Parcelforce dropped my Beaulieu 708 stereo, parts advise please

[Mark Barton]

Hello all, Parcelforce dropped my very well packed Beaulieu 708 stereo (in its custom flight case) weird playback sounds , poor running speed. So on advisement I took the bottom off (which was showing signs of impact, and the circuit board has been broken, and this silver tube was loose in the case. Your advisement please on what is this part, much as I have glued the small pieces of the board back, how do I reconnenct the circuit tracks, bridge with fine wire. Again your advisement please. And yes I am claiming on the parcel insurance, but I bet they deny it. Cheers

[Phil Murat]

Hi Mark,

Aluminium sleeve is just a guide for adjustable foot screw on side. It is only glued at the bottom.

Sound Board is too much damaged to be properly repaired.

If Parcelforce do not refund you , try a temporary repair , joining all broken parts with epoxy and bridging each track with small gauge.

Anyway , at least , you 'll need an other one. This one is very difficult to clone.

[Lee Mannering]

Saddened to read this. Cinematic history they will not understand I feel for you

[Paul Browning]

I've seen worse get repaired, with epoxy adhesive, but its not the point really is it, you expect them to handle it with care, and even when you put this obviously on the parcel, its almost an invitation to do just the opposite, there are some moronic people around aren't there........ don't loose heart mark, i believe it can be got back to working condition, any mechanical damage ?

[Mark Barton]

Bar the front element of the lens falling off, and a bent control panel where the sliders go nothing mechanical, just this fubar'd circuit. I simply know they will not pay out on some lame excuse Im sure. I insured it for £900 which is probably below what an actual 708 stereo is worth. Thank you al.

[Martin Davey]

Does Parcelforce say that they transport projectors/ optical equipment? And what happens to a claim for damage if they don't carry such items? I don't know about their terms and conditions, but I was looking at Hermes and DPD a few days ago, and they say that such items are not allowed to be carried.

[Clive Casey]

Hi all, Maybe I have been lucky, but I have had an Elmo ST1200 delivered to me by Parcelforce, an Elmo GS1200 delivered by DPD and a couple of other heavy projectors delivered by UPS, all arrived in good condition. I think one of the secrets is to double box them and make sure the projector has plenty of bubble wrap round them and make sure they can’t move in the inner box and put more padding between the boxes.
i know this doesn’t help the injured projectors and owners, just sharing my experiences.
Regards to all,

Clive

[Phil Murat]

Following to delivery trouble Mark has experinced with Parcelforce, I have reviewed a Beaulieu 708 I received a few times ago and more particularly in the bottom plate area : I notice plate is slightly bent around lateral feet, fortunately audio board has not been impacted. External defect is very similar to Mark ones.
However subject projector was sent in a serious packaging too, so far I can remember


So, I understand , even if projector bottom plate is a thick steel material , it is very difficult to manage a conventionnal packaging wich can absorb lot of energy localized on few centimeters for a machine showing a 15Kg weight and falling down from 1 meter.

The idea should be to insert a thick wooden laminated base plate (74cm x 35cm, thickness 25mm) featuring 3 holes (Hole diameter = Feet diameter), so that wooden base plate is not in contact directly with feet alone but with case outskirt rather.
A thick piece of dense foam can be added between wooden plate and packaging bottom.
So that , in case of abnormal shock, resulting pressure will be considerably reduced and divided all around the machine.


Making these machines travelling is not an easy task.......

[Brian Fretwell]

I assume that is why my Eumig Mk926GL came from new in a massive box with thick expanded polystyrene packing some of it ribbed to absorb shock by partially collapsing if dropped. The machine is not much bigger than the 800 series but the box almost twice as big.

[Mark Barton]

Im assuming Parcelforce may argue that you cannot send a projector, why? Companies use Parcelforce to send electronic items, computers, tv's, etc so it shouldnt make a difference. I know Hermes have a massive list of prohibited items, which means the only thing they will carry is a brick. These transport companies must take more responsibility for their deliveries. Im sure we have all seen the youtube videos of delivery staff throwing parcels over fences, throwing them in to vans etc, simply not acceptable.

