My portable CD player gave a No Disc Error so searched the forum and found
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/sci.electronics.repair/no$20disc$20error$20message/sci.electronics.repair/J4VPWf16c4Q/NWm6L8JHKQwJ

Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD Players and is due to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube the worm and laser slides.

Next did forum search as to the best lube to use for these CD players but only got more confused because of the range of products recommended.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/sci.electronics.repair/lubricating$20CD$20players/sci.electronics.repair/qCkU9OlaNFA/m-Ems8SBBRcJ

Since these recommendations were posted ~ 12 years ago am wondering what Lube recommendations have worked the best? Would like to use something that will last for at least 10 years.

Am interested in any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

Ken

KenO wrote:
My portable CD player gave a No Disc Error so searched the forum and found
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/sci.electronics.repair/no$20disc$20error$20message/sci.electronics.repair/J4VPWf16c4Q/NWm6L8JHKQwJ

Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD Players and is due to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube the worm and laser slides.

Next did forum search as to the best lube to use for these CD players but only got more confused because of the range of products recommended.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/sci.electronics.repair/lubricating$20CD$20players/sci.electronics.repair/qCkU9OlaNFA/m-Ems8SBBRcJ

Since these recommendations were posted ~ 12 years ago am wondering what Lube recommendations have worked the best? Would like to use something that will last for at least 10 years.

Am interested in any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

Ken

Teflon lube if you can find it...

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech enquiries to the newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

KenO wrote in message
...
My portable CD player gave a No Disc Error so searched the forum and found

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/sci.electronics.repair/no$20disc$
20error$20message/sci.electronics.repair/J4VPWf16c4Q/NWm6L8JHKQwJ

Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD Players and is
due to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube the worm and laser
slides.

Next did forum search as to the best lube to use for these CD players but
only got more confused because of the range of products recommended.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!se...air/lubricatin
g$20CD$20players/sci.electronics.repair/qCkU9OlaNFA/m-Ems8SBBRcJ

Since these recommendations were posted ~ 12 years ago am wondering what
Lube recommendations have worked the best? Would like to use something that
will last for at least 10 years.

Am interested in any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

Ken

What would be the result if no lube?

Whenever I renovate a pot that has "failed" in an amp due to compacting
grease levitating the modern flimsey wiper , I clean out and reassemble.
None of those amps have come bouncing back ,

On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:05:56 -0700 (PDT), KenO
wrote:

Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD
Players and is due to sticking. Problem goes away when
clean and relube the worm and laser slides.

You have to decide if you want oil or grease. For the slide,
I use grease, mostly to keep it from dripping away. For the
rotating parts, I use oil.

I use white lithium grease, molybdenum disulfide grease, or teflon
grease. Whatever happens to be handy. Don't use anything really
thick, such as wheel bearing grease. A thin layer is enough. More
grease just collects dust.

For oil, I use clock oil (not watch oil). It's advantage is that it
does not change viscosity with temperature and does not evaporate over
time. It's probably overkill for the purpose, but I have some, so I
use it.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 8/28/2012 9:51 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:05:56 -0700 (PDT), KenO
wrote:

Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD Players
and is due to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube
the worm and laser slides.

You have to decide if you want oil or grease. For the slide, I use
grease, mostly to keep it from dripping away. For the rotating
parts, I use oil.

I use white lithium grease, molybdenum disulfide grease, or teflon
grease. Whatever happens to be handy. Don't use anything really
thick, such as wheel bearing grease. A thin layer is enough. More
grease just collects dust.

For oil, I use clock oil (not watch oil). It's advantage is that it
does not change viscosity with temperature and does not evaporate
over time. It's probably overkill for the purpose, but I have some,
so I use it.


All good suggestions. Moly grease is probably a good choice:
http://www.toysonics.com/hpi-z157-molybdenum-grease.html

On Tuesday, August 28, 2012 9:51:21 AM UTC-7, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:05:56 -0700 (PDT), KenO

wrote:



Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD

Players and is due to sticking. Problem goes away when

clean and relube the worm and laser slides.



You have to decide if you want oil or grease. For the slide,

I use grease, mostly to keep it from dripping away. For the

rotating parts, I use oil.



