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A Terminal

Bang & Olufsen A Terminal

Beolink 1000 was Bang & Olufsen’s entry remote control terminal, released in 1986. Its bigger brothers were the two-way Beolink 5000 and Beolink 7000 terminals. It originally came in a number of guises: released in 1987 was Terminal A, followed by Terminal V and then Terminal AV. Their purpose was to control the audio section of various hi-fis (Terminal A); the video sections (Terminal V) and combined functions (Terminal AV).

Beolink 1000 won the ID Award in 1986.

From the Commander to the Beolink 1000 – a leap in ideas

Beomaster 2400’s new element was the Commander – the remote control – which no High-Fidelity producer had even dreamed of making before. In America, however, remote- controlled TVs had already become a reality and in Europe, the first TV commanders, with a plethora of buttons, had turned up in Germany.

Bang & Olufsen’s idea was not to supply remote controls for its systems, it was to provide the user with easier operation – to put the entire selection of sound and picture in users’ hands. Although today, this is perhaps self-evident, this was not the case at the time. Nobody had so far dared to pursue such an obvious concept. It did not take long for the idea to take root. Soon afterwards, all Bang & Olufsen’s systems enabled the user to operate the system from a commander.

The Bang & Olufsen Idea Group insisted that users should be able to operate the commander with one finger on one hand, the thumb. This was vastly different from the commanders manufactured by other producers where the many buttons meant that the user had to hold the commander in one hand, the manual in another while the index finger of the third hand pressed the button selected by the eye.

The concept was dubbed ‘the feel commander’. This meant that the TV could be operated by the thumb on one hand – almost as if the user was feeling his way through a new type of Braille, allowing the eye to concentrate on the essential, the picture.

The culmination of the development of the idea of a ‘total commander’ came in 1985 when David Lewis designed a Beolink terminal where the user, without using his eyes, could control picture, sound and light by applying a slight pressure of the thumb. Incredibly, it could be used in all the rooms of a house. This later system, known as Beolink®, eventually incorporated most of Bang & Olufsen’s audio and video products.

The Beolink 1000 family of remote controls is made up of four unique products; all similar in appearance, but each was brought out at a different time, for a variety of differing functions. First there was the Audio Terminal (or ‘A Terminal’). This was then followed by both the ‘Video Terminal’ (used by Beovisions LX2800 and LX2500) and then the ‘AV terminal’. Lastly was the Beolink 1000 as we recognise it today. Both of these latter Terminals are shown above.

The Audio and Video Terminals are similar in appearance to each other. However, they both accommodate different sets of buttons. With both these controls the bottom plate is stamped to differentiate them as either an Audio or Video Terminal. Size-wise, both Terminals are around 1,5cm shorter than a (current) Beolink 1000 Terminal.

Beolink 1000 Mk III was the last model produced and does not include a ‘turn’ button. To turn over the tape of your Beocord cassette deck, press SHIFT + SOUND.

In order to access ‘Balance’ press SOUND twice and then use the volume up and down to adjust.

To alter ‘Treble’, press SOUND three times and adjust in the same manner; for ‘Bass’ press SOUND four times.

To save your new settings, press SOUND and then STORE.

In comparison, the AV terminal is about 1cm longer than a Beolink 1000. The AV terminal could operate both audio and video and again was released before Beolink 1000. All three Terminals were black and dark grey coloured.

With Beolink 1000 (introduced in 1986), there have been six models. Beolink 1000 Mk 1 and 2 were also black and dark grey. The Mk 1 version would not work with light controllers such as LC1. However, Mk2 could, by simply pressing SHIFT + LINK more>>

Since its introduction in 1986, the Beolink 1000 family of remote controls has been able to control all subsequent Bang & Olufsen products – both audio and video. Beo4 is a direct descendant of these remote controls, together with its (former) smaller brother, Beo1.

Most infra-red remote controls work on a 40KHz carrier. Only Bang & Olufsen and a handful of Sony and Kenwood products use 455KHz as the carrier frequency. This more powerful frequency allows the Terminals to command products from a greater distance and often, it is not a requirement to ‘fire’ them directly at the items’ sensors.

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AV Terminal

Bang & Olufsen AV Terminal

Beolink 1000 was Bang & Olufsen’s entry remote control terminal, released in 1986. Its bigger brothers were the two-way Beolink 5000 and Beolink 7000 terminals. It originally came in a number of guises: released in 1987 was Terminal A, followed by Terminal V and then Terminal AV. Their purpose was to control the audio section of various hi-fis (Terminal A); the video sections (Terminal V) and combined functions (Terminal AV).

From the Commander to the Beolink 1000 – a leap in ideas

Beomaster 2400’s new element was the Commander – the remote control – which no High-Fidelity producer had even dreamed of making before. In America, however, remote- controlled TVs had already become a reality and in Europe, the first TV commanders, with a plethora of buttons, had turned up in Germany.

Bang & Olufsen’s idea was not to supply remote controls for its systems, it was to provide the user with easier operation – to put the entire selection of sound and picture in users’ hands. Although today, this is perhaps self-evident, this was not the case at the time. Nobody had so far dared to pursue such an obvious concept.

It did not take long for the idea to take root. Soon afterwards, all Bang & Olufsen’s systems enabled the user to operate the system from a commander.

The Bang & Olufsen Idea Group insisted that users should be able to operate the commander with one finger on one hand, the thumb. This was vastly different from the commanders manufactured by other producers where the many buttons meant that the user had to hold the commander in one hand, the manual in another while the index finger of the third hand pressed the button selected by the eye.

The concept was dubbed ‘the feel commander’. This meant that the TV could be operated by the thumb on one hand – almost as if the user was feeling his way through a new type of Braille, allowing the eye to concentrate on the essential, the picture.

