B&O 3500 restoration - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Studio263 · 19th Jun 2007, 11:01 am

A few days at home has allowed me to really get to grips with this set. I've had it since the mid '90's when it was traded in at the shop (probably for one of our lovely reconditioned TX100's. I can't remember now) because it belched out black smoke and then the picture disappeared. It was then dumped in the back room because we though it was yet another 20AX-based 3502 / 3802 etc, however on a quiet day I discovered that it was a 3500, the smallest model in the previous "phase II delta" series.

We got it going (a huge hole had been burned in the line panel) and although it was usable it has never really given of it's best before. It's now all resolved, most of the many and varied minor faults were caused by the orange (though they do grey and red ones which are just as bad) plastic electrolytic capacitors being defective (and there are loads of them!), along with dry joints, duff preset controls and general wear and tear. However, the tube, LOPT, tripler, BU208 and power supply thyristor are all original; it pays to buy quality!

One annoying fault was that only the last 4 of the 8 tuner buttons worked. I'd lived with this as the write-up in "Television" (May 1978) says you can't do much about it, but in the end, the unit came apart nicely (if after a lot of de-soldering) and the contacts inside (all silver plated) polished up a treat.

As these sets were not that common, I've included some pictures of the inside too. Though it's hard to tell from the pictures, the set has a 22" screen and is slightly smaller than a G11 in all directions (even depth!). Although it looks quite modern this one was built in 1974, think what the British TV industry was making that year!

I don't really approve of the programme material but it does show how good the convergence is! These tubes (A56 140X) had a poor reputation for convergence, contrast and picture quality in general, probably mostly from the Philips G9 and that dreadful thing that Pye made, but this set shows how good they can be if done properly.

ppppenguin · 19th Jun 2007, 11:06 am

Lovely set and an excellent picture. I can't imagine many British sets of the time could aspire to that sort of quality, either in cabinet design or electronics. I know B&O made sets for the de-luxe market. I wonder if other contemporary European sets were nicely done or, to use Gerry Wells' term "a bit British made".

Just need to tweak up the height a bit

Studio263 · 19th Jun 2007, 12:00 pm

Thanks for the kind words, the picture quality is good but then this set has a little secret, it was the first model anywhere to have automatic greyscale correction (how long did the rest take to come up with their inferior alternatives?) so it is doing a lot to look after itself!

I think this set compares well compared to that other famous continental that uses the same tube (though in a bigger size), the Grundig 5010, which although well made never seems to converge quite properly (not enough controls perhaps?).

The height problem is them not me! This programme must be sized to please / annoy (delete as appropriate) owners of both normal and widescreen sets. As always, it was set up by upping the brightness a little and then expanding the height a little until the teletext disappears of the top and that funny little "notch" in the middle (what is that anyway?) just goes off the bottom.

Nickthedentist · 19th Jun 2007, 6:59 pm

Amazing! Can't believe it's from 1974, I would have guessed nearer 1984 from the appearence of the front

Mikey405 · 19th Jun 2007, 9:23 pm

Wow. What a nice TV, and a what good picture too, Studio263.

From Mike.

Paul Stenning · 19th Jun 2007, 10:11 pm

What a smart set, and an excellent picture!
Enjoy it (if you can find a better programme to watch on it).

Mike Phelan · 20th Jun 2007, 8:33 am

I remember one of our installers picking one of these up from a customer with a new Pye 222; they traded it in to go for a rental set as the B&O had developed a fault - cannot remember what.
The customer gave the B&O to the installer.

This was about 1976, and when we got it running for him, we were sure that the new Pye 222 would generate a few moans about quality, I thought, and I wasn't wrong.
The 3500 had an incredible picture and styling to die for!

We were all very envious indeed. H***rd K***le, you won't be seeing this, but I hope it is still running.

Jakob Jensen's designs you either love or hate, but you cannot ignore them.

Studio263 · 20th Jun 2007, 9:52 am

Thanks again for all the feedback, I didn't realise how much affection there was out there for these sets! Here's a nicer picture of it that we took a few years ago on it's stand:

www.beocentral.com/products/bvis3500

Tazman: It probably will get used for a bit, we have quite a few old Beovisions and they get rotated around so that they all get a decent amount of use. I have a spare LOPT for it (HR still do them, same as the Philips K9) so that's a good start for a "using" set.

