often stops me from watching the whole video.

[@periurban]

The five pin DIN to amplifier socket was also the input FROM the amp to record on the cassette deck. Two pins for left and right in, and two pins for left and right out. The middle pin is ground/shielding. The MIC input is a much more sensitive input for a microphone. The machine is working the way it should.

[@ballsrgrossnugly]

That just answered where the other 2 pins went on this schematic. elektrotanya.com/bang_olufsen_beocord_1100_1101_sch.pdf/download.html#dl Cheers mate.

[@periurban]

@@ballsrgrossnugly The first cables I ever used were five pin DIN to four phono. They were more or less the default cables for consumer audio, at least here in Scotland.

[@ballsrgrossnugly]

@@periurban I'm but a hand full of years younger than you, I would wager, and though I fondly remember vinyl from my childhood, and had a walkman when I was about 12 or 13, I never really had to deal with component systems until they were already integrated into a single unit! My first good system was a Panasonic all in one with a 3 disk changer and a dual tape deck with a nice smooth slow open motion. I loved that thing, it had an aux in and made movies sound MEAN! In short, I only really had to deal with 3.5mm and RCA! The difference a hand full of years makes!

[@oldbatwit5102]

European stuff. including British equipment, often used DIN. I bought a British amp, a Sugden A48 2, in 1978 and that was still DIN. One thing to watch on the European stereos is that they sometimes had different input and output levels to Japanese equipment.

[@DaimlerSleeveValve]

Always amazed that DIN connectors seem to be weird to "youngsters". The design allows for most features used in audio equipment, all with a standard sized shell, thus giving a neat appearance. The 5-pin plug and socket are the norm (pun intended) for audio signals, with output on one side and input on the the other, with common at the 6 o'clock position. Mono applications use just 3 pins, at the 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions. The amplifier connection socket would have done everything you needed. With proper equipment, a 5-pin DIN to 5-pin DIN cable would give full facility to and from the amplifier. With today's preponderance of "American" connections, you need FOUR RCA plugs at each end. The microphone socket expects a moving coil mike - actually two, since it is stereo. These obviously would produce a much lower signal, and would have quite different frequency equalisation, hence the awful sound quality you got.

[@jeremytravis360]

I sold a lot of these when I was a B&O main dealer in central London. MY biggest customers were from The Russian Trade Delegation that used to export them back to the USSR. We sometimes jokingly referred to them as KGB because they all dressed like characters from a spy novel. These units only suffered from heavy handling when people moved them around. The front mains switch was prone to being knocked due to its location. The sensitivity of a DIN input is about 3 millivolts compared to line outputs which can be as much as 750 millivolts so it would overload the more sensitive input.

[@MasterChief-sl9ro]

Makes sense...He needs a real scope to check those pins input\output...I would even beat they have the schematic somewhere on the internet. I would also recap the whole thing. As those old cases are worth $50.00 US alone here. As people want that wood case...

[@noelburke9792]

This sounds like the level feeding into the microphone input is too “hot”. “Line Level” (or in your case “headphone out” is a much higher level signal than “Microphone “ input. It may be worth doing one of two things. 1. Turn down the headphone output at the CD player, and adjust the incoming audio at the Tape Deck until the meters don’t peak higher than 0dB. 2. Invest in a “DI Box” ( Direct Injection). This will attenuate the signal to the level that you need. A lot of people use them to connect Keyboards / Guitars/ Turntables into the microphone input of a mixing desk. I used to keep one in my tool kit, it saved a lot of trouble and fault finding.

[@eGoCeNTRoNiX]

This is what I was going to say.. Turn down the volume on the DiscMan and I'll bet the quality will be better.. Keep on Fixin' On!

[@precbass]

@@eGoCeNTRoNiX One of the needles was 'hitting the end stop' at one point.That would lead to oversaturation of the tape.

[@NatureOkie]

That is the exact problem. If he had used the AMP SIDE, REMAINING PINS they are the record input. (A 5pin DIN to RCA dongle is a standard item on Amazon) The EXTRA TWO PINS a 7pin DIN is to LINK BeoMasters/Beocenters to remotely manipulate Beocords tape, Beograms Discs, etc. There are also wall mount remote receivers, to Operate the systems from another room.

[@MizuhoChan]

I'm sad that nobody is watching, I've been watching all of your trying to fix videos for ages now.

[@jaredl2239]

Your Trying To Fix videos have inspired me. Educated me. Entertained me. And gave me confidence to try my own fixes. Please allow me, and others like me, to further support your content through alternative revenue streams.

[@orange_light_pictures]

The moment when the springs in the switch came loose and you wanted to sware but didn't, well done we've all been there when trying to repair something.

