Tascam CD160

[Siegfried Meier]

Hey guys,

I have a nearly new CD160 that won't accept discs.  It simply opens up the tray again after closing it, no matter what disc it is.  There's a bit of an odd sound, can't quite place what it is.  I opened it up, and it appears that I should be seeing the motor and disc spin but this doesn't happen.  Could the motor be dead?  Any plan of attack on this?

Thanks!
Sig

 

[Siegfried Meier]

Hmmmmm ok so I kinda got it working.  Forgive me for not knowing my CD player terminology…

The bottom part that forces up and holds the disc in place, it's not going on its own.  When I insert a disc, if I push up on that section it latches and makes contact and the disc plays - perfectly too, mind you.  When I eject the disc, that portion easily unlatches and the disc is ejected.  It just won't go up on its own.  I suppose the motor could be weak?  But it doesn't seem that way…it seems like something is catching…

I also noticed a small black plastic washer sitting inside the chassis…I have no idea where it came from, just noticed it.  I can't see anything missing, but it's not easy to tell from just looking at that assembly…

Anyone have experience repairing these?  Or any disc player, for that matter - I can't imagine the assemblies are all that different.

Any help much appreciated!
Thanks,
Sig

 

[Siegfried Meier]

Man, I am soooo close to getting this…it appears that the gears are not lined up, but I have no idea how to line them up now.  I've taken it all apart, can't put it back together for the life of me.

It has to be timed perfectly.  Tray opens, that section drops to release the disc.  You insert disc, the tray closes and when fully closed that part pushes the disc back in place so the lens can get in there and do its thing.  However, I still don't know what that plastic washer is for, and I don't know why it jumped out of the gear in the first place…

Very precise, and very annoying…help...

 

[Siegfried Meier]

Well hey, sometimes just talking to myself on here seems to fix things haha!!

I don't know how I did it, but I tried a million different combinations of where the gears should go, and at some point it just worked…I put the tray back on, and really had to fiddle with it before it was happy.  There's a little switch that trips at 2 points - once when the tray is all the way out, and once when it's all the way back in.  That switch tells the motor to turn off, and the laser carriage whether to drop or raise (and vice versa).  Once all that was aligned, and who in the hell knows why any of this even worked at 1:30am since nothing EVER seems to go right at that time of night…eureka!!  She works, sounds great and is all put back together now.  Somehow, the gear slipped inside and messed up the entire thing, and this is all it took….

Oh, and that little plastic washer - it's for the bottom of the left side of the entire tray carriage - otherwise it puts too much pressure on one side and then the tray sticks.  Seems like a minor design flaw.

Thanks for letting me talk it out here everyone!

Sig

 

[peterc]

Good job!