[kaosun]

All skipping issues on SONY D303/35/515/66/T66 can be fixed now!
If interested in getting them fixed, reply here or send me a message.

 

[Marlene]

Hi kaosun!
 
I have a question about a vintage Technics I got from eBay... it´s the SL-XP 300. It was my first CD player ever and after a few years of being very happy with it it fell down, the shaft on which the laser slided was bented and dislocated as a result - so I got rid of it some 15 years ago. Shame on me.
 
So a month ago I bought a used one only to discover some sugary liquid must have been spilled inside it, the mainboard was completely dirty and sticky from underneath. I cleaned it thouroughly because I could hear distortions, possibly from leakage (the player was still working though). After that the distortions were gone - but a few days later they were back. Is it some part on the mainboard? Or didn´t I clean good enough? Everything looks clean now but I don´t know...
 
The distortions are not present when the player is warm, they are very present when it´s cold. Could it be a solder joint? Right now I´m planning to buy two other ones to repair the one already here (one is a Technics SL-XP 300, the other one is a similar Onkyo DX-F5). That a good plan?
 
Sorry for the many questions but I really would like to have it back at its best possible quality.

 

[kaosun]

If you'd like to have them repaired, I think it's resonable since you have two basically same players. The Onkyo looks like the xp300, should be OEMed by Panasonic. Combining one working player should be no problem. I understand your feeling about your former lover. My former lover is an Aiwa XP77, with fabulous bass although a bit weaker than AIWA XP7. I'll keep its spirit young in my lifetime. 
 
Warm will only affect capacitors on the mainboard. Having been used nearly 20 years since manufactured, the caps should be replaced totally. And all the reading parameters should be calibrated again, including Tracking Bias, Focus Bias, Tracking Gain, Focus Gain, Vco pll, laser power, and voltage of all power regulators. Furthermore, all gears, motors, feed screw, and all variable resistors should be lubricated. After that, you can use it for another decade.

 

[Marlene]

Quote:

If you'd like to have them repaired, I think it's resonable since you have two basically same players. The Onkyo looks like the xp300, should be OEMed by Panasonic. Combining one working player should be no problem. I understand your feeling about your former lover. My former lover is an Aiwa XP77, with fabulous bass although a bit weaker than AIWA XP7. I'll keep its spirit young in my lifetime. 
 
Warm will only affect capacitors on the mainboard. Having been used nearly 20 years since manufactured, the caps should be replaced totally. And all the reading parameters should be calibrated again, including Tracking Bias, Focus Bias, Tracking Gain, Focus Gain, Vco pll, laser power, and voltage of all power regulators. Furthermore, all gears, motors, feed screw, and all variable resistors should be lubricated. After that, you can use it for another decade.

Thank you so much for the answer! This really helped me! I want to have the Onkyo exactly for the reason that it was an OEM player from Panasonic. Only a part of the housing is different (the lid), the rest is exactly the same. Then I´d like to have a third one (which runs as being available as spare part, I assume it´s the drive itself, not the mainboard). My first one, the one I broke 15 years ago, had its drive replaced one year after I purchased it because a part of the drive slowly cut through the drive cables leading to the mainboard. It is common since the drive is pressed down once the lid is closed.
 
Problem is I´m untalented at soldering. Furthermore I don´t have equipment small enough for precision work. Then the mainboard of the Technics has some bigger capacitors and much more smaller SMDs. I also wouldn´t know how to adjust the reading parameters. I can see the potentionmeters for that, a simple screwdriver would be enough but I´d hate to make steps in the dark. And I haven´t found a service manual yet, let alone the fact that I don´t have any equipment to find out if I´d be actually improving the reading process to compensate for an aged laser.
 
I´ll see how the "replacement" from the other players will work, maybe I can fix it for the time being. I´ll also start bidding on the D-515, would it be better if it already skips or if it doesn´t? I understand it has the same fragile spindle motor as the D-555.
 
BTW, this thread is most fascinating to read!
 

 

[kaosun]

If you cannt handle your XP330s, let me try. If you need SM of xp330, I can provide.
 
The common issue caused by the main motor RF410 of horizontal skipping appears on following players:
 
SONY: D515 D66 D66T D303 D350
TOSHIBA: XR-P21
 
Now this issue can be fixed by replacing the RF410.
If you like the 515, you can bid it.
I think maybe you can pay attention to other players you have never seen.
i'm trying to post them here, maybe another thread.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/576051/some-pics-of-sexy-vintage-cd-players#post_7825871

 

[kaosun]

No problem.

 

[lastway]

Hi kaosun! Thank you for this great thread on Vintage CD Player!

My Philips AZ6819-00 stopped to work after some years of no use. When I insert a disc and push down the cover, the player starts to recognize the cd, but strange rumors can be heard and turntable (such as "tac...tac....tac....") motor starts to run faster than before.

I've found the service manual and I've launched the Service Test Program. The results are:

1) Slide motor: OK, it moves inside and outside by pressing Prev or Next buttons
2) Focus lens: OK, lens move up and down continously and the focus search procedure ends positively; on display appears number 2 (step test) followed by a minus: 2-
3) Turntable motor: OK, it starts to turn
4) Tracking test: FAIL. On service manual has been written "This mode is equal to the normal play mode without soundfeatures and special functions. To jumps 12 tracks forward/backward press the key NEXT resp. PREV". During this test faults are the same as those that occur during normal play.

