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Old 26th Aug 2015, 9:04 pm   #21
leslie5555
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Kevin you got it spot on, its all down to the record not fully sitting fully on the ledge. There's nothing stopping it, its all down to how it is placed on the spindle, it needs to be placed carefully with slight pressure towards the back of the player to ensure it sits on the ledge fully.
I can't believe I spent hours fiddling with this, and in the end it is all down to how the record is placed on the spindle. Thank you so much, no more staying up till gone midnight pulling my hair out and swearing at the dog.
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Old 26th Aug 2015, 9:45 pm   #22
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Glad you got it figured. Because the way these decks are designed, the change sequence happens rather rapidly and the record dropping a few milliseconds too soon stops the process happening correctly. As for swearing at the dog, my dogs get the same

Enjoy the music and player.

kevin
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Old 25th Nov 2015, 9:03 am   #23
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Just to update this post I had the very same problem, Les kindly saw my other thread and offered this solution which works perfectly - thank you both Les and Kevin for this.

I spent an entire afternoon cycling the deck to try and spot some kind of pattern with the fault, it seemed infrequently random. I used a mirror with a torch pointed toward the mechanism to see if there was something sticking but I couldn't see anything, the deck had been serviced but I resorted to stripping it again and double checking everything.

It can't be anything else than what's been suggested as after reading this placing the record a little sloppy on the spindle reproduces the fault.

So if this is happening to you definitely try this first as it could well save you hours of frustration, it's easy to over think problems with these complex beasts but sometimes it's the simple solution that's needed!
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Old 25th Nov 2015, 8:15 pm   #24
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Dazmond I'm really pleased you got it sorted I spent many frustrating hours trying to figure it out until Kevin's help it almost drove me nuts. And in the end such a simple answer. Great forum with very helpful and knowledgeable people .
Les.
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Old 19th Dec 2015, 1:21 pm   #25
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

I have just spent 4 hours attempting the same repair. Same story as you guys, cycling the deck , re oiling , going over and over the control spindle and stop pawl, springs and mechanism . Nothings made a blind bit of difference. Will try this now. I had got to the point of nearly shortening or lengthening the long control link was my diagnosis as the stop pawl I could see was not pushing the control spindle up after the record had dropped down.
Only does it on 12 inch records. Behaves every time on a 45rpm single. Will try this and let you know. Sounds more than likely.
Dave.
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Old 19th Dec 2015, 2:49 pm   #26
Edward Huggins
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

This problem where it does not sense 12" records is often due to the "Magidisk" selector springing and is very common. - but I can see that the Posts earlier will have covered this. Just another point, and often overlooked on the BSR UA8, don't forget to always set the speed control to "N" when not in use! Edward
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Old 19th Dec 2015, 5:02 pm   #27
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

My sympathy, Les. I have one of these with similar problems - only mine also gets confused about the diameter setting and has a nasty habit of landing almost in the middle of the LAST 45 of a stack then scraping its way back to where it should be! I have to admit I put it down to the mechanical dementia of age (!) but having looked at this thread I might have another go at it.
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Old 19th Dec 2015, 8:30 pm   #28
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

This problem appears to be more of a design fault than an actual fault of the mechanical doings, very frustrating if like me you spent hours and hours trying different things only to end up with it still not working as it should. After being pointed towards the possible reason I have not had a problem with this deck working correctly.

Merry Christmas.
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Old 19th Dec 2015, 10:50 pm   #29
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Yes I wasted half a day. Well not wasted. I am now well conversed in the mechanics of this thing. I now fit the record properly on the spindle and it performs faultlessly every time.
Dave.
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Old 19th Dec 2015, 11:33 pm   #30
Edward Huggins
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Yes, you got it - the overarm should always be pressed firmly down against the record stack. And don't forget the "N" setting. Well done! Edward
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Old 20th Dec 2015, 8:26 am   #31
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

I can see precisely what's happened. If the record drops too early (we are talking a split second), the control arm (overarm) drops too early under gravity with the record before the stop pawl has been engaged thus missing the next step to swing the tone arm out. One could think that it was the record size detector at fault as I did, then quickly realised I could see the control arm dropping all the way as if the cycle had finished. I could make no sense of it, carrying out the cycle manually by hand and mimicking a 12 inch dropping into play I could get the deck to behave every time. This was because inadvertently I was dropping the control arm at a delayed time after the trip pawl to drop the LP. I obviously couldn't drop the control arm at the speed the trip pawl did otherwise I may have replicated the fault. So making sure your record is fully located on the spindle ledge gives the correct time for the stop pawl below the control spindle to be engaged before the record and control are dropped down. I would imagine records with worn centres are even worse at causing this. Many thanks. Another part added to my learning curve. Thanks to all. An obvious design fault and not a fault that has developed.
Dave.
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Old 20th Dec 2015, 9:05 am   #32
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Glad you got it sorted, I got to the stage where I was beginning to question the meaning of life itself it drove me so mad.

