TG-16 CD - Does Not Spin

[Black Tiger]

TG16 CD/PCE CDROM2
diagnosis...
step 1 does it power on (yes=continue)
2 move the laser to the center of track.
with lid open and lid switch pressed power on (press play)
laser should move to center (gears), light up dimly red (laser diode), bob up and down slowly (focus search circuit).

I have a TurboDuo which successfully does all of this, the disc just doesn't spin.

I ordered a TG16 briefcase unit off of ebay a little while ago, but never got around to playing with it until today.  Once I had the unit hooked up and I was ready to go, there was no spinning of the disc.  Unfortunately I assume this is the gear issue?

According to the ebay auction:  "A friend of mine still had cd games and tested it with 3 games and they all loaded and played. I hope this help Thanks Jay."  Could I possibly be doing something wrong?  I have never used anything except my Duo or LA before, so perhaps I am not putting the system together correctly?  When I hit run at the menu screen, it says "please wait a moment," but nothing occurs with the disc.  It says "PC" in red lights on the actual disc unit.

When I unplugged the unit from the base, it said "0" in red lights.  I put a disc in it and hit play, still no spin.

Since the auction states "no returns," I am probably stuck with this thing.  Any help would be great.  Also, to any of you gear guys, what would it cost me to get the repair done if this is in case the issue?

P.S. - Don't buy from muzknt on ebay.  Not only does my item appear to not work, but the system was shipped to me in its original box.  There are now a bunch of UPS stickers and tape on the system's box that will never come off.  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110855005807 is the auction.

You shouldn't have a problem getting a refund from PayPal. The seller didn't ship you what was advertised: a working system and the box as pictured. If they won't accept one as a failure to deliver what was promised, the other should count.

[FiftyQuid]

Yes, you physically drag the laser to the middle.

Ah, thanks.  Okay I'll try this and let you know what happens.

[thesteve]

dont drag a duo laser ever

[FiftyQuid]

How much force do I have to use?  I'm worried about busting something.  Should there be much resistance?

[ApolloBoy]

EDIT: NM, I seem to be scatterbrained today

[thesteve]

lol
the cdrom should move easily
the duo is hard geared and will break if moved (all gears in place)

[FiftyQuid]

lol
the cdrom should move easily
the duo is hard geared and will break if moved (all gears in place)

Well I wouldn't say it moves easily, but it wasn't exactly difficult either.  Then I plugged in the unit, opened the lid, pressed the lid switch and pressed play.  The laser did not move, but I heard it try.  The laser did light up red, but I didn't see it focus.  Maybe your eyes are better than mine are.

I started following BlackandBlue's laser replacement guide.  I am able to see all the capacitors, gears and, ... well all the guts.  The capacitors all look fine.  No leakage, no swollen tops, and for something that is 20+ years old it's actually very clean inside.  If I look at the gears it's plainly obvious that the center gear is a different colour.  The outer two are your typical white, but the middle one is an ugly yellow.  The outer ring of the yellowed gear looks fine.  All the teeth are still there, but the inner ring (smaller) that turns the spindle to move the laser looks like all the teeth have been shortened.  I don't see any little bits of gear anywhere in the housing though.  I took my precision screw driver and poked at one of the teeth on the outer gear and it broke off without any pressure.

So you guys are correct about the gears.  What's the best way forward now?  Should I bother with a complete laser replacement or just buy a gear off Keith Courage?

[thesteve]

the laser wont come with gears
keith or chop have gear kits

[FiftyQuid]

Thanks the steve.  I'll send Keith a PM.

BTW, how do I remove the middle gear?  It looks like it's on there with some sort of u clip, but it's so small I'm not positive.

[thesteve]

you are correct
the chop kit has instructions for removal.
I expect the keith kit does as well.
the chop kit uses a 3 gear system (like the original)
the keith kit eliminates the middle gear, but requires the motor wires swapped

[FiftyQuid]

you are correct
the chop kit has instructions for removal.
I expect the keith kit does as well.
the chop kit uses a 3 gear system (like the original)
the keith kit eliminates the middle gear, but requires the motor wires swapped

I'm going to go ahead with the Keith Kit.  It seems like the simplest option.  Thanks for the help thesteve and everyone else.

[grimp]

hey BLUEBMW , i tried to message you a couple of times but i dont think it went though . Id lik to hire you to refurb my turbo cd unit . my e-mail is grimproducer@yahoo.com if you cant get ahold of me on here .

[BlueBMW]

PM replied to