Need advice and potential work done (on my TGCD and TG16)

[A Black Falcon]

I mentioned this in in passing the main TG16 forum, but I'd like to explain it in more detail now, and hopefully get some help (or someone to do the work/mod, that'd be fine).  back in about '09, I bought a TG16+CD from ebay.  It was on the "cheap" side because the laser was dead.  The guy had tried to replace the laser himself, but had cut one of the replacement laser's ribbon cables, and gave up on it and sold it instead.

Well, I've used the TG16 base unit a lot, for AV output and saving, but I never have quite gotten around to getting that CD drive fixed.  I really should, though, and I think I will.  First though, here's a photo I took of the cut ribbon cable.  I'm bending it slightly so that the cut is clearly visible, and that it's attached to a KSS-220A (replacement) laser, too.  You can't see it in the photo, but that blob of solder that needs to be removed from the other side of this ribbon cable is also still there.

http://www.abload.de/img/100_1047nhsr2.jpg

From what I've looked up myself, it looks like fixing the cable myself would be quite difficult, and I doubt that I could do it (I haven't even soldered before, much less tried whatever that would require). But I assume that the laser itself is fine... so yeah, I don't know if the system actually needs a new replacement laser, but it needs some kind of repair for sure.  Whatever gets it working cheapest pretty much. :p

As for that gear that strips, it's discolored -- the other two gears are bright white, while that one is yellow -- but there are no nicks or broken teeth on it, yet at least, so I don't know if it needs replacement right now.  Maybe it could be done as a precautionary measure, though, so that I don't get the thing fixed, and then have it break on me after a few months or something... worrying about that is one reason I didn't get the CD drive fixed back when I first bought it, there was no solution for the gear problem at that point.  It isn't damaged now, anyway, just yellowed.

Oh -- yeah, I had to take the drive apart to take that photo, but of course I'll do my best to but it back together again (by reversing the instructions in the thread on this forum) before sending it to anyone, presuming that I do that.   I wanted to post this first though, before doing that.


Oh, the guy also included in the box the original, broken laser, and also the KSS-220A assembly.  That's the part you can use the lens section of to replace that TGCD's "it just sits there and the rings above hold the disc down" system with a more modern clip-on disc connector, yes?  I couldn't get the laser assembly in the actual system apart, though, so I gave up on trying to do that myself.  Stupid tiny little screws...

Oh, while disassembling it, I accidentally pulled out one of the two wires which grounds parts of the system.  It's the one that attaches to the lid, I believe; I doubt it's too important, but regardless it's obvious, so anyone who can solder could surely fix that very quickly.  It's not broken, just disconnected.


So, that's one thing.  The other thing I want done is a region mod on my TG16 itself (or rather, one of them; I have two, one from earlier, and one that came with this TGCD), so that I can play Japanese HuCards.  I have a CD System Card 2.0 card, but not the 3.0, and this mod has to be a lot cheaper than buying the US one, even including shipping...

So yeah, any comments?

[A Black Falcon]

No help?  Ah well, I'll have to continue to not have a working Turbo CD drive I guess.  I really want a working one though...

[NecroPhile]

PM chops or thesteve or keith.  Any one of 'em should be able to fix it up.

[A Black Falcon]

PM chops or thesteve or keith.  Any one of 'em should be able to fix it up.

Thanks... and they could also region-mod my TG16, hopefully?

[Bernie]

They can do whatever you want/need done to your system.

[A Black Falcon]

As an update, after waiting several months I did get Keith Courage to do the repair and mod.  It was more broken than expected, because apparently the motherboard in the CD drive was bad (a chip or something) and had to be replaced, so it cost more than the average repair, but I got the drive and system back today and they're working great, both the repaired CD drive and the modded system.