[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubijza Yep, "all or nothing" is exactly the motto for CD spindle's "red ring areas" Duncan, did you replace the CD player, or spindle(if so: how much? where from?)? Not that it matters much - I've bought a brand new (NOS) D211 to go with this one!!!

Ubijza...

I'm not sure if they're the exact same spindle type (with there being 3-4 years difference between the D211 and D777) but I got my replacement from a dead D777 that I got from Ebay... just prised it off with a very small screwdriver, and then popped it on to my own D777... works fine

Good news on getting an NOS D211... Hopefully it'll give you many years of good service

 

[Ubijza]

WOW! I'm becoming a PCDP collector!

Look at this little beauty:

Honestly, this is the most gorgeous, well proportined, brilliantly designed and built little PCDP that I ever have had the honour to hold in my hands. Headphone out isn't as cool as the D211 though, although... I didn' buy it for its headphone out

But it's not without it's problems

The AC socket either has a loose wiring somewhere or this little plate i've symboled "A"
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=4/11414562975.jpg&s=x2
is too flush with the inside wall and does not get consistant good contact with my universal AC adapter plug unless its at an angle (neither of its many plugs fits too well - they're either too big or too small). Maybe it needs an "official" Sony adapter? Could I get get some feedback from some D303 owners?

Also, D303's notorious tendency to skip is showing already and before I start messing with those pots again - did anyone have any luck solving this problem by tweaking them?
Cheers!

 

[Ubijza]

Further report on Sony D303 antiskip:
Slight (0.5-0.7 mm) anticlockwise turn of the RV502 T.BAL "pot" has cured to (all intents and purposes) skipping completely! I could not check weather it became walking proof or not(had to hold the damn AC adapter plug "at an angle"

), but I've listend to an entire CD without any problems what so ever; even when I was pressing buttons the sound did not stuttttter. Cool!

Does anyone know what does pot 431 do? Is it perhaps the fabled "signal strength pot"? I'm not tweaking anything though - my d303 is perfectly well now

Regards

PS What a great little player this is turning out to be! Its hp out not as *good* (IMHO) as 211, but it sounds so... dark and mysterious... and yet so detailed... Pure class!!!

 

[a12518]

Hi! I have a Sony D-211 that I stored away years ago after it would no longer read CDs. The CD spun and spun for up to 30 seconds and the laser mechanism "operated" but CDs would not play. After reading posts about adjusting pots, I tried this with no success. Does anyone have any recommendations about other options for repair? I can still recall how great this player sounded and would love to see if I could get it working, especially since reading that it can read CD-Rs!

Thanks for any help.

 

[Onix]

I've seen this problem posted before on another thread, but it seems that at the time nobody found a solution. My D-11 can't play pass track 11. The laser unit seems to get stuck and the sound begins to skip. Before I finally decide to give up on it (and old Discmen in general) I was wondering if someone has a solution for this. I've read this thread and haven't found any, but I am hoping someone can help. Thanks and have a good one.

 

[Blue Meanie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a12518 Hi! I have a Sony D-211 that I stored away years ago after it would no longer read CDs. The CD spun and spun for up to 30 seconds and the laser mechanism "operated" but CDs would not play. After reading posts about adjusting pots, I tried this with no success. Does anyone have any recommendations about other options for repair? I can still recall how great this player sounded and would love to see if I could get it working, especially since reading that it can read CD-Rs! Thanks for any help.

What exactly do you mean by 'the laser mechanism "operated" but...'? Did you manually defeat the shut-off switch that stops the player when the lid is open, and check to make sure the laser is putting out a red beam?

Jeff

 

[Ubijza]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a12518 Hi! I have a Sony D-211 that I stored away years ago after it would no longer read CDs. The CD spun and spun for up to 30 seconds and the laser mechanism "operated" but CDs would not play. After reading posts about adjusting pots, I tried this with no success. Does anyone have any recommendations about other options for repair? I can still recall how great this player sounded and would love to see if I could get it working, especially since reading that it can read CD-Rs! Thanks for any help.

