Hello,
Not sure whether there is a CD player section but I can't see one.
I have a Technics midi system ST-CA1080E-K that I bought new in 1996. I want to keep it as it's in good condition and sounds great.
The CD player has stopped working properly though. When I put most of my CD's in it says "no disc" and doesn't display the play list, sometimes immediately, sometimes after a few moments. However, it does play some, although even these sometimes it doesn't. The CD's are clean.
I have cleaned the laser lens but that hasn't made any difference.
I have discovered the CDs that it does play have the shiny material going right up to the hole in the middle, and all the ones it doesn't play have see through plastic or coloured plastic around the hole, which has got me really curious!
Has anyone got any ideas what might be the problem and how I can fix it if possible?
Many thanks,
Simon
Not sure whether there is a CD player section but I can't see one.
I have a Technics midi system ST-CA1080E-K that I bought new in 1996. I want to keep it as it's in good condition and sounds great.
The CD player has stopped working properly though. When I put most of my CD's in it says "no disc" and doesn't display the play list, sometimes immediately, sometimes after a few moments. However, it does play some, although even these sometimes it doesn't. The CD's are clean.
I have cleaned the laser lens but that hasn't made any difference.
I have discovered the CDs that it does play have the shiny material going right up to the hole in the middle, and all the ones it doesn't play have see through plastic or coloured plastic around the hole, which has got me really curious!
Has anyone got any ideas what might be the problem and how I can fix it if possible?
Many thanks,
Simon
How did you clean the lens? Dirty lens and laser diode getting old are the two most usual causes, but it could also be something mechanical that prevents it from focussing properly.
By the way, the usual forum for these matters is Digital source.
By the way, the usual forum for these matters is Digital source.
OK, then you didn't make the same mistake I made - I once damaged a professional CD player by using a cotton bud with pure alcohol (ethanol). Later I learned that isopropyl alcohol is much safer, but presumably something intended as a lens cleaner should also be safe.
Ethanol dissolves certain plastics and types of rubber. If the lens is made of plastic, you risk damaging it. Isopropyl (which is the stuff in lens cleaners) is much better. You can find weak solutions of it in the form of rubbing alcohol. For the stronger stuff, just visit your local pharmacy. You'll likely find that it's much less expensive to buy it that way than to buy optics cleaners.
Tom
Tom
I use video head cleaning fluid which i still have left over from the pre - dvd era , contains isopropyl as does cassette head cleaner which is just as good.
I also use a camera lens ' puffer ' to blow air over the lens ,both before applying fluid and again prior to finishing with a good quality cotton bud , cheap brands often contain small hard shards of fibre , the last thing you want scraping over the lens.
Unfortunately it 's most likely that the laser is about to die , after more than 20 years use it's done well .
I also use a camera lens ' puffer ' to blow air over the lens ,both before applying fluid and again prior to finishing with a good quality cotton bud , cheap brands often contain small hard shards of fibre , the last thing you want scraping over the lens.
Unfortunately it 's most likely that the laser is about to die , after more than 20 years use it's done well .
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Yep. Video head and tape head cleaners are basically expensive (and usually pretty coloured) isopropyl alcohol.
Tom
Tom
I got ripped off then , the bottle i have is just clear fluid 😀 , probably around 15 years old now , i'm surprised it hasn't evaporated.
My point was simply if anyone in a similar situation has any lying around it saves buying pure iso as it's the main ingredient.
This is a typical case of laser power output deteriorating with time. As you noticed, the high reflectivity CD's still work, but low reflectivity ones don't.
There's a tiny trim-pot located on the laser pickup assembly. It needs to be turned just a little clockwise to increase the laser power.
Thanks Extreme_Boky, that's really useful to know and given me some hope.
If I locate the board where the trim-pot is, what if there a few trim-pots, how do I work out which potentiometer controls the laser output, as I believe there are a few for alignment too.
Would a quarter turn be okay as I believe if it's too much it can damage the diode?
Cheers, Simon
If I locate the board where the trim-pot is, what if there a few trim-pots, how do I work out which potentiometer controls the laser output, as I believe there are a few for alignment too.
Would a quarter turn be okay as I believe if it's too much it can damage the diode?
Cheers, Simon
Sony once issued a technical bulletin advising against the use of isopropyl alcohol (presumably the pure stuff that service departments had in abundance) as it could cause damage to the coated optics (the objective lenses that had a blue tingle to them). That was back in the fairly early days of CD.
Distilled water and iso (around 30/70 mix with a single drop of detergent added works well. The lens should be bright and sparkly when viewed with a bright torch.
Also an additional problem isn't just obvious dirt on the lens surface, the internal optics get cloudy as well through atmospheric pollution.
Not sure what pickup Technics would have used although I suspect not a Sony KSSxxx type unfortunately.
Distilled water and iso (around 30/70 mix with a single drop of detergent added works well. The lens should be bright and sparkly when viewed with a bright torch.
Also an additional problem isn't just obvious dirt on the lens surface, the internal optics get cloudy as well through atmospheric pollution.
Not sure what pickup Technics would have used although I suspect not a Sony KSSxxx type unfortunately.
I would caution against attempting to alter the laser power... if it really is down then the pickup is failing. Quarter of a turn would probably totally destroy the LD (laser diode) as the lasing action increases sharply with a very small increase in current once the threshold point is reached.
