CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[scupbucket]

Hi guys! I actually posted here waaaaaaaaay back in 2002ish when I was in pursuit of 3-D VHD players and was successful (at going completely overboard with it). That phase has since come and gone and it wasn’t until recently I got into a discussion with the owners of a video rental place in the OBX regarding obsolete video formats, including CED and Betamax. So for the heck of it, when I got home, I purchased a Sears 934.54780150 and was able to get it back to working shape. Needless to say I’m hooked again with videodiscs.

I’ve since purchased 2 other players, a very nice condition bare bones SGT-075 and just yesterday, an SGT-250. The SGT-250 is in absolutely beautiful shape that included the remote, manual, and what looks to be a new stylus. I’m no expert but comparing it to the one in my SGT-075 it looks extremely clean and the picture is very crisp with great color and clarity compared to the other two players. So far I’ve had great luck with getting them back into working condition although maybe not be “proper” working condition… hey, I’m easing into it. The SGT-250 did present some problems naturally for a 30+ year old piece of video equipment.

I’ve done a lot of reading on the forum and am 99% certain that the SGT-250 turntable has a case of the "wobbles". Viewing the disc with the cover off I can see a minor side to side movement, ranging 1-1.5mm, that translates to the picture on my TV rapidly moving from side to side. This happens with all discs. So if I understand correctly, the disc wobble = picture wobble? I’m guessing this may have something to do with someone at some point trying to force a caddy in the machine as the turntable spindle doesn’t fully drop allowing a caddy to be full inserted. They may have used too much force bending something just enough to throw the turntable balance out of whack? So is there something I can adjust, check, do before I roll my sleeves up and disassemble this guy to replace the turntable?

And that leads to my next question about the turntable spindle not dropping to allowing a caddy to be full inserted thus trouble loading and unloading a disc. Seems like a mechanical problem but again, I’m no expert and would love to hear if others have had the same problem and how it was resolved. Great to be here and once I completely go overboard again with this hobby, I hope you guys will be able to help me recover mentally and financially.


Matt

[dumbchemist]

Welcome to the fold. I have a 934.54780150 player like you do. I have had it since I bought it new in 1983 so I know its history.

I have almost zero knowledge of your SGT-250 player so I cannot be of much help for you. What you describe seems logical.

I think that you will find this hobby interesting as I have been with it over 30 years. The persuing of rare CED's is a challenge.

My other video formats that I collect are Laserdisc, HD-DVD, DVD and VHS tapes.

I am certain that there are other members that can help you with your problem.
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830

[scupbucket]

Thanks for the welcome! The Sears player and the Zenith are gorgeous from an era specific design standpoint. It screams 80’s analog with the wood paneling trim and the mechanical time indicator… and the Zenith with the chrome faceplate. My wife thinks it looks like a Cylon. I‘m very impressed with the internal design on the Sears with the flip up circuit board rack… very easy to get to the inner components. And Kudos for owning one for so long! These were definitely not a disposable item.

Regarding the turntable, I did some more poking around during my lunch break on the SGT-250. I inserted an empty disc carrier to see the actual platter spinning at full speed without a disc loaded and saw that the platter itself has no wobble whatsoever! Super smooth rotation… it’s only the disc that wobbles which makes me think discs are not seating correctly on the platter. Could this be a spindle problem? Not only is the spindle not dropping completely during loading, but it’s also rubbing somewhere as I can hear a rhythmic dragging sound. If I press down on the top of the spindle while the turntable is spinning the noise goes away. I think I’ll try adjusting the turntable height before I go bananas taking this apart.

[scupbucket]

FIXED IT!!!

I got antsy and started taking the SGT-250 apart last night. If anything I was anxious to see what make these suckers tick. I swapped the turntable from my SGT075 to the 250 and there was still minimal “wobble”. Turns out all three of my players have a fraction of a millimeter movement at full speed so I’m guessing this is acceptable for these players? But the wobble still remained on video playback, the picture would shake back and forth, and when using the turntable from the 250 on the 075 the video image was stable. So at that point I eliminated the possibility of a warped turntable. While I was at it I was able to fix the problem of the spindle not lowering out of the way while loading a caddy on the 250.

So back to research on the forum and I found a post quoting the guys from CEDatum regarding the armstretcher coil… the part that looks like a solenoid with a magnet loaded plunger passing through two silicone rubber membranes and joins up with the rear of the stylus. Sure enough the plunger was seized most likely from lack of use… no movement at all. Even after freeing the plunger it would occasionally stick. So I swapped in the one from my 075 and blam! Perfectly stable picture! It doesn’t look as though the armstretcher is a serviceable part so I’ll keep an eye out for another one so I can get the SGT075 back into working condition and maybe it can go to a new home.

This site is awesome! Previous info posted helped out immensely and I hope what I posted may help someone out too.