M.Joshi wrote:

Why does the laser degrade? Does using CD-Rs degrade the laser faster?

It's a tiny LED that burns up as you use it. Eventually it "goes dark",
but inbetween that and full brightness is a lot of time.


I have only tried a disc cleaner which has small brushes stuck to it.
How would I manually clean the laser - using IPA and a cotton swab?


That's the usual plan. It has never worked for me because the IPA will
make a sludge out of the dust. It probably will work for you.


Is it possible to increase the laser output or adjust it easily?

Most CD players, DVD players, and computer drives have a "brightness"
control to adjust the output of the laser.

The problem with that is unless you can measure the output, you are guessing,
and if you guess too high, the laser will be dead in seconds. If you guess
right, or measure it, the diode will produce more output, but it will also
burn up faster.

So you may be able to get more time out of it, but in the end, this is a
signal to either replace the diode, or the player.

On the other hand, you may be experiencing reduced output due to capacitor
failure, so the first thing to do after cleaning it, is to poke around with
a voltmeter and a voltage chart if you have one and the necessary skills.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, N3OWJ/4X1GM/KBUH7245/KBUW5379