Bel Canto CD-2 problem

[Matt F]

I hoping someone - Mr C perhaps - can help.

Have owned a CD-2 for a couple of years and it's been working fine. This evening I popped a CD on - switched it on, it span as normal but then came to a sudden halt with a bit of a clunk and '- - - -' appeared and remains in the display window. Normally it shows that while it is spinning and then returns the number of tracks on the CD before coming to a gentle stop. I can't put it back into stand-by. If I removed the power lead and then replace it, it is in stand-by mode but when I power it up it shows the software version, then the four dashes come up but it doesn't spin at all.

This seems to be a transport issue i.e. it's not spinning at all. Any ideas on what the problem may be and, crucially, how much it is going to cost to put right?

Many thanks,

Matt

[nonuffin]

The very first things I would do is crack the lid off and check the loading cycle is fully completed and the motor his actually spinning the disc. If it is then manually clean the laser lens and the guide rails as it seems that the TOC tracks are not being read, hence the 4 dashes in the display.

The loading mechanism has to close one or more switches to tell if the loading cycle is complete. A small ball of fluff will do that. Unless the switches are closed the motor will not fire up.

If the laser moves back towards the disc to read the inner TOC tracks and you can hear or see the laser moving up and down to focus, this tells you the laser is actually working. It should be cleaned with Isopropyl Alcohol as a matter or course while you have the lid off anyway.

Check the laser sled moves freely and smoothly, especially near the inner tracks of the disc, on the slider bars with the power off. Old grease should be removed with Isopropyl Alcohol and ensure there are no rings of collected fluff at each end of travel.

[Matt F]

Many thanks for the advice :)

[ovlov854]

Perhaps better to use diluted isopropyl rather than neat for the laser
Use neat for the guide rails but then you may need some silicone lube on the rails

[Filterlab]

Perhaps better to use diluted isopropyl rather than neat for the laser

Definitely. Most laser lenses are acrylic now rather than glass. Be gentle on the lens.

[walpurgis]

A lot of lenses are coated. Does this apply to laser lenses and is alcohol safe to use?

[struth]

be inclined to just wipe more modern ones with a moist bit of soft cloth. older ones were glass and thus iso was ok

[hifinutt]

hope you get it sorted , if not Hubert at Loud and clear is the accreddited bel canto repair agent and extremely reasonable

http://loud-clear.co.uk/edinburgh/service-repair-and-upgrade/

[dowser]

Slightly damp cotton bud for cleaning lens, unlikely to be that though. Don’t forget a PSU rail failure could also be cause, but then you need to identify the laser type in your player and research the proper start up sequence for it. Then you’re more likely to identify if mechanical or electrical. A picture Of internals would probably help

[Matt F]

Thanks for all your help chaps. I'm going to send it down to Tony at Coherent Systems so he can open it up and take a look. I will report back.

[Matt F]

As promised, here's what went wrong: drive mechanism and main motor shorted and ceased plus that also took out some of the components on the servo drive board. So we'd need a total new mechanism and board package to fix it. A drive mechanism alone is $800-850 plus import tax and delivery, then there would be the board and the cost of labour. In short it's a write off so I've sourced a CD3t to replace it. Shame but I guess that's always the risk with buying a used CD player that was probably at least 10 years old.