The DIY Discman Repair Thread - Page 22

To the rescue! =P

Yeah, I have a D-465. It had a similar problem. It skipped a Lot on tracks 1-2-3 especially. Turning on ESP made if Far worse. The problem was the main CD turning motor itself. The black metal ring with the black plastic central snap on assembly that holds the CD, this entire unit, wobbled on the motor. It was the motor bearing itself that was damaged. (This was proved later when the motor was removed - it squeaked when turned and sounded "dry". The motor’s shaft itself wobbled. I applied light machine oil with a syringe to the motor's central shaft, and that helped a little... but it was a lost cause. Needed a new motor.) This caused the CD to wobble as it spun, resulting in the Laser not being able to read the CD... and it skipped. Especially on the first few tracks when the CD is turning faster.

The main motor was dieing. I replaced it by buying a model that used the same motor on ebay, and swapping the motors. A very cheap fix. If I had not replaced the main motor, it would have eventually failed altogether. Perhaps the problem with your D-465 is the main motor too?!

At this page at Partstore.com it lists the parts for the D-465 Discman player. The main motor of the D-465 is used by 63 other discman units. Copy and paste the list, then check ebay for one of these 63 models. Chances are there is one up there right now. Buy it and then swap the motor out and into your dead D-465.
Better yet get a Discman from ebay that uses the exact same Optical Laser Pick up and Sled assembly too. Then replace the whole thing. 90% chance this will fix your D-465! And guess what? 59 discmans use the same sled assembly as the D-465. So it should be easy to find one on ebay.
Like a Sony D-E451... there are a few up on ebay right now in fact.

Don't throw out your D-465. It could be fixed in this way for as little as $15 - $25. Well, assuming you can use a small philips head screwdriver that is...

What I have just outlined here, this idea of buying a unit that uses the same entire optical sled/laser motor assembly, obviously can be applied to all other discman's. It's gotta be the #1 easy fix for at least 50% of Discman failures. Because half the time the broken part is going to be in the whole optical pick up motor head area...

Hey, I forgot this part

In my haste I overlooked what you said about fiddling with the trim pots! Well, if you only turned the "Focus Bias" and "Tracking Balance" then you should be able to easily get them back into the range they were in before. With much trial and error. But if you moved the other trim pots to do with PLL etc., then...
I don't know where you could get it realigned and recalibrated if this is the case.

I opened my D-465 and adjusted the TB a little. First I market the trim pot's position with a black felt tip marker on the edge of the metal. That's really important when you're going to adjust the pots... Mark their original positions first!

Anyway, here is the old system Sony used to use with the trim pots, the number beside each trim pot on the board. This is their old numbering regime that was valid for the early units (like the D-303 - 1991) and onwards to about 1999? I am not sure what the new Sony PCDP's use for trim pots, or if they are numbered the same... can anyone add current info, please?

• 501 - TG - Tracking Gain

• 502 - TB - Tracking Balance

• 503 - FB - Focus Bias

• 504 - PLL - Phase Locked Loop

• 505 - FG - Focus Gain

I can fix it even if the PLL has been thrown out of whack and everything is wrong, but it really takes a lot of experience and knowing what a working value looks/feels/sounds like. If he has only adjusted FB/TB, he should be able to find the right values again, though. Adjust TB until the transport still moves around and tries to track, but doesn't start swinging all over the place or jittering around a lot. If you get it where it doesn't jitter/swing, but doesn't do much at all, you're turned it too far one way and it's at a sort of "I give up" mode. For focus bias, adjusting it after you adjust tracking balance is usually easier, as you will know it's OK when you start reading the CD properly in a reliable fashion, and the transport isn't super noisy (although it doesn't have to be at the point at which it's quietest).

I'm sort of considering offering repair services to help me pay for my law school tuition in the fall...but I'll have to see whether I can really handle such an operation :P

Aiwa XP-66 and Technics XP-550

Just got these two for only SGD$2 each off from a flea market.
Tried putting batteries in, won't power up.

Took apart the whole unit, seems like the grease on the worm bar has dried, otherwise checked no blown capacitors or black marks on the PCB for both.

However, didn't try with AC on whether it can work or not.

Anyone can sort of give me tips on how to make it work?

Kenwood DPC-321

I bought this player on Ebay. When it arrived, it would not play reliably and I could hear scraping. After several hours of studying it, I determined there are 2 circular magnetic strips inside the lid clamp that were held on by adhesive. One of them had moved out of position to where it was on the opposite side, on top of the other one and was causing the clamp to tilt. The only purpose these seem to serve is to keep the magnetic clamp from rattling too much when the lid opens. I could not reposition the wayward strip, so I removed it.

It plays perfectly now, but can anyone think of a reason why that magnetic strip should be put back in there? It would be nearly impossible to get it back in there in the proper position.

This picture shows the one remaining strip in it's correct position.

D303 help needed

I have two D303s with different problems.

