Hi,
I have a '77 vintage BIC 960 turntable I'm repairing. Does anyone know how to restore the dampening feature? Theres a knob to adjust the descent rate, but it no longer works - like a shock absorber whose oil has all leaked out. I suspect there is some sort of sticky grease that has dried out. Any ideas?

Thanks, Todd

Hi Todd,

Short answer for now because I have to leave but what happens is that the damping fluid leaks out of the bore/lifting pin and has to be replenished.

This requires disassembling the mechanism and applying new fluid.

I know that Turntable Experts in New York has original fluid for BICs but I'm sure others would work too. It is silicone damping fluid and is not a grease. It has very high viscosity to make the two parts "stick" to each other and hence, slow any movement.

Please ask any questions you have. I have worked on many BICs over the years and am very familiar with them.

Doug

Thanks Doug.
After working on this tt I think I can consider myself somewhat of an expert! Actually it was a labor of love. Although there were about 4 major functions that didn't work properly, most of the problems could be blamed on one common culprit: grease with the consistency of molasses... I had to completely disassemble every one of the mechanical sub-assemblies, clean off all the old grease and re-lubricate. I can see why people consider these such a fine value. They really are pretty simple in basic concept - and seem to be made of good quality materials. The platter has some weight to it. About twice as heavy as my Pioneer PL-514. The rumble seems to be quite low thanks to the extremely low RPM motor. I repaired this for a customer of my Radio Shack franchise who just wanted to be sure she could play her records. It has a Shure M-91ED which I put a new stylus in and set her tone arm up for her. Her records should be safe. I won't make much on this repair but I hate to see decent vintage gear go to waste and she'll be happy. I told her I can fix the dampening problem sometime in the future - like after Christmas now that I have the info I need.
Thanks again, Todd

P.S. Now if I could just find a good 960 for myself...

Another weakness of this line of turntables is the bottom motor bearing [I seem to recall]. I wouldn't know of this, if not for South Street Service offering a repair kit. They are also known as 'Turntable Experts', mentioned above.

Seth
Forever Analog and Covered In Parrot Poop

1. Put the machine upside down on sandbags or similar.
2. Remove hexnut at base of arm and remove 6" two-part aluminum piece.
3. Note the red gizmo. This is the bottom end of the cuing ass'y.
4. Remove hex screw holding linkage between red gizmo and manual cuing lever. Note its height so you can get it back in the same.
5. Pull out the cuing device. Clean thoroughly -- both the cylinder and the tube.
6. Put new silicone damping fluid on the cylinder AND on the inside of the tube.
7. Reinstall. Wipe off excess fluid bottomside.
8. Reattach 6" aluminum piece.
9. Wipe off excess fluid topside.

Ready to test.

Fred

I had a BIC 960 back in the day....what a dog!!
The assembler must have been blind.
The QC guy blind drunk!
Nothing but problems!!
Finally ditched it for a Dual.

Steve

Thanks, Fred

Fred do you know the viscosity of the silicone oil ? The cp number.

Fred do you know the viscosity of the silicone oil ? The cp number.

Here is a source for you.

http://www.turntablebasics.com/silicone.html

I had a BIC 960 back in the day....what a dog!!
The assembler must have been blind.
The QC guy blind drunk!
Nothing but problems!!
Finally ditched it for a Dual.

Steve

I sold these back in the day, and they were a bargain!

I have one to this day, and use it to rip mp3's from my record collection.

It's never been serviced, and works perfectly, with it's original belt.