I use white lithium grease, molybdenum disulfide grease, or teflon

grease. Whatever happens to be handy. Don't use anything really

thick, such as wheel bearing grease. A thin layer is enough. More

grease just collects dust.



For oil, I use clock oil (not watch oil). It's advantage is that it

does not change viscosity with temperature and does not evaporate over

time. It's probably overkill for the purpose, but I have some, so I

use it.



--

Jeff Liebermann

The slides of the reel drive motors in Sony broadcast VTRs have a similar issue. We tried paste wax which worked quite well. Remove the rail, clean thoroughly and apply the paste wax. After it dries buff it up and reinstall. Being dry already means it won't gum up and any dust falling on it won't stick. For oil I use Nye Oil II synthetic which won't gum up either.

G²

Sofa Slug wrote in message
...
On 8/28/2012 9:51 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:05:56 -0700 (PDT), KenO
wrote:

Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD Players
and is due to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube
the worm and laser slides.

You have to decide if you want oil or grease. For the slide, I use
grease, mostly to keep it from dripping away. For the rotating
parts, I use oil.

I use white lithium grease, molybdenum disulfide grease, or teflon
grease. Whatever happens to be handy. Don't use anything really
thick, such as wheel bearing grease. A thin layer is enough. More
grease just collects dust.

For oil, I use clock oil (not watch oil). It's advantage is that it
does not change viscosity with temperature and does not evaporate
over time. It's probably overkill for the purpose, but I have some,
so I use it.


All good suggestions. Moly grease is probably a good choice:
http://www.toysonics.com/hpi-z157-molybdenum-grease.html


Some plastics and some oils/greases will interact , but you don't know which
until a few years down the road.

"KenO" wrote in message
...
My portable CD player gave a No Disc Error so searched the forum and found
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/sci.electronics.repair/no$20disc$20error$20message/sci.electronics.repair/J4VPWf16c4Q/NWm6L8JHKQwJ

Seems this error message is quite common with Worm Drive CD Players and is
due to sticking. Problem goes away when clean and relube the worm and
laser slides.

Next did forum search as to the best lube to use for these CD players but
only got more confused because of the range of products recommended.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/sci.electronics.repair/lubricating$20CD$20players/sci.electronics.repair/qCkU9OlaNFA/m-Ems8SBBRcJ

Since these recommendations were posted ~ 12 years ago am wondering what
Lube recommendations have worked the best? Would like to use something
that will last for at least 10 years.

Am interested in any comments or suggestions.

Thanks

Ken


For many years, I have used a light synthetic machine oil in an aerosol can
from Electrolube. The product is called "CMO" which stands for clear
mechanical oil. It has excellent 'cling' properties - especially on the
chromed slide rods found in CD players. It is also good on rotating parts
such as spindle motor bearings, and on sled drives where they are worm drive
types, such as in Panasonic / Technics drives. It does not attack plastic,
and seems to lubricate that quite well, too

Arfa

Hi Arfa,

"I have used a light synthetic machine oil..."

Thanks for the tip!

Do you have any suggestions how to get the lube to the worm gear and sled areas without taking everything apart?

Also any tips for cleaning the lens?

After posting decided to check Sam's "Notes on the Troubleshooting and Repair of Compact Disc Players and CDROM Drives" http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm#cdgicdp and found "The following should be performed as general preventive maintenance or when erratic behavior is detected. The lens and its suspension, turning mirror, drawer mechanism, spindle, and sled drive should be checked, and cleaned and/or lubricated if necessary and appropriate....portable CD players with pop-up doors. These types can collect a lot of dust, dirt...Cleaning the objective lens and turning mirror (if accessible) are the most important general maintenance that can be done. Even minor contamination of their optical surfaces can easily result in 50 percent reduction in the returned signal - and all sorts of problems."

Appreciate any tips concerning Cleaning Portable BoomBox CD Players. you may want to post at Tips Cleaning Portable BoomBox CD Players? https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...ir/3-IZnGiQXbY

Thanks again for your help!!!

