Here's what you probably have happening, like stated above, the laser assembly gearing is not grabbing the toothed track. When you force open the tray, that action stops the laser assembly motor from moving, so no noise. Most of the time when this happens in shipping, it's a result of the box being upside down and getting a hard jar. This happens sometimes because all shippers use conveyor systems where the boxes turn all around any which way as they move down the belts and bang into each other. Imagine a box flipping over end on end, and that's what happens.

If it is merely off track and not a broken motor holder, you can fix that, but I suspect a broken motor holder on the laser assembly or some other broken part in the gearing. There's only one way to ship these type of player so this problem is reduced, and practically nobody knows unless you are a regular forum member.

You have to turn the player off the proper way and let it come to full stop, then you unplug it. Then take off the upper clamp assembly for ease of access, and for single side players carefully place pillow cushion padding over the laser, but not the lens area, in a way that will hold it into position should the player end up upside down. And then an email and a note taped on top explaining how to remove the cushioning.

For dual side player, same thing except no cushioning, just roll the laser assembly backwards into the turn housing until it is in there nice and snug, and then put in a transit screw on the back should the player need one. All players I shipped this way arrrived without laser assembly damage, and I learned it the hard way after paying out for a really nice polayer that arrived like yours did. But like others said, sometimes it is due to just luck.

Too bad, for the 3030 was the best one of your lot, and sounds like another refund item. If they were shipped UPS or Fedex, you can tell the seller it arrived damaged and UPS or Fedex will pick it up for return to the seller, with nothing out of your pocket.

Then you might consider purchase of a player from a forum member here who knows what to do rather than on ebay. I think Kurtis has players ready to go, and he puts them in top shape too. Maybe Duncan as well and others.

I "think" on the 3030 the optics travel on a long "screw" driven by a cleated belt. The driven end is snapped into a holder. It's not uncommon for the holder to break where the "screw" snaps in. If that happens the drive motor will free run, making a loud noise like in the video. Easy enough to see, the driven pulley is at the rear of the mech and the cleated belt should be obvious.

I might say "f**k it" and give away the M301 and 3030 as parts or something (pay price of shipping maybe) and get two more V series LD players. They are no-frills but at least they are strudy, reliable, and have decent picture quality from what i've seen.

To prevent any future disappointment it's best to know that with the exception of the LD-V4400 and LD-V8000 there is nothing "industrial" about V series players. For the most part they are basically consumer models with either RS-232 or karaoke functions added. And even a rugged player like the 8000 can suffer mechanical misalignment in shipping...

i might be interested in your 3030 for parts; what condition is the front fascia in?

Tasuke, I'll give it an attempt at fixing it and if I can't I'll see what I can do about letting you have it. If I'm refunded I might just ship it to you for the price of shipping.

The front is in pretty good shape. I might post pics later.

Yup, as I mentioned before the V2800 is basically a redesigned low-end CLD-S104. But, in practice it seems to handle shipping better than most other players. (eidt - And I don't think anything less than a well-tuned V8000, S2, or CLD-95/97 will give you much better quality, unless you need digital and/or AC3 out.)

Your best bet is just to keep an eye open at local thrift stores and garage sales, and search Craigslist for laserdisc players (I use "laser dis*" and "laserdis*" to catch more items) - I've gotten a not-nonworking V2200 (the door was just sticky) and a DVL-919 locally lately.

The shipping aspect is always a worry. When I send players out, I always have the nerve-wracking wait to hear that they arrived properly. Even though when packed as I stated above and with perfect styrofoam fit, I still worry about it. Original factory shipping never considered the player being tossed around so that they end upside down nor getting banged into on a conveyor system. From the factory, the boxes were nice and upright and handled properly when taken to market.

If you recall the way that airport luggage rotary pick-up systems work, that's what they go through. Not very comforting. It's a shame since there's a finite number of players around and each one damaged in shipping lessens the group. Thrift store finds can be great, that's where my CLD-515 came from. Also you can find some at vintage/collectible shops sometimes. Local graigslist is good too if not too far from you.

I've had better luck withe Panasonic optics arriving okay than with others.

If you want my advice, it would be to sell all of those players or return them if you can. Then, I would be on the hunt for a CLD 30XX, CLD D7XX, or a DVL player. In my opinion, the D701 is a great player, which when properly serviced, can run circles around both my CLD 95s. The CLD D703 is a really nice player too, with a very fast side changing mechanism. For side changing mechanics, the DVL series is the fastest of them all, and you do get the added perk of playing back DVDs. I'd say for the money, the DVL players could be nice too.

