Bit of a weird one- I have a Marantz CD63 (actually a CD53 board). When I first got it, there was an issue with the display panel/volume control - the volume control bar was always flashing as though the volume up button was constantly being pressed, volume can’t be adjusted and only the track back button on the player didn’t work (all other functions on the player + remote worked fine and the CD player otherwise functioned fine.
Minor weird thing is that if the volume down button is held down on the remote, the track numbers display again at the bottom like normal until you release the button?? I should also add I’ve tried another known working front panel in it with no luck.
I started doing some minor mods to use as a spare player and the display started working normally again at some point so I thought I must have fixed a dry joint or zapped something into working again.
The player is now highly modded and been working fine up until today - out of nowhere it’s doing the same thing again with the display again - anyone got any ideas where to start diagnosing it? Hope it’s not the sign of something failing on the board, I do have a parts board I could use if need be.
Minor weird thing is that if the volume down button is held down on the remote, the track numbers display again at the bottom like normal until you release the button?? I should also add I’ve tried another known working front panel in it with no luck.
I started doing some minor mods to use as a spare player and the display started working normally again at some point so I thought I must have fixed a dry joint or zapped something into working again.
The player is now highly modded and been working fine up until today - out of nowhere it’s doing the same thing again with the display again - anyone got any ideas where to start diagnosing it? Hope it’s not the sign of something failing on the board, I do have a parts board I could use if need be.
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Just as an update to this in case anyone was wondering - I resoldered the front panel connector and CPU chip with no effect. Couldn’t find anything else obvious wrong on the board so I’ve swapped the CPU chip from a donor board and it seems to be working normally again for the time being.
If anyone has any other ideas then they would be welcomed but it seems to be behaving itself for now.
If anyone has any other ideas then they would be welcomed but it seems to be behaving itself for now.
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Thoughts... and without having it in front of me.
1/ Remote transmitting all the time. Might explain why pressing a another R/C button altered things.
2/ It's never the 'big chip'. That's probably the single most reliable component in there.
3/ Weird faults like this usually have really simple causes. Stuck buttons, that kind of thing.
1/ Remote transmitting all the time. Might explain why pressing a another R/C button altered things.
2/ It's never the 'big chip'. That's probably the single most reliable component in there.
3/ Weird faults like this usually have really simple causes. Stuck buttons, that kind of thing.
Cheers for the reply!
1. The remote does seem to be fine and it’s not an issue with the front panel or IR receiver (there isn’t a physical volume button on the player to get stuck). I’ve swapped the control panel with a known working one and the issue definitely lies somewhere on the main board.
2. I did think as much.. couldn’t find anything else obvious wrong with the board though and just reflowing didn’t do it. Touch wood it is behaving fine since replacing the CPU.
3. I’ll get testing the components on the board around the relevant area. Again it’s not the remote or front panel but could maybe be a small component playing up.
I don’t use the volume control on the player anyway but the permanent blinking volume bar and lack of track back button are very annoying!
The only odd problem that uP's can sometimes suffer from is being stuck in a loop that even powering off doesn't seem to fix.
Sometimes if there is a battery backup or cap backup to retain user settings then that can be the cause. The act of unsoldering or removing/replacing the uP would then seem to fix the issue when in fact the original uP is actually OK.
Things like this are hard to diagnose. All you can do is check the basic stuff and try and piece together 'the evidence' as it appears.
Sometimes if there is a battery backup or cap backup to retain user settings then that can be the cause. The act of unsoldering or removing/replacing the uP would then seem to fix the issue when in fact the original uP is actually OK.
Things like this are hard to diagnose. All you can do is check the basic stuff and try and piece together 'the evidence' as it appears.
That might make sense - it doesn’t have a cap or battery backup but I think the problem went away first time when I replaced a lot of the caps. This particular player had the issue right from when I bought it stock so I’m not looking at the mods I’ve made as a culprit.
I’ve certainly fixed stranger issues with some 80s micros by replacing the CPU but we’ll see how it goes. I’ve saved the old one as a spare - just as well it’s not likely to be the chip as I don’t fancy changing another 64 pin IC again haha.
then 
Display has been working fine since replacing the CPU - no idea if this was a fault with the chip itself or some kind of issue with residual power in the caps as above and the act of desoldering the chip sorted it.
Been working much longer than it did when it started working on its own but knowing me I've jinxed it now and it'll start doing it again haha
Been working much longer than it did when it started working on its own but knowing me I've jinxed it now and it'll start doing it again haha
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I have a Marantz CD, can’t remember which model. Like yours it has no hardware volume knob on the front panel, like yours the volume buttons on the remote don’t work. But in my case it’s because there is no volume control mechanism in the player, it’s not a pre amp, there is no volume control.
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