REPAIR GUIDE - Super CD-ROM² Pot Adjustment

[Fidde_se]

Hi all, I was fixing a Super CD-ROM² and it seemed to just need a pot adjustment. I searched the forum for any pot adjustment, but I wanted one with a resistance chart, ended up with nothing.

I found this japanese site http://pcerepair.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-87.html
and started from scratch.




The pots had been tampered with wildly prior to my attempts and the site shows where they approximately should be when it's new, I then tuned it in, and measured it and made my own chart.

Following the usual chart tradition =)

Borrowed from "Duo_R"

It would be nice if others would report their exact values as these are not the original even if they are working very good.

Values in K (Kilo Ohm)

Sometimes potentiometers crack with age and if so
All of them should be 20K (24J) except VR105 thats 1K (13J)
They are also top adjust and single turn and hole threw.
Example Kingtronics RKT-3329-H-203 and RKT-3329-H-102

[CZroe]

Thanks! This should be linked in the sticky. They only have an adjustment guide for the Supers and Duos! I couldn't search the forums from Tapatalk so even this post was difficult to find.

Edit: DARN! Looks like this is for a Super too.

[yesimnathan]

Thanks for the info Fidde_se! Would you by chance be able to post a summary of what you did to tune your pots? I replaced about 10 failing caps in my Super CD-ROM² and then tuned the pots to match your readings. I figured they wouldn't be exact for my specific unit but they'd at least get me close - and indeed they did.

I then followed the steps on the japanese site that you linked & spent several hours fiddling with the pots last night and just couldn't quite get it tuned in. I'm using a burned CD (verbatim) that's got 18 tracks on it. I've mostly been twiddling VR104 and VR105 but it seems to be almost completely random as to which tracks will have trouble playing. I'm pretty sure VCO is off since I've never gotten tracks 17 and 18 to play. I'll think I'm getting close to having it dialed in (I'll be able to skip to track 16 and start playing it), do another tiny adjustment to VR105, and then it'll hang up on like track 3 or 5.

Any tips/advice that you could give would be super appreciated! =)

[Fidde_se]

A really good advice is also to get a new laser as that can do wonders, and they are pretty cheap too.

[Keith Courage]

I think the market is flooded with generic lasers for these drives now because I've tried 3 different ones from 3 different places and none of them work(yes I de-soldered the anti-static blob). So be aware of this when trying to find a new lens.  Originals usually still work good with some adjustment.

yesimnathan, have you checked the larger lens gear to make sure there are no broken teeth. Lots of times one or more teeth break on these causing CD read errors. Look very closely because the teeth are small.

[ginoscope]

I think the market is flooded with generic lasers for these drives now because I've tried 3 different ones from 3 different places and none of them work(yes I de-soldered the anti-static blob). So be aware of this when trying to find a new lens.  Originals usually still work good with some adjustment.

yesimnathan, have you checked the larger lens gear to make sure there are no broken teeth. Lots of times one or more teeth break on these causing CD read errors. Look very closely because the teeth are small.

I had the same issue recently with my super cd and it was so frustrating.  3 different lasers and none of them worked on the Super CD.  I finally got the original laser tuned after lots of trial and error.

[NecroPhile]

What's with all the dead lasers?  Cutting corners to keep costs down isn't surprising, but you'd think they'd want at least half to actually work.  They must be selling them to retailers as-is, meaning the retailer has to eat any returned stock and the problem doesn't immediately come home to roost.

[LowRes]

What's with all the dead lasers?  Cutting corners to keep costs down isn't surprising, but you'd think they'd want at least half to actually work.  They must be selling them to retailers as-is, meaning the retailer has to eat any returned stock and the problem doesn't immediately come home to roost.

It's probably also hard to prove the laser is faulty and can easily be blamed on user error or in-proper installation.  Most people wouldn't know any better.

[NecroPhile]

True.  Nobody would want to mail it back to China for replacement either, as our mail (USA) isn't subsidized and it'd probably cost as much in postage as the laser is worth.

[NightWolve]

True.  Nobody would want to mail it back to China for replacement either, as our mail (USA) isn't subsidized and it'd probably cost as much in postage as the laser is worth.

Ooooh, so it's not just their currency manipulation to boost exports being the reason you get great deals from Chinese sellers, their mail is partly subsidized. I wondered about that, interesting.

I recently loaded up on lots of 10 Gbps Cat7 Ethernet cables for dirt cheap compared to what I would've paid at a retail store like MicroCenter. The shipping alone almost didn't justify the seller wasting his time, but lucky for me.

I keep telling myself to do more shopping on eBay because this isn't gonna last for much longer with Internet taxation looming and that China may change its policy on deliberately keeping their currency weaker to the US dollar.

[NecroPhile]

I've never seen any factual information that it's subsidized, but it just about has to be.  I can buy usb or av cables from China shipped to my door for less than what I could ship it 1st class in the US, and surely the USPS doesn't deliver stuff for free (or almost free) just because it originated outside the US.

