pce cdrom 2 SUCCESs!!, 98% anyways, read last post.

[gokugohandave]

So I performed the laser swap in my pce cdrom2 system with a kss 220A. Now ive got it to spin up and the worm gear moves back and forth but it wont read any music or game cds. Ive lubed all the gears and made sure to keep the laser clean, all the cables have been triple checked/reset. The cd does have SOME wobble in it when moving at any speed but doesnt scrape the floor.

I messed with pots 3 and 4, nothing. It does change its behavior but still cant get it to read. Tested it with shadow of the beast and still nothing.

Yes ive tried it alone and with the ifu and all i get is either track 0 alone or PC with my v3 card. No I didnt see any corrosion at all around the caps, and the voltage regulater reads 9 in and 5 out so thats fine. Any thoughts? Perhaps a cap issue?

ps I found these on the pcfx forums:
VR101 = E/F balance
VR102 = Focus Offset
VR103 = Track Gain (Track error level)
VR104 = Focus Gain
VR105 = VCO

[awbacon]

Perhaps an alignment issue? That would be my first guess if its a new, confirmed working laser

[gokugohandave]

i dont really know but i messed with pots 3 and 4 and did notice quite a change in activity but nothing that made it read music cds. I guess ill have to make a "pukcab" OH NO BAD WORD!!! I need something to test it on.

[gokugohandave]

So got a game cd and still nothing, any ideas? Perhaps a cap issue?

[FABombjoy]

If you've been turning adjustment pots without a scope then I'd bet that's the reason. Check out the CD player portion at repairfaq.org and see if the hints there can bring it back.

[gokugohandave]

i marked em before turing em, if theyre off its not by much.

[ooXxXoo]

Did you replaced the laser with a brand new one?...
If so, most lasers come with an anti-static solder point that needs to be undone before installing it....If not, they will behave somewhat the way you explained above....
....
....

[gokugohandave]

replaced it with a new and completely removed the solder joint. The laser is red and moves up and down, put a cd in and it kicks up and starts spinning while it franticlly searches for a track, speeds up faster for a while, stops, laser moves back to center and starts over again.

[FABombjoy]

I cannot overstate how useful this page is:

http://repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm#cdgensap

If the disc spins that is a very good sign, you just need to bring the adjustments into spec. Unfortunately it's a bit more difficult without a scope, but doable.

[gokugohandave]

ive been looking at that site all night and its completly fulll of utter awesomness, Ill start reading again and see if I can find where the sweet spot needs to be. How much is a good scope?

[FABombjoy]

Really, you don't need what's considered "good" by modern standards. I have a an ancient 100Mhz HP dual-trace scope, with no fancy digital features, that works for pretty much anything on any older system / arcade. You could probably pick up an old HP or Tektronix, along with a set of 10:1 probes on eBay for cheap. Just do a little research on the model first to make sure it's not made with unobtainable parts.

Now, learning how to properly use a scope is a bit of a discipline, but at times they are invaluable if you plan on doing lots of repairs / upgrades. I think that if you're serious about DIY, they're worth the effort.

In this vein, the last few DOA TurboDuo units I've gotten, my scope has helped me tune them in perfectly. These are units that dropping brand-new lasers in made no difference.

[gokugohandave]

well after tweaking with the vco pot last night i had track one for a second but lost it. Went to bed and today tweaked it again and now its halfway through a linkin park cd with only a couple 30 second skip aheads. I think thats due to the cd im using though as it has a few spots in it. So ill look through that site some more and see what else I can do but for now it should be fine. Thanks for your help!!

Edit: after a couple more mint cds I have determined that it does indeed skip ahead a short distance. Pattern is random. Should the vco be left alone and another pot be adjusted or does the vco need some more love?

[FABombjoy]

Adjust TR BAL (Tracking Balance) to the center of the range over which the sled remains stationary. Outside this range, the pickup will slew to one end or the other. Not all CD players have this control. A CD may need to be in place for this adjustment to have any effect. If you are unable to get the pickup to remain stationary, try fine tracking offset (TR.OFF) as well.

IIRC, you can judge how well this is set by skipping tracks forward & back. The more out of adjustment, the more it will overshoot the track.

[gokugohandave]

ill have to try the offset then.