Mike wrote:

I've been given a radio/cassette/cd player with a faulty CD portion to
play with.

The CD spindle does not spin, but the motor operates if given 4+ volts
from a battery (and draws a variable current depending on mechanical load).

The laser actuators appear to work, because they attempt to hunt for a CD
to read. What I am not clear about is whether the focus process can work
with a stationary CD.


** All the CD mechanisms I can recall seek focus before spinning the disk.

The most common failure seen in budget CD mechanisms is a weak or dead laser diode - which would produce the scenario you describe.



.... Phil