I stripped the overarm mechanism several times to try and eliminate it, at one point I even started to think the motor board played a part as initially it only seemed to do it when the deck was seated - anything that may display some kind of pattern was investigated but alas it seemed completely random until I came across this post!

I can only imagine that back in the day anything fitted with a UA8 led to a disappointing night once people had a few and stacking records became a less than perfect process lol...
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Old 20th Dec 2015, 3:05 pm   #33
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Many thanks to all . So glad I searched for this problem on here before I went to the effort of a strip down. My wife was having a stress as she wants the radiogram to be used over Christmas dinner with our guests. I've spent the last 12 months restoring it lovingly. When she came home to find me scratching my head over it she was unimpressed saying that it still works and to leave it be till after Christmas. Problem is I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I like things to work just so. Especially when many man hours have been spent repairing it. I would have sat there listening to it winding my self up inside saying, it's not right, what the devil could it be. So now we all know.

Moderators, I really feel this would definately benefit being made into a sticky thread up top. It will certainly help many others with this common popular deck.
Kind regards
Dave.
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Old 20th Dec 2015, 8:13 pm   #34
leslie5555
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Quote:
Originally Posted by Edward Huggins View Post
Yes, you got it - the overarm should always be pressed firmly down against the record stack. And don't forget the "N" setting. Well done
Edward its not so much the overarm pressed firmly down, its making sure the record is sitting on the ledge of the spindle as far as it will go , if its not it will drop too early for the mechanism to detect it, if you get my drift.
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Old 30th Mar 2023, 6:09 pm   #35
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Thread reopened by request.
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Old 30th Mar 2023, 6:45 pm   #36
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

I had this frustrating issue with a UA8 until I saw this thread.

The deck in question had been completely stripped down, throughoutly cleaned and lubricated.

Every now and again the automatic cycle would start, drop the record, raise the tonearm, lower the tonearm and switch itself off without the tonearm lowering on a record. Most of the time the cycle would finish normally.

All of the servicing hints in the service manual were of no use.

What is the issue here?

User error!

The issue is that the record was not placed properly on the record spindle.

The record needs to be seated on shoulder of the spindle, otherwise you will have the issue described above.

Please see the two photographs below that illustrate the problem.
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Old 31st Mar 2023, 11:32 am   #37
Edward Huggins
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Don't forget the other very common issue that occurs over time with the UA8, is that the 3 rubber motor mounts degrade and sag. This means the idler wheel will not align with the stepped pulley. Speed either varies or the 3 speeds can't be easily selected.
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Old 31st Mar 2023, 4:02 pm   #38
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

I have not serviced this model deck for many years, so if I’m asking the obvious please forgive me.
You say it only happens on LP records and not 45 records, and that you have to carefully place the LP. I’m wondering why the stack of 45 will drop correctly and not produce the intermittent fault described. Could you clarify for me, many thanks.
John
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Old 31st Mar 2023, 4:19 pm   #39
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

I've never personally noticed this fault with the UA8, but that said, I virtually never use a deck like this for playing LPs.

I've got a UA8 in a radiogram out in the garage, which only ever gets used for playing 45s and sometimes 78s. I'll have to try stacking and spinning some old LPs on it to see if I can make it replicate this fault.
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Old 31st Mar 2023, 4:25 pm   #40
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Default Re: BSR UA8 intermittent fault

Is this an age related issue, or a random problem that affects some decks? I'm only asking because growing up in the early 70's, we had a Ferguson radiogram which was used by the whole family, kids included, that was fitted with a UA8. We would have just thrown the stack of records on the spindle and the mechanism never failed to function correctly. It would be a bit of a long shot for us to have just got lucky every time. Obviously it would only have been 14 or so years old at the time so could there be some age related wear that causes this problem?
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