TurboDuo CD won't spin up to speed

[MegaManFan]

Hello from the new guy! I got a recommendation from AtariAge to check this place out as I have a TurboDuo that's acting up and it's beyond my technical expertise to fix. Seriously it took me over an hour just to assemble an Atari 2600 homebrew cart correctly, so if I tried to fix my TD myself I might completely wreck the poor thing. Anyway...

What's happening is the CD drive doesn't appear to spin up to speed. It can load a game just fine, but once it loads, it won't access sections promptly or the audio will stick on repeat and eventually fail (example: Sherlock Holmes). Therefore I get the feeling the drive and/or something else inside it is failing due to old age. It works perfectly fine otherwise - card games play normally as do PC-Engine games (using an adapter).

I'm told if I need help getting it repaired you guys know your stuff and or can recommend someone reliable. I don't want to take it to the local "retro stores" where I live because they don't get or see anything like this. 90% of their repair work is PlayStations and Xboxes so I just wouldn't trust them with something this far outside of their expertise.

[tbone3969]

Keith Courage is a great repair man.  I highly recommend him.

[NecroPhile]

Welcome aboard!  I don't know which ones are currently taking on new work, but Keith, chops, steve, or mnkydeth are all good repair peeps.

If it's not been recapped, maybe that's all it needs.  << fingers crossed >>

[turboswimbz]

Welcome, I will second the work of those guys NecroPhile listed.  They all have either helped me or out or worked on my stuff.

Kieth and Mnky check the boards often, you may need to OM steve or chop.

[MobiusStripTech]

I also repair these and agree that it's likely in need of a recap. In the event it needs more, I have more parts.

[MegaManFan]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to follow up with Keith since he already sent me a PM.

[MNKyDeth]

Since my name was mentioned here.

I am not currently taking on any new work. I have a few systems I am willing to sell if someone is interested. However, I have a baby on the way and I am working my main job around 70'ish hours a week right now.

Maybe after the start of the new year I will have a bit of free time but I wouldn't count on it.

[turboswimbz]

I have a baby on the way

CONGRATS!

[MegaManFan]

Just thought I'd update this thread to say I finally got my Turbo Duo and Express boxed up and sent to Keith Courage last week. He's already finished both and sent them back to me, so I'm now watching the mailman like a hawk. (One time he took two packages marked "FRAGILE" and "DO NOT BEND" and tossed them OVER THE RAILING onto my front step.) Reasonable prices for the work especially given I can't do it myself and it's sure cheaper than buying both on eBay... that would probably need to be recapped themselves anyway!

[MegaManFan]

Keith Courage is a great repair man.  I highly recommend him.

Keith does indeed do great work! I got my Turbo Duo and Express back today, and my Express powered on for the first time in years. Words can't express (yuk yuk) how grateful I was to kick back in my recliner and play Devils Crush right in front of eyes. I will undoubtedly be showing the thing off to people any chance I get. Now as for the Duo, I had an amusing update to share, which I told our repair guru I'd post here.

First and foremost, I can tell recapping the system has made it work 1000% better. Even in smaller imperceptible ways that I'm probably imagining as much as seeing, I feel like the sound is crisper and the video is better. Now here's the funny part. When I first came looking because I was having issues the game that was causing me all the trouble was Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. Now when I got the system back today, I put four disc based games in the system both US and import to make sure it was all good. Riot Zone? No problem. Super Darius? No problem. Y's I & II? No problem. Guess which one doesn't work still?

SHERLOCK FREAKING HOLMES.

At this point I can only conclude that either (1.) The eBay seller sent me a jank disc, even though I can't see any obvious scratches or (2.) The game is just so poorly designed that it can't handle the FMV in it. I'm not sure which is the case but I'd be happy to solicit opinions because at this point the glitching audio and video isn't my system and definitely isn't Keith's work, because EVERYTHING other than Sherlock works just fine.

[Keith Courage]

I can't remember for sure but I remember years back I had a regular TurboGrafx CD system that would not work with one of the Sherlock Holmes games I had. I can't remember if I was able to get it to work by making a copy of the disc or if maybe I had to format the internal CD memory.

[NecroPhile]

You coulda sent the disc to Keith so he could test it in other systems he has laying about, but that ship has sailed.

Will your Duo play CDRs?  If so you can test a burn and see if it works okay, or you could send the offending disc off to someone else to see if it'll play in their system.

[MegaManFan]

You coulda sent the disc to Keith so he could test it in other systems he has laying about, but that ship has sailed.

Yeah I'm a dummy. I should have sent that disc to him, but I was so sure it was the system, I didn't even think it was necessary. And by his account, all of the caps in my system were beyond gone, and given the age I'm not surprised. It's not like my TurboExpress worked before he replaced the caps in that too.

Will your Duo play CDRs?  If so you can test a burn and see if it works okay, or you could send the offending disc off to someone else to see if it'll play in their system.

I've never actually tried burning a disc for my TurboDuo, but if ever there was a time, this might be the one. If a burned copy of Sherlock Holmes is better than the original I'll just swap them out in the case. Question - does using CDRs cause any harm to the laser head? I've been warned off using burned discs in my Dreamcast for that very reason.

I can't remember for sure but I remember years back I had a regular TurboGrafx CD system that would not work with one of the Sherlock Holmes games I had. I can't remember if I was able to get it to work by making a copy of the disc or if maybe I had to format the internal CD memory.

For all I know it might be related to the internal memory too, but I can always start with a burned disc to eliminate that variable, provided it's safe to use them in a Duo. I'd hate to mess it up after all the good work you just did!

[NecroPhile]

Nah, you ain't dumb.  Unless the disc were scratched to fook (I know you said it wasn't), I would've assumed it was the system too.

I use CDRs in my RX all the time.  As long as your system reads them without struggling (super long load times, stops playing redbook tracks until next reload, has to reseek multiple times), there's no damage being done to your system; you're asking for trouble, however, if you ignore the warning signs.

[MegaManFan]

Nah, you ain't dumb.  Unless the disc were scratched to fook (I know you said it wasn't), I would've assumed it was the system too.

I use CDRs in my RX all the time.  As long as your system reads them without struggling (super long load times, stops playing redbook tracks until next reload, has to reseek multiple times), there's no damage being done to your system; you're asking for trouble, however, if you ignore the warning signs.

Cool. I'll look up the directions for how to create a proper image to burn (every system seems to have its own 'do it like this' set of steps) and see if that one works compared to the one I have. At least I'm 100% sure now that it's the game and not the system because nothing else has caused the slightest issue that I've tried. My only other problem now is I need to find my "PCE to TG16" card converter again so I can play my import HuCards!