Not that it'd surprise me if they did though.  The goverrats do a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense.

[MNKyDeth]

Not sure where people are getting there lenses from.
I buy all my hop-m3 and kss-210B lenses from dalbanicorporation.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/KSS-210B-Generic-Sony-Replacement-Laser-Lens-KSS210B-Optical-Pickup-CD-VCD/120865809030?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

I have never had a dead/bad hop-m3 from them yet. However I have had 1 bad kss-210B in the last batch of 10 that I ordered.

[Keith Courage]

Not sure where people are getting there lenses from.
I buy all my hop-m3 and kss-210B lenses from dalbanicorporation.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/KSS-210B-Generic-Sony-Replacement-Laser-Lens-KSS210B-Optical-Pickup-CD-VCD/120865809030?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

I have never had a dead/bad hop-m3 from them yet. However I have had 1 bad kss-210B in the last batch of 10 that I ordered.

Tried two kss-210B recently from them. Both dead. They did tell me that their current ones are generic, whatever that means because the boxes said Sony on then like they were new old stock. They let me return them with no issues since I've been getting my HOP-M3 lenses from them for years. 95% success rate on those.

[Fidde_se]

Chinas mail are subsidized, it was established in the 1800, for developing countries, it has been a lot of discussions about that here as Sweden are getting 150.000 small packets from china everyday and creating a bottleneck in the system that our postal system gets nothing from only higher costs.

So they have come up with a solution to charge about 9$ for every package coming into the country from the buyer starting March 1 2018.... it's for values under 25$ over that it costs 15$, so hoard stuff from china while you can, more countries will soon follow.... you will get the possibility to not pay and not get the goods and they are sent back but that may only be a right to do here other countries might just send a note to pay up...

For anyone interested google translate this https://www.nordichardware.se/nyheter/de-nya-reglerna-kina-paket-infors-den-1-mars.html

[ginoscope]

Not sure where people are getting there lenses from.
I buy all my hop-m3 and kss-210B lenses from dalbanicorporation.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/KSS-210B-Generic-Sony-Replacement-Laser-Lens-KSS210B-Optical-Pickup-CD-VCD/120865809030?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

I have never had a dead/bad hop-m3 from them yet. However I have had 1 bad kss-210B in the last batch of 10 that I ordered.

Tried two kss-210B recently from them. Both dead. They did tell me that their current ones are generic, whatever that means because the boxes said Sony on then like they were new old stock. They let me return them with no issues since I've been getting my HOP-M3 lenses from them for years. 95% success rate on those.

That is where I got the KSS210B from and they were dead as well.  I did remove the solder blob before I installed it and I have replaced plenty of lasers so I know it was not user error.

I did try a Sony branded KSS210A that did boot games but it was not as stable overall with the super cd as the original laser.  I'm just happy the super cd works but would love to source a reliable laser for the future.

[NightWolve]

So they have come up with a solution to charge about 9$ for every package coming into the country from the buyer starting March 1 2018.... it's for values under 25$ over that it costs 15$, so hoard stuff from china while you can, more countries will soon follow....

Oh no, that's a bummer, the good times are over for you... You'll have to look/shop for more wholesale sellers per purchase, find ebay listings where you can get add multiple items per purchase to make it all worth it for this new shipping cost, etc.

[NightWolve]

Not sure where people are getting there lenses from.
I buy all my hop-m3 and kss-210B lenses from dalbanicorporation.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/KSS-210B-Generic-Sony-Replacement-Laser-Lens-KSS210B-Optical-Pickup-CD-VCD/120865809030?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2l

Wow, I didn't notice this last time, but I have a connection to Dalbani Electronics/Co! When I was 16-17 in the early 90's I started VCR repair for a resale shop I hung out at and Dalbani + MCM Electronics we're my suppliers for parts like a VCR head puller, belts, that sort of thing.

I still didn't have a CC yet so I'd use my dad's and just pay him cash next time around after ordering over the phone with their catalog. Heh, old skool.

I recall I got their info from a professional TV/VCR repair shop, a Korean owner (somewhat at part of Korea Town) who let me jot their number down after asking where he buys his stuff (MCM too). He fixed a RCA TV for me before he eventually went out of business.

Side note: I bought the NES/SNES security bit later after spotting it for sale in such catalogs (MCM, pretty sure) (that was fun!). That was a big deal, I was the only one in my neighborhood that had it, heh. I did misplace it at some point and thought a friend stole it, but it got lost under a magnetic dish holder, just didn't notice for many years...

Coincidentally, I still had all my old Dalbani/MCM catalogs in storage until this summer but I decided it's time to get rid of lots of stuff along with my EGM, GameFan, GamePro, Nintendo Power magazines. Anything I can't sell was tossed in the recycling bin or donated to the local library like my CS programming books. Ah well, time to start letting stuff go left around for nostalgia's sake...

Anyway, good to know they're still around and now on eBay. Yeah, they're still based in Florida, I remember that too.