[@Retro_andy_1977]

I can vouch for that

[@pnadk]

You made me wince every time the VU meters were flying around.

[@Old_Man_Pete]

Vince please get yourself a work bench, my back and my knees are killing me just watching your videos lol.

[@CTCTraining1]

xP33wack ... I’m sure he will, just waiting for someone to list a broken one on eBay I expect.

[@abzhuofficial]

@@CTCTraining1 Trying to FIX... a workbench when? 😜🤔

[@Lightning2011]

@@abzhuofficial loool sane for me here I mean I mess around with things on the ground like Vince, especially soldering. And then my dad screams at me telling me ima mess up my back haha 😂 but the problem is my room is big enough to just fit a bed, a drawer and a corner TV table. That's literally it. Its tiny as hell so I can't stick a table in there 😂

[@abzhuofficial]

@@Lightning2011 I feel your pain brother. I really do lmao

[@hadesmcc]

I'm sad to hear that you're trying to fix videos aren't doing well. They are precisely the reason why I subscribed to your channel. They're my favourite videos.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

André Coelho I also really enjoy watching Vince's videos. I think part of the problem is not the length but the quantity. On occasions there’s been about 5 in one week. Being in a full time job with a family I just don’t have the time to watch them. Sometimes I don’t even realise I've missed them.

[@hadesmcc]

@@andrewlittleboy8532 I see, I guess that makes sense.

[@EsotericArctos]

You did well on this one. Such a simple thing to get it working right. I would have been tempted to remove the 4 screws to take the faceplate out, clean it and glue it before putting the meters back in place. I did have a laugh when you were doing the gluing. "Just wearing gloves because this stuff stinks" I didn't think we used our fingers to smell things lol :). Seriously though, always enjoy your repairs.. Maybe with music moving forward, you could use the KZbin Music Library and record some of that to a cassette. The KZbin music library is designed to be royalty free music for videos.

[@ei96byod]

Are the "trying to fix" videos not popular??! They are the reason I subscribe to your channel !! Am I weird for loving these videos then? 🙂

[@ParticleSWE]

Your videos are always such a joy Vince! ❤️

[@user-mgc]

New World Symphony, and a new life for retro B&O. 👌

[@adampoll4977]

I can see the pleasure in diving into these wonderful pieces of industrial design art!

[@gordyboy01]

Always look forward to watching your trying to fix videos Vince, always interesting and very entertaining to watch. As long as you still enjoy making them, and get that amazing buzz when you get something working again that was broken, which we all know you still do by that classic Vince clenched fist and yeeess commentary lol. Money I am glad to see is not the overriding factor for you in making your content, it's passion, long may that continue buddy 😊

[@M1LAD81]

The head on the left is the erase head and the one in the middle is obviously the read head. Nice to work on old electronics. No IC's and microprocessors. Just old fashioned caps, resistors and potentiometers

[@IBrianrish]

I was about to tell him it was the erase head as well.

[@John-pr2gw]

I had one of those in the 90's. Amazing piece of kit.

[@EXITMUSIC2011]

Your videos inspired me to replace 5 dead caps on my work monitor they threw in the bin and cost me a couple of quid to fix!

[@andreaskarlsson7954]

I really love your accent and listen to you is like watching a feelgood movie 😊

[@nigelbarrett4936]

Hey Vince, I've just had a look at the schematic for this unit and found some useful info: The MIC switch is marked as Microphone / Radio input. It switches the input between the two DIN sockets. The DIN socket marked MIC is only for a microphone and it's mono - the left and right channels are shorted together. There's a preamp so it will definitely distort if you connect a line-level device. The other DIN becomes active for input (Radio) when the MIC switch is off. That's the one you should be using.

[@joanmuzik]

Im not sure i understand? “The other pin” (which would be AMPLIFIER) becomes an input when you switch of the mic button?

[@AcornElectron]

Ooo. Saturday afternoon Vince fix. Yup! Stay safe and keep up the good work fella.

[@Retro_andy_1977]

Found your channel today and find your videos informative and enjoyable.keep up the excellent stuff !!!!

[@HavingFunRepairs]

Don't give up on videos. I'm sure it's like many things, highs and lows. Appreciate the video, very nice repair!

[@beitie]

If you had used the "Amplifier" input section the recording part would have gone better. The thing that is cool about the DIN plug system that B&O loves to use is that a single cable is used for tape out and record in. So less of wire mess in the back. Great video Vince! Enjoy.