D303-a skips on early tracks when flat. Does better at 45 or 90 degrees. No problem when flat for late tracks on the CD. I read through the existing posts and tweaked the 502 and 501 pots. But no help. With the 502, even a tiny adjustment in either direction leads to no tracking at all. Also, there is a constant grinding/tapping noise when the cd is spinning. So, I'm guessing the problem is the spindle motor (bad bearing?).

D303-b reads fine, but there is a problem with the output levels both in the headphone and line out -- output is about 50% in the left channel compared with the right. Some of you were really helpful in a different thread, suggesting that the problem was probably with the coupling caps.

So... I'm thinking that if replace the motor assembly in D303-a with the motor assembly from D303-b, I might get one fully functioning unit.

Before attempting it, I want to make sure that this makes sense. Also, is this something I should attempt myself with limited technical skills (no ability to solder)?

Thanks!

D-303 uses the same transport as the D-35 which, when it goes bad, does exactly what you described. It's a categorical problem with this transport. The clicking sound is exactly what my D-35 does. The fix I'm pretty sure is replacing the mabuchi spindle motor.

The second D-303 probably has a problem with its coupling caps.

D-303 disc reading problem

got a D-303 used to work flawlessly a year ago, just yesterday I pulled it out to charge up the batter and to play with my much-missed PCDP.

Now its not reading any CDs at all, unit starts up, backlight lights up and blinks "disc" and shows "no disc" shortly after, tried adjusting 501, 502, 503, 505 pots but no improvements.

currently when powered up, disc isnt spinning (nothing's wrong with the motor as it does spin sometimes depens on how I adjust the 502 pot). the laser assembly gear kept clicking because its already at the center spot

which pot should I adjust to keep the laser assembly from trying to move itself inwards?

any help would be greatly appreciated

I had similar problem with a D-11 circa 1990

I had a problem similar to this a few months back with a D-11. Laser sled assembly was “disoriented” and appeared to be jammed up against the center spindle. Center motor turned CD occasionally. I felt that it was some kind of mechanical problem. The unit had been not used for many months…
I didn't adjust ANY of the pots at all.

So I took it all apart, desoldering some wires to get it open. I manually moved the Laser sled assembly back to the outer position. I did this by disconnectingn the 2 wires from the sled motor, and using a single AA battery to power the motor, moving the sled back. Somehow the contact sensor must have gotten stuck. CD player now works fine. While I was at it I put some lithium grease on the all metal rail and brass parts since they had become dry and stiff. Perhaps this was also to blame for the strange failure.
But I tell ya, it was amazing to see the quality of the D11 transport… for a cheap bottom of the line 1990 PCDP… all metal parts, 2 big identical drive motors, brass and steel bars and gears. Compared to the vile cheap rubbish they churn out today… grrrr!

Anyway, maybe you might try examining the guts of the D-303 and try moving the sled back manually. You should be able to turn a gear with a toothpick or metal pin, to move the sled back. Good luck!

thanks Tungsten I'll give that a try

Whom to Repair Sony D-555

I have a sony D-555 in which the headphone output at full volume is very soft and only about the same volume as the line out. This is with Koss KSC-75 Headphones. Am I correct in asuming that this issue might have something to do with old capacitors, and if so, who would be my best option to send this to for repair and perhaps replace all the capacitors? I am looking for the best place in the world to send my discman for repair.

Thank You

I have a few D(Z)-555's which have had similar problems. The volume seems to drop the more the capacitors leak, so yes replacement is the best option. I am in the UK so international shipping and repair by the guy I used would be prohibitively expensive (3-400USD I'd estimate). I am sure someone here closer to home will be able to do the job for you.

Memepool, how do your players sound with the replace capacitors?

Amazing in a word. This is definitely the best PCDP I've ever heard, incredibly detailed and subtle, but not harsh or fatiguing to listen to the way so many digital sources are.
The chipset is dual Burr Brown 8 x oversampling so at the peak of multi-bit and it has a beautifully made solid metal mechanism. Well worth fixing.
It should be loud when it's working properly, ear splitting with a pair of Sennheiser HD25's even at half volume.
The only gripe is the unavailability of the rechareable batteries. The new ones with the same code are Li-ON whereas the originals are Ni-MH so they won't recharge and could damage the device if you try to substitute them. Recelling old batteries can be done but it's difficult to find someone to do it reasonably. I tried broadcasting companies in the UK like Hawk Woods who make bespoke batteries but they are not what you'd call cheap.

Thank you, memepool. So yes, the circumstances are that I live in the U.S. and I have a Sony D-555 that needs to be fixed in some way as the head-out is much softer than it should be. Who in the U.S. could do an excellent job in fixing it and possibly replacing some of the other worn capacitors?

Any one know?

Also, Memepool, have you ever heard the D-25. This reviewer seems to think it is better than the D-555. Also, how well does the player work as a digital transport with the line out? Is it worth uprading to a sepparate dac if I am going to use the player with a bottlehead sex amp?

Best,