Strange Sega CD Problems

[SonicBlaze]

Hello all, first off I'm new to this forum :D. I've noticed that the Sega CD is known for breaking down quite a bit. There's a guy willing to sell me a Model 1 Gen, a Model 1 Sega CD, and a 32x with all the cables, 3 controllers, original boxes for them and 18 games for about $60. The problem is the Sega CD will only read games when it's tilted to the right, so far as to almost be standing up. After it loads the games it's fine to put down, so I'm wondering if it's more of a mechanical issue rather than a laser issue. The set sounds really good to me but I want to know how possible it would be for me to fix this were I to buy it? I'm sure this problem has happened before, so sorry if there's already a thread on it ^^;. Thanks in advance :).

[awbacon]

Laser alignment issue. Its on its way out, tilting it only prolongs the life, its not a cure

[ice1605]

Even if the laser is misaligned, 60 dollars for all that stuff with original boxes probably make it worth the purchase, assuming good condition. The games are an added bonus, of course! You can always replace the laser.

[hellfire]

Go for it

[SonicBlaze]

could I get a laser by itself? Buying another model 1 sega cd would cost about $60 in itself :P.

[awbacon]

You could always get another laser..but I'd try to find the full assembly (laser, track, motor) a

[SonicBlaze]

I read somewhere that I can't find again that you can replace the assembly in a Model 1 Sega CD with a Sony one. Anyone have more information on this?

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

Yea I do believe the laser itself is a Sony one. I think every Sega Cd type other then the Wondermega/X'eye used a Sony laser. The model number of the laser with be on the laser itself, so you wont have a problem getting the part number and finding a replacement. Most of the older Sony lasers are still being manufactured and/or sold to some degree.

[Tokimemofan]

Look, I am sorry but I have owned 1 type 1 and 3 type 2 Sega CD units and each one had a diferent laser here is a list of them. you need to actually ID the laser, there may be many others that I havn't seen.

KHS-210A (Type 2, May 1993 Date code Manfactured in Japan Has a ferrite bead near one of the rubber feet)
KHS-240A (Type 2, no longer have it, no ferrite bead, If you play Lunar The Silver Star the sound may glitch and the game may then crash)
JVC Optima 5 (Type 1, September 1992 Date code Manfactured in Japan)
JVC Optima 6 (Type 2, no longer have it, probably a late unit since the laser is the same one as in every Sega Saturn I've seen, 15-pin white ribbon cable mount)

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

Look, I am sorry but I have owned 1 type 1 and 3 type 2 Sega CD units and each one had a diferent laser here is a list of them. you need to actually ID the laser, there may be many others that I havn't seen.

KHS-210A (Type 2, May 1993 Date code Manfactured in Japan Has a ferrite bead near one of the rubber feet)
KHS-240A (Type 2, no longer have it, no ferrite bead, If you play Lunar The Silver Star the sound may glitch and the game may then crash)
JVC Optima 5 (Type 1, September 1992 Date code Manfactured in Japan)
JVC Optima 6 (Type 2, no longer have it, probably a late unit since the laser is the same one as in every Sega Saturn I've seen, 15-pin white ribbon cable mount)

You mean KSS. You can also swap a KSS-210A out for a KSS-210B. The PCE Super Cd Rom 2 unit also uses this laser. My current Sega Cd Model 2 has the 240 in it. The only time Ive seen people post about the Model 1 laser they listed it as a KSS-240A, so its interesting to see they used JVC Optima lasers in it also. I did read somewhere a long while back that on Model 2 decks, if the spindle was black instead of silver, that the assembly used a JVC Optima. I often wondered about that, because I never came across one in person, and Ive owned around 12 Model 2 decks. Nice to know they use the same laser that's in the Saturn and X'eye.

The Lunar thing, was that a wide spread problem? I could have swore I read that somewhere prior, but just that the bug was the game would lock up, no sound problems, but never once in my life had that problem personally. Then again, most of my prior Sega Cd model 2 and Mega Cd model 2 decks had the 210 laser in them. Only a few had the 240. If anything Id prob relate that to a bug in the hardware controlling the laser, or the hardware itself, either way, and not to the actual laser.

[Tokimemofan]

You mean KSS. You can also swap a KSS-210A out for a KSS-210B. The PCE Super Cd Rom 2 unit also uses this laser. My current Sega Cd Model 2 has the 240 in it. The only time Ive seen people post about the Model 1 laser they listed it as a KSS-240A, so its interesting to see they used JVC Optima lasers in it also. I did read somewhere a long while back that on Model 2 decks, if the spindle was black instead of silver, that the assembly used a JVC Optima. I often wondered about that, because I never came across one in person, and Ive owned around 12 Model 2 decks. Nice to know they use the same laser that's in the Saturn and X'eye.

The Lunar thing, was that a wide spread problem? I could have swore I read that somewhere prior, but just that the bug was the game would lock up, no sound problems, but never once in my life had that problem personally. Then again, most of my prior Sega Cd model 2 and Mega Cd model 2 decks had the 210 laser in them. Only a few had the 240. If anything Id prob relate that to a bug in the hardware controlling the laser, or the hardware itself, either way, and not to the actual laser.

You are right it is KSS. BTW for those looking for a KSS laser these were used in so many CD players I can't keem track of them all, just google it and maybe pull them out of one, these lasers are built to last so you should have no problem finding a working one. JVC Optima 5 lasers seem to be quite rare though.
In lunar the sound would stop at the moment when the audio track ends but wouldn't restart without poking or proding the system, if you were to complete the battle (the glitch only happened to me during battles long enough to require several loops) before restarting the music the game would freeze completely. I do remember the internal layout of a 240A system being more condensed than any of the other type 2 units. It's possible that that is the cause of the Lunar TSS crashes. I do know that Sega+Working Designs=How can THAT go wrong, (E3) so I don't expect them to proberly test each version correctly. Lunar II has an issue if you use it with a type 1 genesis, sega 32x setup and use a ram cart. Doing that is a sure fire way to make the crash by time you load a seve file if you can see enough through all the corrupt graphics, this issue doesn't happen with a type 2 genesis indicating that the sega lockout may be malfunctioning on a single setup.

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

That Lunar stuff is really good to know, thanks for posting that. I never played far enough on it to do really major battles, so I guess I got real lucky it never crashed on me. It sounds similar to the JVC Samurai Showdown&Fatal Fury Special music end/didn't loop bug. The laser would shut down on Sam Showdowns final battle after the first music track would end, and the next round wouldn't load unless you triggered the door switch. Fatal Fury Special did a similar thing on the character select. If the music ended before you got a character, it wouldn't loop, and the game wouldn't load the fight until you triggered the door switch. Rigging up a door switch and toggling it off and on would get the games to boot fine, and keep you from having to open the lid and scratching the disc as it was spinning..

[Tokimemofan]

A quick searck revealed that Sonic CD does it as well, my suspicion is that any Sega CD game that uses redbook audio tracks for ingame music is more or less prone to this but lunar is the most cited example due to both popularity and the music timing issues that sometimes make it dificult to make a bin+mp3 rip for emulators.