Ken

"KenO" wrote in message
...
Hi Arfa,

"I have used a light synthetic machine oil..."

Thanks for the tip!

Do you have any suggestions how to get the lube to the worm gear and sled
areas without taking everything apart?

Also any tips for cleaning the lens?

After posting decided to check Sam's "Notes on the Troubleshooting and
Repair of Compact Disc Players and CDROM Drives"
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm#cdgicdp and found "The following
should be performed as general preventive maintenance or when erratic
behavior is detected. The lens and its suspension, turning mirror, drawer
mechanism, spindle, and sled drive should be checked, and cleaned and/or
lubricated if necessary and appropriate...portable CD players with pop-up
doors. These types can collect a lot of dust, dirt...Cleaning the
objective lens and turning mirror (if accessible) are the most important
general maintenance that can be done. Even minor contamination of their
optical surfaces can easily result in 50 percent reduction in the returned
signal - and all sorts of problems."

Appreciate any tips concerning Cleaning Portable BoomBox CD Players. you
may want to post at Tips Cleaning Portable BoomBox CD Players?
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...ir/3-IZnGiQXbY

Thanks again for your help!!!

Ken



Gaining access to deck parts depends a lot on the make and model. Some are
very easy to get at, others are very hard. Some are just 'in the middle'.
Not very helpful, I know, but that's just the way it is. To clean the lens
properly, you need very pure electronics grade isopropyl alcohol, and a
supply of cotton buds (Q-Tips). You need to get the optical head to a place
where you have easy access to the lens. Then take one of your cotton buds
and dip it in the alcohol. Now roll it on the back of your hand until it is
moist, but not dripping. Clean the lens by gently rotating the side of the
bud around the surface. Be careful not to get too 'brutal' with it, as the
lens suspension is quite delicate on some lasers. Once you have cleaned any
dust and surface 'film' from the lens, swap to a dry bud, and polish the
lens surface with a gentle circular motion. This is about the limit of what
can be done to clean most lasers. It will not be enough in some cases. If
the lens is very dusty, then there's a good chance that the laser internals
(critical angle mirror, pickup diodes) are also coated in dust, and this can
lead to a significant decrease in laser performance. On some lasers, I have
had a degree of success in this regard, by holding the lens to one side with
a scalpel tip, and then directing a blast of compressed air down into the
optical cavity below the lens.

On lubing worm drives, I usually find it necessary to actually strip the
drive off the deck, and clean all of the old grease off, before reassembling
and relubing. I do this because I find this type of drive a lot less
forgiving of any stiffness than the more-often encountered three gear and
rack drive. A good example of this is the worm drive found in many Panasonic
/ Technics players. The sled will often stick on these, and yet when you get
it apart, the worm drive still feels quite smooth. Never-the-less, when you
go on to clean it properly and then relube, 99% of the time, the problem
will have gone away.

Be careful what you strip apart on DVD decks. They are extremely critical of
laser tilt and skew, and there are often adjustment screws to move the slide
rails around. If you disturb any of those screws, and don't know the correct
procedure to realign them, you will render the deck useless.

Cleaning of lasers and servicing of decks in boombox players, is no
different from tabletop models. For the most part, you will find exactly the
same decks and lasers in them, as you do in their big brothers. Ones with a
pop-up lid are easy to get at. Ones with a drawer, often are not. Nature of
the beast, I'm afraid.

Arfa

Arfa,

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

"lubing worm drives, I usually find it necessary to actually strip the
drive off the deck, and clean all of the old grease off, before reassembling
and relubing."

Questions:
1. What do you use to remove the old grease?

2. Basic Information how to strip the worm drive off the deck? Have never taken any CD player apart. Have searched the Internet for the parts/repair manual for my portable CD Player but have not found it. Hope that the mechanics of these worm drive CD players are similar or same. To date the only images I have found are for an automotive worm drive CD player (Tweaking the Chrysler Infinity IV CD Player to Read Recordable CD-R Discs http://www..allpar.com/stereo/infinity-IV.html ). Just found a worm drive image for a Sony Discman "Squintasaurus: cybernetic dynamically adjustable vision enhancement system" http://www.instructables.com/id/Squi...near-actuator/

Thanks again for all your help!!!

