27-08-2012, 07:16 PM
These may not yet be considered vintage, but there are a lot around and most of them work without any problems. So when a local estate near me planned to do a 4 day RSL each year, a couple of these players should do the job, along with a computer or two.
Here in Bolton, we now have a radio station that calls itself a Community Station, but I was kicked out for being disabled! They went a stage further last year when they gave these kids 2 faulty CD players and only changed them on the eve of the broadcast. When the same two CD players appeared this year, from this so-called Community Station, I pulled rank on the girls that ran this 4 day event, which the kids love, and brought these two CD players home to have a look.
On a Radio Station, the ability to choose one track of a CD is important so the knob which these players have to do this is pretty important. It didn't work on either one!
I thought they just needed a quick spray of Switch Cleaner, but neither of them responded. This was, I found when I opened them up, due to them having been dropped and in one case, the PCB broken. Now, when this happens, some or all of the keys stop working because they are all fed to a processor chip via a resistive network. At the end of it, in this case, is the knob in question, which is not a knob but two switches in a knob like case, with the earth in the middle.
So, out I came with the meter and we traced it through. The print to the knob was open circuit as I could see by the cracks on the board. So I glued the boards together as best I could and gave them time to set. Then, I got some wire and repaired the boards.
Now with the boards resoldered, the next job was to get the CD players back together again, which was not as easy as it sounded. Getting these apart was interesting, but getting them together with one hand was even more fun. First, the PCB had to go back in it's place and be screwed back in place. I then tested the knob again to be sure.
Then fit and screw the front back onto the unit – correctly. After a number of tries and a few swear words, they were in place and screwed back down. With these, you need to take the Sony Cover of the CD Caddy, and putting that back was equally bad fun.
So now we have 2 working CD players here and as I type this, one is playing the best of Credence Clearwater Revival as I give them a last play of something decent before they go and play stuff like Jessie Gaga or whoever the kids like this week
The invoice should sort the men from the boys when they go back to that community station...
Cheers,
Steve P.
Here in Bolton, we now have a radio station that calls itself a Community Station, but I was kicked out for being disabled! They went a stage further last year when they gave these kids 2 faulty CD players and only changed them on the eve of the broadcast. When the same two CD players appeared this year, from this so-called Community Station, I pulled rank on the girls that ran this 4 day event, which the kids love, and brought these two CD players home to have a look.
On a Radio Station, the ability to choose one track of a CD is important so the knob which these players have to do this is pretty important. It didn't work on either one!
I thought they just needed a quick spray of Switch Cleaner, but neither of them responded. This was, I found when I opened them up, due to them having been dropped and in one case, the PCB broken. Now, when this happens, some or all of the keys stop working because they are all fed to a processor chip via a resistive network. At the end of it, in this case, is the knob in question, which is not a knob but two switches in a knob like case, with the earth in the middle.
So, out I came with the meter and we traced it through. The print to the knob was open circuit as I could see by the cracks on the board. So I glued the boards together as best I could and gave them time to set. Then, I got some wire and repaired the boards.
Now with the boards resoldered, the next job was to get the CD players back together again, which was not as easy as it sounded. Getting these apart was interesting, but getting them together with one hand was even more fun. First, the PCB had to go back in it's place and be screwed back in place. I then tested the knob again to be sure.
Then fit and screw the front back onto the unit – correctly. After a number of tries and a few swear words, they were in place and screwed back down. With these, you need to take the Sony Cover of the CD Caddy, and putting that back was equally bad fun.
So now we have 2 working CD players here and as I type this, one is playing the best of Credence Clearwater Revival as I give them a last play of something decent before they go and play stuff like Jessie Gaga or whoever the kids like this week
The invoice should sort the men from the boys when they go back to that community station...
Cheers,
Steve P.
If we've always had that, why is the car boot open? You aren't smuggling in another old TV are you...?