[Terry Sills]

I’m with Clive on this one. Projectors and anything heavy and delicate I always double box with loads of packing in between to make sure the item cannot move. Maybe just peculiar to my location, but I use UPS and have always found them to provide an excellent service, extremely fast delivery and never a problem. As for insurance cover for projectors, I think you will be unlucky there because I’m
sure you will find they are on their exclusion list. Best to make as sure as possible that careful packing will prevent any damage caused in transit.

[Alan Rik]

The machine was not properly packed unfortunately. I had my Beaulieu 708 HTI flown from Sweden to the USA and it weighs more than the standard 708 and Bjorn of Beaulieu Sweden packed it like a tank. Not a mark on it- double boxed with at least 2 inches around it from the inside box to 2 more inches around it from the exterior box. Hopefully you can get some compensation for it.
That being said the last Beaulieu 708 Studio I had purchased from Germany was packed inside a Plastic Rubbermaid bin with one piece of bubblewrap thrown in-not every wrapped around the machine, then placed in a box with soft spongy inserts with about 1 inch on the sides and 1/2 inch on the top and bottom. Needless to say it arrived damaged and was sent back to the company. Thank god I used PayPal and didn’t go with a bank transfer as was requested. I only made that mistake once and will never do it again.

[Steve Klare]

Twice now I've shipped machines by Fed-Ex, one of 'em being a GS-1200 Xenon. I got both of them insured and paid them to pack them too. I figured that way if they did a substandard job packing them up, they did it knowing it was their dime.

I also had a talk with the clerk before he packed it: "So I should mark this 'Fragile'?". "Not if you have an 'Extremely Delicate' sticker handy!".

(I also considered "Biohazard" or "Radiological Hazard", but that could get...complicated! )

-both machines arrived without a mark on them.

It wasn't that expensive: we did Fed-Ex ground this way from New York to Florida for the GS and it was something like $135.

[Mark Barton]

Hi, Ive sent many cine items via all the big companies with none ever arriving damaged. This projector was in its custom flight case, projector was bubble wrapped, then in its case, then the case was bubble wrapped, then placed into brand new double box cardboard boxes, with FRAGILE all over. The card boxes have no sign of damage but when you apply physics, and a mass moving, especially concentrated around one point etc etc. If the box had been handled with care,ie it could be shoved, it might even have had other boxes on it, thats all fine, but when you drop thats a different matter, it cause s damage and shows incompetence. I havent heard from ParcelForce but will probably a lame excuse, like the time I sent a brand new paddleboard (boxed, about 4 foot long, very colourful packing) and Hermes admitted losing it in their warehouse??????? Obvious an employee liked the contents as shown on the packaging, checked that it wasnt insured (last time I ever sent anything uninsured) and nicked it. I mean how can you loose an item that big in your own warehouse, Hermes said, last tracking was when it was in our warehouse. I doubt Ill get any pay out.

[Steve Klare]

The different shippers seem to do the exact same job, but truth be told they act differently once you get inside the building. UPS for example imagines itself kind of like airport baggage handlers do: they will (generally) get your package where it is going on time, but they aren't there to be gentle.

A friend of mine served an internship with UPS when he graduated from college. His first task was to pack a delivery truck and that started by building a wall of parcels before it was loaded inside. His new boss didn't like how he did it and kicked it over. (Tough luck if Grandma's china was in one of those boxes!)

Once, I asked at the counter why they don't allow packages to be wrapped in twine. The clerk said a loop of twine encourages the package handlers to fling them.

The worst-damaged projector I ever got was a UPS victim. Between the shoddy packing job and UPS' level of care, it showed up with the frame bent over the rear foot and the controls didn't work (-even if they did, the thing stood crooked on the table!). This was a real shame: it was a very low-mileage machine with very little wear on things like guides and gears and soundheads and the motor. The seller offered to take it back, but I realized it was a goldmine in hard to find parts and I kept it. Over a weekend, I cross-bred it with one that basically had nothing good left but the frame. The end result has been excellent for over a decade.

So I will gladly use UPS for anything that would survive falling down a flight of stairs. I trust them to do a good job delivering things that are ok with this.