problems with my Adcom CD player

Shaun,

If this machine is as old as I think it is, then its not worth putting any serious money into it. There is likely a manufacturing date on the machine that will give the month and year it was made. Make sure if there are any transit screws on the bottom they are removed or in the released position.

You could try cleaning the lens and the disc platter. You'd have to open the machine to do this. the lens is about the size of a pencil eraser, and is on a suspension, so be gentle with it. I use a cotton swab moistened with lens cleaning fluid, though Windex will probably do. I also clean off the platter that the disc sits on while spinning. I've seen enough debris build up on the platter over time that it no longer lets the disc sit flat, and that can cause all kinds of grief. Again, a moistened swab or slightly damp cloth is all you need to clean it.

Beyond that, you are likely to have a worn out laser, which is likely to be more expensive to replace than the machine is worth.

Regards, Tim Schwartz Bristol Electronics

First, clean out any crud from the laser head assembly. If that doesn't improve things, replace it. That's a 1997 vintage machine so parts may be tricky to find... Oh, too easy:

However, I don't think it's worth $50 to fix something that old.

More:

This CD player is a higher quality model and one of the only multidisk units that uses high quality components. Mechanically it's not made very well though, but the electronic audio stages are all class A, so it's worth my time and some money to try to fix it.

Thanks for your reply.

Shaun

Thanks for the links, I'll probably order a new laser head for it, but first I'll lake it apart and clean the lenses.

Shaun

Absolutely clean it. Should help.

Mark Z.

KSS240A lasers should be available from many sources for much less than $50. This is a very 'bog-standard' laser made by Sony, and used in many manufacturers' products over the years, as well as their own. Try to make sure if you get one from a cheaper source, that it is a genuine Sony one though. Of all of the KSS series replacement lasers, I've found the '240 to be probably the most critical, when used in most manufacturers' machines.

Arfa

Oops. I didn't recognize the Sony part number. Plenty all over the web

and $17-$31 on eBay.

its

first

Then after cleaning and before ditching. Find the "power pot" ,measure resistance with a DVM , "both ways" in case of a difference, so you can get back to that value. Change the value , no more than 5 percent, to see if it improves error proneness

It's not quite that straightforward on a '240, as there are three pots on there, and considerable interaction between them. I would not recommend touching them, as at least one of them is *extremely* critical in its setting to get the thing to play at all.

Arfa

CDs.

Which implies 3 analoguey things that could drift over time. I would take 3x

I'm sure I can find a few CDs that are scratched in my collection.

shaun