I've put all my limited PCDP wisdom into the above posts, so have nothing to add really... I personally found that pot adjusting (you sould MOSTLY adjust Tracking balance) did very little to my 211 (unlike D303)... often it refused to play altogether after a *moderate* deviation form pot's orig position. My NOS 211 plays everything perfectly though, so I guess it's a matter worn laser that needs replacing on USED D211.

 

[Blue Meanie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onix I've seen this problem posted before on another thread, but it seems that at the time nobody found a solution. My D-11 can't play pass track 11. The laser unit seems to get stuck and the sound begins to skip. Before I finally decide to give up on it (and old Discmen in general) I was wondering if someone has a solution for this. I've read this thread and haven't found any, but I am hoping someone can help. Thanks and have a good one.

Have you opened up the player, and cleaned and relubed the worm gear (threaded shaft) that the laser assembly travels on? Did something small possibly fall into the player that could be blocking the laser sled from traveling?
I had a D-9 that needed a new spindle motor. When I was done replacing it, the player seemed to play fine. But I hadn't played a FULL CD with it until last night. It kept getting stuck at around track 12. I opened it up and repositioned the ribbon cable that goes to the laser assembly slightly. Now it will play all tracks on a 78 minute CD.

Jeff

 

[Blue Meanie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubijza I've put all my limited PCDP wisdom into the above posts, so have nothing to add really... I personally found that pot adjusting (you sould MOSTLY adjust Tracking balance) did very little to my 211 (unlike D303)... often it refused to play altogether after a *moderate* deviation form pot's orig position. My NOS 211 plays everything perfectly though, so I guess it's a matter worn laser that needs replacing on USED D211.

You're probably right about the weak laser. I've got a D-4 that I can't get to play anything. Either that or the problem is caused by something else that no one but a tech can troubleshoot.

Jeff

 

[Onix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Meanie Have you opened up the player, and cleaned and relubed the worm gear (threaded shaft) that the laser assembly travels on? Did something small possibly fall into the player that could be blocking the laser sled from traveling? I had a D-9 that needed a new spindle motor. When I was done replacing it, the player seemed to play fine. But I hadn't played a FULL CD with it until last night. It kept getting stuck at around track 12. I opened it up and repositioned the ribbon cable that goes to the laser assembly slightly. Now it will play all tracks on a 78 minute CD. Jeff

I also believed the ribbon was getting stuck somehow. Tried to move it a couple of times, and I even think I played a CD with the player open to see if the ribbon was stil stuck. But the problem kept repeating. I can try again. In any case, how do you clean and libe the worm gear?

 

[damage.com]

Hello everybody,
I found this forum while Googling my Discman problem, and I hope that someone here can help me. (Or maybe just convince me to give up.)

I picked up a Sony D-232 at a Goodwill. It was in pristine condition--possibly never used--and came with the adapter, rechargable battery pack, and headphones. The remote was missing, however. I found a wall outlet and plugged it in; it ran like a top and tinny sound piped out of the headphones. "Good enough for me," I thought, and took it home.
Later I found that the tinny sound couldn't be blamed on the headphones--there's a definite problem, the audio output is weak and distorted.
I'd better say up front that it isn't that I have the Automatic Volume Limiting System on without realizing it. Though it could be a problem *with* the AVLS, I dunno.
Problem: The output from both the headphone jack and Line Out jack is very weak and becomes distorted at times.
This is with AVLS off and the bass boost off.
When I'm using the headphone jack, and turn the volume up past 4, the sound becomes jagged and distorted. I'm sure you know what I mean; it's that distortion you get when you force a small device to max itself out. The audio output at this point is still very weak, though. If I turn the volume all the way up the distortion gets worse, while the volume itself remains quite low.
When I plug the phones into the Line Out jack, there is no distortion at all, but the sound volume is also unnaturally low.
The AVLS seems to work as it should. When set to 1 it takes what audio output there is and dampens it; the setting 2 mutes it still more, but faint sound can still be heard.
Things I've tried:
I've tried several pairs of headphones, from Sennheiser PX 100's to Joe's No-Name Foamies. No dice.
I've tried different CDs.
I've tried using the adapter, or fresh batteries. It doesn't seem to be a power problem.
I've tried whapping it lightly, in case there is a loose connection somewhere.
I've tried pressing all the little buttons on the front.
I've tried opening it up and staring at it real hard