Ken

"KenO" wrote in message
...
Arfa,

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

"lubing worm drives, I usually find it necessary to actually strip the
drive off the deck, and clean all of the old grease off, before
reassembling
and relubing."

Questions:
1. What do you use to remove the old grease?

2. Basic Information how to strip the worm drive off the deck? Have never
taken any CD player apart. Have searched the Internet for the
parts/repair manual for my portable CD Player but have not found it. Hope
that the mechanics of these worm drive CD players are similar or same. To
date the only images I have found are for an automotive worm drive CD
player (Tweaking the Chrysler Infinity IV CD Player to Read Recordable
CD-R Discs http://www.allpar.com/stereo/infinity-IV.html ). Just found a
worm drive image for a Sony Discman "Squintasaurus: cybernetic dynamically
adjustable vision enhancement system"
http://www.instructables.com/id/Squi...near-actuator/

Thanks again for all your help!!!

Ken




Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the old grease off. This chemical is the
electronics tech's friend. It will clean most sticky / oily things and is
friendly to plastic. It evaporates without leaving a residue, and is pretty
harmless to humans. Most workshops keep a supply. If you know any printers,
they tend to use a very pure IPA for ink cleaning, and have the stuff by the
barrel, so you can usually cadge some if you take your container along. Try
to choose something airtight.

The mechanics of most decks are pretty similar. There are two main
varieties. The three gear plus rack type, and the worm drive type. Another
variant that you still see from time to time is the Philips swinging arm
deck, but these are quite rare now.

Once you have either of the two main types of deck out and in your hand
(observe static handling procedures i.e. a conductive bench mat and wrist
strap) it is usually pretty obvious how they come to bits. Work methodically
and observe carefully any screws that you remove, and also any suspension
springs or rubbers. There may be several different lengths of screw on a
deck, and it is important to put them back where they came from. Likewise,
suspension springs and rubbers are often different between ends or corners
of the deck, to compensate for the extra weight of motors etc. Just the
other day, I had a DJ CD player in from a music store who had ordered in a
replacement laser, and 'had a go' themselves. It didn't work because
firstly, they hadn't removed the protective laser short, and secondly,
because they had put the 'light' springs to the front. The weight of the
spindle motor was collapsing these springs, so the disc clamp dragged on its
holder.

If you are in any doubt about your ability to remember how to put things
back as they came off, take pictures.

About the only other thing to be very careful of, is any flexiprints
connected to the laser or motors. These are quite easily torn, and the
connectors that they go into can be quite delicate. There are several types
of connector, including at least two basic ZIF types, as well as tight
push-ins.

Arfa

Arfa Daily wrote:

"KenO" wrote in message
...
Arfa,

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

"lubing worm drives, I usually find it necessary to actually strip the
drive off the deck, and clean all of the old grease off, before
reassembling
and relubing."

Questions:
1. What do you use to remove the old grease?

2. Basic Information how to strip the worm drive off the deck? Have never
taken any CD player apart. Have searched the Internet for the
parts/repair manual for my portable CD Player but have not found it. Hope
that the mechanics of these worm drive CD players are similar or same. To
date the only images I have found are for an automotive worm drive CD
player (Tweaking the Chrysler Infinity IV CD Player to Read Recordable
CD-R Discs http://www.allpar.com/stereo/infinity-IV.html ). Just found a
worm drive image for a Sony Discman "Squintasaurus: cybernetic dynamically
adjustable vision enhancement system"
http://www.instructables.com/id/Squi...near-actuator/

Thanks again for all your help!!!

Ken




Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the old grease off. This chemical is the
electronics tech's friend. It will clean most sticky / oily things and is
friendly to plastic.

Except acrylic. IPA will craze acrylic *instantly*. It's pretty gentle
on the typical nylon or PET stuff you get in plastic gears, as you say.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

"Phil Hobbs" wrote in message
...
Arfa Daily wrote:

"KenO" wrote in message
...
Arfa,

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

"lubing worm drives, I usually find it necessary to actually strip the
drive off the deck, and clean all of the old grease off, before
reassembling
and relubing."

