CD-PRO2M Builder's questions and comments

BeeBop · « **Reply #80 on:** 23 Feb 2005, 11:16 am »

I have not done a lot of DYI for many years but am considering this kit and would have to tool up. Would anybody care to comment on the best choices of tools for the job (soldering iron, solder, etc.)? Thnx.

GBB · « **Reply #81 on:** 23 Feb 2005, 12:01 pm »

A lot depends upon how much you're willing to spend. I personally use a Weller WTCPT station and think its really good. You should be able to get one on the web for around $100. I also hear really good things about Hakko equipment which is supposed to be equally good and a bit cheaper, although I haven't personally used it. On ebay, I see a few Hakko 936 stations for sale. with prices ranging from $50 to $90 for new units. They should work very well.
And if you want to spend more then I'd look at used metcal units on ebay.

---Gary

JoshK · « **Reply #82 on:** 23 Feb 2005, 02:29 pm »

I use the Weller WTCPT station as well, comes highly recommended if you are interested in building stuff beyond just a one time kit. That said I will try to think of every tool I have had to use and list it here.

* sharp point soldering iron
* fast flowing solder (I like thin guage high silver content)
* soldering tip cleaner (bushy type thing)
* hex wrench (only one size needed)
* needle nose pliers
* soldering wick is useful if you make a mistake
* helping hands
* tiny point phillips screwdriver (usually comes standard with electronics tool kits)
* wire cutter/stripper

A Dremel tool is extremely useful in many applications, but it isn't necessary to build this kit, however it makes one task in this kit easier.

That is all that I can think of..

heathman · « **Reply #83 on:** 23 Feb 2005, 03:08 pm »

Hi Group: I attempted first power up last night and see that I have only about .25V on the 9V supply. The bottom red LED on the VFD is solid. 5V is ok. When I hit the standby switch the top two LED's on the VFD are on solid and the bottom one blinks. D10 and D11 on the sequence PCB are on. I double checked the T0-220's to see they are isolated but did not yet unload the power supply to see if it comes up and thought I'd ask for suggestions before more digging. Thanks, Jim W

JM · « **Reply #84 on:** 23 Feb 2005, 03:50 pm »

Quote from: JoshK

I use the Weller WTCPT station as well, comes highly recommended if you are interested in building stuff beyond just a one time kit. That said I will try to think of every tool I have had to use and list it here.

* sharp point soldering iron
* fast flowing solder (I like thin guage high silver content)
* soldering tip cleaner (bushy type thing)
* hex wrench (only one size needed)
* needle nose pliers
* soldering wick is useful if you make a mistake
* helping hands
* tiny point phillips screwdriv ...

I'd also add to the list:

• Step drill bit
• Solder vacuum sucker
• set of tork keys
• set of small files
• wire striper
• contact cleaner
• flux remover
• pipe cleaners (from your cigar shop)
• lead bender (very useful for resistors and diodes)
• a second set of pliers

If you get a Weller soldering station, also get smaller tips for more delicate jobs.
I use Cardas solder, it flows very well but it leaves some flux residue. It is as a tin, lead, silver, and copper blend. And it is supposed to sound good too, but that's really hard to prove...
Hope that helps.
Julien

JM · « **Reply #85 on:** 23 Feb 2005, 04:03 pm »

Quote from: heathman

Hi Group: I attempted first power up last night and see that I have only about .25V on the 9V supply. The bottom red LED on the VFD is solid. 5V is ok. When I hit the standby switch the top two LED's on the VFD are on solid and the bottom one blinks. D10 and D11 on the sequence PCB are on. I double checked the T0-220's to see they are isolated but did not yet unload the power supply to see if it comes up and thought I'd ask for suggestions before more digging. Thanks, Jim W

Jim,
Things to check first:
Make sure the Transformer is outputting it's rated 21V AC voltage between the Green and Black wire (the reading should be higher than 21V without a load).
Check your cable connections.
Remove the +9V PS and check all solder joints, diodes polarity, caps polarity, transistors and op-amps polarity, and resistors values.
Check for DC voltage in different parts of the PCB to see if there's juice going through it.
A schematics would really help here. You could have a damaged PCB trace or a cold solder joint.
If all fails, than you might have a damaged part.
Hope that helps.
Julien

JM · « **Reply #86 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 04:47 am »

