Hello Fellow Addicts! I had to do it, just had to put that BIC 914 in the cart. Now I'm wondering whether to cannibalize for the RCM or repair the TT. Either route I go, the $5 was worth the thrill of the hunt. The TT has issues, namely a direct drive person poking in it's innards. My first attempt at cleaning and checking it out shocked me since it was a changer also. See I got so excited at the sight of a "fix" I didn't even notice that before putting it in the cart! So I didn't prod too deep inside. It also did have a slightly frozen platter until I turned it upside down. Must have not been too bad to loosen that easily. A part from the platter area doesn't look so hot. It's shaped like a sharpie marker end and has an o-ring on it. It's biggest problem is staying in one piece. The belt doesn't look bad. The tonearm is missing a key ingredient -- a cartridge. I have a spare one someone where in all my stuff. Playback left it 30 some odd years ago with the Technics SL-1500 after installing a quad Empire. The spare cart is unknown factor since I never bothered to even see what brand it was. The finish on the plastic plinth cover (?) wants to rub off as I clean it. It gets worse when I use a q-tip. The acrylic dust cover is pretty scratched but not cracked. It will require some polishing for sure. The good news is the motor works. Okay, I'll take some pictures if it's worth fixing. I'm unsure of which direction to take on this TT? All thoughts and suggestions are welcome.
Hello my name is Walter and I'm an audio addict

Does it say 914 or 914C on it? If it's 914, it isn't really a changer but an automatic single play TT. You can play one record multiple times on it and the tonearm will return to the rest after. A 914C is a true changer on which you can stack up to 6 records. Whichever it is, you should fix it. :yes:

You could always repaint the plinth some cool color. It's (mostly) silver now right? :D

It is too good a table to use for an RCM! Ugh! :nono:

Doug

Doug;
Thanks for the reply and questions about my BIC 914. I've loaded up some pictures of the TT at http://www.audiokarma.org/gallery/member.php?uid=41109&protype=1
1. It is a 914. No letters appear after the model. It also had a portion of the serial stamped on. It reads 7914 which, as I gather, means 1979 the 14th week of production. Sorry the complete serial tag was fuzzy, it matches its owner.
2. It's time for me to take a plunge in the auto TT world. I really didn't notice that function until I got home. So if it does one at a time, that's great!
3. Silver would be close to the aging color. I'll try some more cleaning in case a new color scheme strikes my fancy. Gotta have a clean surface to make a good cover coat. Wally world's paint department has seen quite a bit of me lately so another type/color of paint would fit in the schedule.
4. Would a service manual be in order at this point? I saw a few posts in the TT section indicating BIC's manuals were a bit lacking in information. What I really have to know is what the black Sharpie cap "thingy" does and where does it go. The pic of it is in the gallery.
5. I found the spare cartridge this morning. I have an Empire REX 440D. So it appears with a little effort, it should fit the tonearm. There was also a black mounting bracket still in the cart's case. The only bad news is it lacks a stylus. But I've purchased from LP gear this spring for the Technics with great success. There's another problem cured.
So thanks again for your reply!
Walter

Walter,

You are absolutely correct re the date code - 14th week of 1979.

The silver looks good. Maybe you could duplicate it with the correct paint. I kinda wish my 912C was that color instead of the medium gray that it is but, oh well, gotta leave it original.

The "thingy" is the motor pulley that drives the belt. It is segmented because there is a graduated post that goes up through the middle of it to expand it for speed adjustment. You will notice this post with the platter off and then turning the speed adjustment knob. It rises from the center of the motor shaft.

Being that the pulley fell off, it is probably cracked. It is supposed to fit tightly around the knurled part of the motor shaft (actually a collar that attaches to the shaft). I fixed mine by wrapping a twist-tie around it at the bottom groove after positioning on the shaft. Also, there should be (and it looks like in the picture there is) an elastic band around it in the top groove.

As far as a service manual, there is useful information in it concerning disassembly and troubleshooting as well as function descriptions. I would offer to scan mine for you but, alas, my scanner doesn't work (I have one of the infamous HP 3200Cs).

Doug

Doug;

Thanks again for your reply and sage advice. The tone you set in the first reply gave me the impression that I'm dealing with an underdog TT. One that is quite sturdy but not well appreciated. I can get into that. My receiver is a Technics quad unit, another underdog in the solid state receiver world. But anyway I've tried a couple of things out on the plinth.

The most successful treatment for the aging paint has been rubbing compound hand applied, actually finger applied. My old standby of Armor All just doesn't do the job. Granted the rubbing compound is tedious but the results are fantastic. The first round results left a silky smooth paint surface, took off the dis-colorization at the dustcover edge, and didn't do any damage to the chrome on the control panel. I've found my groove on restoring this TT. This will leave the character marks of age and give me an easy to dust surface.

I got the idea of the pulley now. Cracked would be an accurate description. One fourth of it will fall away from the rest if you don't pick it up just right. There are plenty of twist ties around here. And there will be a service manual too. Somewhere on the net I found an affordable copy. Sorry to hear about the scanner. I keep a cheap HP scanner around and never expect them to last over three years. Now that I wrote that my 3920 will crap out. It's a little over three years old now...

My spare cartridge was a bit of a disappointment. It appears to be an obscure Empire quad. I really want this BIC to be a stereo cartridge. The entire time I've had a quality component system, it has been quad. Well, I'll just have to work on that as well.

So now you've got me started off in the right direction. This will keep me busy for a while, but the cleaned up and working product will be posted in AK. I'll drop you a line when it's done. Thanks again!

Walter