TurboGrafx CD gear keeps jamming - WTF?

[Ace]

I guess the paste lubricant I used got far enough in between the gear and the post; the gear hasn't jammed since I last unjammed it yesterday.  How long should I wait before declaring this issue solved?

EDIT: Well, looks like it only lasted 2 days, and a few hours after unjamming the gear, it got jammed again.  I'm gonna have to take the plunge and pull off the black clip that holds the middle gear and clean/lubricate the post.  Damn thing... I never thought a TurboGrafx CD would cause me so many problems short of a completely disintegrated gear.   I guess that's the price I have to pay for the very first CD-ROM based gaming item.

[Ace]

 

I am SO F-ING PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW!  From the damn gear jamming all the time, I ended up tearing the thick ribbon cable!  F***!!!
Just great!  I don't end up with a dead TurboGrafx CD because of the stupid gear, but because the f-ing ribbon cable tore... GOD DAMN IT!!!  Time to get a KSS-220a.  I might as well just replace the entire laser block so I don't have to deal with that f-ing gear anymore.  THAT STUPID LITTLE PIECE OF PLASTIC IS CURSED!!!

[SignOfZeta]

l

GOD DAMN IT!!!  Time to get a KSS-220a.  I might as well just replace the entire laser block so I don't have to deal with that f-ing gear anymore.

You make it sound so easy. A rotating gear is about the most simple mechanical device in the world. If you can't come up with a fix for this, then the KSS-220a might be beyond your abilities.

The biggest problem with getting the clip off is losing it. If you can manage to keep track of the thing you should have this gear thing fixed for good. With the huge number of busted TG-16/PCE CDROM2 units broken out there because of shattered gears, getting another ribbon cable shouldn't be very hard. If I were you I would consider myself EXTREMELY lucky that the daily jamming of the gear hasn't caused it to shatter. I'm very surprised/happy for you that the thing is still in one piece.

In case you give up, I see Rising Stuff has a Duo R for $145...

[Ace]

Zeta, I'm fed up of having to consistently unjam that f-ing gear every damn day just to play on my TurboGrafx CD, and now with the damn ribbon cable(the big one) torn, I can't play anything on my TurboGrafx CD unless I get a KSS-220a and pull out the laser.

And I'm not gonna spend 145 bucks on a PC Engine Duo-R.  I can get a KSS-220a and a Japanese Super System Card for less than that(one of my 2 TurboGrafxes is modded with a region switch specifically for using the Japanese Super System Card).

[SignOfZeta]

Zeta, I'm fed up of having to consistently unjam that f-ing gear every damn day just to play on my TurboGrafx CD, and now with the damn ribbon cable(the big one) torn, I can't play anything on my TurboGrafx CD unless I get a KSS-220a and pull out the laser.

This isn't factually true. The KSS-220a is not the only way your unit can be fixed. You can get another ribbon cable from another broken CDROM2 (of which there are many) and fix the gear for real. I'm not trying to offend you when I say that if you can't fix the gear problem then what makes you think you can pull off a transplant of a substantially different mechanism? I'm fairly confident in my jiggery-pokery skills (between the ancient game systems and the Gundam models... I'm a product of my environment!) but If I had your busted CDROM I would definitely fix the gear before doing the transplant. No question. Its just a gear that gets stuck on a shaft...I mean, how much more simple could the problem possibly be? I know you are pissed, but solutions to technical problems like this require and even head, and a methodical, scientific solution.

And I'm not gonna spend 145 bucks on a PC Engine Duo-R.  I can get a KSS-220a and a Japanese Super System Card for less than that(one of my 2 TurboGrafxes is modded with a region switch specifically for using the Japanese Super System Card).

I only suggested the Duo R because it is a much simpler solution than the amount of gluing and cutting you'll need to do to replace the entire laser transplant.

BTW, if you do decide to (and succeed in) removing this gear from your life I would gladly buy your busted laser mechanism from you. I need one of those gears.

[Ace]

I think for now, if I get a KSS-220a, all I'll do is to take the laser and spindle motor and shove it into the TurboGrafx CD's CD-ROM drive, then I'll fit in the KSS-220a when the gear decides to shatter.  I know this may sound crazy, but I REALLY need to get this thing up and running.  I have a Zero Wing Marathon going on on my YouTube channel, and I really want to record a playthrough of Zero Wing for the PC Engine CD-ROM, but because the TurboGrafx CD doesn't work anymore, I can't do that.

[SignOfZeta]

...but your not even having laser/motor issues at all, are you? Did I miss something?

It sounds like you are going to fix something that isn't broken and then knowingly break something permanently that is still savable if you act on it.

[Ace]

Yes, you did miss something.  THE RIBBON CABLE ON THE LASER IS TORN.  Now, the disc will spin for a split second, then stop.  There is only 1 lead on the ribbon cable that's broken, but it's enough to prevent the thing from working.

