'NO PLAY'problem with a Sanyo DWM-360 player.

[gom]

Hi all,

This machine stopped playing all comercial made disks. A call to Sanyo help support claimed that it may be dust on the laser and to use a laser cleaner.

However, I have heard that a cleaner can do more harm than good if it's not the right one.

Anyone out there have experience with dvd cleaner disks? Perhaps it's time for a new machine?

Thanks!

[Roundabout]

Well, if you're going to consider replacing the DVD player anyway, why not try? You can open up the player (unplug it first) and use a Q-Tip and wipe the objective lens of the laser carefully. For maximum cleaning, spray the end of the Q-Tip first (away from the player) with some Denatured Alcohol, or even Windex. Don't soak the swab, use just enough to wet it a little. Then rub the tip gently in a circular motion across the lens. Use the other end of the Q-Tip to gently dry the lens. Then test to see if it works. You can also use some "canned air" to blow dust off of the pickup and any dust that may have gotten inside the pickup itself, onto the prism assembly. Just don't direct an blast of air at extreme velocity into the pickup, keep it several inches away before blowing it out.

Any amount of dust can affect the performance of the laser, so you may need to clean it more often if you are in a dusty environment or the drawer of the player isn't semi-airtight. Dust infiltrates the player and eventually it stops working properly. Also, this happens on CD players a lot. Any unit that uses a laser pickup assembly is prone to this problem.

Give it a try, who knows, it might work! I've never had any luck myself with the so-called "cleaning discs". They don't do the job very well, if at all. Doing it manually ensures that the lens itself gets cleaned. If it still doesn't work, you may have a weak laser diode inside the pickup itself, in which case you'll have to replace the pickup, or the entire player if you don't want to hassle with it.

[gom]

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a go.

I hate to fill up the garbage dumps with another electronic consumer product but if cleaning the lens doesn't work, I guess I'll have to.

It's a crime and a shame that the manufacturers get away with making these products that are so sensitive they only last a few years or even less!

[Roundabout]

Hope it works. As far as mfgrs making products that only last a few years, my views on this are well known on this site. When people demand cheap products and they don't last, who is to blame? I think both the mfgrs and consumers are.

I worked for many years as an electronic tech for Sony, and you'd be surprised how many units I fixed using just the procedure I described above. More often than not, people could have done this themselves, had they been aware of the 'dust issue'. Most people's homes are much dustier than you think, and when this dust gets inside any electronic item with moving parts and/or lasers, eventually the result is failure of the product.

I always recommend to people, that if you aren't going to be using something for a while, to cover it with something to help keep dust out. That alone could prevent a lot of problems.

I can only imagine how many CD and DVD players go into the trash every year, when all they need is a simple cleaning. Unfortunately, mfgrs don't want people to know how to do it, and also, there's the liability issue. If they open it and get shocked, they may wind up getting sued. So they don't tell you how to maintain the product.

In the end, we all lose. You're mad at the mfgr for making a 'short-lived' product, you lose money, the environment gets more junk in it...well, I don't know the solution, but this procedure is a step in the right direction.

Good luck with it. If it works, let us know.

If not...you tried.

[gom]

I spoke with someone else concerning this matter and he stated that using ANY kind of alcohol will cloud ip the plastic lens of the laser.

Since you wee in the business, can you verify that the lens is either glass or plastic?

[Roundabout]

AFIAK, all the lens are glass (at least, on all Sony ones they were). I don't think plastic has the correct refractive properties for the laser to focus, as the plastic would change it's refractive index over time. A laser beam is critical when it has to focus within a micron or two (I don't know the exact focal tolerance, so don't quote me on that) and it's doubtful that plastic would cut it for this purpose.

That's not to say that the manufacturers wouldn't try it anyway...but I doubt it. Glass lens for this purpose wouldn't cost more than a cent or two over plastic.

I also don't think using denatured alcohol on plastic would cloud it, it doesn't melt plastic. Try it on a piece of clear scrap plastic yourself, if you want to be sure. It's not acetone, which would melt plastic.

I've personally never had any issues using it for cleaning laser lens, and I've cleaned many with it. What you decide to do is up to you. You could also just try wiping the lens with a dry Q-tip, if you're lucky, it just has dust on it and that would remove it. In some areas, where there is a lot of smog or pollution, the lens gets cloudy from the contaminants in the air, so the windex or alcohol would remove it without leaving residue.

If you are worried about it, maybe you shouldn't do it. I know plenty of people do it all the time without problem, but what you decide to do is entirely up to you. If the unit doesn't work and you were thinking about chucking it anyway, what have you lost in trying? That's about all the advice I can offer. Hope that helps a little.

Roundabout

[gom]

Thank you Roundabout. This novice took your advice and wiped the lens with a dry q - tip and the darned thing actually works.

You've saved me some money and the environment a thrown away electronic item containing mercury, cadmium, etc. at least temporarily.

Thanks again and I'll spread the word! :D

[Roundabout]

Hey, that's great!

You might want to do this to any consumer CD/DVD player that stops working or skips. Most PC CD/DVD ROM's don't suffer from this, because in most cases they are fairly dust tight due to the the design of the drawer and case (no vent holes, since there's very little to generate heat). All consumer devices have power supplies built in (A/C supplies) that generate heat, and therefore must have adequate ventilation.

For that reason, they tend to fail more often than anything else. I haven't had 100% success doing this cleaning, but very high probability of it, since dust causes most problems.

A friend of mine has a all-in-one stereo that has large vent holes, and he calls me every six months or so to clean it out, because the CD player stops working. Usually there's a thick layer of dust on the lens. I clean it, and he's good to go for another half year. This has been going on for three years or so (he has a very dusty house). Had I not done that, he would have thrown it away ages ago.

Good idea, spread the word. Less trash, and also money saved. You'll be the CD/DVD repairman for all your friends and family...

At Sony, we charged $99.00 (Flat Rate Repair) to repair a unit like this. I wished I could had told customers about it, but I would have gotten in trouble or lost my job for suggesting the customer fix it themselves (or told them how little I did for what they were charged). Now that I don't work there anymore, I can say what I think.

Good job. Glad I was able to help. 8)

Roundabout