Typically a rotation angle of just a few degrees is enough to massively alter the optical output from the LD.
One of the best checks is simply to look at the signal coming off the disc with a suitable scope. The amplitude and overall quality is an excellent guide as to what problems may be present.
This thread has some real examples of what to expect when looking at the signal off disc:
Sony CDP790 and KSS240 Restoration Project
In the past i had success cleaning the internal optics using cleaning spray without oil(suitable for tuner cleaning).
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A lot of 90's era Technics players used Philips gear unfortunately a search doesn't come up with any useful info on this model.
Well don't tell anyone 😉 but I have done that once on a 'flood damaged' Toshiba player. It actually got it working surprisingly enough, although in the end the player was written off for other reasons.
Could be. That would be the best option.
There were also some Technics own pickups that had a horrible diffraction grating adjustment to perform as I recall.
Hmm, not sure whether to try altering the mini-pot now or not, but then I've got nothing to lose as it only plays one CD now. I don't have access to a scope.
Another alternative is I've seen one on ebay for £13 plus £5 postage. He says it worked fine when it was packed away but now it's out it occasionally skips a little on the first track. I can live with that but not sure whether that's a sign that's on the way out too.
Another alternative is I've seen one on ebay for £13 plus £5 postage. He says it worked fine when it was packed away but now it's out it occasionally skips a little on the first track. I can live with that but not sure whether that's a sign that's on the way out too.
Although increasing laser power may work for a short time it will reduce the overall working life of the laser enormously.
Turning up the intensity is a favourite trick of dodgy ebay sellers , it'll work for awhile then die completely.
Skipping can sometimes be caused by dirt build up on the sled rails , it doesn't take much
to cause problems , for the cost of the one you've seen might be worth a gamble ?
If you try altering the pots on yours mark the original position first and turn by a minute amount at first , test , repeat.
Turning up the intensity is a favourite trick of dodgy ebay sellers , it'll work for awhile then die completely.
Skipping can sometimes be caused by dirt build up on the sled rails , it doesn't take much
to cause problems , for the cost of the one you've seen might be worth a gamble ?
If you try altering the pots on yours mark the original position first and turn by a minute amount at first , test , repeat.
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Many thanks for all your replies, all very useful.
Damn, the cd player on ebay is sold, but there is one other on auction starting at 99p plus £10 postage which I may go for. The only thing that concerns me is he states "CD Player works fine but is sensitive to external vibrations where it will skip." Not sure what he means by external vibrations as I don't usually locate my hifi on top of the washing machine, or does he mean if played loud the vibrations from the speakers could make it skip. In any case is skipping an easy problem to rectify, and not usually a failure of the laser.
I'm still confused why only one cd plays (although not always), it just seems weird to me.
If the worst comes to the worst can I connect a new cd player to the system? New cd players seem to have one optical cable and two analogue ones. However, the only optical is an optical out on the cd player. The tuner which has all the connections for periferals only has analogue connections. Pic attached.
Many thanks,
Simon
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
Damn, the cd player on ebay is sold, but there is one other on auction starting at 99p plus £10 postage which I may go for. The only thing that concerns me is he states "CD Player works fine but is sensitive to external vibrations where it will skip." Not sure what he means by external vibrations as I don't usually locate my hifi on top of the washing machine, or does he mean if played loud the vibrations from the speakers could make it skip. In any case is skipping an easy problem to rectify, and not usually a failure of the laser.
I'm still confused why only one cd plays (although not always), it just seems weird to me.
If the worst comes to the worst can I connect a new cd player to the system? New cd players seem to have one optical cable and two analogue ones. However, the only optical is an optical out on the cd player. The tuner which has all the connections for periferals only has analogue connections. Pic attached.
Many thanks,
Simon
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Bit hard to make out tbh. I would have thought the analogue audio feed from the player was incorporated into that ribbon cable. I can't see an optical TOSLINK input in that image.
Optical out is used to connect a cd player to either a separate DAC or to an amp with a built in DAC .
Some cd players will only have optical or coax out and no RCA analogue out , these are transport only.
Any cd player with a pair of rca outputs will work connected to , aux , tape/video in , tuner etc inputs on the amp.
As for skipping issues , there are numerous things that could cause this so the main problem , as always ,is actually identifying why it's skipping , could be anything from a single hair or another laser on it's last legs .
In my experience smoke filled environments are responsible for a huge percentage of playback issues and a good clean can sometimes result in ' miracles ' .
edit .. i couldn't make much of the pic either but i agree as it stands the ribbon cable is most likely feeding the cd signal to the amp.
Simon can you post a better pic showing the back of the whole unit and the right way up? 🙂
Some cd players will only have optical or coax out and no RCA analogue out , these are transport only.
Any cd player with a pair of rca outputs will work connected to , aux , tape/video in , tuner etc inputs on the amp.
As for skipping issues , there are numerous things that could cause this so the main problem , as always ,is actually identifying why it's skipping , could be anything from a single hair or another laser on it's last legs .
In my experience smoke filled environments are responsible for a huge percentage of playback issues and a good clean can sometimes result in ' miracles ' .
edit .. i couldn't make much of the pic either but i agree as it stands the ribbon cable is most likely feeding the cd signal to the amp.
Simon can you post a better pic showing the back of the whole unit and the right way up? 🙂
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