The DIY Discman Repair Thread

[D555]

Line outs are not designed for headphone use -- just a line level output to an amplifier. For headphone use line outs have: incorrect impedence, not enough current, not enough headphone coupling capacitance -- generally a bad idea.

Paul

[Ubijza]

Hello!
I recently became one of the lucky (or so I thought in the beginning) owners of the Sony D-211. To cut the story short: I really liked the sound quality (beats my DNE920 quite comprehensivly - detail wise and treble wise; the base, while fast and punchy, lacks in presence a bit). I have never heard this player before, hence do not know what it SHOULD sound like...
One problem it had from the start is its hatred of the CDR media - while perfect with red book CD, the player would literaly take minutes to load a CDR. I have decided to open the player and tinker with the "pots". They were easy to locate and were clearly labeled, but no matter what I did with them (mostly I tweaked the 502 TB one) the problem with CDRs would not go away.
However I also wanted to clean/lubricate the worm gear and motor... but i have ZERO idea how to go about it. The motor is stood on 3 rubber legs/dampers (marked "1" on the picture) and looks quite closed from the outside... What do I do?
The other question is: meaybe the sound should different and is what it is due to blown and leaking electrolite caps (labeled 2 and 3 in the pictures
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=4/10606322897.jpg&s=x2
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=4/10606321356.jpg&s=x2
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=4/10607140981.jpg&s=x2
I am suspicious, because the DSP has hardly any effect on the music( does not really add bass or treble) and the default setting sound a bit sibilant too. The whole thing sounds very much like i imagine Ety ER-4P would sound While I still enjoy this player on piano, vocals (its great, no doubt about it), its rendition of "modern" electro pop, dance music and bass heavy music is much too poor for the "best of all time" Could I get any thoughts on this? Would be much appreciated

[Blue Meanie]

Originally Posted by Ubijza

Hello!
I recently became one of the lucky (or so I thought in the beginning) owners of the Sony D-211. To cut the story short: I really liked the sound quality (beats my DNE920 quite comprehensivly - detail wise and treble wise; the base, while fast and punchy, lacks in presence a bit). I have never heard this player before, hence do not know what it SHOULD sound like...
One problem it had from the start is its hatred of the CDR media - while perfect with red book CD, the player would literaly take minutes to load a CDR. I have decided to open the player and tinker with the "pots". They were easy to locate and were clearly labeled, but no matter what I did with them (mostly I tweaked the 502 TB one) the problem with CDRs would not go away.
However I also wanted to clean/lubricate the worm gear and motor... but i have ZERO idea how to go about it. The motor is stood on 3 rubber legs/dampers (marked "1" on the picture) and to get undeneath and looks quite closed from the outside... What do I do?
The other question is: meaybe the sound should different and is what it is due to blown and leaking electrolite caps (labeled 2 and 3 in the pictures)
I am suspicious, because the DSP has hardly any effect on the music( does not really add bass or treble) and the default setting sound a bit sibilant too. The whole thing sounds very much like i imagine Ety ER-4P would sound While I still enjoy this player on piano, vocals (its great, no doubt about it), its rendition of "modern" electro pop, dance music and bass heavy music is much too poor for the "best of all time" Could I get any thoughts on this? Would be much appreciated

Sorry to hear you've had no luck getting it to play CDRs.
Maybe it IS a weak laser. This may sound like a stupid question, but did you ask the seller if it played CDRs well before you purchased it? Gotta ask questions like that before purchasing, to cover your ass.

As for disassembling the mechanism from the rubber mounts, sometimes it pays to show a little initiative. You're the one with the player in front of you, and have the best view of things. If the rubber mounts are screwed to the case, it would make sense to unscrew them. If they are glued, it looks like the mechanism could easily be pried out of the mounts through the slots in the mechanism where the mounts are located. This isn't rocket science But be VERY CAREFUL to not put any undue stress on any wires when doing this, especially any ribbon cables. Once you have freed the mechanism, you should be able to gain enough access to the underside to clean and lube. Use a lightweight, PLASTIC COMPATIBLE grease such as Labelle #106. These can probably be found at your local hobby shop, as model railroaders (among others) use them.

blown and leaking electrolytic caps = BAD JUJU. Replace them.

Hope this helps some.
Gotta go fix an X Box controller for my son.
Kids are sure good at damaging things. Shame they can never fix them!

Jeff

[Blue Meanie]

Ubijza,

You have a PM!

[D555]

Nice pictures.

The rubber mounts are *probably* press-to-fit.

Still hard to tell but I would certainly take a look at the capacitors first and not tweak any more "pots" at least not until the electrical issues are verified/resolved.

