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

[Keith Courage]

Anyone ever have a CD drive that doesn't read the disc correctly even after changing out the lens? The CD spins up with the new lens but doesn't start playing anything. Just spins at a normal speed like it is going to but doesn't.

[thesteve]

one of the ones chop sent me to fix did that.
i just resoldered the larger parts on the board and the pots and it fixed it

[turbokon]

one of the ones chop sent me to fix did that.
i just resoldered the larger parts on the board and the pots and it fixed it

thesteve, can you elaborate? I just did a laser swap on my tgcd and it would load at first and then it would just spin with a blank screen. Even with an audio cd, it has long load between tracks. Thanks.

[thesteve]

yours may be getting stuck, or need the pots adjusted.
the one i was referring to the adjustments wouldnt stay

[turbokon]

Do you think I can just adjust the pots or should I perform caps replacement first?

[thesteve]

caps first
adjustment may not be needed

[turbokon]

caps first
adjustment may not be needed

I replaced all the caps except for the bipolar ones since I didn't have any. Now the cd just spin with no video and sound. I double checked everything and didnt see a cap with reversed polarity or anything. So now I'm gonna try adjusting the pots. Any idea on what the values should be? I know i've seen a chart for pots readings for the duo but not the TGCD.

[thesteve]

they should be about the same, but will vary from one to another

[turbokon]

With this guide and the help from thesteve, I was able to get my tgcd working flawlessly now. Thanks!!

[herr-g]

Thank you for this guide. It was a practical assistance for my laser pickup replacement.

[FiftyQuid]

BlackandBlue, if I wanted to replace only the spindle will any spindle do?  Sony Discman's are selling for a whopping $3.99 at my local neighbourhood services.

[BlackandBlue]

BlackandBlue, if I wanted to replace only the spindle will any spindle do?  Sony Discman's are selling for a whopping $3.99 at my local neighbourhood services.

For $4, I would give it a shot.  I can't promise it will fit, but I also don't see them making too many different size shafts on CD drive motors.  Worse case, you could most likely switch the spindle motor out as well from the donor, as long as it fits and the specifications are the same (voltage/rpm).

[BlueBMW]

Ive swapped spindle posts before with the self locking type.  They work fine but you have to remove the lid clamp mechanism.

[thesteve]

the motor shaft is standard on most spindle motors

[FiftyQuid]

Thanks guys!  I'm definitely picking one of these up.  I use to work at RadioShack back in '99 and we sold these things for $149-$249.  It's hard to believe they are worth a massive $4 nowadays.  It'd cost you $8 just to put batteries in it.

So is it this picture I need to follow to replace the spindle?



Do I need to mark the spindle for alignment purposes or is it much easier than what I'm making it out to be?