turbo duo repair

[chop5]

My turbo duo repair saga is over.

I finally had some time yesterday to transfer the laser i got from the cd unit to my duo. Heres a pic of the cd players mechanism,bottom view:

(The spindle motor is the same size as the duo's but the length of the shaft is longer so its useless. And the connectors are wider on the other end connecting to the cd players mother board so they wont connect to a duo but I'm sure a transplant can be made in the future if needed.)

First before putting the new laser in my duo i put in the duo's old laser in the cd player. The laser would move,light up but wouldn't read cd's. I cleaned the lens and nothing.

So i installed the cd units laser in my duo and powered it up with dracula X. I heard a rubbing sound and turned it off immediately. I was afraid it was the laser but it was the top half of the spindle connector. So i powered it on and ignored the noise and the game started right away. I played for an hour.

All this time i thought it was the gear motor or sled motor and it was just acting against a faulty laser. No wonder the cog started rubbing at it. Looking around the net for info i learned that the sled motor in cd players almost never gives out. That the spindle motor will go out before a sled motor.

Then i realized why didn't i put the laser i had bought from electronix.com in it in the first place before putting it in my other duo. I could of saved me months of searching and stuff. I'm an idiot.

So i took a swab and put a tiny bit of 4 in 1 oil on it then swabbed in one area on the side of the top spindle connector. Just dabbed in one spot very fast with a minuscule amount of oil. The rubbing noise was gone.

Now i decided to see if i can fix the plastic cd laser cover. Man that took a while to adjust just right. I noticed it would rub against the spindle. So i put one finger on the spindle and another on the sled motor and moved the laser around adjusting the laser cover till there was absolutely no rubbing.
I played an hour with the cd laser cover on with no problems.

So my friends its the end of this thread. Thanks for your help. Both duo's are functioning and one with its laser cover. The other duo didn't have a laser cover but i would like one just to see it complete.
I still would like 2 more hop-m3's and mechanisms just in case for future breakdowns so il still search thrift stores for old cd players. IL update the cd player list as i find them. Maybe even give away any extra lasers i find down the way cause cd players are cheap and plentiful in the chicago area.

Now i can post in other threads now that i have free time yay and play many duo games to talk about.

[termis]

Thanks for sharing the info.  I'm sure they'll be people (including me) who'll be able to use this info wisely for the future.

[chop5]

Ok this is the last thread But im stoked about my newest find.

I found this cd player at another salvation army for $7: Hitachi DA-C501
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Pictures0100.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Pictures0090.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Pictures0060.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Pictures0040.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Pictures0070.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Picturesses004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Picturesses003.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Picturesses002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/Picturesses001.jpg

And it has identical laser and mechanism as a turbo duo. Same dimensions and everything. And when i look on the sides it has the same cog,sled motor,screw holes,etc and serial numbers on the base of the mechanism like the duo's. I can remove this and place it in a duo easily.
Now my saga is truly over now that i have a spare mechanism without shelling lots of money to china and other places.


Heres some pointers for those of you seeking old cd players at thrift shops:

Check the back for the year first that it was made. Between 1989 and 1995 HOP-M3 lasers were used in many cd players. Don't bother with looking at Sony and jvc cd players from that time period cause they manufacture there own lasers.
Try and plug in the unit at the store and open the cd tray. Take a small flashlight or look in the store for a small table lamp and look inside to see the familiar box shape of the HOP-M3 laser. It is visable in most players and the cd tray has a huge gap in the middle of it to accommodate it so that is also a sign there might be a HOP-M3 in it.
Not all cd players have a manufacturing date or the label came off with age so if it looks old and not recent technology then peek inside through the open cd tray with flashlight.
And if you can take a cd and play it. Even if all the player has are plugs it will display tracks and indicate its playing on the display. If it does its a keeper.



I also discovered something disturbing. I was at one thrift store as it was closing and they were going through aisle's dumping stuff on the floor that they couldn't sell. I heard workers saying it was all going to the back. That store had an exposed dock area like a old post office and there was a some dumpsters back there. A smaller one and a larger one. The smaller one was one of those grinder ones that destroys and compacts stuff. I thought thrift stores keep stuff till it sells but they destroy it and send it to the dump after a while. So who knows how many good cd players they've disposed of over the years and games and possibly turbo grafx16's and turbo duo's!

[ASSEMbler]

I'm arranging production and delivery of 200 units of HOP-M3.
If it works out, I'll post an update.

[chop5]

Cool. Are they newly manufactured by another company or new old stock from hitachi? Im curious

[ASSEMbler]

Well, the units are newly made.

However, I have to buy 200 units, and they only ship DHL. So the shipping alone is $270.

I would love to order them, but I am starting to think demand is so slow it's not worth it.

If I could get 50 or even 100 people interested, I would be willing to
foot the expense. The lasers would wind up sub $20.

Unfortunately with the currency conversion, the US dollar isn't so strong anymore.
They would however, be inline with the $18-20 price of the previous ones bought.

Let me know what you think.

[FM-77]

Sounds like a not so great idea, as you can already buy these laser units at electronix.com for $20 each. Too bad they rip you off on the shipping unless you live in USA.

[ASSEMbler]

Pretty much what I thought as well.

The per unit cost was appx $13.

[chop5]

Can you get the mechanism made with the laser. A exact mechanism with or without wires might increase demand. And youd be the only one with them.

[guyjin]

I recently had a minor panic that came to a successful conclusion.

One night last week, was playing Gate of Thunder, then went to bed. Got up the next morning to play some more, but it wouldn't run; eventually discovered the lens had gotten stuck close to the spindle.

I didn't have the neccesary bit to open it, so I ordered one from the nintendo repair shop. Just in case, I also got the Hop-m3 part from electronix. (it's back in stock, incidentally, if you've been waiting for one.)

turned out I didn't need it; i just jogged the twister on the motor and it runs fine now. (though I'm concerned for it's long term health, since I touched the thing with my bare fingers and took a lot of grease off, and probably put some dirt on)

I still have the hop-m3, just in case I need it one day. (it seems to be the same one depicted on TF's page.)
Incidentally, if any of you europeans on this board need one, PM me, and I'll send it to you at cost.

[guyjin]

  the hell? the lens is right back in the freakin' center again. Before I take the damn thing apart again, Is there anything I can do to stop this from happening?

[Turbo D]

I don't know if it will work or now, but maybe try lubing up those two bars that the lazer slides on and the lube the gears as well. Just a suggestion though, hope you can fix your  problem 

[nat]

Can't you just push the laser assembly away from the spindle on it's track? Shouldn't need to take anything apart to do that.

The lasers in my various systems will sometimes end up "stuck" in odd places and I can usually just move them with my finger.

[guyjin]

I tried that before I got the bit - wouldn't budge. Haven't tried this time, but I'm guessing the results will be the same.

incidentally, the game I was playing before the laser went to center was Gate of Thunder, both times. Maybe I should avoid playing that for a while and see what happens.

[nat]

I tried that before I got the bit - wouldn't budge.

Strange. Never had one get so stuck it would "freeze" in place.