My trusty old Technics 5 disc cd changer died the other day while
playing a CD. The unit powers up, I can open the drawer and flip the
cds around but the unit will not recognize a cd is in any of the
trays, and will ofcourse not play it.

Any idea what is wrong, and can it be repaired?

I know the unit is old but it matches my Technics RS-TR355 Dual
casette deck and it has the cable going between them for syncro
editing a new cd player would not have.

"Powermac" wrote in message
ups.com...
My trusty old Technics 5 disc cd changer died the other day while
playing a CD. The unit powers up, I can open the drawer and flip the
cds around but the unit will not recognize a cd is in any of the
trays, and will ofcourse not play it.

Any idea what is wrong, and can it be repaired?

I know the unit is old but it matches my Technics RS-TR355 Dual
casette deck and it has the cable going between them for syncro
editing a new cd player would not have.


First, check that the laser is not stuck at the far end of its track. This
is very common on Panasonic traverse units fitted to Technics gear, if they
have not been used for a while, and were working ok with no signs of poor
playability or skipping when they were last used. Also check, by physically
looking, that the laser lens is not very dusty, or 'filmy' - particularly if
it is a heavy-smoking household, or you have had building work done since it
last worked. If the problem is dirt / dust, then it needs to be cleaned
properly with isopropyl alcohol, and a cotton tip, not with a 'cleaning
disc'.

Other than this, it's likely to be the laser itself as, generally speaking,
Technics / Panasonic decoding electronics are fairly reliable.

Arfa

Powermac wrote:
My trusty old Technics 5 disc cd changer died the other day while
playing a CD. The unit powers up, I can open the drawer and flip the
cds around but the unit will not recognize a cd is in any of the
trays, and will ofcourse not play it.

Any idea what is wrong, and can it be repaired?

I know the unit is old but it matches my Technics RS-TR355 Dual
casette deck and it has the cable going between them for syncro
editing a new cd player would not have.


I had a similar problem, on Technics changer unit...wouldn't even spin
up, much less recognize the disk. After diddling for hours with the
mechanism, I did a simple lens clean.

All was subsequently well (until my daughter moved the unit with disks
in the tray, then powered it up...CD's jammed and broke small parts in
the mechanism).

jak

On Apr 12, 4:38 am, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
"Powermac" wrote in message

ups.com...

My trusty old Technics 5 disc cd changer died the other day while
playing a CD. The unit powers up, I can open the drawer and flip the
cds around but the unit will not recognize a cd is in any of the
trays, and will ofcourse not play it.

Any idea what is wrong, and can it be repaired?

I know the unit is old but it matches my Technics RS-TR355 Dual
casette deck and it has the cable going between them for syncro
editing a new cd player would not have.

First, check that the laser is not stuck at the far end of its track. This
is very common on Panasonic traverse units fitted to Technics gear, if they
have not been used for a while, and were working ok with no signs of poor
playability or skipping when they were last used. Also check, by physically
looking, that the laser lens is not very dusty, or 'filmy' - particularly if
it is a heavy-smoking household, or you have had building work done since it
last worked. If the problem is dirt / dust, then it needs to be cleaned
properly with isopropyl alcohol, and a cotton tip, not with a 'cleaning
disc'.

Other than this, it's likely to be the laser itself as, generally speaking,
Technics / Panasonic decoding electronics are fairly reliable.

Arfa

I got around to taking the cover off today, the insides look brand new
(no dust). The laser assembly is free moving once it is out of the
locked position. I put a cd in with the cover off to see what was
going on. When the CD gets to the laser assembly it gets picked up,
but there is no spinning of the cd, just sits there idle forever.

Hi!

It is still worth trying to clean the lens. You can't always see dirt on the
lens, and I've had some players that looked to have clean lenses, but would
not play a CD until I had finished cleaning the lens.

William

"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in message news:cLyTh.49412$_c5.46309@attbi_s22...
Hi!

It is still worth trying to clean the lens. You can't always see dirt on
the
lens, and I've had some players that looked to have clean lenses, but
would
not play a CD until I had finished cleaning the lens.