[@andrewwilson8273]

The sound is probably distorted because you're using mic level input for line level/headphone level output. The amplifier socket carries both input and output on the single din plug. That's what the 5 pins are for. If you buy a din to 3.5mm jack or din to 4 phono plug cable everything will work as expected.

[@StezStixFix]

Very nice. Looking forward to watching this one!

[@snowy4375]

Don't be upset Vince. Keep this good work doing . We all sopport you.

[@Chico69ers]

"The eject is too violent" Love it Vince 🤣I was born early 70's so grew up with big buttoned violent ejections.We waited patiently for that soft smooth slow ejection.😉

[@fredgien]

Nothing more rewarding than to watch somebody work!😅

[@jge123]

So cool, it looks like a vcr. The design was incredible still looks good.

[@TheCod3r]

Wow you really love those things 🤣 gives me some mid afternoon entertainment while I'm watching the little one lol

[@someidiotonyoutube]

At 17 minutes you can hear poor Vince's heart break. :(

[@depechem0demusic]

Dan Crum he almost said shit 😂😂😂

[@Lightning2011]

@@depechem0demusic haha yeah 😂😂

[@maximwannabepro3021]

Alright the ending was a bit sad not gonna lie, I always thought that the adds at least cover the price of the item u are fixing. If we can somehow help u please don't wait, even if ur community might be small we are a dedicated audience. I for my part haven't misses a single "trying to fix "video since Steve and Eliot introduced me to u and even watched most of the older videos.

[@spidermcgavenport8767]

Elegant in design! Thank you Sir!

[@Poweredsoft]

the copyright is not for the actual composition but the recording. You can make a cover song and it will be fine. Problem with classical is that while the music is public domain, the recording is not. You can still get a copyright claim from whoever owns the recording, unless it has been 50 years or even more

[@mattalewis13]

Imagine vince as a doctor; Trying to fix: Brian’s arm

[@andrewwilson8273]

@l0ud5p34k4 yeah but I think that's the purpose here? Bodge it until it works (sort of).

[@arootube]

"Again I'm not an expert, I've never opened one of these before so remember this is purely for entertainment and-" Brian: "Wait WHAT?"

[@mattalewis13]

aroo “oh no I’ve lost that bit now, I’ll have to see how that is on eBay”

[@Stonecold724]

"Luckily I have a working elbow right here in my own body that I can swap out to see if we can get it to work!"

[@Velomanable]

Another great video i love the title music reminds me of an early sixties home improvement programme

[@TheScottyvdubs]

You must have a pretty good hifi set now with all the separates, hopefully you can make a nice retro hifi setup in a cabinet or something 💪

[@antonia4722]

Headphone output is too large for a mic input hence distortion.

[@CruusTube]

Yes, Vince use line out, from the cd player, not the headphone output, this is to powerfull ,,,Amped

[@martinda7446]

Also a felt tip (have a few of varying blacks and try and match) run along the top front edge in one movement at an oblique angle always makes a remarkable improvement.

[@iain999999999999999]

The Mic button on the front will be to switch between as other have said the microphone level input, and the line level input on the amplifier connector. If you plug a laptop/phone in, you can play music from the youtube audio library; where it's clear up front what music you can use in video without affecting monetization. Record that to tape, and you've a test tape... The tape head in the middle is typically play and record. The head to the left is the erase head.

[@chefhawk]

Great video as always..cheers

[@TheSkaldenmettrunk]

Lovely cassette player. Stuff was so nicely made back then.

[@crowbarviking3890]

Just rewatched, for assembly or mounting something it is always good to heave some headless screws. Usually you can just put them into the "holding" part and put the mobile part on it. Then it is easier to screw another screw in. Especially useful when mounting heavy or large things to walls.

[@Keythong]

Sorry to hear the news at the end. As a suggestion, why not pick a name from a random draw of viewers who have something you could fix. You would save money from buying of ebay.

[@JohnD666]

Those nice 'telephone' wound-up wiring looms, that's just how we did it back in the days ;-)

[@reacey]

I'm surprised it doesn't have an earth with it having so much steel. Love your vid as always

[@jamiemitchell4660]

been watching you for years vince and was heart breaking to hear the end of the video. I think you just need to be fixing stuff which grabs the attention of everyone or things most people are watching on KZbin i.e game boys or consoles etc but keep doing what your doing vince as I would be lost without your videos 😂

[@TheSlysterII]

Nice video mate. B and O really did put out some quality products.

