The mystery of my damaged duo! -- Mystery Solved!

[ShadowStitch]

If it's okay with everyone, I'd like to play a little game called, "What's wrong with my Duo?"
...think of it as a slightly less entertaining "Sherlock Holmes."

See, a few years ago someone gave me a broken Turboduo.  It was missing the hucard slot cover and pretty scratched up, but it was a DUO, y'know? The EPITOME of gaming acquisitions. Ever optimistic, I ponied up the cash for a brand new gamepad, AC adapter, and AV cable from TZD, and quickly learned the following facts:

The system turns on and displays a beautiful, crisp video signal.
It plays Hucards perfectly.
The sound is great.
The System Card screen is present and seems to behave as expected.
However, the CD-Rom half does not seem to function.

THEREIN LIES THE RUB.

I put in an original TG-16 CD (the only one I own) with no result.
No motor drive, no spinning up of the CD, nothing.
I put in a CD-r of Dracula X, also with no result.

If I put in a disc with the lid open and press the door sensor with a pen, the spindle will spin madly -- but without the top half of the spindle from the lid to hold the disc in place, it doesn't get to spin the disc. The laser unit does not move. When I close the lid and try this again, the spindle either does not or cannot spin.

I took it apart (having the gamebits and a healthy disregard for the sanctity of system integrity) and proceeded to watch what the laser unit did when I depressed the lid sensor.

I can see that the laser eye itself lights up, and at the time, the laser unit was all the way against the right side of the rails. I followed the instructions online thinking it might have gotten locked there: I rotated the motor gear until the laser unit was all the way to the left, put the lid back on, and tried both discs again.  There was still no result.

Which leaves me where I am now. Puzzled and out of ideas.

I am not well versed in the repair of TurboDuos, and this little beast has sat in a box in the back of my closet for some time, waiting for the day when the internet might provide the knowledge necessary to resurrect it.

If anyone has any suggestions, or wishes me to try something and report back, I'm all ears. I'm no stranger to meddling in the guts of my systems, and I'm not squeamish about trying outlandish repair ideas.

Many thanks, from me and my crippled Duo!

[takashirose]

I can not help you on this, but others could.  I believe there is someone by the name of D-lite or something like that.  There are other topics elsewhere on this forum about Duo repairs.  Check them out by subject name.  By the way how much did the Turbo Duo cost you?  Did it come with cables or you had to buy extras.

[ShadowStitch]

I can not help you on this, but others could.  I believe there is someone by the name of D-lite or something like that.  There are other topics elsewhere on this forum about Duo repairs.  Check them out by subject name.

I've been reading the forums and scouring the web, believe me...technical documents and repair info on the Duo is shockingly sparse.

By the way how much did the Turbo Duo cost you?  Did it come with cables or you had to buy extras.

I didn't buy it, someone gave it to me, broken, without any hookups. Free Duo =  I didn't so much mind dropping a couple bucks for brand new cables and such. But for the moment, it's just a crippled TG-16.

[Black Tiger]

I had an identical condition PCE Duo a year or so ago. I never even tried to fix it, since I have other Duo's for CD games.

If I were you, I'd just appreciate it as a cool looking compact TG-16 + Turbo Booster Plus(A/V out + game saving).

If you really want to play CD games, PC Engine Duo's are dirt cheap now.

[SignOfZeta]

Well if the laser seems to come alive, but it won't spin up the disc to full speed and read it, then I'd say the CDROM is junk.

The outward condition of the machine is probably a clue to how it has been treated. Duos, and PCE in general are kind of "high end", especially for gaijin, so finding one trashed is pretty rare. It probably just got dropped a few hundred too many times.

Amazingly, the CDROMs can still be repaired. Buy this:

http://www.electronix.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_23/products_id/14472

You have to do a bit of messing around to get it installed, but the price is pretty great, IMO.

[ShadowStitch]

I had an identical condition PCE Duo a year or so ago. I never even tried to fix it, since I have other Duo's for CD games.

If I were you, I'd just appreciate it as a cool looking compact TG-16 + Turbo Booster Plus(A/V out + game saving).

If you really want to play CD games, PC Engine Duo's are dirt cheap now.

I know I could always forsake the little guy and get another one, but I'm just the type to root for the underdog and keep plugging away at a dead system until I resuscitate it. It's my hope that SOMEONE out there knows what the problem is, or can shed some light on possibilities.

I'm hesitant to buy a replacement laser unit yet because I don't know that it is the real problem.

[ShadowStitch]

Well if the laser seems to come alive, but it won't spin up the disc to full speed and read it, then I'd say the CDROM is junk.

The outward condition of the machine is probably a clue to how it has been treated. Duos, and PCE in general are kind of "high end", especially for gaijin, so finding one trashed is pretty rare. It probably just got dropped a few hundred too many times.

It's definitely seen better days, but after a good cleaning and de-dusting, it looks like it might have another lease on life. I haven't seen any dents or anything that would indicate significant trauma, but yeah, the hucard cover is long gone, and the top of the thing has a nasty scrape on it, like someone slid it across a concrete floor. :\

Amazingly, the CDROMs can still be repaired. Buy this:

http://www.electronix.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_23/products_id/14472

You have to do a bit of messing around to get it installed, but the price is pretty great, IMO.

I'm sure I could buy one and shoehorn it into the system, but do you think that is really the solution? I haven't seen it even spin up a disc and try to read it yet, though I know the spindle seems to be spinning... I'm not even sure what the problem could be, myself. Even if the laser is dead, wouldn't it spin the disc? Or is the laser tray function directly tied to the spindle action? I do not know the answer to these questions.