William


Agreed. It has to be the first move. Now that you've got the lid off,
another try is to spin the disc manually with your finger tip, clockwise
looking from the top. Do this a couple of times as soon as the disc is
loaded into the play position. It's quite common to get bad spots on
Panasonic spindle motors, although I have to say that it's more common on
their DVD players than CD players. Still, I have had bad motors on them more
often than "seldom", but less often than "frequently" - if that makes sense
.....

Arfa

Arfa Daily wrote:
"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in message news:cLyTh.49412$_c5.46309@attbi_s22...
Hi!

It is still worth trying to clean the lens. You can't always see dirt on
the
lens, and I've had some players that looked to have clean lenses, but
would
not play a CD until I had finished cleaning the lens.

William


Agreed. It has to be the first move. Now that you've got the lid off,
another try is to spin the disc manually with your finger tip, clockwise
looking from the top. Do this a couple of times as soon as the disc is
loaded into the play position. It's quite common to get bad spots on
Panasonic spindle motors, although I have to say that it's more common on
their DVD players than CD players. Still, I have had bad motors on them more
often than "seldom", but less often than "frequently" - if that makes sense
....

Arfa



Agreed again. As I said before....

I just did a DVD player (Toshiba) which would not recognize a disk--any
disk. It was given up for a lost cause. Once opened; observed 'no
spin'. A flick of the finger caused the spindle to turn and stop a few
times and the laser to seek. Within a few seconds, all activity stopped
and the display again showed a disk error.

All it took to fix was cleaning the lens. Boom! Just like that,
perfect functioning. (Note...being away from the shop, I had no
cleaning supplies beyond a cotton swab...on a whim I moistened with
clean tap water, which worked a charm.)

Always, always, ALWAYS clean the lens first!

jak

On Apr 15, 7:46 pm, jakdedert wrote:
Arfa Daily wrote:
"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in messagenews:cLyTh.49412$_c5.46309@attbi_s22...
Hi!

It is still worth trying to clean the lens. You can't always see dirt on
the
lens, and I've had some players that looked to have clean lenses, but
would
not play a CD until I had finished cleaning the lens.

William

Agreed. It has to be the first move. Now that you've got the lid off,
another try is to spin the disc manually with your finger tip, clockwise
looking from the top. Do this a couple of times as soon as the disc is
loaded into the play position. It's quite common to get bad spots on
Panasonic spindle motors, although I have to say that it's more common on
their DVD players than CD players. Still, I have had bad motors on them more
often than "seldom", but less often than "frequently" - if that makes sense
....

Arfa

Agreed again. As I said before....

I just did a DVD player (Toshiba) which would not recognize a disk--any
disk. It was given up for a lost cause. Once opened; observed 'no
spin'. A flick of the finger caused the spindle to turn and stop a few
times and the laser to seek. Within a few seconds, all activity stopped
and the display again showed a disk error.

All it took to fix was cleaning the lens. Boom! Just like that,
perfect functioning. (Note...being away from the shop, I had no
cleaning supplies beyond a cotton swab...on a whim I moistened with
clean tap water, which worked a charm.)

Always, always, ALWAYS clean the lens first!

jak- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Cleaned the lens with a Q-tip and pure isopropyl alcohol (from a
bottle used to clean tape heads) . Put a cdr and a pressed cd in for a
test. The pressed cd spun up and after a while started playing track
1, tried switching tracks and it froze up. Could not get it to read
the disk again, and when it did play the cd spun up and down a few
times instead of a steady spin. Mostly it grabs a cd and spins up for
a fraction of a second then dies. I think it did that once the last
time I messed with it.