Questions:
1. What do you use to remove the old grease?

2. Basic Information how to strip the worm drive off the deck? Have
never
taken any CD player apart. Have searched the Internet for the
parts/repair manual for my portable CD Player but have not found it.
Hope
that the mechanics of these worm drive CD players are similar or same.
To
date the only images I have found are for an automotive worm drive CD
player (Tweaking the Chrysler Infinity IV CD Player to Read Recordable
CD-R Discs http://www.allpar.com/stereo/infinity-IV.html ). Just found
a
worm drive image for a Sony Discman "Squintasaurus: cybernetic
dynamically
adjustable vision enhancement system"
http://www.instructables.com/id/Squi...near-actuator/

Thanks again for all your help!!!

Ken




Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the old grease off. This chemical is the
electronics tech's friend. It will clean most sticky / oily things and is
friendly to plastic.

Except acrylic. IPA will craze acrylic *instantly*. It's pretty gentle
on the typical nylon or PET stuff you get in plastic gears, as you say.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--

Yes indeed. But as you say, such plastic is seldom encountered in consumer
electronics goods.

Arfa

Arfa,

Thanks again for the tips.

" There are two main varieties. The three gear plus rack type, and the worm drive type."

Which of the 2 is the easiest to get to the gears that need cleaning and relubing?

Are there parts type illustrations of the rack type, and the worm drive type on the Internet?

Checked Google Images using keywords worm drive type CD players no "" got nothing wanted and when used "" got Your search - "worm drive type CD players" - did not match any image results.

Thanks again for your help

Ken

"KenO" wrote in message
...

Arfa,

Thanks again for the tips.

" There are two main varieties. The three gear plus rack type, and the
worm drive type."

Which of the 2 is the easiest to get to the gears that need cleaning and
relubing?

Are there parts type illustrations of the rack type, and the worm drive
type on the Internet?

Checked Google Images using keywords worm drive type CD players no "" got
nothing wanted and when used "" got Your search - "worm drive type CD
players" - did not match any image results.

Thanks again for your help

Ken


I can't really answer what you are asking, as there is no answer. Think of
it this way. What you are asking is "How easy is it to remove an engine from
a car ?" Well, if it's a 20 year old Ford, easy. If it's a 2 year old BMW,
almost impossible.

The same is true for CD decks. Some with standard gears are incredibly easy
to get to. Some have the gears on the underside, and are not. Some worm
drive ones have all of the moving parts above the deck, and are easy. Some
have it all under the deck and are not. There are lots of tutorials on
YouTube where you can at least see the parts you are talking about e.g.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOlJi5ADOcw

showing a straightforward worm drive type with the worm accessible on the
top. A Technics / Panasonic worm drive deck on the other hand, has all of
its drive below the deck, and it is necessary to remove a PCB which is
soldered to the spindle and worm drive motors, before you can begin to get
at the moving parts.

It is very rare to get jamming problems associated with the gears on three
gear plus rack types, except when some foreign crap gets lodged in the teeth
of one of them. For the most part, this type of drive has the gears either
just clipped in, or retained by another piece of plastic that itself clips
into the deck. Take a look at this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFG2y...e=results_main

You can see the gears quite nicely from about 8 minutes in this vid. You can
actually see them working. This is a very typical Sony deck found in many
manufacturer's players.

If you put "Sony KSM laser deck" into Google Images, you will see loads of
photos. "Sanyo laser deck" will get you a bunch more. As will Kenwood,
Philips, Pioneer etc.

Arfa

Thanks again for your detailed explanations!

"Some worm drive ones have all of the moving parts above the deck, and are easy. Some have it all under the deck and are not."

Is it possible to tell if all the moving parts are above the deck or below before taking everything apart?

Ken

Arfa,

Forgot to ask, in addition to difficult to access CD player mechanics are there some that are so poorly designed and made that it is not worth even taking them apart to clean and relube?

Ken

Have received a nonworking Sony model ICF-CD810 CD Clock Radio
( http://www.docs.sony.com/release/ICFCD810.PDF )to try to repair before advancing to anything more valuable.

