Some times this will save a laser. Depends on how bad it is. If the lens is really foggy, increasing the power will also increase the diffusion of the beam due to bad optics. If the lens is just a little cloudy, or if the laser is just getting tired a little bump in the drive will make it work for awhile. Go too far and it will shorten the life. Rule of thumb turn it about the same amount of turn as 4 to 5 minutes on a clock face would be. When lasers were readily available for 20.00 I would just swap it out and go with a new one. But today they are not as easily obtained. The common ones are still available but they are more than 20 bucks like they used to be.
I think the biggest crime of the century is that you do not have more subscribers! I found your channel a week or so ago and have been hooked since. I love seeing the HIFI equipment and learning how they operate. Now its just too bad you don't live on the other coast, here in Nova Scotia so I could take my equipment to you for repairs. lol Keep up the awesome videos!
I admire your work, your patience and endurance. I collect CD players - some types of pickups are very difficult to maintain in working and reliable condition. I think that this time you worked on HOP-M3, I hate all this HOPs types. The only way is rip off the lens, clean it on both sides and glue it back. Very time consuming procces, but I saves some CD players ( The KSS and Pioneer pickups are similar, first lens don't cover against dust). This is my hobby, I can't imagine do it for somebody as repairing job. I am sorry I would say, this CD player can't be fixed.
Nope, his is clearly a Sanyo pickup. I can spot them a mile away. I havent personally seen one fail yet, although I havent had many. Sony KSS on the other hand, I saw 100s fail.
I hear you on this but the problem is, buying a new one, for more $$ is no longer an option either as they are of poor quality and stop playing after 1 month. I've been reading reviews on CD players on Amazon and can't find one of good quality and the prices keep going up on these. I have purchased them at thrift stores before for like $8 and they last like 1 year. I have a huge CD collection that I love listening to while I paint, so going to other options like downloading music is not an option for me now.
It is possible to open the laser assembly and clean from the inside. I tried it on PS1 optics but in my personal experience, I only have around 50% of success without increasing the laser power because it's not just dust, sometimes either the laser diode or the photodiode that detects the reflected laser beam appears to be the fault. When I tried to open the PS2 laser assembly I did more damage than good because tension spring that holds the lens can easily be bent and when I put them back I haven't able to align them properly plus the laser & photodiode are deeply hidden in one board that I haven't able to clean them properly and didn't work.
I hate those changers. Bought one a couple years ago to "replace" my luxman D404 was having problems similar to what that unit was doing. I did the same thing you just did. I've been using the changer as a small work table. I think is a six disc big metal box. Don't quote me that.
Queen greatest hits is the CD I use to test playability, as it is over 90 minutes long, with the last track being right to the outer runout area. Pretty much any issues will show up there on that last track. Used it on my first CD player ( which I still have, though it only is the radio side I use now, tape side had too much plastic pieces break, and needs a new KSS210A pickup for the CD side again, after over a quarter century of use) to align the new optical block, after the first one died from use. Like that Aiwa, even though the LCD displays are nearly black from age.
I have a Sharp MD recorder that fails the write test after a recording session. It plays fine but won't record anything. I got to try and clean the lens.
Thanks Dave, I have an old Denon dual disc player with SHARP lasers. One unit skips around the 2nd and 3rd songs ( about 3 to 7 minutes of play) and then seems to get back to "normal". Any suggestions as to that behavior ? I also have a dual Numark with a different issue. One side is ok, the other gives me an E - error upon loading. What's with that ? J K
Try to clean the laser cartridge transport mechanism with isopropyl alcohol. Especially the rails, then lubricate them with a *little* thin, plastic-compatible grease. Also clean the teeth of the gears one by one. Dave just recently done a video about exactly this subject.
What is the optimal level a CD or DVD player laser should run at to read discs ? Also, by turning up the intensity of the laser, does that shorten the lifespan of the laser, or risk damaging a disc ? Keep up the great work, I enjoy your videos.
You need a laser power meter (yes they exist) and it is set to what the manual says. Too much power will shorten the life for sure and you will create even more errors on read out and if it is a cdr or DVD +-R YOU RUN THE RISK OF BURNING THE DYE LAYER AND WIPING WHAT IS ON THE DISK
@@12voltvids Thanks for the information. I've learned a lot from your videos. Repaired a Sony CDPCX355 300 disc changer that I bought broken. Now continuing to learn from your videos on other repairs that are still very new for me. My passion is getting these units that the modern generation seems to not appreciate and bring them back to their glory. Cheers
That lense did look misty. I've seen no end of lazers that just seem blind even if the lense is clean. But i've also had really old units that just needed a gentle lense clean and away it goes :-D. Computer dvd writers often go down the pan too, never the pcb, always a duff lazer :-(
Ok so i spelt it wrong, clever clogs lol. "Stimulus" did you mean stimulation? Emissions in phase comes to mind as well, not sure where that memory came from.
It happens on both. The single disk units are better sealed. The carousel units have a lot of space, and the spinning of the carousel creates air movement inside as it turns that acts like a fan and blows the contaminated air against the laser block, as does the spinning disk. In a single disk there is less air around the pickup moving around.
@@12voltvids CDROM drives suffer from that a lot, even though they are somewhat sealed. Does not help having the PC fan sucking air into the cabinet through all the cracks. Got a big pile of assorted CD and DVD drives around, just have to go through them to see what works and what does not, but sadly no free BD players or recorders.
@@infinitecanadian plastic lenses perhaps. Been a long time since I wore prescription glasses. A laser fixed that problem. I just use cheap dollar store cheaters for the close up work and they are scratched to shit
Just remember that modern pickups often do not have this adjustment, it is done in the production line by soldering a fixed value resistor in there, or simply by having tight control on the laser line as to emission and binning them into tight ranges, so the fixed value resistor is non adjustable on the line. Saves a 3 minute alignment process half way down, they just get in prealigned blocks, and put them in, then run a test on the final unit with a tester that just reads a test disk and confirms operation, or on cheap ones just power up and see it opens and closes.
It plays the opposite of a vinyl Record. It's like putting the stylus on the lead out track, and turning the record backwards. But the sound comes out normal on the CD. I didn't watch this, but I was guessing a dirty lens. But I'll find out. Ok, edit: I thought it was dirty on the outside. It has a cataract instead . Another job well done!
Yes CD, DVD, Bluray and Laserdisk play from the inside out. I am still amazed that these things ever worked. When you think about it, tracking a laser on a spiral track when the disk is spinning several hundred RPM.
Please don't take this question in a bad way. I was wondering why your ruff on smokers. Is it because you have had to repair alot of things that the cause was smoking? Did you used to smoke or have known someone who has died from smoking?
