"ts" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I thought I'd ask here before converting my CD player into an inverse
AIRFIX lifesize model.

My about 10 y.o. SONY har recently begun misbehaving, with progressively
worse skipping primarily when playing newish (Audio) CDs, the first
three (innermost) tracks mostly affected.

Last week I opened the cabinet for the first time since it was
assembled, discovering a very clean inside, with whitish grease still
neatly lubricating the interacting surfaces of the disk transport
mechanism. Only sign indicating use was on the inside of the cover above
the transformator, where a light deposit could be wiped off. I cleaned
the laser disk gently with ethanol, but found nothing else I obviously
could do anything with. Subjectively, I imagine a slight improvement in
the clarity of music played post-cleaning (but this may be a
placebo-like effect).

The skipping continued as before. Today I consulted a local SONY shop,
who informed they'd be happy to take it in and look at it (£42). If they
could do anything to it they would charge per hour (£36) spent fiddling
with it. If they decided they could do nothing with, it they would
generously deduct the "staring fee" against the purchase price of a new
unit from them. Needless to say, I left immediately.


???? Seems reasonable enough to me....???


Does anyone recognise this behaviour as signs of increasing misalignment
(or other correctable deviations from normalty) ?

If this is the case, can anyone recommend an independent workshop which
might adjust the player?


They'll just charge the same sort of money without being able to offer a
deduction from the price of a replacement player, if necessary. (Even
repairmen and their families gotta eat occasionally......)

I think the clue is in the question. with the word 'skip' being the main
operator...... ;-)

With perfectly respectable little CD/R/RW/DVD-V/MP3 players costing as
little as £45 these days I can't see the point of getting the cheaper CDPS
even looked at if they go on the fritz (and you can't fix it with a laser
cleaning exercise).

Only my 2p....