Powermac wrote:
On Apr 15, 7:46 pm, jakdedert wrote:
Arfa Daily wrote:
"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in messagenews:cLyTh.49412$_c5.46309@attbi_s22...
Hi!
It is still worth trying to clean the lens. You can't always see dirt on
the
lens, and I've had some players that looked to have clean lenses, but
would
not play a CD until I had finished cleaning the lens.
William
Agreed. It has to be the first move. Now that you've got the lid off,
another try is to spin the disc manually with your finger tip, clockwise
looking from the top. Do this a couple of times as soon as the disc is
loaded into the play position. It's quite common to get bad spots on
Panasonic spindle motors, although I have to say that it's more common on
their DVD players than CD players. Still, I have had bad motors on them more
often than "seldom", but less often than "frequently" - if that makes sense
....
Arfa
Agreed again. As I said before....

I just did a DVD player (Toshiba) which would not recognize a disk--any
disk. It was given up for a lost cause. Once opened; observed 'no
spin'. A flick of the finger caused the spindle to turn and stop a few
times and the laser to seek. Within a few seconds, all activity stopped
and the display again showed a disk error.

All it took to fix was cleaning the lens. Boom! Just like that,
perfect functioning. (Note...being away from the shop, I had no
cleaning supplies beyond a cotton swab...on a whim I moistened with
clean tap water, which worked a charm.)

Always, always, ALWAYS clean the lens first!

jak- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Cleaned the lens with a Q-tip and pure isopropyl alcohol (from a
bottle used to clean tape heads) . Put a cdr and a pressed cd in for a
test. The pressed cd spun up and after a while started playing track
1, tried switching tracks and it froze up. Could not get it to read
the disk again, and when it did play the cd spun up and down a few
times instead of a steady spin. Mostly it grabs a cd and spins up for
a fraction of a second then dies. I think it did that once the last
time I messed with it.


That's a seek error problem, IMO, instead of a spindle motor issue.
Quick fix might be to crank the intensity; but only temporary until the
diode finally dies...not the only possible fault (weak laser), however.

Since you got partial success by cleaning, I'd try it again. Couldn't
hurt.....

jak

On Apr 16, 11:29 pm, jakdedert wrote:
Powermac wrote:
On Apr 15, 7:46 pm, jakdedert wrote:
Arfa Daily wrote:
"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in messagenews:cLyTh.49412$_c5.46309@attbi_s22...
Hi!
It is still worth trying to clean the lens. You can't always see dirt on
the
lens, and I've had some players that looked to have clean lenses, but
would
not play a CD until I had finished cleaning the lens.
William
Agreed. It has to be the first move. Now that you've got the lid off,
another try is to spin the disc manually with your finger tip, clockwise
looking from the top. Do this a couple of times as soon as the disc is
loaded into the play position. It's quite common to get bad spots on
Panasonic spindle motors, although I have to say that it's more common on
their DVD players than CD players. Still, I have had bad motors on them more
often than "seldom", but less often than "frequently" - if that makes sense
....
Arfa
Agreed again. As I said before....

I just did a DVD player (Toshiba) which would not recognize a disk--any
disk. It was given up for a lost cause. Once opened; observed 'no
spin'. A flick of the finger caused the spindle to turn and stop a few
times and the laser to seek. Within a few seconds, all activity stopped
and the display again showed a disk error.

All it took to fix was cleaning the lens. Boom! Just like that,
perfect functioning. (Note...being away from the shop, I had no
cleaning supplies beyond a cotton swab...on a whim I moistened with
clean tap water, which worked a charm.)

Always, always, ALWAYS clean the lens first!

jak- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Cleaned the lens with a Q-tip and pure isopropyl alcohol (from a
bottle used to clean tape heads) . Put a cdr and a pressed cd in for a
test. The pressed cd spun up and after a while started playing track
1, tried switching tracks and it froze up. Could not get it to read
the disk again, and when it did play the cd spun up and down a few
times instead of a steady spin. Mostly it grabs a cd and spins up for
a fraction of a second then dies. I think it did that once the last
time I messed with it.

That's a seek error problem, IMO, instead of a spindle motor issue.
Quick fix might be to crank the intensity; but only temporary until the
diode finally dies...not the only possible fault (weak laser), however.

Since you got partial success by cleaning, I'd try it again. Couldn't
hurt.....

jak- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Can you still find laser assemblies (with motor) for these old
players? If so how expensive are they? Anybody have the tech manual
for this model?