I'm done. (for now) That was an intense kit...
I've done a few mods to the player while building it:
Fred diodes in the +5V and +9V power supplies.
Snubber circuit around the bridges by using a 0.022uF/100V Panasonic film caps in parallel with each diodes.
0.47uF/600V Auricaps across the Live and Neutral at the IEC.
Choke looping the cables connecting VFD display board to the CD-PRO2 board around one ferrite. (as per Ken's suggestion) (When I first finished the player, I used 3 ferrites: one around the VFD power supply cables, one between the VFD to Sequential power-on module, and the one just described. That has an adverse effect to the sound: the unit sounded compressed with a forward and "grainy" midrange. I still want experiment with ferrite sizes to reach a final conclusion on that issue.)
Shield main ICs in the display and transport PCB using copper tape.
Some dampening on the main caps and transport.
I have only connected the chassis to ground, nothing else yet. I'll try different arrangement in the near future...

bambadoo · « **Reply #87 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 09:00 am »

Congrats. It looks just like mine. Same color and screws

You even got the same soldering equipment as I have.

BeeBop · « **Reply #88 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 11:19 am »

Thanks to all for the terrific equipment list!

BRN · « **Reply #89 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 12:50 pm »

I just ordered my kit from ken and seeing the pictures I can't wait to start building it. Great job.

Brad

heathman · « **Reply #90 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 03:00 pm »

Hi Guys and thanks for the tip. A quick check of the wiring on my unit showed that I had the green and brown wires from the transformer hooked up to the 9V power board. For some reason I thought the thing had seperate windings, and not a bunch of taps from one winding. Oops. After hooking up the transformer wires properly, I checked for the right voltages, hooked up the CD drive unit and powered it up.
Now I have another interesting little quirk. At first it wouldn't initialize the CD-Pro at all. The VFD would just have blinking dashes. I tried repeatedly using the switch and got nowhere. Then I grabbed the remote and somehow the first or second time I tried the standby from the remote the drive spun a little and it said no disc. I put a disc on and played it and after about 20 minutes the thing went into standby right in the middle of a track. It is still behaving that way. When it goes into standby the display blanks, but if I toggle the switch or hit the remote it even remembers the track number and how far into the track it is. If I power the unit off and then on I have to go through some coaxing to get the drive to spin and recognize a disc present. Once it sees a disc then it behaves ok as far as initializing is concerned, it just 'drops' into standby ever so often. At any rate it won't run more than about 25 minutes before going into standby. I jiggled all the cables with no luck so will have to think about this one. I am almost thinking maybe a static failure with one of the big IC's. A bad part or solder job wouldn't give this sort of repeatable intermittent failure...???
Anyway it is neat to have the thing running now. I can work at tidying up some of the wiring while I see if I can make sense of this stop and go problem.
thanks, Jim W

ken_diyzone.net · « **Reply #91 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 03:31 pm »

Hi Jim,

Try these:

1. The LED sensor should be about 0.5CM from the disk.
2. Check for grounding between sensor and the L bracket.
3. On the back of the VFD board, make sure the extended "legs" of the soldered parts are not touching the L bracket. Especially on the left side.

Regards,
Ken

JM · « **Reply #92 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 03:56 pm »

Quote from: heathman

Hi Guys and thanks for the tip. A quick check of the wiring on my unit showed that I had the green and brown wires from the transformer hooked up to the 9V power board. For some reason I thought the thing had seperate windings, and not a bunch of taps from one winding. Oops. After hooking up the transformer wires properly, I checked for the right voltages, hooked up the CD drive unit and powered it up.
Now I have another interesting little quirk. At first it wouldn't initialize the CD-Pro at all. The VF ...

Jim,
If what Ken suggested doesn't work, I think you should first go over the AC and DC voltages and polarity in the VFD power supply (see image). Note that you can only get the -22.5V DC reading when the unit is powered on with the display connected.
And then, go over every detail (solder, polarity, values, wiring, etc...) in the VFD display PCB and its power supply. Something is wrong. Make sure your molex connectors are properly inserted, and check the IC's for bent or broken legs. The IC's should be properly seated as well. You have to apply some pressure for the IC's to be fully inserted (carrefull not to damage the display).
Let us know.
Hope that helps.
Julien

westiebj · « **Reply #93 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 05:52 pm »

Hi all

All the boards are now built, and Ive worked out how I will move and mount the display nearer the front panel and move the drive forward ( 15mm ).

