CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[Liese]

Hi. I just bought a RCA Selectvision SJT 400 with some very cool movies. Everything is hooked up correctly...I get a signal and stuff on the TV but there is a flashing "L" on the player itself and the disc won't go in the door/slot. I can't seem to find out what this means in the manual. HELP! I really want to use it! :)

[Beetlescott]

Hey, welcome to CEDmagic, sounds like it isn't a serious problem. When you insert the disc, you have to raise the back part of the disc "up"t you hold up, the CEDs go in at a slant, if that doesn't work, you might possibly have a disc in there. Could be possible someone left one in. Try lifting the end of it up.
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[Liese]

[quote="Beetlescott"]Hey, welcome to CEDmagic, sounds like it isn't a serious problem. When you insert the disc, you have to raise the back part of the disc "up"t you hold up, the CEDs go in at a slant, if that doesn't work, you might possibly have a disc in there. Could be possible someone left one in. Try lifting the end of it up.[/quote]

I will try it and get back to you. Thanks! :D

[Rixrex]

Beetle, you have it right about the disc angle. Sometimes new CED fans don't realize the disc has to go in at about a 5 degree angle, higher at the back like you said.

But if there were a disc inside, it would either just start play or give Liese the UL sign to unload the disc.

Another problem could be that the load door or hatch isn't opening. Watch the load hatch when turning the player on and see if it opens, and then closes when you turn the player off.

I assume the player isn't running continuously when turned on as if the load belt were loose or gone, correct? You should get a few seconds of whirring when the L comes up, and the hatch opens, then the player is still. Then when turned off, the whirring again with the hatch closing, and the L goes off.

Is that what happens?

[Liese]

[quote="Rixrex"]Beetle, you have it right about the disc angle. Sometimes new CED fans don't realize the disc has to go in at about a 5 degree angle, higher at the back like you said.

But if there were a disc inside, it would either just start play or give Liese the UL sign to unload the disc.

Another problem could be that the load door or hatch isn't opening. Watch the load hatch when turning the player on and see if it opens, and then closes when you turn the player off.

I assume the player isn't running continuously when turned on as if the load belt were loose or gone, correct? You should get a few seconds of whirring when the L comes up, and the hatch opens, then the player is still. Then when turned off, the whirring again with the hatch closing, and the L goes off.

Is that what happens?[/quote]

It continues whirring continuously and the hatch never opens.

[Beetlescott]

Then it is a simple belt, very easy fix. If you take the top off, the belt will be in the back of the player on the left. It's very easy. I am not good with mechanics and I (proudly) changed one.

[Liese]

[quote="Beetlescott"]Then it is a simple belt, very easy fix. If you take the top off, the belt will be in the back of the player on the left. It's very easy. I am not good with mechanics and I (proudly) changed one.[/quote]

Okey Dokey. It is late here in Chicago now but we will try in the morning. Thanks for your very helpful advice. I will let you know how we fare! :)

[Rixrex]

As Beetle said, the drive load belt is defective. Most likely it has turned to a gummy residue. Sometimes hard to clean up but check out this post from another member with the same problem for tips on cleaning and replacing it:

http://www.cedmagic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1905

After you replace the belt, let us know what happens.

[SelectaVision420]

i wonder sometimes why they decided to go with belt instead of gear drive, because its a "softer" medium and easier to fix? id think if they used gears it'd be more dependable, but if a motor got stuck on or whatever it might cause more damage?
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[Jerry S]

May not have anything to do with the current problem, but new machines are shipped with shipping locks inserted underneath to keep the disc carriage from moving around and getting damaged. You have to pull out the shipping locks from undeneath before the carriage will operate. Its unlikely that a used machine will have the shipping locks reinstalled, but you can never tell, so before tearing the machine apart and replacing things, check underneath that the shipping locks have been removed.
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Jerry S
greentron@att.net

[Rixrex]

You are exactly right. A direct gear drive would break at some point should anything either get stuck in place or get stiff, while the motor keeps running. A belt on the motor is a safe way of relieving the tension if that were to happen.

You might notice in SJT/SKT models that the two places where tension sometimes builds up are prone to breaking, as so:

If the disc lifting/lowering arm (aka transfer rod) happens to catch on the turntable while raising, the motor via gear reduction is strong enought to snap off the plastic U-shaped rod holder from its stem. An annoying problem since the part isn't available, but which can be fixed using the broken part, like here:

http://cedmagic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1664&highlight=repair

Also, if the stylus arm were to somehow get stuck, there's one gear in the whole arrangement with flexible spokes, since there's no belt here because of the narrow tolerances provided by a direct gear drive arrangement. Sometimes the spokes on this gear will break to relieve the tension. Alas, this calls for scavenging another player for the part in most cases. I have once repaired such a break with silicone dabs holding the spokes back together and it did work. But it's really hard to get everything into proper position to do this.

[blindfury420]

[SelectaVision420]

[Rixrex]

J/K line player - Gear - 3rd reduction, 1 =$3.75
J/K line player - Coupling - Transfer rod, 1 = $3.50

Wow that is good pricing! Kind of takes the joy out of homemade repairs now, and the need too.

Cedatum ought to put their parts list on the website. They'd get more search hits then.

[Jerry S]

Gear drives are noisy. The gears generate noise and also transmit noise from the motor. Some of the noise is mechanical and some is acoustical. The belts are quiet and tend to damp out the mechanical noise. Since they use plastic for the gears in the gear drives, the plastic will eventually crack, especially at the motor hub, and rarely do they make replacements available, especially at a reasonable cost. Belts are simple and inexpensive. If an original is not available, a local mechanical/hydraulic supply will usually have an O-ring that will substitute. The common O-rings are neoprene and will never turn into the goo that some of the synthetic elastomers do. I used Q-tips and alcohol to clean up the goo without disassembing the mechanisms. Sometimes you have to experiment to find the right size that does the job without putting too much radial load on the bearings.
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Jerry S
greentron@att.net

[blindfury420]

I have solved a loud gear problem sometimes with a felt washer that was missing! Good advice though, much appreciated!
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