Philips CD104 problems

[brianuk]

Hello,

I have a Philips CD104 that won't play.
Its doesn't show an error as if there's no CD.
I have had a little look inside, im no expert on these things so have touched anything yet, just observed.

When I close the door without a CD I can see from an angle that there is laser light. I can also see the laser flexing as is trying to focus. The motor however doesn't spin at all.

Should the motor spin at this point ?
If I put a CD in it does not spin either.

If the motor is supposed to spin at this point where can I test that there is voltage being put on to the motor easily ? - looks tricky to me!

Any help EXTREMELY greatly appreciated

I dont want to throw this wonderful piece of engineering away.

Thankyou for reading,
Brian

[Netlist]

Normally, the motor should only start with a CD inserted.
Does the motor start when you manually turn the disk while the laser is still focusing?

/Hugo

[brianuk]

Its tricky to get too, I have moved it a little bit and it makes the cd searching noises but NO it doesnt then start itself.
I'll go and have a better go at your suggestion, thanks.

[guido]

Send me a pm, got cd-x manual (B&O) which is built on 104 technique. It also includes some faultfinding.

mvg,

[Netlist]

Does the laser move to the inner side of the cd at startup?
Did you get this problem suddenly or were there difficulties before?
Try cleaning the lens first. A cotton stick and some distilled water will do the job nicely.

/Hugo

[brianuk]

Right although its tricky because of all the steel, i have managed to spin the disc more.

It sounds just like my 471 Player in that its makes high pitch noises as if trying to locate the cd contents.

Motor doesnt continue itself though and then it stops making the noises as i spin it.

Yes it moves straight to the centre upon power up.
The lense looks clean to me, I dont have distilled water, do i want to touch that ?
I do have cotton sticks - was using one to spin the cd!lol

Help!

Thanks for helping.
Guido, will do, thanks.

[jives11]

Hi Brian,


I have a 104 I have been playing with. One thing is that mine doesn't read any headers until it's been on for approx 45 minutes. yesterday I turned it on from cold and it just flashes

-- 00:00

then back to

--

I tried various disks and on one I got the error light- the rest just a momentary 00:00 then back to --

Anyway after about 30 minutes it reads everything. either it's a heat related problem (I notices when I removed the rear heatsink that the 2 decoder boards are badly warped from heat I guess. OR one of the laser caps is not performing untill the whole thing is warm.


Anyway - might be worth leaving it powered up for a good period (24 hours) then trying ?

[brianuk]

Hi Jives,

Thanks for the tip - i'll definetly give it a go.

I have also just got a CD100 to play with too!
It came with all the original manuals and demo cd and flashy pics etc.
"welcome to the world of digital audio"

Must have been amazing to get it in the early eighties.
Also you needed lots of money too!!

I'll get back to you,

Brian.

[jives11]

definitely worth trying. I have made a few tweaks having for the B&O CD-X manual from guido. The CD104 is virtually the same machine, just the PSU board layout appears different.


There are a few things I have found worth doing, though there is always the nagging doubt with such an old beast that one will be a "tweak to far".

I'm stunned how good these players sound. Makes you realise what a numbers game the last 20 years of CD development have been

[KTLi]

Dear Sirs,
My 104 also got the same problem. It need to be warm up for about 30 minutes prior to run. Since it is about 20 years old, I don't want to let it turn on all the days. I'm afraid that the machine to be burn out from short circuit. Did you solve the "warmup" problem of your CD-104 at this moment?
Best Regards, KT