Help! Weird LD player problem (1 Viewer)

[AnitaPeterson]

Hi,
As some of you may remember, I bought a few days ago a used LD player. Today, i discovered a very weird problem with it.
It won't play certain discs - when inserted, the player display shows "no disc".
I first thought that it's a question of mastering (i.e. not playing LDs from a certain manufacturer.) However, that was not the case. It will play some Image discs, but not others. It will play some CBF/FOX, or Warner discs, but not others. It will play my Embassy Pictures edition of "Blade Runner", but not the Criterion laserdisc.
However, on the other hand, the reading is stable. In other words, if it can see one LD, it will keep seeing that LD every time I insert it, even after trying (unsuccessfully) to play other discs.
What can be causing this?
I must confess I'm baffled.
Could it be a dirty sensor?
Could it be something more serious?
At this point, the player sees about half of my LDs (I tried them all!) and won't recognize the rest.
Are there any torture tests that would be useful in determining what's wrong with it?
Buying the machine was a bit of agamble, since I only paid CDN $50 on it, but I can't take it back to the shop.
So any suggestion you might have is more than welcome. I'm not squeamish about opening the case, if needed, although I'd rather not go through elaborate soldering or God knows what.
If you can help, please do so.
Thanks

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Anyone?

 

[Elbert Lee]

That's a very strange problem. Looks like a laser pickup problem. LD are not like dvds. I've never encountered this problem with my previous players or discs. You may want to obtain some warranty service on the unit.
Elbert

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Nope, no warranty service. I got the player from a pawnshop (they thought it's a CD changer!), but I have no warranty.
So all I can do (unless I find some good service in my area that won't cost an arm and a leg) is to open the machine and try to clean/repair it myself.

 

[Marty Neudel]

Anita,
you might want to check the unrecognized discs on another player to be sure they are not the cause of your problem.
Marty

 

[Rachael B]

Anita, I got a CLD-990 a long time ago. It did the same thing as your's after it got to be abou 2 years old. Actually I got the player new at Walmart. I used it for about 6 weeks and sold it to my dad. I wanted a player with better sound and got a CLD-52.
Anyway, our 990 played a higher percentage of sides than your's, but it would piss you off and refuse a side here and there. It wouldn't play either side of REPOSSESED as I recall, which I tried in a bunch of other players without a glitch. My parent's gave it away to a friend to use as a CD player after two different shops couldn't do much with it. One technican told me it was a lousy design. Remember it was a budjet model.
I suggest that you shouldn't spend 10 cents trying to repair the player. It's a mediocre player from one of Pioneer's not-so-hot model years and very old. Cut your losses and look for a newer player, me thinks. Best wishes!
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Rachael, the big disc cat! "...in a democracy it don't matter how stupid you are you stille get an equal share..."
I survived the AFI top 100 Film Challenge! I've seen them all.