[@GadgetUK164]

"Then when we press this - arghhhhhh shhhhmmmmm" classic moment lol =D "You know I don't know how to use a scope" - after demonstrating how to properly use a scope to find the left and right audio channels :o) You do know how to use a scope Vince!!! Maybe you didn't in the past, you showed us you do know how to use one here though =D Great job - I would probably try and find a similar replacement for that switch. The switches do look awful on it, but it's early kit I guess. That audio input is going to be line in level - so if you have it connected to the headphone socket of the CD player there (and its volume is loud) it will be too loud. It could also be that the erase head needs a clean, and perhaps the tape itself is part of the issue.

[@Plan-C]

Another great video. Btw, you only need to worry about voltage on caps in switch mode power supplies. The old school linear stuff is much safer.

[@doctorspicer1042]

16:50 i thort vince was gonna say the s word ngl i dont blame u vince 🤣

[@JonPadfield]

Echo the comment from DrAtum. You’re my fave channel too Vince! Start a Patreon. I’m sure loads of us here would pay good money to keep watching these amazing videos.

[@RoadTripAu]

As I recall with B&O DINs, amplifier line in is on the spare two pins on the amplifier socket and the mic socket is for mic only. That was the case on a Beocord 1900 of similar vintage.

[@herbertmathews]

The 5 pin din has both input and output on one plug. The Mic input is for a microphone which has a more sensitive input level hence the distortion

[@gasgiant7122]

Me too, really love your videos, no technical b.s. just good honest my mate'll fix it content, I love retro hi fi,

[@SimonEllwood]

The cable management is called lacing and at the start of my career the dimmers where I worked were all laced before moving to cable ties. A great skill for those that could do it.

[@CryptoGGez]

Have you thought about making a patreon? I really enjoy all of your trying to fix videos and I'd be more than happy to throw you a little each month to keep them coming - especially if the videos barely cover the cost

[@Omegapork]

I think his website has a donate button, not sure where though.

[@SMAAAASHTV]

He does have a donate button at the bottom of the main page on mymatevince(dot)com

[@howtowithelizabeth7513]

I still watch these there pretty entertaining

[@ianofliverpool7701]

Lovely fix

[@AboveEmAllProduction]

Hi vance I met u once on new jersey shore, u said u would call haha but it OK happy to see u do well

[@pegtooth2006]

Thanks for the new upload, Vince. One trick I used to mask imperfections in wood is to use several shades of brown, yellow and black wax crayons. And mush into the cavity and simulate the grain of the surrounding wood.

[@jasejj]

Pretty sure the line in is on the other two pins of the amplifier DIN input. You don't want to put line/ear outputs into the mic input as the latter has a pre-amplifier making the sound much louder, which is causing your problem.

[@Pistoletjes]

this is what I was shouting to the screen as well, but unfortunately our mate Vince didn't hear ;-)

[@123mikeyd321]

About to same the same. Recording line level into mic in. 5 pin DIN was an industry standard, google will show Vince the connections left/right.

[@TobiEstosWorld]

love this stone age fixes ^^

[@oneeyewanders]

I love these!

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

This is trying to be a constructive comment so here goes.... I also really enjoy watching Vince's videos. I think part of the problem is not the length but the quantity. On occasions there’s been about 5 in one week, about 40 mins to 1 hour long. Being in a full time job with a family I just don’t have the time to watch them all. Sometimes I don’t even realise I've missed them. Some videos seem to have been posted just to get another video out ASAP but really not necessary, unless of course YT is your main source of income (risky). There’s no doubt that Vince has been extremely successful in fixing many 'non fixable' items so very much applaud him for his amazing abilities to pick up new skills. Please carry on for the love of the channel rather than the possibly a necessity. Ps still got over 7.5k views in 7 hours or so.

[@bobjerome5390]

hi you are 100% right about making the money you have to have a video that no bodys done before over a long long time you will get some of it back the gain levels are very very low on the din sockets nice to seen the insides i am a tec i seen alot of decks this is a first

[@ftrueck]

The distorted loudness comes from signal overdrive. The CD Player has an amplifier for the headphone output. The cassette recorder also has an amplifier for recording the input signal. Both amps toghether result in distorted noise on the tape. You could try to lower the volume of the cd player dramatically to get better results but there is also an impedance match issuebetween the two devices which will result in volume loss.

[@DEmma1972]

good fix....as usual

[@timcarr5129]

I don't like the sound of "trying to fix video are dying of death" they aren't we all look forward to them vince! Please don't stop :(

[@fatblond79]

I love the high tech bottle stand. You should market it as MyMateVince Bottle stand for all your repair needs.

[@springy-2112]

Good result . But headphone output from cd is way too big a signal for a line level input for recording . It'll probably record fine with a line level signal going in and the vu meter needs to peak just a fraction into the red when recording (usually) but experiment with each recording .. Glad to see more b&o saved. 👍🏻☮❤peace and love brother 👍🏻

[@Dan-TechAndMusic]

DIN uses lower voltages than modern line out devices. That's why the output is quiet, and the input is distorted.

