Those were the days!

[Mr. Old School]

Hey great equipment you got there.

In my book that certinally falls under old school equipment.

Definitely better than my beat up equipment in my old 94 Opel Astra station wagen.

Paul

 

[Clipped]

you try cleaning the laser? that happens to me about every 3-4 months, i just take the top cover off and wipe it with a (Q-tip)cotton bud.

i have the online manual but it doesnt have the actual balanced wiring color code to terminal pin layout.

maybe the paper manual has it?

ive considered changing girlfriends....she whines more than a sparkomatic booster (<<< now thats old school)...

if you have any ideas you can hit me at clipped@gmail.com

thanx
matt

 

[Mr. Old School]

I'm sure she's not that bad Matt. Take my Dual Mono Sparkomatic Booster Twin boys for a weekend and then we'll talk again.

The first thing i'm doing when I get home is to rip the 8140 out of the dask and do as you said. If this does work I think you then have found a new best friend.

As a matter of fact I owned a Sparkomatic Booster in the early 80's. It was a box set with 6/9'S. I thing I got it at K-Mart when I lived in RI. Sounded horrible....

I'll look for the manual. And let you know if I can bring the 8140 back to life.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[Clipped]

LOL...even with the whining, she does 'bump' pretty good...

the lens on my laser gets pretty dirty cause i smoke....the top panel is really easy to take off, dont even need any tools to take it off, maybe a metal finger nail file or something like that, insert it slightly into the 'slits' on the side and twist lifting the cover up...if i recall correctly...

i use to do this on the side of the road...

dont forget to moisten the q-tip a bit, then wipe again with another dry one...

good luck in resurrecting it !!!

 

[Mr. Old School]

No Luck Matt. After cleaning the laser I hoked it up in the car with the top off to see what it does.

The cd does not even spin, Only makes a clicking noise for about 3 seconds then spits the cd out with the E20 error message.

Time for a new cd player (without dolphins)

Thanks anyways,
Paul

 

[Clipped]

i will pour out a 40oz beer in rememberence of the 8140...RIP

 

[Mr. Old School]

Thanks, I'm way ahead of you.

P

 

[Safe_Cracker]

Hmmm, you love them sooo much then why don't you just replace the laser? Laser units are a dime a dozen these days, sure it isn't just out of allignment? Women are farrr easier to replace then Old School sound! Polo..

 

[Mr. Old School]

That's a very good point. But if the cd does not even spin it may be the motor. I am going to contact RF to see what they can do.

P

 

[Safe_Cracker]

Ya, it should spin even if the laser/pickup is bad and in a few seconds will show an error. No spin at all, hmmmm, could be the controller too.

 

[Mr. Old School]

Maybe We should start a new thread to what is comparable to the RFX-8140???

 

[anatech]

Hi guys,
Most decks will not spin until a focus lock as been achieved. If you change the head, replace the disc motor too. The disc table height is critical.

-Chris

 

[Mr. Old School]

Hi Chris,

What exactely does this mean? (focus lock (H)as been achieved). Is the laser trying to read the cd but cannot focus because of distance? Must be normal wear and tear? Understandable after 7 years!!! Is this an easy fix?

Thanks,

P

 

[anatech]

Hi Mr. Old School,
Pretty much. The first thing the servo does is try to find the CD. If there is none, or it's upside down, no need to spin the motor. Once the servo IC gets focus lock (Fok signal) it enables the focus servo and spins the disc. After the disc motor soins up the disc servo and tracking servo are turned on. It looks for the eye pattern fter that and loads the TOC (table of contents). At that point, it's ready to start playing.

Disc table height may cause this failure, as will a weak laser diode. If the laser head is worn, the disc motor bearings will be as well. It could be that the disc motor has a short too. Replace both parts in either case.

-Chris

 

[Skitch72]

This is a great thread. I worked in the last of the true "hi-end" shops here in town and we finally had to throw in the towel in 1996. We were selling good stuff for the day, PPI, JL, Xtant etc.. but just got beat up when in 95 and 96 we had a Best Buy and Circuit City open up.

I'm still rolling with an old school system:

Nakamichi CD-45z
PPI A600 (ahh the art series)
Xtant High pass(don't remember the model)
JL 8W3's
PPI FRX-??? in-dash crossover
MB Quart 6.5 components w/ competition x-over

This basic system has been moved to its third car at this point!

Still sounds pretty good to my worn out ears.

Tim

 

[Mr. Old School]

Seems logical that if the laser cannot find the disc, why start to spin!?!

I'll have to find out if this is an easy fix.

Many thanks,

Paul

 

[anatech]

Hi Paul,
Give the disc a spin with your finger as soon as it loads.

-Chris

 

[Mr. Old School]

Hi Tim,

Welcome abord. Man I really feel your pain. But we cannot stop progress in the wrong direction. It's just like these small town hardware stores where the owner used to knows EVERY customers first name. Now they must close down because of Ho*e Dep*t.

Now it is just big business and make the sale.

Remember the way manufactures used to rate there amps.
25 watts x2 @ 4 Ohms 12.0 Volts. They could actually put out as much as 800 watts RMS stereo @ 14.0 volts! Now a day that is pretty much unthinkable! Now It is 2000 Watts Max Period!

I had the CD-45Z some years ago combined with the MB-7 changer.
Was an amazing deck and changer. Some how the 8140 just appeals more to me because of the simple look and the MB-7 changer was just to big for my trunk.

Paul

 

[Mr. Old School]

I Didn't think about that. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

P

 

[anatech]

Hey Tim,
I still have my TD-700, PA300 and PA 350. I am waiting to install it into another car some day.

-Chris