Realigning the laser on DVD players (1 Viewer)

[Mark Leiter]

I have a couple of friends that have DVD players that seem to have mis-aligned lasers. You know symtom where one puts in a DVD and the player just keeps repeating that it is loading. It never actually does.

Given the fact that taking these players to a repair shop would cost more than a new player they were both going to just throw these players out. Since they are basicly junk and also my recent sucsess at repairing my own player.(this one had a DVD jammed in the drive unit) I thought i'd take a shot at repairing these.

Has anyone out there tackled this problem? Or know of some good links that could give me some good instruction? Is there a special tool that would need to be purchased?

Thanks all for your help.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Your best bet would be to possibly find a service manual for the models you are working with.

You may also look into possibly just replacing the lens assembly on them. Check the manufacturer's website and see if you can find the part no and see how much it would be to order a new one.

Or, you could try and befriend a technician who will give you a little info. Alot of them have started out at DIY'ers themselves and may be nice enough to order replacement parts for you at their dealer cost.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

I love trying to fix my own stuff. I just fixed my garage door opener the other week... only cost me $40 to replace the main gear and it should last me another 10 years!

 

[Michael R Price]

Mark,

I just fixed my 13 year old CD player which had quite similar problems. When you put in a CD, it would make a clicking noise and sort of start spinning the disk. It would try this a few times then declare no disc. The answer lied in cleaning off everything inside and then adjusting the focus offset servo. There are five principal adjustments inside the player: offset and gain for the tracking and focus servos, plus the PLL adjustment to correct the speed of rotation. Try all of them (being sure to know where they were set initially) and see what happens. A good source for information is at http://www.elextronika.com/electronics/f_cd_rep.htm (there are a few copies of this elsewhere, that one isn't what I remember). Go ahead and give it a shot.

 

[Mark Leiter]

Hey guys, thanks for the quick tips. This should give me a good starting point. I'm goin to be getting the first player this afternoon.

I feel like a kid again getting to tear something apart just to see. With a little luck i'll be able to get it back together again

 

[Grant B]

The service menu of my Sony DVP 7000 has a laser alignment menu item. They dont build them like that anymore but you might want to check