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Bic 980

If you have or are going to get silicone damping fluid, see if you can get by with just putting some around the lift pin in the kind of groove around it in the housing.

I have been doing that for a few years now instead of disassembling the whole thing to add fluid and it has worked very well. It takes a bit for the fluid to seep down in there but once it does, the arm lowers nice and slow again.

Gravity removes the fluid, gravity replaces it. :D

Doug
 
Yup, right around the silver lift pin in that little recess there around it. It actually doesn't hurt to put some right on the pin either. It will seep down into the bore from there too.

Get the fluid all the way around.

Doug
 
rmoreau61 said:
Nice spread. I've always loved the styling of this series of turntables. Yours is a beauty!
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I agree with this and I have seen comments before about they "aren't much to look at' or "don't have the appeal of other contemporary turntables" and I wonder what is wrong with these peoples' taste.

I have always thought they are extremely attractive tables from the first pictures I saw of them in the mid-seventies.

Doug
 
Thought I'd chime in here too. I really admire this series from BIC.
They're attractive with a slim-line profile, nicely built and they provide a great platform for good sound.

These models are a touch quirky too, with their programming feature. Despite the label, they're made in Michigan by Voice of Music for British Industries Corporation.

As they age, they suffer from the same "dried grease disease" as do many other vintage makes, eg. Garrard, Dual, etc. Easily remedied with some care and patience.

I keep on the lookout for the 960, 980 and 1000 as keepers.
 
Robint said:
On my 980 I used 500000wt silicone, the arm drops nice and slow.
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Doug G. said:
Yup, right around the silver lift pin in that little recess there around it. It actually doesn't hurt to put some right on the pin either. It will seep down into the bore from there too.

Get the fluid all the way around.

Doug
Click to expand...

Nice..I'll get on it. Does the average hardware store have the silicone or would I have to go to a hobby shop or order online? (been checking old threads for answer)
 
SFBayArch said:
Thought I'd chime in here too. I really admire this series from BIC.
They're attractive with a slim-line profile, nicely built and they provide a great platform for good sound.

These models are a touch quirky too, with their programming feature. Despite the label, they're made in Michigan by Voice of Music for British Industries Corporation.

As they age, they suffer from the same "dried grease disease" as do many other vintage makes, eg. Garrard, Dual, etc. Easily remedied with some care and patience.

I keep on the lookout for the 960, 980 and 1000 as keepers.
Click to expand...

I'm in the Bay Area as well. Picked it up locally from a guy. There's a guy selling one in Daly City (a 960) with an extra platter/dustcover and AT cart. He wants $250.

Your TT in the avatar is awesome!
 
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Yeah, that's a Lab 80 first version isn't it. An icon of turntabledom.

Anyway, the silicone fluid probably won't be found in a typical hardware store. Hobby shops carry differential "oil" for radio controlled race cars that is, apparently, the same thing. I think they reference the weight of the oil differently than damping fluid so I don't know which to get. Others may know.

Turntable Experts in New York (Adam) still sells the original fluid as Adam was a BIC technician and bought all of the remainig BIC parts when the company failed.

Turntable Basics in the Twin Cities carries damping fluid in convenient hypodermic syringes for easy application.

Doug
 
I managed to get my 980 platter unstuck today using a heat gun. I had tried getting some oil into it but it wasn't penetrating well enough. I also managed to mangle the plastic sheet that goes under the rubber mat with one of the liquids I tried to use. The Goof Off perhaps did it?

Anyway, I'll make something to replace it which should be pretty easy to do.
 
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Now that it's spinning, I have to figure out why it wants to set down at the 7" size.

Does your 980 have a clear plastic bottom? Mine does and it does make it easy to see the innards.
 
When looking underneath, you'll see some metal arms that look like scissors. They need to be cleaned and relubed; they will cause the very problem you're having!
 
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Yes, that did it. Before I saw your post I could see that the 12" side of the "scissors" wasn't moving into position. I added some oil and worked it a bit and it functions now.

The number of play selector also needs a little work. It doesn't matter which position I set it at, it always drops all the way to the first position when the arm cycles. Again, I think a bit more cleaning and properly positioned oil will reduce the friction so the spring can snap the toothed plastic piece back faster.
 
All these little annoying problems, some of which may go away with oil, WD40 etc but then reappear later, can be fixed by complete disassembly, cleaning, MINIMAL lubing and reassembly.

Yeah it's a PIA but it's worth it.
 
Tonearm settings

Generally speaking, what should Stylus Force and Anti-skating be set to on this table? (960)
 
What's your cartridge? Tracking and Anti-skate vary from cartridge to cartridge. Generally, I'd say 1.5 grams for tracking and 1.0 for anti-skate, but that can be bad advice depending on what is mounted.
 
moodydan said:
What's your cartridge? Tracking and Anti-skate vary from cartridge to cartridge. Generally, I'd say 1.5 grams for tracking and 1.0 for anti-skate, but that can be bad advice depending on what is mounted.
Click to expand...

Good point. It's the Shure Hi Track. Noticed there are a few models of this Hi track deal depending on the color of the stylus and color of the lettering. Mine is more specifically the M91ED series N91ED (Yellow stylus with red Shure HI-TRACK lettering)

Biradial (0.2 x 0.7 mils)
0.75 to 1.5 grams

http://cdn.shure.com/uploaded_file/upload/28/us_pro_stylus_cross_reference.pdf
 
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