Laserology - CD Players and why they stop reading

Thanks for posting Rob. Great info for those of us who aren't trained technicians but aspire to rise above and learn a few handy tricks.
 
Wow, that is educational.

The next time my CD player starts to act funny, I'm going to re-read that link, hope it's still up.
 
The article starts with: "I looked inside over 100 CD players which DID NOT READ the CD anymore and only one (in decimal and binary mode it is 1) had failed laser."
And I have looked inside 20 players (CD/DVD) that weren't reading the discs and only 1 was in need of a lens cleanup (owner smoked inside his house), all the rest needed a replacement laser.
 
Just resurrected an early '90s Philips CDM1MKII drive in a Museatex CD-D transport by replacing one (yes, just the one) electrolytic cap.:banana:

Symptoms: over the last year, it was having more and more trouble reading CD-Rs, then wouldn't read them at all, and then started throwing errors when playing commercial CDs. Final problem - wouldn't see a disc at all. On this drive, the spindle motor does two test spins whilst bobbing the laser assembly twice. After the repair, the laser remained invisible. Checked the laser drive over a bunch of CDs and CD-R, and it ranged from 49-54mV. And now it plays flawlessly no matter what I throw in there. And a disc I could never index to track 12 does it immediately. Happy.
 
This thread was of GREAT help. I have a micro-system on my desk. I use it mainly on aux as computer speakers. It is nothing fancy just of decent audio quality. Many years ago when I did not have a PC I used it to listen to my favourite bands on CD's. Unfortunately it gradually stopped reading CD's, no matter how much I cleaned the lens with alcohol. A friend of mine gave me a broken AIWA stereo, you know the kind used in the 90's with a 3 cd changer double deck and radio.
I still have no idea why the laser part fit perfectly in the microsystem. I worked for a few months and died again until today.

Reading the thread I proceeded to disassemble the laser head. The mirror was incredibly dirty, it didn't even look as a mirror anymore. With a piece of soft cotton I cleaned it and now it works again.

Thanks a lot!
 
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I used this to help me resurrect a Sony CDP-7F I found on eBay cheap, wouldn't even spin a disc let alone play one. I cleaned the lens and sled and bingo, she's working! Thanks!
 
I wonder if anything on the list is beneficial to getting a Sony S9000ES back to playing SACD's? Mine quit playing SACD's 2 years back. Then I could at least sell it.
 
Depends on what model years your players are. I dont know about CD, but the large majority of DVD players the failure is in the optical pickup. the LD drops emission over time and looses lock. gaming consoles were BAD for this... CD players depend on year of manufacture. As time went on, the lasers were made cheaper and cheaper, and they didnt last as long. Older players are like tanks. Newer ones, well....
 
sigh... I tried a new laser on my favorite, a Luxman D-105u. no luck. as it stands now, it loads, spins up and reads the number of tracks and the total play time. it then spins, then spins faster, then stops. I saw a thread where someone fixed one of these by replacing a diode. I guess I need a good multi meter and some soldering skills.
 
I'm no expert, but I have resurrected a number of "vintage" CDPs with the following.

1. New drawer belt.
2. Lens cleaning with InstaClears lens cleaner (for glasses).
3. Clean laser mechanism rails with alcohol and then apply some sewing machine oil.

Has worked every time.

I want to start experimenting with recapping and other mods.

CDPs are way less intimidating that receivers.
 
After few years of repairing vintage CD, i had just one unit with broken laser unit, and only because some one touched current trim pot.

Rest of them needed properly adjustments, just few of them were really dirty that i had to clean the rails
 
sigh... I tried a new laser on my favorite, a Luxman D-105u. no luck. as it stands now, it loads, spins up and reads the number of tracks and the total play time. it then spins, then spins faster, then stops. I saw a thread where someone fixed one of these by replacing a diode. I guess I need a good multi meter and some soldering skills.
This sounds like either an adjustment or possibly a sled drive issue.
 
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