At least it didn't explode, Part 19: Something kinda did, slightly.
Got my LD player fixed. This time, with more adventure! The process of removing the power supply board and parts was the same as before. Except when putting it all back together, I must have bonked something out of alignment.
What makes my LD player unique is that it has the capability to play both sides of a disc without needing me to eject it and flip it over. The way that works is, the laser eye that moves from the center of the disc to the outside rides in a larger carriage, and each side of that carriage has a U-shaped channel. This enables the laser eye subassembly to rotate itself upside-down to read the B-side of an LD. This carriage assembly also lifts the disc drive motor (and thus the disc itself) so it can spin freely. The carriage assembly is doing a dozen things at once, dictated by timing gears. Mechanically, there's a LOT that can go wrong.
After getting the thing back together the first time, I decided I'd use an audio CD-R for the initial testing. For some reason it didn't want to lift the disc motor all the way. Took it back apart some, got it to play CDs. Great. Although when closing the tray, there would be a subtle clunk sound that was not there before. To test with LD functionality, I used a disc of something that was long since been available on a newer format. But it didn't want to play LDs. So I took it all back apart, retracing my steps, seeing if there was anything obvious. Nope. Put it all back together, and it played LDs fine. The clunk sound was gone too. I did something and I'm not sure what.
See now, if I had done the board mods thing the first time this happened, I wouldn't be having this trouble. Oh well.
In the middle of this adventure, I also had to salvage the remote control. The batteries leaked out and corroded the terminals. To fix that, I had to take the remote apart, desolder the terminals from the board, use contact cleaner on them (and everywhere else battery crud got to), then put it all back together. That seems to have brought it back to life.
Did you know that cell phone cameras can be used to test IR-based remote controls?
The worst part about the batteries is they seem to last less and less before barfing. Batteries from 20-30 years ago were built better. Alkaline batteries these days seem to be designed for getting used up in their first year, while lithium-based batteries seem to be better for longevity.
But all's well that ends well. The LD player and its remote works again, although I do intend on replacing the loading belt while I can. What makes that tricky is the belt is at its easiest to access when the tray can be moved. When the belt starts slipping, the tray can't move, and the belt can't be accessed as easily.
I thought about lurking about on ebay or FB Marketplace, looking for used LD players, whether they work or not. Who knows, there might be one going for really cheap because it won't power on.
What makes my LD player unique is that it has the capability to play both sides of a disc without needing me to eject it and flip it over. The way that works is, the laser eye that moves from the center of the disc to the outside rides in a larger carriage, and each side of that carriage has a U-shaped channel. This enables the laser eye subassembly to rotate itself upside-down to read the B-side of an LD. This carriage assembly also lifts the disc drive motor (and thus the disc itself) so it can spin freely. The carriage assembly is doing a dozen things at once, dictated by timing gears. Mechanically, there's a LOT that can go wrong.
After getting the thing back together the first time, I decided I'd use an audio CD-R for the initial testing. For some reason it didn't want to lift the disc motor all the way. Took it back apart some, got it to play CDs. Great. Although when closing the tray, there would be a subtle clunk sound that was not there before. To test with LD functionality, I used a disc of something that was long since been available on a newer format. But it didn't want to play LDs. So I took it all back apart, retracing my steps, seeing if there was anything obvious. Nope. Put it all back together, and it played LDs fine. The clunk sound was gone too. I did something and I'm not sure what.
See now, if I had done the board mods thing the first time this happened, I wouldn't be having this trouble. Oh well.
In the middle of this adventure, I also had to salvage the remote control. The batteries leaked out and corroded the terminals. To fix that, I had to take the remote apart, desolder the terminals from the board, use contact cleaner on them (and everywhere else battery crud got to), then put it all back together. That seems to have brought it back to life.
Did you know that cell phone cameras can be used to test IR-based remote controls?
The worst part about the batteries is they seem to last less and less before barfing. Batteries from 20-30 years ago were built better. Alkaline batteries these days seem to be designed for getting used up in their first year, while lithium-based batteries seem to be better for longevity.
But all's well that ends well. The LD player and its remote works again, although I do intend on replacing the loading belt while I can. What makes that tricky is the belt is at its easiest to access when the tray can be moved. When the belt starts slipping, the tray can't move, and the belt can't be accessed as easily.
I thought about lurking about on ebay or FB Marketplace, looking for used LD players, whether they work or not. Who knows, there might be one going for really cheap because it won't power on.