...though if I can't eventually come up with anything better, I might buy the laser you linked to, and try that.

[TR0N]

Bump for another place that fix's TG16.

http://www.oldschoolgamer.com

[Black Tiger]

Well if the laser seems to come alive, but it won't spin up the disc to full speed and read it, then I'd say the CDROM is junk.

The outward condition of the machine is probably a clue to how it has been treated. Duos, and PCE in general are kind of "high end", especially for gaijin, so finding one trashed is pretty rare. It probably just got dropped a few hundred too many times.

It's definitely seen better days, but after a good cleaning and de-dusting, it looks like it might have another lease on life. I haven't seen any dents or anything that would indicate significant trauma, but yeah, the hucard cover is long gone, and the top of the thing has a nasty scrape on it, like someone slid it across a concrete floor. :\

Amazingly, the CDROMs can still be repaired. Buy this:

http://www.electronix.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_23/products_id/14472

You have to do a bit of messing around to get it installed, but the price is pretty great, IMO.

I'm sure I could buy one and shoehorn it into the system, but do you think that is really the solution? I haven't seen it even spin up a disc and try to read it yet, though I know the spindle seems to be spinning... I'm not even sure what the problem could be, myself. Even if the laser is dead, wouldn't it spin the disc? Or is the laser tray function directly tied to the spindle action? I do not know the answer to these questions.

...though if I can't eventually come up with anything better, I might buy the laser you linked to, and try that.

Yeah, the lens won't do you any good if the disc aren't spinning first.

The Duo which I replaced the lens for still spun discs properly, it just made weird reading sounds and wouldn't load.

[SignOfZeta]

I'm sure I could buy one and shoehorn it into the system, but do you think that is really the solution? I haven't seen it even spin up a disc and try to read it yet, though I know the spindle seems to be spinning... I'm not even sure what the problem could be, myself. Even if the laser is dead, wouldn't it spin the disc? Or is the laser tray function directly tied to the spindle action? I do not know the answer to these questions.

Well, the way a CDROM usually works is the laser tries to see if the CD is present, then it spins up the disk and starts reading from it. If it can't see the presence of the disk, it won't spin it up.

Try this with a known good top loading CD player: Open the door, push the door button down, and watch the drive while pushing Play (no CD in player). The disk will try to focus (moves up and down) on the CD, and the drive will just spin in spurts, never actually getting "into gear", or whatever.

Either way, if its the spindle, or the laser, they are the same component as far as repair is concerned. The only other thing that could be wrong is an IC, or a wire, and those are far less likely to be the problem.

[ShadowStitch]

Well, the way a CDROM usually works is the laser tries to see if the CD is present, then it spins up the disk and starts reading from it. If it can't see the presence of the disk, it won't spin it up.

Either way, if its the spindle, or the laser, they are the same component as far as repair is concerned. The only other thing that could be wrong is an IC, or a wire, and those are far less likely to be the problem.

You speak sense, kemosabe. You've sold me on the idea; I'm willing to spend 20$ to see if it will fix my beloved orphaned Duo...and if not...well then, perhaps I can interest someone on the boards in a cut-rate 'slightly used' replacement laser unit.  

[ShadowStitch]

Ohhh boy... do I feel dumb.

so yes, last time I posted, I had resolved to buy a new laser pickup. It was over a year before I decided I would blow the 20$ on the part. It arrived today, so I went ahead with the operation.

Let me say that I've eaten meals more complex than this procedure. It's basically sliding the old laser off, undoing two cables, putting the new laser on, and reconnecting the cables. Not a big thing at all.

However, the result was exactly the same. The motor whirred, the disc didn't move. Spurred by the knowledge that the laser unit itself was brand new and the accumulated experience of dealing with finicky DVD-Roms for the last few years, I decided I would take another shot at troubleshooting. I checked connections, checked motors, and noticed that while the spindle was moving, the disc wasn't. I held the system up level, and there it was: The plastic of the removable cd-tray bit (the part you have to remove in order to swap out laser pickups) was higher than the cd spindle itself.  The whirring noise was the motor spinning but never actually physically touching the disc.

I removed the offending and un-necessary part of the tray, and tested it again. SUCCESS!

However, a nagging doubt remained. Now that I KNEW the laser wasn't the problem...was the old laser perfectly okay all along?

I swapped them back out, and sure enough...it worked perfectly. The whole time, the problem had been a simple warped piece of plastic tray that I could have removed at any time, had I been aware that it was in fact removable. Now I feel like a goob, BUT a goob who finally owns a working Turboduo.

[Keranu]

Operation successful! Congratulations!

[Ninja Spirit]

I think you have inspired me to do some further investigation myself. I have a Duo-R with a misbehavin' CD laser. I hear the disc start to spin, but then it says "Please set disc". BTW how much is the shipping on that HOP-M3?

[ShadowStitch]

I think you have inspired me to do some further investigation myself. I have a Duo-R with a misbehavin' CD laser. I hear the disc start to spin, but then it says "Please set disc". BTW how much is the shipping on that HOP-M3?

I don't know if this laser will fit a Duo-R, but I ordered mine from Electronix Online. Shipped to Tennessee, the cost was 6.30 by Priority mail, making the total 25.25. It seems a little steep for such a small part, but they put it in a huge box with tons of padding and really go all out...it's kinda excessive, but at least they don't just toss it in a bubble envelope. 

1 x CD PICKUP HOP-M3 (HOP-M3) = $18.95
-----------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $18.95
Tax:        $0.00
Shipping:  $6.30 via USPS Priority Mail
-----------------------------------------
Total:     $25.25