Also, the 3080 player is the basis for the CLD 95/CLD 97 players, which are very nice players (Although I do prefer the FDP and the OSD of the 97).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNDk_2b7paI


you know, from the way it sounds on there,
this does indeed sound much like like an issue i've had on my own 3030 before;

there are black nylon clasps holding that worm shaft in place on either end.
sounds like one of them just might have broke, and with a broken pawl catch like that,
there will not be proper alignment between the shaft, it's drive motor,
and that orange toothed belt i mentioned that links the two. the shaft will be loose on one end,
and the mechanism will go generally berserk like it is seeming to do with your own copy there.

this actually happened to the original factory installed transport mechanism on my 3030,
and i ended up having to get a CLD-1030, the immediate step-down from the 3030,
in order to swap out it's identical mechanism with the faulty one.
unfortunately, i was quite unable to repair that original mecha, and had to strip it for salvageable parts.

good luck in repairing whatever is ailing your copy,
and please don't let this dampen your spirits in regards to this generally all-round excellent LDP...






no wonder i seldom ever see examples of this series' of players available anywhere ever.

1991/92~1997/98 were well and truly among the very worst production years
for PIONEER products in general, their very best ELITE offerings usually aside, YMMV...

feel free to let me know if these are satisfactory;

To avoid shipping damage to players, like what happened to my 3030 and M301, would it be possible to cushion the moving parts such as the laser assembly with bubble wrap or something? then before using, take top cover off and remove wrap?

I do that for single side players, and also the players that have the U-turn track, but very carefully exclude covering the laser lens and area arounbd it.

For other dual side players, I prefer to roll the assembly back into the turn holder.

On a 703/704 type chassis I wouldn't advise rolling the optics into the turn mech. I've seen this cause the spring hook break for the latch that holds the turn mech into position.

that seems risky to take apart players and stuff foam etc inside of them to prevent breakage.

i've only had issues with broken players when there isn't enough packing, i even sent a CED player to germany with no issues.
and didn't jam anything inside to prevent any extra damage.
just lots of bubblewrap and foam chips.

and make sure everything is powered down right.
i even received a CD player in the mail once, it worked before they sent it, but they forgot to remove the CD and it messed up
inside since it wasn't powered down right.

________________________________
the rein-o official signature:

I would be afraid to tell a customer "when you receive the player get a screwdriver, take the cover off and VERY carefully remove the "stuffing". I fear too many would rip out the optics... "OK, I took out the part that was carefully wrapped, now what do I do?"

My recent second 3030 player I just got.....I told the sender how to power it down, and it arrived fine. Some I know probably just turn the power off and quickly unplugg it before it finished powering down. Shipping can still damage, but every proper measure still helps.

Humm, would the corresponding parts from a V2200 work in a 3030? Those seem quite plentiful (and possibly with up-rated components) - since they're analog-audio only, it probably wouldn't be too bad to sacrifice one, especially since they can be quite cheap.

As for the M301 - WTF were they thinking? That just seems super-complex. Something like the 1010's mechanism with a rotating tray wouldn't have been that hard to do, right?

If I have to salvage parts from another LD player, I'm not doing it. I just don't have the time or patience. I spent extra money to get working players in good condition and got screwed by bad packaging and the postal service. I just want to watch some f***ing LaserDiscs! Hopefully eventually I'll get a chance to tear the 3030 apart to see the full extent of the damage. It sucks having school and a job, it might be a while before I get that opportunity...

as an LD aficianado, it is well and truly worth the time and effort to find at least one favored model of LDP
and learn how to swap out component sections. ( transport mecha/AUDIO OUTPUT board/VIDEO PROC. board/etc.)

getting to know a specific player like thus has enabled me to effect my own basic servicing on my own 3030 at will.
i recently did a COMPLETE tear-down/rebuild of my player, giving everything a good refit.
there are MANY wiring bundles, with PUSH/PULL connection harnesses in there,
going every which-a-way. these, i grouped together with many zip-ties, and routed them in the cleanest,
most precise ways possible, allowing for quick and easy swap-out of any given section of the players components.

swapping out the 3030 transport mecha, in fact, is simplicity itself; four large cross-head screws,
four or five of those wiring bundles (IIRC) and the flat ribbon lead from the laser pickup. simple as that.
just reverse the process with a replacement mecha and you're done. literally just few minutes of work,
and all the difference between a beautifully functioning player, and a very pretty doorstop.

bear in mind now, i know next to nothing on how to diagnose/service the electronics themselves,
but since things usually seldom go wrong there, all of the most major common player issues
with this LDP model i can easily take care of quite on my own,
just so long as i can continue to obtain parts donors, and get them shipped my way intact...







lol