I don't see anything obviously wrong, like cracked solder or a burnt component, but...
I have not yet tried patching headphones into another area of the circuitboard. I'll try that next, I guess.
What I'm afraid of is that the previous owner used the remote to somehow mute it permanently, and that I'll need to find a remote to set it back to rights.
Or, maybe this thing had problems straight from the factory. It would explain why the unit looks like it was never used.
Oh, dear people, is there one amongst you who can help me? Aside from this audio glitch, it's an awfully nice little machine...all the buttons work, it reads horribly scratched CDs and even CD-Rs...I'd like to save it...
Thanks in advance for your time and trouble!
Diana

 

[Duncan]

Diana...

That sounds exactly like my impressions of the Sony D303... not so much of a problem, but a lack of power from the jack...

Do you have a headphone amp - to see if there are similar problems on the line output? - if the problem is not there, then I would say that its 75% probable tha this is how your discman 'should' sound... if it is... then, maybe some of the forum gurus could jump in...

 

[memepool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by damage.com Hello everybody, When I'm using the headphone jack, and turn the volume up past 4, the sound becomes jagged and distorted. I'm sure you know what I mean; it's that distortion you get when you force a small device to max itself out. The audio output at this point is still very weak, though. If I turn the volume all the way up the distortion gets worse, while the volume itself remains quite low. When I plug the phones into the Line Out jack, there is no distortion at all, but the sound volume is also unnaturally low. The AVLS seems to work as it should. When set to 1 it takes what audio output there is and dampens it; the setting 2 mutes it still more, but faint sound can still be heard. Things I've tried: I've tried several pairs of headphones, from Sennheiser PX 100's to Joe's No-Name Foamies. No dice. I've tried different CDs. I've tried using the adapter, or fresh batteries. It doesn't seem to be a power problem. I've tried whapping it lightly, in case there is a loose connection somewhere. I've tried pressing all the little buttons on the front. I've tried opening it up and staring at it real hard I don't see anything obviously wrong, like cracked solder or a burnt component, but... I have not yet tried patching headphones into another area of the circuitboard. I'll try that next, I guess.

It sounds like the lineout jack is fine as the impedance is different so it should play at a low volume with headphones. Get one of those ipod-type minijack to rca adaptors and try plugging it into the cd/ tape inputs of a normal hi-fi amplifier. the on-board volume control will have no affect over the line out. you can then plug headphones into the amp and see if you can still hear distortion. If you can then you will know that the problem is in the DA Converter or some of the old caps which Sony seem to have used which were of low quality and leak ( this happened to my discman), If it works fine this way then its more likely a problem with the op amps / volume control / heaphone output. I wouldn't under any circumstances hotwire the headphones to anything inside the player. ...

 

[a12518]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Meanie What exactly do you mean by 'the laser mechanism "operated" but...'? Did you manually defeat the shut-off switch that stops the player when the lid is open, and check to make sure the laser is putting out a red beam? Jeff

I did defeat the shut-off switch and did see a red beam. The laser "eye" would move up and down several times in an attempt to read a CD and then would stop.

 

[a12518]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubijza I've put all my limited PCDP wisdom into the above posts, so have nothing to add really... I personally found that pot adjusting (you sould MOSTLY adjust Tracking balance) did very little to my 211 (unlike D303)... often it refused to play altogether after a *moderate* deviation form pot's orig position. My NOS 211 plays everything perfectly though, so I guess it's a matter worn laser that needs replacing on USED D211.

Any idea how would I go about replacing the laser, if it is weak?