CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[Beetlescott]

I read online somewhere that you can acutally take the discs out of the caddy and wash them in anything other than Dawn. Has anyone read this? I have never heard such a thing. Is it possible? It doesn't make any sense sin the discs have theh "wet" look anyway?
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1000 titles
SGT-250
SJT-400
Montgomery Ward
SGT-100

[deantjeep]

Beetlescott,

I have seen a video in which a collector used a disc washer for LPs to clean his CEDs. He swears by it, but the disc washer is a certain type that you connect a vacuum cleaner to it, which sucks up any loose particles as well as helps to dry the disc.
The recommendation has always been, not to clean the discs. The stylus will aid in loosening any particles caught in the grooves of the disc. Also the discs are factory coated with some kind of lubricant to protect them as well as reduce the friction between the disc and the stylus. Washing the discs would probably remove this protective coating.
I personally have never washed a disc, so I can't say how well this would work. I do, remove the discs, blow out the caddies, clean the inner caddy sleeve and blow off any large particles off of the discs.
I always check any disc I purchase for scratches or cracks. One bad disc put into your player can ruin your stylus. I once removed the disc from a caddy, only to find that about a third of the disc was missing. This disc definitely would have taken out my stylus. So, always check any discs that you buy.
Also inspect the caddy as well. I have had caddies where the felt pads (they are located at the opening of the sleeve and help to prevent dust from entering the sleeve) were coming off due to the failure of the glue. The glue was a little gooey and you don't want that getting on your discs.
My rule is, if the disc is in bad shape, get another copy. The discs are much cheaper to replace, than the stylus.

Hope this helps! Happy collecting!

[Beetlescott]

Dean,
Thanks for the heads up! That is a great idea!!! I will definaltely check all discs in the future. I decided to NOT try to wash any discs. I remember, way back when, I bought some of my discs new, I would see "splinters" of plastic on the lip of the discs. I always cleanded that off. Thanks for the heads up on the discs. I purchased a player with 35 movies. As it turned out, some of the discs were missing!!! So, it is a good idea to check them out. Thanks again!

scott
_________________
1000 titles
SGT-250
SJT-400
Montgomery Ward
SGT-100

[maskddingo]

It is a good idea to check the discs. I recently put a new-to-me copy of godfather II in my player only to hear d 'click click click' sound as the stylus tried to hit the disc. Luckily I stopped the player before my valuable working Hitachi cartridge was damaged. I still had to take the top off the player to extract the broken piece of disc that had fallen inside though.

That being said, I can't possibly imagine how a disc could become so dirty at to need cleaning, or that one could clean it and return it to it's caddy with less contaminants on it than it had before it was taken out.

Even CED's I have in which the outer caddy looks like it's been sitting in a puddle of mud, the disc inside looks quite clean. And any dust particles seen on it are far too large to settle into the microscopic groves of a CED anyway. I question the need, or befit of washing a disc in the first place. If you aren't using a vacuum based machine that can get into the micro-grooves, it's kind of pointless. Any cloth or brush you would use won't even be able to get down where the dirt you'd want to remove really is in the first place.

Most movies I've come across that played a little rough, ended up playing much better the second time through after the stylus is able to clear out the groove a bit anyway.

[deantjeep]

Welcome Maskddingo to this forum!

Are you new to CEDs or have you been a long time collector? Some of us have been collectors since the beginning of CEDs in 1981. Tell us your story.

Again, welcome.

[maskddingo]

Thanks for the kind welcome!


I would say I've recently picked it up, though I was exposed to them at a young age.

I remember having a player in our suite when my parents first took us to Disney World. As a child I thought it was just about the coolest things I'd ever seen and enjoyed watching the many cartoons available, as much as I enjoyed going into the park.

Alas, back in the real world, I was brought up by VHS... CED was a distant, fond, childhood memory.

Recently, I've been delving back into 'retro' (what I would call 'forgotten') technology. It all started as a means to get cheap hobby projects for myself: Buy something that is 'broken' cheap... learn about it... try to fix it. I guess that's the mad scientist in me... It's ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!!!

CED was a perfect match, because it not only filled this desire, but it also was a connection to my childhood, and in addition it offered a way to view some classic movies on the cheap. Add in that I'm both a vinyl record nut, and a lover of the history of media storage technology in general, and CED became impossible for me to resist.

...

My collection is relatively small, but focused. But, as well as the obligatory 'doubles' one gets when buying an entire lot for a few discs you want, I've also gotten a few movies I otherwise would never have seen.

I have a bunch of specific discs I'm still after...

I own one Sears stereo player that I bought cheaply as broken and repaired myself. It just needed belts and the wires going to one of the sensors re-soldered. Since then, it's worked like a charm!

[Beetlescott]