From: fuhrman@litsun.epfl.ch (Cris Fuhrman)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: CD player skips... [summary]
Date: 11 Jan 93 14:44:24 GMT
Followup-To: rec.audio
Organization: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology


I'm posting the "best" response I got from my original question about what
to do with my Yamaha CD player which was skipping. The machine is now
working better than it has in 5 years, and all for no cost! 

This posting should DEFINITELY go into the FAQ for this group, based on the
number of people who asked me for a summary.

Here are some of my comments:

I did receive some suggestions about using CD player cleaning kits (special
CDs with brushes?), etc., though nobody swore by their efficiency.

My problem turned out to be the lubrication of the laser carriage and *not*
alignment of the laser itself, so I can't say anything about the accuracy
of the information in step 4, though I was able to locate this adjustment
screw looking down through the hole in the inner portion drawer (which must
be lined up with the laser assembly, so you have to move the drawer or the
assembly so that the hole lines up with the screw).

I did *NOT* operate the CD player with the cover off because of my paranoia
about invisible laser radiation. Let's just say I read the inside warning
labels and took them seriously. You should probably do the same thing.

The only *EXTRA* thing I had to do to locate the laser assembly (step #2)
was remove the spring-loaded upper "cover" which closes on top of the CD
when the drawer is closed fully. This was done by loosening the two screws
found near the hinge point of the cover and then sliding the cover out of
the hinges and off completely. Watch out for the spring!

----------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 93 17:34:51 EST
From: mallick@ausable.crd.ge.com (John Mallick)
To: fuhrman@litsun.epfl.ch (Cris Fuhrman)
Reply-To: mallick@crd.GE.COM
Subject: Re: CD player skips...

Cris,

  I fixed my Yamaha CD-2000 myself; if yours is similar, the same procedure
should work.

1.  Take off the top cover by removing the appropriate screws.

2.  Locate the laser assembly.  You may have to move the CD drawer in or
out, but you can do this by hand.  Notice that one side of the laser
carriage rides on a polished metal rod.  The other side rides on a nylon
ridge on the underside of the support.

3.  Make sure that both the rod and the ridge are clean; they might need
lubrication. Some folks use exotic oils or greases, but I just justed high
quality white grease (trade name Lubriplate).  In many cases, cleaning and
re-lubrication fixes the skipping problem; in my case it didn't.

4.  If it still skips, the laser may be out of alignment.  In my Yamaha,
there was only one screw to turn for alignment.  You look on side of the
laser assembly carriage opposite to the metal rod (the nylon ridge side),
and there should be a small screw which is accessible through a small hole
in the CD drawer.  This is a mechanical (not electrical) adjustment, and
serves to "tilt" the laser.  To adjust it, I used my worst skipping CD as a
test.  Give the screw a quarter or half turn one way and see if the
skipping is better or worse.  If it is better or gone, try another CD; if
all is OK, close up the case and enjoy.  If the skipping got worse, you
turned the screw the wrong way; turn it back the other way to the original
position, and then another half turn.  Try the CD again. You should find
the aligned position in a couple of tries.

In my case, it stopped the skipping on any of my disks, and the player was
much more resistant to vibration.  This after the repair shop stated that
"all was in alignment".

Don't fiddle with the electrical pot on the laser assembly.  It controls
laser power and is factory sealed.  

Good luck!  Let me know if it works.
-- 

John A. Mallick WA1HNL
GE Corporate Research and Development
Schenectady, NY 12301


---------------------------------------
 Cris FUHRMAN, fuhrman@litsun.epfl.ch
 Laboratoire d'informatique technique
 EPFL-LIT, IN Ecublens, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: mcnichol@terminator.psy.syr.edu (Brendan T. McNichols)
Subject: Sony ES dealers in Central NY?
Reply-To: mcnichol@mailbox.syr.edu