CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 10

CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 10 • 3/8/1997
From: RedCircus
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 1997 17:30:51 -0500 (EST)
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: SFT 100 & some CED's FOR SALE!

RCA, SFT-100 CED Player (mono)
Excellent condition.
$50 (UPS shipping included)


CED's FOR SALE:

EASY MONEY
THE HOWLING
THE ODD COUPLE
TARZAN THE APE MAN (Bo Derek)
USED CARS

....these discs are $5 each (+ $2 shipping)

ALSO -

ADAM & THE ANTS (Live)
PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS - Rosckshow
PLAYBOY Vol. 1
SNOOPY COME HOME (dual language disc - English/Spanish)

....these discs are $10 each (+ $2 shipping)

email to: redcircus@aol.com

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Date: Tue, 04 Mar 1997 01:11:14 -0800
From: Tom Howe 
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: RE: Failure of Turntable to Spin Down Properly

Hello:

A recent question concerned "Why does the turntable in my SKT400 spin down at
variable rates?" This response addresses turntable spin down in general. Since
the turntable has to go from 450rpm to a complete stop in a few seconds, a
braking mechanism is employed. In all belt-driven turntables this is a
mechanical friction system, and in all direct drive turntables (except the
Sanyo VDR3000), braking is achieved by reversal of the drive coil magnetic fields.
Failure of the turntable to spin down in a timely fashion could be due to a weak
mechanical friction system, or in the case of reversed coil braking, could be
due to increased friction in the turntable mechanism. At first though this seems
contradictory, since increased friction halts motion more rapidly, but remember
that increased friction also generates more heat, and heat destroys magnetic
fields. While a disc is being played, the Hall Effect transducers near the
magnetic ring on the turntable create feedback that forces the mechanism to
spin the turntable at 450rpm. If there is excessive friction, the magnetic coils
draw more current to maintain the rate, which in turn produces more heat, requiring
even more current, etc. At the end of play, this excessive heat causes the spin
down phase to take longer.

Here are areas to look at to eliminate excess friction:
(1) Turntable height-- needs to be high enough so there is no friction with the
surrounding base.
(2) Turntable warpage-- Never hit a CED player while the turntable is spinning.
The turntable is very susceptible to damage from the impact while its spinning.
The reason I mention this is that I've seen CED players (and computer hard
drives, for that matter) that won't spin up unless first given a tap. In the
case of CED players this "stiction" condition is often caused by a turntable
shaft that was mistakenly greased (see item 4).
(3) Missing Thrust Plate-- J and K players have a small 1/4" plate under the
turntable shaft that is often missing. Sometimes a missing plate can be found
attached to the turntable magnetic ring, since it fell out during a previous
turntable removal and was drawn to the ring.
(4) No Lubrication-- The turntable shaft should be lightly lubricated with
sewing machine oil. Avoid using motor oils (too thick and detergent content),
as well as 3-In-1 Oil (vegetable oil content). 

Even in the absence of excessive friction, the rate at which the turntable spins
down varies slightly each time the reject or unload button is pushed. This is
because coil reversal can be initiated in any one of four states depending upon
the particular instant the button is pushed. It's preferable to allow the player
to initiate the reject sequence at the end of play, but in any case, the raised
outer rim of the disc protects the grooves, and with Hitachi players, the small
diameter turntable only contacts the raised center section of the disc.

--Tom Howe

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Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 01:51:30 -0500
From: Ed Ellers
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: An oddball model - SGT101

I have the instruction manual (only) for an RCA CED player identified as
the SGT101.  As best I can tell it's identical to the SGT100, but page
14 (where the warranty would appear) is entirely blank, even though page
12 refers to "...page 14 for information regarding warranty coverage.) 
RCA has long been known to make special models for distribution in
different channels, so I don't know whether this player was intended for
a particular store chain or for non-retail distribution.

(The way I got this manual was unusual -- an RCA rep gave several copies
to a regular dealer, who set them out mistakenly thinking they were
brochures.  The booklet does *not* say "instruction manual" or the like
on the cover, so that was an easy mistake, but I can't figure out how
quantities of this booklet ended up being sent out to the sales force.)

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From: "Geoff Oltmans"
To: <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: Cleaning discs
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 1997 13:01:21 -0600

Okay, so like I got this Return of the Jedi on CED (both parts). Part 2
plays great, however the same cannot be said for the first disc. When I
took the disc out to inspect it, I noticed FINGERPRINTS on the surface of
the disc, both sides. Well, so much for that, I thought.

Well, after noticing messages on here from people cleaning discs, I decided
to do the same, using liquid hand soap, and using some foam swabs (used for
cleaning tape heads. Then I decided to take the deal a step further...since
the discs originally were sprayed with silicone (to reduce wear), I bought
a can of aerosol silicon spray lubricant (valvoline brand) and sprayed the
surface of the disc. WHOOPS! It comes out pretty thick. <grin> Anyways, I
wiped the surface of the disc down (with a less than lint free cloth) and
played the disc. It skipped a lot. Took it back out of the jacket, yep,
lots of fibers from where I wiped it...plus there was still a lot of
lubricant on the disc. So, I took the disc to the bathtub and turned the
cold water on fairly hard, figured I could just spray the fibers off. That
got rid of some of the contamination. Anyways, subsequent plays show that
the picture is improving, it skips less than when I started, and the
silicone spray has no ill effects on the program material.

I think where I went wrong was using a non lint-free cloth. I think that
perhaps using a chamois would be a better idea...

Just thought you guys would like to know about the silicone spray thing. :)

*Geoff!*

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From: MELBANEW
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 1997 17:34:56 -0500 (EST)
To: CEDS@teleport.com
Subject: CED Test Equipment

In a trade I received some items for CED testing that I am not familiar with
.  I have two Stereo/Mono Service Alignment Disc, # 153394.  I assume these
discs are used with other test equipment for setting up your players.  I also
received two small tools in RCA boxes one is a  159251 labeled Tool.  The
other is a 156529 laveled Gauge.  If anyone has any information or comments
on these tools I would appreciate their response.    Billy New
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