CD player repair.

[stairpost]

Hi,

Does anyone know of someone that could sort out a skipping Micromega stage 4 in the Bristol or Barry areas?

It's just starting to skip a little too often to put up with.

Cheers

Rich.

[walpurgis]

Have you cleaned the laser lens?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Multimedia-CD-DVD-Blu-Ray-Lens-Cleaner-CD-Disc-in-Jewel-Case-Fast-Shipping-/390757011558?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5afaeed066

[stairpost]

Have you cleaned the laser lens?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Multimedia-CD-DVD-Blu-Ray-Lens-Cleaner-CD-Disc-in-Jewel-Case-Fast-Shipping-/390757011558?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5afaeed066

I did pick one up but when i tried to use it the player wouldn't read it, i could try another one as they are pretty cheap though.

[walpurgis]

If you're feeling confident, you could pop the case off and clean the lens with a fine soft art brush. Don't use a wet cleaner though, it may contaminate the surface or worse, damage the coating.

[struth]

you could unplug it and take the top off. use the cleaning liquid on a cotton bud and manually clean the lens.

[DSJR]

By the way, the mechs' electronics aren't quite the same as the ubiquitous Marantz CD63-style type I remember, but in an emergency, the lasers may be the same possibly. Some years ago, it took six months to get a Stage something or other repaired and the expensive mechanism based parts had to come from France I remember.

[AlexM]

There is a CDM12.4 mechanism complete, new on eBay for about $50+11$ shipping right now as a buy-it-now. I replaced the mechanism on my old stage 1 a few years ago, and it is an easy DIY job if you are careful..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Philips-CDM12-4-mechanism-Micromega-CLASSE-/251272713264

[AlexM]

Better still, here is a new CDM 12.4 replacement mechanism in the UK for £15!

http://www.donberg.co.uk/catalogue/laser_units_cd_dvd/cdm_12.4.html

[stairpost]

Thanks for the useful advice and links, I think I shall give cleaning the lens a try, if it all goes horribly wrong at least I know I can get replacement parts.

I shall still need a more competant pair of hands though if it comes to a replacement , but for now at least I have a step 1 to try.

Cheers

Rich.

[lovejoy]

I used to have a Micromega Drive transport which suffered the same problems after a few years.

Having taken the lid off it turned out to be the grease that helped the laser track smoothly over the rails had dried out so the laser was either sticking or jumping. I cleaned the rails down to get rid of all the grease and re-greased using Teflon grease which you can buy from any good cycling shop. Worked a treat and it didn't skip again after that.

[AlexM]

Does the Stage 4,5,6 use the CDM12.4, or something else such as the CDM12.2?

I tried cleaning and re-greasing my previous laser sled, but no joy...

[sumday]

i had a skipping issue with my roksan cd player a few months back and tried the cd cleaner type but to no avail.

popped the lid and had a looksee. all the cd type cleaner had done is move the dusty gunk about and left some on the lens.
to clean using alcohol and cotton buds I had to power the machine up and open the tray to allow access....avoiding looking at the lens!!!
turning off the power with the tray out made the cleaning much safer.

I advise a SMALL amount of liquid and a gentle touch...twizzle the bud as you wipe the lens and do not scrub....repeat a couple of times to be sure.

my player is now skip free.

NIGE.

[Audio Advent]

I'm sure I've read it recommended to be careful with those lens cleaning discs - that by moving dust around at the spinning speed of a CD, there is risk to causing light scratches to the lens itself or perhaps the coating on the lens. Better in my view to do it by hand.

[Clive197]

Perhaps it's not the laser. A little tip I used with great success.

Get a CD with a long playing time approx 70-79 minutes and put it in the player. After the TOC is read you will see how many tracks are on the CD I.e. 12 tracks. Start cd playing track 1 after a few seconds jump to the last track and play for a few seconds then jump to a middle track and play for a few seconds, repeat this operation for about 5 or 6 minutes.

What you are doing is cleaning the laser sled through it entire length.

Of coarse I can't guarantee this will work in your case but I know a number of people that this has worked for.

So what have you got to lose other than 5 or 6 minutes of your life.