Hi!

So, I opened up a CLD-959 today and found ... spider web and dust. As someone, not being a professional, what are my chances at being able to take (some) things apart, clean it up, assemble and get it running again? I don't plan to touch the laser.

Tools - Air spray? Vacuum cleaner? Fluids?

Also, there was some interesting gunk in one of the legs. Wasn't anything I could google and seems kind of weirdly placed, so I'm thinking not pest related (although not sure). It's a little porous, but sort of can be scratched off with a cotton swab or something. Capacitor leak?

Hmm, maybe some kind of flux reaction...?

Anyway, here's another pic of one of the component panels. There's some ... rust? and stuff there. Is this normal / ok for an old player? Or is this player dooooooomed? (I know they all are, but asking about this one in particular)

For your first picture there originally was a foam pad in the cavity and what you see is what is left after it was removed or was removed. What you are showing looks fine. I'd just plug it in and see if it works.

Why??

Because he could.

But now he's asking questions, should have figured that out before he opened it

I took my car belt off what do I do next.

How do you expect anyone to familiarize themselves w/ how an LD player works if they never open it up? Regardless if the OP has no experience working on these machines, eventually he/she will have to open it for basis maintenance as one can't expect an extinct repair shop to help them out.

As for the OP, keep it simple when working on this machine since you are new to it. For cobwebs, just lift it out with your finger. For general dust, I would use a lint free cloth to wipe it away (never use cleaning chemicals) or just leave it as it won't harm the player. If the player is working fine @ the moment, no need to do more if it risks damaging the unit. Enjoy it for now and worry about real maintenance later.

But now he's asking questions, should have figured that out before he opened it

I took my car belt off what do I do next. [/quote]


Hey rein-o,
How about just trying to rein-it in.

I think its more of the if it ain't broke don't fix it, I get it and all the rest you are saying but this OP is just wrong with it.
I have 4 players, one of which is not working right, when I get the time I'm going to open it up and see what's going on, I've
never worked on any of my players yet, one had a stuck tray but it somehow got unstuck when I pushed it in the lucky right way.

This guy had no reason to open the player, it was working fine, just found some spider webs inside and then starts asking about what
is my dirt.
That's all I see.

Back to the start, I'm not going to open the other 3 players until there are issues.

BTW thx Jeff, but it wasn't funny.

We open the hoods of our cars all the time whether we are working on them or not. Also, the OP asked for advice first and didn't proceed (I assume). I don't see this being a problem and I know I would never have been able to understand these players as well as as I do now if I never opened them up.





Sounds like you need to start opening up your players to start familiarizing yourself with its inner workings before it's too late. Your stuck tray is most likely dried grease or a bad belt. If it's the former and you wait too long, you could end up with a cracked gear which is a worse thing to deal with.

Ah rein-o,

I'm glad you got it. My comment was not meant to be funny.

On the other hand, your comment with your myriad of Smilies, was evidently meant to be funny.
It wasn't.

Oh good, just stupid then.
Gotcha

Dang it, didn't receive any e-mail notifications, so I didn't check back on the thread until now... Many thanks for all the answers!

So, it seems the general advice is to just do a light clean, basically remove the cobwebs and let the rest be. I'm, quite content with not trying to remove any inside electronics!

And yes, I only opened it up to have a quck look since the tray was a little dirty and I wanted to know if there would be something in there that would damage the player when running. Just removing the hood should be fine most (all?) of the time, right?

I'm in the side that if its working don't mess with it.

Since you opened and found some oddball stuff and no floating screws or discs or CDs then you are pretty much fine.
I wouldn't open it again until you have an issue.

Hope you enjoy laserdiscs.