Did some searching to find out if there were problems with the CD player but found nothing so far.

Did find this "SONY ICF-CD810 Reviews Its users give the SONY ICF-CD810 a very good score for its user-friendliness.They find it very reliable., Moreover, most of them share the same opinion If you have a problem, or need help, the Diplofix forum can help you choose between the SONY ICF-CD810 and another product. According to its users, it is very efficient., They nearly all agree on this point. On average they find that it is very good value for money"
http://clock-radio.diplo-best.com/review/SONY/ICF-CD810

Does anyone have any tips concerning the ICF-CD810 CD player or something similar?

Ken

"KenO" wrote in message
...
Have received a nonworking Sony model ICF-CD810 CD Clock Radio
( http://www.docs.sony.com/release/ICFCD810.PDF )to try to repair before
advancing to anything more valuable.

Did some searching to find out if there were problems with the CD player
but found nothing so far.

Did find this "SONY ICF-CD810 Reviews Its users give the SONY ICF-CD810 a
very good score for its user-friendliness.They find it very reliable.,
Moreover, most of them share the same opinion If you have a problem, or
need help, the Diplofix forum can help you choose between the SONY
ICF-CD810 and another product. According to its users, it is very
efficient., They nearly all agree on this point. On average they find that
it is very good value for money"
http://clock-radio.diplo-best.com/review/SONY/ICF-CD810

Does anyone have any tips concerning the ICF-CD810 CD player or something
similar?

Ken


To answer all your questions in one place. Generally, it's not possible to
tell if everything is either above or below the deck, except by experience.
You might assume that with top loaders, everything is below the deck, but
often, they use a conventional deck with most of the mech above, but then
cover it with a thin metal plate, which is the bit you see through the slot.
To service the gears ets on one of these, the deck would have to come out.
OTOH, if this deck type was fitted in a conventional drawer-type player,
then you may need only to open the tray to get at everything. Conversely, if
a deck with all the gears underneath is fitted to a top loader, it may be
possible to get to its underside without removing it. The reverse is true if
such a deck is fitted to a conventional drawer-type mech.

There actually aren't all that many basic deck mechanisms. Many different
manufacturers use decks from Sony, Sanyo, Panasonic / Technics and Philips.
Certainly, there are many others that might be encountered, but in general,
the vast majority of consumer CD players are covered by those few makes.
Probably no more than 12 or 15 deck / laser types total.

As to whether units are worth taking apart to repair, it's really not the
issue as to how cheap and nasty they are governing the deck that's fitted.
You are just as likely to find the exact same Sony deck and laser fitted to
a 30 quid Tesco-sonic (or Walmart-o-matic for leftpondians!) as might be
fitted to a 300 quid Teac. The issue is whether it's worth wasting the time
getting to the deck to see if a 'service' fixes it, bearing in mind that
such action will only get a (lasting) result in perhaps 50% of cases.

I really can't comment on whether or not it is worth it for you. If you are
attempting to learn, and whether or not the unit fixes is of no consequence,
then it probably *is* worth it for you. As a repairer who is in it to make a
living, that's not generally the case for me. There are occasional
exceptions where an item has sentimental value for an owner, and they are
prepared to pay an examination fee that they understand that they might
lose.

As to how to proceed on your Sony, you need to figure first what exactly is
happening (or not). Does it play at all ? If yes, does it have poor
'playability' i.e. sticks, skips, doesn't like some discs etc ? Does it
manage to get through all tracks if left alone, or will it not get past a
certain track ? Does it struggle more to play home-burns than commercially
pressed discs ? Much of the technique of fixing CD players, is down to an
accurate diagnosis, and one of your best workshop tools in this regard, is
the mk 1 eyeball. If you can be a bit more specific about the nature of the
problem that it has, I might be able to offer some more detailed pointers.

Arfa

"As to how to proceed on your Sony, you need to figure first what exactly is
happening (or not). Does it play at all ?" No It has some broken plastic parts, including the top loading hinge so the protection switch may not be operating.

Would like to find the service manual with illustrated parts list but have not yet.

Thought would be the easiest to disassemble without any instructions.

Thanks again for all your help!!!

Ken