Well, I threw in the towel and sent the Sony D-25 to Verhayen, who advertises what turns out to be a FABULOUS repair service on e-bay for a flat rate of $149.95:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-D-25-D-250-Discman-Flat-Rate-Repair-Service-/151231612565?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23361b4695
Only 2 left, according to eBay.
They took two weeks (despite their eBay site statement that they do the work in 2 business days (!))
But in my case, they had a LOT to do, but they brought this vintage best-of-class player up to snuff and head and shoulders above later discman players:
- Unstuck the "sled" on which the laser diode slides to move across the CD;
- Replaced a gear in the sled transit mechanism that had missing teeth;
- Replaced the motor and CD spindle, which had a bad bearing so that though it worked, it made a scraping noise (and was subject to future failure);
- Cleaned the volume potentiometer.
They provided a detailed list of what they had done, the time required, and what parts they replaced.
More impressively, they provided me with 12 (TWELVE) videos, starting from one that documented the initial state of the CD player (lit up and spun the disc, but nothing else, and recorded the scratches on the cover.) They also showed the oscilloscope videos showing the "eye" patterns of proper operation, as well as deliberate scratches on their test CD and the ability of the CD player to recover the information anyway. They also compared measured and specified laser drive current, which in my case was OK.
The other 11 videos stepped through each step of their diagnosis and repair, including the false lead of removing the RF shield that is the surface immediately below the spinning CD, as a source of the scraping sound before they diagnosed the bad spindle motor and bearing.
They are former Sony repairmen and have all the oscilloscopes, test CDs, and procedures that you would expect from the best manufacturer repair facility.
In short, if you have or want what has been called the sonically best portable Sony CD discman portable CD player, but you don't know whether your D-25 you bought on eBay can be restored to working condition... These Folks Can Do t1 They told me that that flat rate covers anything necessary except the display, which apparently if it is blank or has missing segments, is something they cannot fix.
I'm listening to it now... it sounds SOOOO much better than the plastic-encased Sony Discman of more recent vintage. They also are planning to sell the Discman battery, but they want to have several dozen in stock before they advertise it, since they are so scarce.
I just wanted to report on the highly effective class operation that these folks have going! I am sure that with the additional problems, even if I had succeeded in unsticking the sled transport per jamato8's help, it still would have problems requiring things beyond my capability. The $150 was well spent for me!