Sometimes the capacitors are marked for some manufacturing reason so that might explain a marking or two but if there is anything like a clear, bad smelling, oily substance around the capacitors then they are surely bad and leaking and should be replaced immediately and the surrounding board area cleaned with 91% alcohol. Removing them is sometimes the only way to tell for certain. If the leaded electrolytics have any greenish/whitish looking corrosion deposit on the leads close to the bottom rubber seal (after removal) then these "caps" are bad. Again, clean the board in that area.

Also noticed the 220ufd/4V surface-mount headphone coupling capacitors. If these are going bad that might explain weak bass. If you're an adventurous type with a fine-tipped soldering iron and access to replacements caps, might take a look at those as well. If not, for a fee, a repair shop might look at fixing/replacing the specific capacitors. Many shops won't look at a portable but they might if you say "replace these specific caps".

Paul

[Ubijza]

Wow, you are TOO kind guys! Thanks so much for you help!
I looked again at the capacitors and do look to be marked, rather then leaking (marked "2" left to right - blue marking, black marking respectivly, no smell, the paint (if it is "the paint") is dry. No 3 lookes a bit iffy (no smell though) - but the paint/leaking is purple - strange colour for electrolite? What color are these capacitor leakages supposed to be?
I will try to remove the laser unit from its legs after i get some lube tomorrow. The legs have been glued on and I will have to pry them through the openings.

I'm posting my private message conversation with Blue Meanie here as well - for future reference of other Head-Fiers, as i don't think this was mentioned anywhere before...CD Imbalance problem and a possible solution:
Quote:
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=4/10608145579.jpg&s=x2
Originally Posted by Ubijza
The spindle come off a couple of times too -when I was taking a CD off without pressing down on it. and the CD does go up and down a bit when spinning... What is so interesting about it anyway?



I will tell you what is so interesting about it:
About a month ago I purchased an inoperative Sony Sports discman. It would spin up, try to read a disc, then shut down. Being a water-resistant Sports model, there was no obviously easy was to take it apart (no visible screws). While looking inside for access, I noticed that the spindle motor clamp had one open spot where I could see the red o-ring. Seemed odd to me that there was only one spot like this. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the one with the red o-ring showing had been covered by black plastic like the other 2 spots, but had been broken off. Speculating that the missing black piece was either causing the spindle to be unbalanced when spinning, or causing the CD to not be exactly centered on the spindle, I took a small slotted jewelers screwdriver and gently pried the other 2 pieces up, and removed them, making the remaining assembly symmetrical. Snapped on a CD, and VOILA! Where it would not play ANY CDs originally, it now plays redbook and CDRs perfectly. Strange but true. The only problem is that I have to press down with a finger on the center of the spindle to keep it from popping off when removing a CD. I'm only guessing, but the imbalance caused by the problem with your spindle may be making it difficult for your player to read CDRs. I am only relating my experience. What you choose to do is entirely up to you.

(sorry about my mistake, BM )
__________________

[Ubijza]

Well, I had another go at those "pots" and still no luck No improvement on the cdr front. In fact even a lettle diviation of of any of the pots makes things worse - discs are not even recognised(usually the player shows the no of tracks/total time before starting to click and eventually power off).To make it stranger still I did find one cdr in my collection that fires up as good as a red book cd -1 Maxell Music 80min Cdr (other cdrs of thesame/brand model do not work)... Maybe I have selected some particular options in Nero (But I have tried disc at once/ Dao 96 with no results)
I have also found one Duncan's post with a reference to "signal strength pot"... what/where is it???
D555:
I think the bass is alright after all - it is just I was brought on Mega Bass (boomy muddy) and .... I think the sound is fine and great really. DPS/ bass boost still do toooo little for me though - not that I need it.

[Ubijza]

WOW!!!! CDRs ARE SOLVED!!! I've tried a few "more expensive" brands and Maxell Music CDRs work like a charm! Fire up like red books - instantly and consistantly!! Thanks to everybody for their advices, I sure've learned a lot about PCDPs in a last few days!

(WOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!........)

[Blue Meanie]

Glad to hear that the "fix" was something that simple, even after having you jump through all those other hoops to correct the problem. Well, a learning experience if nothing else (LOL). Have you tried Maxell DATA CDRs also? I wonder if they would work too. Cheaper than the music discs. Did you end up lubricating the mechanism?

Jeff

[Ubijza]

Originally Posted by Blue Meanie

Glad to hear that the "fix" was something that simple, even after having you jump through all those other hoops to correct the problem. Well, a learning experience if nothing else (LOL). Have you tried Maxell DATA CDRs also? I wonder if they would work too. Cheaper than the music discs. Did you end up lubricating the mechanism?

Jeff

Hi! Yes, i did lubricate it (D211 does not make as much noise now), but on its own it did not solve anything . Maxell Data CDRs do not work - they were the first ones I've tried.
Regards!