Laundry List of Sources for Optical Unit used by TG-CD and PCE CD-ROM^2

[nat]

OK, so it's not exactly a laundry list yet but hopefully it will be one day. With the cost of these units brand new ranging $60-$100, I felt it's wise to source these in used electronics.

The following electronics have been physically verified to use the KSS-162a and/or KSS-220a optical assemblies:

Sony Discman D-4


Sony Discman D-11

Sony Discman D-12


Sony Discman D-33

Sony Discman D-34

[Mobius]

It would be great if we could post pictures of these units, too, so we know what to look out for.

[Jitawa]

I didn't see any on Ebay just looking now, though these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Early-Sony-Discman-Player_W0QQitemZ220220595304QQihZ012QQcategoryZ3272QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Sony-D25-Discman-Accessories-4-Repair-Parts_W0QQitemZ350044797320QQihZ022QQcategoryZ3284QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Have that boxy sort of shape like the detachable CD portion did.

[Jitawa]

Ok, here's a D-4:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-DISCMAN-D-4-CD-COMPACT-DISC-PLAYER-PORTABLE-NICE_W0QQitemZ350042646621QQihZ022QQcategoryZ15054QQcmdZViewItem

and a D-34 (Megabass)?:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Discman-Megabass-D-34_W0QQitemZ320223261212QQihZ011QQcategoryZ15054QQcmdZViewItem

Both of those are expired options, so the pictures won't be up forever.

[Mobius]

Attaching for future reference.

Looking at these, I'm pretty sure my dad had a D-34 years ago but was stolen from his car.

[nat]

Great idea, thanks guys. I'll be adding pics to the first message, which will serve as the "master list."

[Turbo D]

that d-4 disman is cool looking 

[SignOfZeta]

that d-4 disman is cool looking 

Yeah, I was a major fan of the D-4. So L337 it didn't even come with headphones. Sony used to actually make good stuff...hard to believe now.

Some twat left that orange Sony stick on it for, what, 19 years? That's just pathetic. I bet his VCR still says, "VCR+ AND FLYING ERASE HEAD!" on it.

[Jitawa]

that d-4 disman is cool looking 

Yeah, I was a major fan of the D-4. So L337 it didn't even come with headphones. Sony used to actually make good stuff...hard to believe now.

Some twat left that orange Sony stick on it for, what, 19 years? That's just pathetic. I bet his VCR still says, "VCR+ AND FLYING ERASE HEAD!" on it.

My mother has a 12-year old Compaq that still has all the stickers on it: "40mb HARD DRIVE! FOUR USB PORTS! EASY ACCESS INTERNET BUTTON ON KEYBOARD!"

[Jitawa]

I dunno how you feel about ordering things from China, but I found a list price on this site of $9.00 (as opposed to a quote request) for the KSS-220a:

http://www.tete.cn/product/ProductDetail.asp?id=74

No clue about shipping, but that's cheaper than the corresponding discmen (discmans?) went for on the 'bay.  Most of the other sites with solid prices were in the $30-40 range.  I did see a hungarian place that would let them go for a mere 6008.09 Hungarian forints ($37).

[nat]

Thanks for the Chinese link. I'm fine with ordering things from there as long as they will let me do it. Their entire site is in Chinese which makes creating an account difficult. When I get more time later I'll give it a try and report back.

[papa_november]

    The Discman D-12 also has a KSS-220 laser in it.

   

[nat]

Awesome, added.

[Platinumfungi]

Great topic!  What are your thoughts about adding the old NEC computer drives to this list? I figure anything with the goods, eh?

[nat]

That's right. Anything that uses the proper optical unit is fair game.