[@cattflap1447]

^^ this ^^

[@Pico_Farad]

Exactly. He needs a 1/10 voltage divider.

[@blobscott]

DIN is just a connector format with no specification related to voltage (at least relative to any of these voltages - there may be some upper limit voltage/current spec. for the DIN connector family). The issue is Vince connected a line-level signal to the mic input DIN. The mic input buffers the low input signal from a microphone, but will distort if the relatively high input signal from a line-level is fed into it. The separate amplifier DIN has a line-level input for recording from devices such as receivers, etc.

[@sshep86]

I remember my parents Bang & Olufsen TV set from the 90s. Was a beauty. I kid you not, the remote control was made from steel, was really long and weighed a tonne.

[@mattrussell250]

Zinc and nickel - the Beo 4. Someone was actually murdered with one many years ago!

[@sshep86]

@@mattrussell250 oh.! I can definitely see it being used as a bludgeon, that thing was deadly. Cheers for the correction.

[@willemgrooters4958]

All casette recorders/decks have 2 heads. One for reading/writing the music itself and one socalled "erase head". It work ;like this. When the user wants to record music then first the "erase head" wipes the music and then the recording head puts the music on tape. Using an "Erase head" completely wipes the music from the tape. Otherwise the old recording would not be completely erased and heard together with the new recording.

[@TheRailroad99]

I think the mechanism still needs some love. On that classical music it’s rather easy to hear the wow and flutter. I would also check the input filter capacitor, if it gets weak you get hum on the output. But for now at least that seems fine.

[@GT-oc2sl]

Nice fix. I really want to see vhs player fixes

[@MISTIK_AC]

Hello Vince I am big fan

[@thedutchretrogamer]

nice vid mate

[@richclips]

Lovely isn't it :) the looms are all bound with lacing cord :) looks lovely and was an art in itself :)

[@flusensieb244]

Turn around the pin in the switch. The big end needs to be on the outside and the needle part is for the mechanism. That is the reason it fell out. Turn the volume down on your CD-Player, the level is way to high in comparison of a real microphone. The distortion you hear is clipping sound.

[@fredrikkarlsson4321]

I agree, the pin in the switch should have the "head" on the outside, under the metal flap. It was quite frustrating not beeing able to help Vince out with that 😋

[@BowsettesFury]

Wow this is gonna be good🙂

[@catcam]

... not sure for B&O but i think audio in is on same din 5 as output (two pins without signal) and mic in is for verry small signal (5mv?) again many thanks for great and calming content dear Vince...

[@Thanson199415]

The tape deck is working perfectly, other than the power switch. You're just feeding line level into the mic input on the din jack.

[@matheus_payne]

part of the distortion problem could be due to the fact that the mic input has a preamplifier and you was connecting a already amplified source to the input

[@digihorse6730]

Looking at the back the Amplifier connection are left to right clockwise. 1 Input Left, 4 Input Right, 2 Ground, 5 Output Right, 3 Output Left. Approx 250mV audio signals. The Microphone inputs will be in the 1 - 5 mV range hence the distortion on record as your overdriving the input. I use to have a load of those type on/off switches same used in TVs I will look, no promises.

[@godofllies]

Now you really need to go full Danish and buy (repair) a set of Dali speakers. Also, as being a industrial music lover, that recording was the best!

[@mikedo6]

B&O sure had a beautiful design asthetic!

[@Pico_Farad]

You really need to be more careful with those VU meters. They are quite delicate.

[@deanrussell2224]

I love these vids - been catching up on them recently- perhaps you and the guy from techmoan could do a cross over?

[@JuicyJakeRepairs]

Nice, classic Cassettes

[@michaelturner4457]

One of the first things we had to learn in British Telecom Apprenticeship, how to continuously lace and tie cable forms.

[@martinda7446]

Also the mains switch can be found in a plethora of old devices with same dims for switch and mounting...You may even find one at RS or similar new.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

The wood improves the warm , analog sound !

[@David-fz7ck]

Always love the videos been looking forward to a new one thanks ❤️👍🏻

[@3fus]

12:20 I like the quick eject a bit more, takes less time to turn around a c90 cass when you're recording a radio show of an hour ;-) (Long long ago.......)

[@farbodhemmati9269]

Great! Please make more videos of b&o vintage products... I think beomasters and beograms could be good choices for next videos... Thanks

[@user-te1le7ck6b]

Still waiting for the laptop revisit come on vince dont give up 😆