And the gear is still jamming.

Is there some way to fix torn ribbon cables?

[SignOfZeta]

Yes, you did miss something.  THE RIBBON CABLE ON THE LASER IS TORN.  Now, the disc will spin for a split second, then stop.  There is only 1 lead on the ribbon cable that's broken, but it's enough to prevent the thing from working.

I didn't miss that at all. I suggested before (twice, I think) that you buy a CDROM with a broken gear in it and steal the ribbon cable from that. There are ways of fixing/substituting ribbon cables but considering the tight packaging issues in these units I'd say just getting a used one is the best idea.

Besides, when you buy a KSS-220a do you get a new ribbon cable anyway? It doesn't seem like it from the pictures I've seen.

And the gear is still jamming.

Did you remove the gear from its shaft, bore it out slightly, clean off the shaft, and replace it with new lube?

[Ace]

Of course you do!  The ribbon cables are attached INSIDE the laser.  The KSS-220a's you see on eBay are the entire drive: spindle, laser, everything.

You kidding?  I'm not going to buy another TurboGrafx CD just to take out its laser(broken or not)!  Not when I can get a KSS-220a for less than a broken TurboGrafx CD(I don't know how much they usually sell for, but considering the TurboGrafx CD is a high-value item, one can expect broken TurboGrafx CDs to cost quite a bit).

[SignOfZeta]

Between the parties and the Maiden CDs I think this party has got about as much heavy mettle as its going to need...

I didn't know about the lasers they have on eBay. The ones I've seen other places don't have any of the transport included. Are you sure this ribbon cable is identical to the one you broke? I ask because there are many other things about it that are different and a ribbon cable of this type that isn't a %100 match is probably useless.

If its different and you still need a ribbon cable, I don't think you need to pay a lot for a busted drive. There are an increasing number of ones with broken gears out there and they are all as useless as tits on a chicken until someone makes us some gears. Also, there is no point in going for the much more rare and overpriced US version when you can get a PC Engine CDROM2 unit for much less. I can't imagine them being worth more than $20 broken, if that. I have an extra broken one, but I'm keeping it. There are many others here with broken PCE CDROM2s.

Anyway, its pretty obvious that you are just going to buy one of these lasers, whether its a realistic fix or not, so just do it and then tell us how it went.

EDIT: After looking around at some of these laser assemblies it sort of looks like the ribbon cable isn't removable from the laser. I didn't notice this before since all the previous pics I had seen had the cables cropped out, or something.

Also, I think I might buy one of these myself and see if I can't hack it into my currently busted CDROM2.

[kattare]

Ace, you can repair your ribbon cable.  It's tricky, but can be done.  It's just really thin copper in there, so what you want to do is take a hobby knife and scrape away some of the coating on either side of the break, then tin it, and solder on a bridge wire.  Same deal as you'd do to fix a broken pcb.  Your sticking gears... it sounds like you need to give them a bath in detergent, then rinse 'em really good and start with some fresh lithium grease.

Ace & Zeta, the kss-220a unit you find on ebay is mechanism + laser + ribbon cables, however, only the laser & ribbon is directly swappable into the TGCD/CDROM2.  The mechanism is a different beast, and it takes a lot of work to get it swapped in.  You have to hack/dremmel/etc the plastic case, move several (6?) caps on the pcb, and completely remove the rear power and line out jacks to make room for the kss-220a tracking motor.  You also have to swap the polarity on the tracking motor feed.  I've done it twice now, but it's not pleasant.  Next time I do it I'll have to write up a howto.

[SignOfZeta]

Please do, that would be awesome!

I have a working CDROM2, and another one with a broken gear. I only have one PCE and IFU. For now gears are unobtainable, so doing this total swap thing would be a low-risk side project for me.

[Ace]

Katare hit the nail right on the head: the laser is identical between the KSS-220a and TurboGrafx CD.  Same goes for the spindle motor, which I think would be a good idea to replace since I keep hearing of TurboGrafx CD spindles dropping a millimeter when a laser swap was performed.  At least I'll have a more reliable spindle that way as well.

Now, Katare, if I were to go ahead an attempt a ribbon cable repair, how should I go about using the craft knife?  Should I scrape the outer coating of the ribbon cable by pressing the knife on the cable at an angle from where the tear is?

[kattare]

Ace, pressure and angle to get the plastic layer off is going to vary from cable to cable.  I usually have the knife at an angle such that the edge of the knife cannot dig in... IE:

 /  knife blade     >>> knife stroke >>>
----------- cable

or:

 \  knife blade     <<< knife stroke <<<
----------- cable

or at worst, 90 deg:

 |  knife blade     >>> knife stroke >>>
----------- cable

If you cut into the cable with the blade, you could easily cut through the conductor.

Dunno if that helps or not... best of luck.