The culmination of the development of the idea of a ‘total commander’ came in 1985 when David Lewis designed a Beolink terminal where the user, without using his eyes, could control picture, sound and light by applying a slight pressure of the thumb. Incredibly, it could be used in all the rooms of a house. This later system, known as Beolink®, eventually incorporated most of Bang & Olufsen’s audio and video products.

The Beolink 1000 family of remote controls is made up of four unique products; all similar in appearance, but each was brought out at a different time, for a variety of differing functions. First there was the Audio Terminal (or ‘Terminal A’). This was then followed by both the ‘Terminal V’ (used by Beovisions LX2800 and LX2500) and then the ‘Terminal AV’. Lastly was the Beolink 1000 as we recognise it today. Both of these latter Terminals are shown above.

The Audio and Video Terminals are similar in appearance to each other. However, they both accommodate different sets of buttons. With both these controls the bottom plate is stamped to differentiate them as either an Audio or Video Terminal. Size-wise, both Terminals are around 1,5cm shorter than a (current) Beolink 1000 Terminal.

Beolink 1000 Mk III was the last model produced and does not include a ‘turn’ button. To turn over the tape of your Beocord cassette deck, press SHIFT + SOUND.

In order to access ‘Balance’ press SOUND twice and then use the volume up and down to adjust.

To alter ‘Treble’, press SOUND three times and adjust in the same manner; for ‘Bass’ press SOUND four times.

To save your new settings, press SOUND and then STORE.

In comparison, the Terminal AV is about 1cm longer than a Beolink 1000. The Terminal AV could operate both audio and video and again was released before Beolink 1000. All three Terminals were black and dark grey coloured.

With Beolink 1000 (introduced in 1986), there have been six models. Beolink 1000 Mk 1 and 2 were also black and dark grey. The Mk 1 version would not work with light controllers such as LC1. However, Mk2 could, by simply pressing SHIFT + LINK more>>

Since its introduction in 1986, the Beolink 1000 family of remote controls has been able to control all subsequent Bang & Olufsen products – both audio and video. Beo4 is a direct descendant of these remote controls, together with its (former) smaller brother, Beo1.

Most infra-red remote controls work on a 40KHz carrier. Only Bang & Olufsen and a handful of Sony and Kenwood products use 455KHz as the carrier frequency. This more powerful frequency allows the Terminals to command products from a greater distance and often, it is not a requirement to ‘fire’ them directly at the items’ sensors.

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MMC1

Bang & Olufsen MMC1

The MMC1 was the top of the range of B&O’s new cartridge range.

It was only available as an upgrade – even the top of the range Beogram 8002 was only fitted with the MMC2. The MMC1 had a line contact diamond mounted on a tubular sapphire cantilever.

The tubular construction offered less weight than a solid cantilever but with immense stiffness. The diamond profile was similar to that of the MMC20CL being line contact. The way to look at these cartridges was to imagine an elliptical profile but with both the front and rear facets being scooped out. In this way the vertical contact surface was maximised and the horizontal element kept to a minimum.

The MMC1 and MMC2 were essentially the same cartridge with the MMC1 using the best specified diamond tips. The MMC system was carried over from the SP series but taken to an even smaller level.

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MMC3

Bang & Olufsen MMC3

This cartridge was in many ways the replacement for the MMC20EN as it had a tapered cantilever and naked elliptical stylus.

It was fitted as standard to the Beogram 6002.

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MMC4

Bang & Olufsen MMC4

This could be regarded as the standard cartridge in the range and was fitted to many decks as standard.

In many ways a replacement for the MMC20E, it offered good performance at a most reasonable price

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MMC5

Bang & Olufsen MMC5

The most basic of the range, this cartridge was available to be specified for those decks not fitted with a cartridge as standard such as the Beogram RX.

It could be differentiated by its cantilever which was a straight non tapered aluminium tube.

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BeoMaster 4500

Bang & Olufsen BeoMaster 4500

The Beomaster 4500 radio/amplifier received both FM and AM radio and was your communication link to the other sound sources in the system. Its operation was simplicity itself with an illuminated menu presenting all the options available. 20 radio stations could be pre-set providing you with instant access together with automatic fine tuning.

The 2 x 55 watt/8 ohm amplifier had a newly-developed, well-balanced interplay with the power supply which gave the output extra strength. The power reserve encompassed the entire frequency range and gave stable sound quality no matter what the volume. Beomaster 4500 also had automatic power handling control that prevented overloading, no matter how many loudspeakers were connected, as well as a special loudspeaker socket which ensured optimal utilisation of BeoLab active loudspeakers.

Beomaster 4500 could be used as part of the Beosystem 4500 hi-fi system and could be controlled via a Beolink 1000 remote control terminal. Later models of Beomaster 4500 could be controlled by the two-way Beolink 5000 and had the extra benefit of programmable timer functions (note that only Beomaster 4500 models with a software version of 2.1 and higher were able to handle two-way communication as well as the timer function.)

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BeoGram CD 3500

Bang & Olufsen BeoGram CD 3500

The sound reproduction achieved by Bang & Olufsen’s CD 3500 CD player was truly outstanding. It played both 12cm and 8cm compact discs and had an ingenious ‘step’ function which allowed you to go straight to a chose track selected from anywhere on the disc. The CD player was one of the most technologically-advanced pieces of hi-fi on the market at the time and yet was one of the easiest to operate. The explicit display always indicated what the CD player was doing all the time – for example, which track was being played, and how many tracks there were on the played compact disc.

Beogram CD 3500 could be used as part of the Beosystem 3500 hi-fi system.