I was wondering if anybody here who has finished can suggest if there is anything not included in the kit that will be required to finish the job ? I'm thinking maybe wiring for the switch etc. I don't have the kit in front of me and want to make sure I've got everything I need to get the job done this weekend.

Thanks for any help

westiebj

JM · « **Reply #94 on:** 24 Feb 2005, 06:03 pm »

Quote from: westiebj

Hi all

All the boards are now built, and Ive worked out how I will move and mount the display nearer the front panel and move the drive forward ( 15mm ).

I was wondering if anybody here who has finished can suggest if there is anything not included in the kit that will be required to finish the job ? I'm thinking maybe wiring for the switch etc. I don't have the kit in front of me and want to make sure I've got everything I need to get the job done this weekend.

Thanks for any help

westiebj

You'll need extra wire for the +5V and +9V connections, the switch, and to extend the VFD display power supply transformer primary wires.
Most of it you can recycle from the +5V and +9V PS transformers.
You'll also need a 6mm or (1/4") drill bit to enlarge the 3 holes for the transformer holes. It's easier if you enlarge the holes before you start assembling and installing anything to the chassis.

heathman · « **Reply #95 on:** 25 Feb 2005, 03:08 pm »

Hi Guys: I didn't have any luck with a fix last night but got some more interesting info. I checked the AC/DC voltages on the drive power board as ok (-22 only when NOT in standby). The sensor is about 12mm from the bottom of the disc. I may try to adust it up this weekend but I remember the feet on the sensor being very short for bending and adjusting at 90 degrees to the board. There is apparently no interference from the 'L' brackets causing a short. I used my magnifier to look at the solder joints on the back of the VFD (except those covered by the display itself) and they look ok. Lastly I removed and reseated the ICs on the VFD.
The unit still exhibits the same behavior but I noticed:
1) I was never able to get the drive to spin up or recognize a CD using the standby switch on the front panel (only with the remote).
2) With four trials the unit runs for 23 minutes before going into standby mode. 3 times I had it playing a disc and the 4th time it was stationary and simply displaying the # tracks and time. 23 minutes.
This weekend I will try to examine for proper location/values of parts. Thanks for the tips.

SteveSun · « **Reply #96 on:** 25 Feb 2005, 05:29 pm »

Hi Heathman: please take a look at your player, and let me know the results...

1. when you turn the main power switch on from the back, does CD-Pro2 go into play mode directly? (if so, the top 2 inlets from standby switch to VFD board is short.)

2. when you turn on CD-Pro2, are those 3 LED's all on? The bottom one should flash with no CD in the player, and bottom LED should be OFF while CD is in the drive. If the bottom LED is still flashing while CD is in the player, you need to adjust the height of CD detection module.

3. Switch is not working: please check all transistors are all installed correctly on VFD module.

westiebj · « **Reply #97 on:** 26 Feb 2005, 08:29 pm »

Hi all

Just finished all the major surgery required to move the display and drive forward. Not a trivial exercise, and not that pretty at the moment. Will post pictures when it’s all tidied up.

Quick question. I’m trying to fit the new cd tray/cover that Ken is supplying. My problem is when I use the brass hex pillars that come with it, when its all screwed up tight the tray pulls down onto the cdpro2m drive and effectively ‘locks’ the suspension. This can’t be right can it? I must admit I’m not to sure what I should be doing to the screws/springs attached to the drive either

Any help greatly appreciated

Regards

Westiebj

ken_diyzone.net · « **Reply #98 on:** 26 Feb 2005, 09:20 pm »

Hi Westiebj: you need to add one more nut below that tray.

westiebj · « **Reply #99 on:** 26 Feb 2005, 10:02 pm »

Hi Ken

Thanks, that helped. Actually I needed to add a washer either side of the tray as well (this also helped to locate the screw head as the holes in the tray are a bit large)

The suspension still seems a bit 'stiff' ( but doesn't foul the tray anymore)

I've taken care to centre the spring 'cups' and that nothing is obviously rubbing. Can anyone confirm how 'free' the suspension should feel. I'm used to a sprung TurnTable but I guess the CD will not be this compliant.

Regards

Westiebj