REPAIR GUIDE - TG16 CD/PCE CD laser swap guide (pictorial)

[Ripthorn]

EDIT: Sorry, double post + wrong thread 

[graffias79]

I keep scouring thrift stores when I get the chance trying to harvest KSS' and HOP-M3s. 

[secnine]

I recently rolled the dice on an as-is a US tg-16 with cdrom, it powers on, PC,  all LEDs work, runs the hue card, detects lid opening , and the gear seems to operate smoothly, but no disc spin, it appears to be a KS220A from what i can tell, i was totally surprised it even powers on , being manufactured in january 1990 , when i was just 5 years old , so i still think i got a good deal considering the base system still plays hucards fine including the carry case and r-type..

I found a classified add on ebay offering repair including Replacement of lens gears, capacitors, lens motor replacement, broken wiring or connections, and potentiometer adjustment.  - $55  USD  An extra $25 will be added if you need a replacement CD lens.

for $80 + you pay shipping there and back... , compared to what other people would pay or offer do you think this is a fair price(with ebay fees of course)  + you handling shipping to and from?

Wouldn't you replace the lens and motor would all be one unit ? ..

~ let me know what you guys think.. or if there's any counter offers, id be interested to hear from the experts if this is fair.

+ctophil , did you find any US seller ? i can try this out service out and see what happens..

[thesteve]

a few things
odds are that ebay repair service is keith courage on here (without the ebay fees)
the drive has 2 motors and the laser unit all separate.
cd drive start order needs to be checked
open lid
no disc
use something to hold the lid switch (tooth pick)
press play
laser sled should move to center then the lens should bob
laser should be visible on lens
if the sled doesnt move its most likely the gear stuck/broken (motor failure second possible)
the system will stop and wait for each step to occur before moving on to the next

[secnine]

thanks steve, always helpful, yea i get nothing , no sled move , no laser light , no movement..

that is great news to hear its a community member, im a lil more confident now..

[ctophil]

+ctophil , did you find any US seller ? i can try this out service out and see what happens..

I didn't find a U.S. seller, but I was able to salvage a laser from a good condition Sony Discman for my Turbografx-CD Unit.  It's working great now.

I had a separate thread about my laser repair adventures here if you want to read it. 
:-)   https://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=17740.0

[maverick1978]

<snip> moved to separate thread

[hardgb]

I'm having trouble with my CD-ROM2 drive. I managed to make the change with the gears (before there were 3 gears and now has only two gears) but when I connect the drive, the laser down and does not return. And so the CD does not rotate, can anyone help me? Please
Note: Forgive me, my English is horrible.

[falz]

My US Duo now has issues reading burned discs. A few months ago I could use general newer crappy CD-Rs but they had minor issues - the disc read/head moving seemed louder than with a 'real' disc, and the background music wouldnt repeat. After not much time, it just wouldnt load those at all any more (black screen).

It was suggested that I try better discs, so I bought "CMC Pro TY Technology" and the first two I burned worked great at first. I got several stages in to Rondo of Blood for example. However, when  went to quit/save game I just got a black screen. Attempts to load that burned disc didnt work after that at all.

I placed an order for a HOP-M3 from some random ebay seller, which I presume is some chinese knockoff. Anyone have success stories with those reading burned discs vs the original pickups? Are they better/worse or just a crapshoot?

Curious if I should even bother attempting to adjust POTS on the current original system OR just swap in the new laser when it arrives.

[farankoshan]

Hi! Just noticed... are the photos hosted on photobucket? Does this mean to be able to view the photos, we need to pay USD$10 with photobucket?

Just wanted to make sure my browser wasn't screwing up.

[BlackandBlue]

Hi! Just noticed... are the photos hosted on photobucket? Does this mean to be able to view the photos, we need to pay USD$10 with photobucket?

Just wanted to make sure my browser wasn't screwing up.

I'll see if I can move them somewhere else. Didn't realize they limited their usage.

[BlackandBlue]

I moved the photos from photobucket to google photos.  If they don't work, let me know.  If they go down in the future, that means Google has gone under and it will be too late for us all at that point.