Test has been done using both original and mastered cd...

So... the question is: what can be happened to my AZ6819?

Thank you in advance for your help!
 

 

[kaosun]

It means that the servo circuit doesn't receive any tracking signal from disc.
Most commonly it is caused by the excursion of the laser photo diodes IC.
 
Two of the three laser beams are used to produce the tracking signal.
The two beams cannot hit the corresponding two tracking PDs for excursion of the PD IC;
therefore, there will be no tracking signal output.
 
However, the adjustment of the 3 laser beams asks for high precision.
The requirement of the precision reaches 0.01MM. Therefore, all adjustment should be
conducted under specific microscopes. At the same time, replacing the aged laser diodes
or cleaning lens inside will cause optical paths' deviation, such adjustment is necessary
becasue it's impossible to find the brand new optical head anywhere to replace the broken one.
 
Fortunately, you guys can get all service from me. Such issue can be fix now.
Contact me if you do need service.
 

 

[lastway]

Hi kaosun! Thank you very much for your prompt reply and your diagnosis.
So, if I understood right ...a simple way to solve my problem is to change the laser head unit with a new one: the item coded as RCD3 in the service manual (see picture below).

Maybe I can find an AZ6808 model: I could use it as spare parts to replace the broken RCD3 of my AZ6819.

I don't know where you live, but I am here in Italy and I think that shipping costs + Customs fees + your service for repairing the AZ6819 will be more of 100/120 euros, the price that I will pay for AZ6808.

 

[kaosun]

The AZ6808 uses same optical head with AZ6819/6829; however, such RCD3 will get same problem unfortunately.
It will be a good method to replace the module totally if you can find a good RCD3. Good luck!

 

[mscwilson]

Hi Kaosun.
 
I hope you can help.
 
I recently got asked to look at a friends Philips AZ-6808 portable cd player which was not reading discs.
 
As I'm more used to fixing table top players, I thought I would ask for help from someone who obviously knows a lot more than I do about this type of machine, in the hope we can sort it out for him.
 
The issue is that it does not play..... ho-hum.
 
Anyway, it tries to read, i.e. the laser "nods" and lights up, nudges forewards about half a mm, then back the same amount, but the motor only gets a "pulse" and spins about one revolution, freewheels for about one revolution,and then it all starts again.
 
I've had the machine apart to see if there is anything obvious, but nothing stands out except for a lot of small pieces of plastic.
 
I wonder if you, or anyone on this thread have had similar issues with this player, and if anyone knows where the bits may be from.
 
I suspect the micro-switch, but I don't want to remove the ribbon cables unneccessarily.
 
I hope my description is clear enough, but I'll be happy to elaborate further if needed.
 
As a matter of interest, one of the subscribers asked  (a while ago) which CDM was the better between 0's an 1's.  Well, in a nutshell, the CDM-1 is arguably the better.
 
The CDM-0 was the original of the swingarm type to be fitted to commercially available machines, such as the Marantz CD63 (top loader) and CD73, as well as some of the Philips LHH series.
 
The CDM-1 was partly the result of manufacturing problems with the production of the CDM-0, and also the simple need to produce a higher quality pickup.
 
A lot of the parts in the CDM-1 were made to higher tolerances than in th "0", and the steel "base" of the CDM-0 was replaced by the die cast zinc frame, which gave far superior damping of unwanted resonances, and were easier to produce consistently.
 
Having said all that, the machines that each type of pickup was fitted to, work superbly with their respective version, and as they cannot be tried side by side on exactly matching machines, it really boils down to which machine is the best, but that's for a different forum I think.
 
Anyway, I hope you can help.
 
Best regards,
Simon.

 

[kaosun]

Basically, the reading issue of AZ6808/6819/6829 can be repaired.
 
First, you will have to find another good AZ6808. By exchanging their mainboards and optical heads to determine whether the issue is caused by mainboard or head. If the issue is caused by mainboard like RF amp, it's useless to repair the head. Survey indicates that 60% reading issue is caused by head, the other 40% issue is caused by mainboard like RF M51567, power supply, drive MPC1715, and tilt (adjustable) of the turntable leads focusing fails.
 
Second, if you can comfirm the head issue, you'll have to disassemble the head for we cannot buy a new one for replacement.
Cleaning all lens, photo diodes IC, and laser diode, replace the laser if necessary.
Precisely adjust the laser beams and photo diodes IC to maximize the RF waveform.
Precisely adjust focusing and tracking parameters to maximize the definition of the RF waveform.
 
Lubricating mechanism if necessary.
Good luck!  .

 

[Tagmc]

Quote:

I have almost all spare parts you need except the LCDs and the notorious 2nd gear. 
D555 should replace its spindle motor; however, it's a bit diffcult to replace if you'd like to try.
At he same time, the optical head and the reading ability 5-parameter should be inspected and readjusted.
It's unnecessary to disassemble D9 to get the spindle, brand new motors will be avaliable soon later.
I'm happy more people are interested in PCDPs, if any questions, let me know!

Hi Kaosun,
 
You mention that you don't have the notorious 2nd gear, is it the green gear next to the laser motor? Cheers!
 
Regards,
David

 
 

 

[kaosun]

The middle gear is that notorious one.
 

 

[kaosun]

It should be white color.