Just got of of these that have been powered and not used for the last 10-15 years and on most discs it reports err and a few it will recognize, spin up and play with some skipping on the inner tracks but play the outer 3-5 tracks ok.
Any experience or insights on this particular issue and player (or laser assembly) would be very helpful. The schematic would ofc be great but I see its been asked before on here but has not been found as far as I can tell.
Any experience or insights on this particular issue and player (or laser assembly) would be very helpful. The schematic would ofc be great but I see its been asked before on here but has not been found as far as I can tell.
A picture from the web shows it may be a Philips 'swing arm' type RAFOC unit which leads to instant suspicion that it might use the well known Philips servo board that suffers with capacitor problems. If so then all the electrolytics should be replaced although typically the problem is caused by some 33uF caps on the servo boards.
You need to open it up and look though to be sure.
You need to open it up and look though to be sure.
Seems to be a Motorola controller and a few 85C 25v 47uf ROE elyts on the servo section of the board. The player gets warm just connected to the mains so if these are 2000h elyts they may very well have reached their end so I will start by replacing these.
Its not quite what I imagined cap wise but I suppose they are still a possible favourite.
Given that it seems to play erratically the first thing I would do would be to look at the RF on a scope to see what the quality and amplitude was like. If it has been powered up but not used for amny years then dust ingress into the pickup is another possibility.
Given that it seems to play erratically the first thing I would do would be to look at the RF on a scope to see what the quality and amplitude was like. If it has been powered up but not used for amny years then dust ingress into the pickup is another possibility.
I replaced all the caps on the servo/laser section of the pcb and it got a lot more responsive and a bit better however it still struggles.
It was a long time ago I worked on CD players but the behaviour seems very familiar and if iirc there was a gain setting for the laser (or something similar) and if it was set to low it would behave like this player does.
There are no visible electrical adjustments on this player so maybe the laser diod is simply worn out and I would need a new assembly.
It was a long time ago I worked on CD players but the behaviour seems very familiar and if iirc there was a gain setting for the laser (or something similar) and if it was set to low it would behave like this player does.
There are no visible electrical adjustments on this player so maybe the laser diod is simply worn out and I would need a new assembly.
The Philips players usually did not have any adjustment beyond laser power (don't alter that in hope) and I think you are remembering 'tracking gain' and 'focus gain' adjustments from players other than Philips. A scope check of the RF is what is needed really as that would tell so much about what was going on.
Indeed, that's what it was and Yamaha and Pioneer players. I remember the RF check as well but the connection points are hidden under the drive so need to route these so that I can probe while playing.
I have now changed all the e-caps and it reads and play all the discs I have tested however there is still some "skipping" during tracks so I am not sure there is much more to try other than replacing the laser assembly.
I have now changed all the e-caps and it reads and play all the discs I have tested however there is still some "skipping" during tracks so I am not sure there is much more to try other than replacing the laser assembly.
The Philips RAFOC's are generally pretty long lasting... and your big problem might be getting a good replacement for anything less than silly money. I would still say you should at least look at the RF abd judge the quality and amplitude. I'm assuming you've cleaned the lens correctly and its 'bright and twinkly' with no surface contamination.
The lens have been cleaned and is "bright and twinkly" and assuming the RF pattern is blurry and/or off in amplitude (don't have a reference so might be difficult to *****) what would that tell me?
The laser assembly is now very responsive and fast to read the TOC, it's more or less instantaneous. Not sure but would that not indicate the laser is is still good and that the issue might be the arm tracking or speed control?
The laser assembly is now very responsive and fast to read the TOC, it's more or less instantaneous. Not sure but would that not indicate the laser is is still good and that the issue might be the arm tracking or speed control?
Do you remember which ones are tantalum caps? Is it the ones circled in blue? The one circled in red I've assumed is ceramic.
The RF should always look pretty clear and crisp, no up and down movement which implies the platter is running out of true and no jitter or blurriness. The diamond shape in the RF should be easily distinguished and clear.
Any CD player playing any commercial good quality disc will always have similar RF patterns. Amplitude is typically around 1.2 to 1.5 volts peak to peak across most makes and models although some Philips have used an RF amplifier after that point which then gives a higher level signal. Those are in the minority though.
This is a picture I took on a Sony some years ago. Its pretty standard, a Philips player should be the same. 1.2 volts pk/pk amplitude. Notice how clear the diamond shape.