Teac CD-P1260 CD player intermittent

I have a Teac CD-P1260 CD player that has had very little use and no abuse, and now doesn't play. It was bought 2 1/2 years ago, placed in an equipment closet and not moved until now, and has been used about

I removed the cover and cleaned the lens. On inserting a disc I saw the disc clamp into place but it doesn't rotate. Everything moves freely and looks very clean.

Last week I tried tapping the main circuit board, and when I did the disc started playing. When I tapped the drive itself, that also started the player working. Each time I tried another disc I had to tap again to get the player started.

I had to stop working on the player until today. Today tapping doesn't work anymore. It looks like the player doesn't see a reflected light signal and won't spin the disc.

Does anyone here have experience with this model player to know if this is a common problem and where to look? I would also appreciate suggestions from anyone with experience to suggest how I should proceed to try to find what's wrong.

It may still be a dirty laser - but not where you can see it. Although the lens may look clean (was it dusty before you cleaned it ??) you could have dust on the CA mirror or pickup photodiode array, both of which are inside the body of the laser. Another thing to try is to spin the disc with a finger just after it clamps. Sometimes, lack of use can lead to a spindle motor which is reluctant to start up on its own. Make sure that the laser is free to move on its slides. With the unit switched off and no disc in, move the laser by hand, away from the centre 'home' position, then power on and make sure that the laser returns home, then burns (do not look directly into the top of the laser - observe at a shallow angle and you should be able to see a dull red glow in the lens) and that focus search takes place correctly. The lens should move up and down probably three times, and in a very 'positive' fashion. If all of this seems to take place correctly, reinsert a disc. It might just play now ... (honest!)

If it doesn't play, you can try pressing on the main pcb with a biro pen or some other insulated 'stick' whilst inserting a disc, and also poking the laser flexiprint with the tip of a small screwdriver. Other than this, without detailed knowledge of how a CD player works, and some decent test equipment, you are unlikely to get far. I would say that it would be worth trying a laser in it, although tap sensitivity is not generally considered as a typical laser problem, but that aspect of your observations prior to the total failure might be a bit of a red herring. It is of course easy for an engineer to say "try a laser in it", as we have them in stock on the shelf (it's probably a Sony KSS 213 series laser), but I wouldn't recommend that you waste your money on buying a replacement, on the offchance that might cure it ...

Arfa

Thank you for this reply. The lens looked clean as could be before I cleaned it with alcohol. It looked the same after I cleaned it. I did spin the disc after it clamped and it spins freely and coasts a little before it stops. I also did move the laser by hand and watched it scurry back to its home position when I turned the power on. I didn't think I could see the lens in its home position. Tomorrow I'll try to observe the laser as you said.

I'll continue to try poking to see if I can find something repeatable. I spent my entire work career in the electronics field and have many years experience in the design, development and troubleshooting of electronic equipment. While I worked I had access to all kinds of test equipment, but now that I'm retired the only equipment I have is a Heathkit VOM I built 50 years ago (it still works well). The laser is a Sony laser but it may be difficult for me to replace it at home.

Or a shorted spindle motor...

Mark Z.

Perhaps, but why would tapping the main board relieve the short?

...

I was right about the ReVox tape sensor. I would /like/ to think I'm on a roll...

You are perhaps taking the term "shorted" too literally, William.

Clearly, it wouldn't, as such. But you will note that the OP said that it also started working when he tapped the deck. The shorts that you get on spindle motors are not usually 'dead shorts' because of burnt windings etc. Rather, they are often caused by commutator contamination, which can be severe enough to make the driver IC run 'red hot', but not enough to blow fuses. This situation is often relieved (temporarily) by giving the motor a nudge to help it on its way, and sometimes, that nudge need only be a vibrational shock, such as tapping in the area. Also, the bearings sometimes tighten up on these motors to the point where they struggle to have enough torque to get over the stickiness - particularly if there is the added weight of a disc on the turntable. Again, sometimes all that is needed is a bit of a knock to get it going, and it will then be fine until next time ...

Arfa

What he said.

Mark Z.

The unit is clearly U.S. junk. It was made in China in December, 2006. Many reviewers on Amazon.com complained about the same problem I'm having.

The unit actually belongs to a friend who was very reluctant to buy anything from Teac. She decided to take a chance because there's no other option we could find for a stand-alone player except for very expensive models.