Old Sony Compact Disc Player skips a lot

[Angelo Campanella]

I have an old stereo with a 5-disk player that I want to use for general
background music throughout the day.... but it skips badly on many of my old
favorite discs accumulated over the years. They all play well on other
single-CD players including in my car.

But this old 5-disk unit skips badly for most of those CD's. The
changing mechanism works well, but tracking is not nearly up to snuff.

One or two discs will work reliably. "Carmena Burana" (TELARC, Stero CD
80056) tracks well, but faint levels are too faint, I think. That leads me
to believe that the tracking mechanics, gears, etc are OK. But maybe the
amplifiers, Dolby or filters are not up to spec.

Other CDs including "Brandenburg Concertos", (TELARC 20 bit 2CD-80412)
are hopeless when cold, but about 60% trackable after long warm-up. Still
other CDs won't even lock in but jump quickly band-to-band until they run
out and the player trundles to the next disc.

On opening up and scrutinizing the optic head assembly (lens now wiped
clean of any dust) I see three miniature pots on the lens carriage... Do
those pots provide any useful adjustment?

Comments?

Angelo Campanella

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Poor tracking is often due to a deteriorating laser. The pots might help,
but don't adjust them without knowing what you're doing.

 

[N_Cook]

I have an old stereo with a 5-disk player that I want to use for general
background music throughout the day.... but it skips badly on many of my old
favorite discs accumulated over the years. They all play well on other
single-CD players including in my car.

But this old 5-disk unit skips badly for most of those CD's. The
changing mechanism works well, but tracking is not nearly up to snuff.

One or two discs will work reliably. "Carmena Burana" (TELARC, Stero CD
80056) tracks well, but faint levels are too faint, I think. That leads me
to believe that the tracking mechanics, gears, etc are OK. But maybe the
amplifiers, Dolby or filters are not up to spec.

Other CDs including "Brandenburg Concertos", (TELARC 20 bit 2CD-80412)
are hopeless when cold, but about 60% trackable after long warm-up. Still
other CDs won't even lock in but jump quickly band-to-band until they run
out and the player trundles to the next disc.

On opening up and scrutinizing the optic head assembly (lens now wiped
clean of any dust) I see three miniature pots on the lens carriage... Do
those pots provide any useful adjustment?

Comments?

Angelo Campanella

Assuming the skips do not occur at the same mechanical point of all CDs and
so gear/rack problem

If you do adjust any pots , measure ohms of each to 3 figures before
fiddling, and measure each way just in case a difference. And only a minimal
amount of change each time. Find a CD and specific track that at the moment
gives a consistent amount of seconds of skip, to monitor against

 

[Meat Plow]

I have an old stereo with a 5-disk player that I want to use for general
background music throughout the day.... but it skips badly on many of my
old favorite discs accumulated over the years. They all play well on
other single-CD players including in my car.

But this old 5-disk unit skips badly for most of those CD's. The
changing mechanism works well, but tracking is not nearly up to snuff.

One or two discs will work reliably. "Carmena Burana" (TELARC, Stero
CD
80056) tracks well, but faint levels are too faint, I think. That leads
me to believe that the tracking mechanics, gears, etc are OK. But maybe
the amplifiers, Dolby or filters are not up to spec.

Other CDs including "Brandenburg Concertos", (TELARC 20 bit
2CD-80412)
are hopeless when cold, but about 60% trackable after long warm-up.
Still other CDs won't even lock in but jump quickly band-to-band until
they run out and the player trundles to the next disc.

On opening up and scrutinizing the optic head assembly (lens now
wiped
clean of any dust) I see three miniature pots on the lens carriage...
Do those pots provide any useful adjustment?

Comments?

Angelo Campanella

One pot adjusts the laser intensity which could compensate for aging but
it probably would just hasten the inevitable complete failure of the
laser block.

 

[Mark Zacharias]

I have an old stereo with a 5-disk player that I want to use for
general background music throughout the day.... but it skips badly on many
of my old favorite discs accumulated over the years. They all play well on
other single-CD players including in my car.

But this old 5-disk unit skips badly for most of those CD's. The
changing mechanism works well, but tracking is not nearly up to snuff.

One or two discs will work reliably. "Carmena Burana" (TELARC, Stero CD
80056) tracks well, but faint levels are too faint, I think. That leads me
to believe that the tracking mechanics, gears, etc are OK. But maybe the
amplifiers, Dolby or filters are not up to spec.

Other CDs including "Brandenburg Concertos", (TELARC 20 bit 2CD-80412)
are hopeless when cold, but about 60% trackable after long warm-up. Still
other CDs won't even lock in but jump quickly band-to-band until they run
out and the player trundles to the next disc.

On opening up and scrutinizing the optic head assembly (lens now wiped
clean of any dust) I see three miniature pots on the lens carriage... Do
those pots provide any useful adjustment?

Comments?

Angelo Campanella

STOP. Don't go adjusting anything except as a last resort. Clean the laser
lens, lubricate the spindle motor shaft where it enters the motor body. Do
the same for the sled motor and re-grease the gears and lubricate the slide
rail and over on the other side of the pickup where it slides along the
pickup base.
You have described a KSS 240 or 240A pickup. The flat cable they used to
connect the pickup to the board may have developed stress cracks from
flexing. This was a common problem and may require the cable be replaced.
The pickup itself is probably OK, but you never know; the 240's would
occasionally be intermittent.

Mark Z.

 

[Angelo Campanella]

When it runs, I see no light at all. Shouldit be red or bue? There are
infrared style lasers that run around 1.1 microns wavelength (visible is 1/2
micron).

So what do I look for to buy a replacement? and if I get one, how do I
install it?

If it is vsible light, it shoud be quite evident.

Another thing, this sensor appears to position its lens right up against
the CD disk... If it's spaced away, it an't be more than a millimeter or so.

I mic'd the disk thicknesses. They are all 41 to 42 mils thick, about
1.05mm.

Ange