19th Jun 2007, 11:01 am	#1
Studio263 Octode Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hampshire, UK. Posts: 1,578	B&O 3500 restoration A few days at home has allowed me to really get to grips with this set. I've had it since the mid '90's when it was traded in at the shop (probably for one of our lovely reconditioned TX100's. I can't remember now) because it belched out black smoke and then the picture disappeared. It was then dumped in the back room because we though it was yet another 20AX-based 3502 / 3802 etc, however on a quiet day I discovered that it was a 3500, the smallest model in the previous "phase II delta" series. We got it going (a huge hole had been burned in the line panel) and although it was usable it has never really given of it's best before. It's now all resolved, most of the many and varied minor faults were caused by the orange (though they do grey and red ones which are just as bad) plastic electrolytic capacitors being defective (and there are loads of them!), along with dry joints, duff preset controls and general wear and tear. However, the tube, LOPT, tripler, BU208 and power supply thyristor are all original; it pays to buy quality! One annoying fault was that only the last 4 of the 8 tuner buttons worked. I'd lived with this as the write-up in "Television" (May 1978) says you can't do much about it, but in the end, the unit came apart nicely (if after a lot of de-soldering) and the contacts inside (all silver plated) polished up a treat. As these sets were not that common, I've included some pictures of the inside too. Though it's hard to tell from the pictures, the set has a 22" screen and is slightly smaller than a G11 in all directions (even depth!). Although it looks quite modern this one was built in 1974, think what the British TV industry was making that year! I don't really approve of the programme material but it does show how good the convergence is! These tubes (A56 140X) had a poor reputation for convergence, contrast and picture quality in general, probably mostly from the Philips G9 and that dreadful thing that Pye made, but this set shows how good they can be if done properly. Attached Thumbnails

19th Jun 2007, 11:06 am	#2
ppppenguin Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: North London, UK. Posts: 6,168	Re: B&O 3500 restoration Lovely set and an excellent picture. I can't imagine many British sets of the time could aspire to that sort of quality, either in cabinet design or electronics. I know B&O made sets for the de-luxe market. I wonder if other contemporary European sets were nicely done or, to use Gerry Wells' term "a bit British made". Just need to tweak up the height a bit

19th Jun 2007, 12:00 pm	#3
Studio263 Octode Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hampshire, UK. Posts: 1,578	Re: B&O 3500 restoration Thanks for the kind words, the picture quality is good but then this set has a little secret, it was the first model anywhere to have automatic greyscale correction (how long did the rest take to come up with their inferior alternatives?) so it is doing a lot to look after itself! I think this set compares well compared to that other famous continental that uses the same tube (though in a bigger size), the Grundig 5010, which although well made never seems to converge quite properly (not enough controls perhaps?). The height problem is them not me! This programme must be sized to please / annoy (delete as appropriate) owners of both normal and widescreen sets. As always, it was set up by upping the brightness a little and then expanding the height a little until the teletext disappears of the top and that funny little "notch" in the middle (what is that anyway?) just goes off the bottom.

19th Jun 2007, 6:59 pm	#4
Nickthedentist Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oxford, UK. Posts: 17,864	Re: B&O 3500 restoration Amazing! Can't believe it's from 1974, I would have guessed nearer 1984 from the appearence of the front

19th Jun 2007, 9:23 pm	#5
Mikey405 Octode Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Solihull, West Midlands and Beaford, Devon Posts: 1,626	Re: B&O 3500 restoration Wow. What a nice TV, and a what good picture too, Studio263. From Mike. __________________ G7TRF

19th Jun 2007, 10:11 pm	#6
Paul Stenning Administrator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cardiff Posts: 9,073	Re: B&O 3500 restoration What a smart set, and an excellent picture! Enjoy it (if you can find a better programme to watch on it). __________________ Paul Stenning Forum Admin/Owner and BVWS Webmaster

20th Jun 2007, 8:33 am	#7
Mike Phelan Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Near Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 4,609	Re: B&O 3500 restoration I remember one of our installers picking one of these up from a customer with a new Pye 222; they traded it in to go for a rental set as the B&O had developed a fault - cannot remember what. The customer gave the B&O to the installer. This was about 1976, and when we got it running for him, we were sure that the new Pye 222 would generate a few moans about quality, I thought, and I wasn't wrong. The 3500 had an incredible picture and styling to die for! We were all very envious indeed. H*rd K*le, you won't be seeing this, but I hope it is still running. Jakob Jensen's designs you either love or hate, but you cannot ignore them. __________________ Mike.

20th Jun 2007, 9:52 am	#8
Studio263 Octode Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hampshire, UK. Posts: 1,578	Re: B&O 3500 restoration Thanks again for all the feedback, I didn't realise how much affection there was out there for these sets! Here's a nicer picture of it that we took a few years ago on it's stand: www.beocentral.com/products/bvis3500 Tazman: It probably will get used for a bit, we have quite a few old Beovisions and they get rotated around so that they all get a decent amount of use. I have a spare LOPT for it (HR still do them, same as the Philips K9) so that's a good start for a "using" set.