LaserDisc Repair?

S

Steve Reinis

Guest
Do I need to find a specialized shop to repair my older (1990) Panasonic
LX-200U LaserDisc player? It's an auto-reverse unit, so I'd love to salvage
it. (No flipping discs!) AND, it also has an optical output, which is quite
rare for an older unit. But it seems something is going flakey or heat
sensitive. Cold, the unit plays a disc after much searching and hunting for
the TOC, and even then the video has slight noise in it that is not normal.
The picture just gradually gets filled with more and more noise until the
unit starts to skip and just lock up.

I ask if I need a special shop because I took the unit to a TV/VCR shop in
town and they laughed at me for wanting to "repair that junk" and said they
can't do it. Junk? This deck in good working order will sell for $200 on
eBay. Not to mention the 53 LaserDiscs I have!

Is it worthwhile to repair, or should I just give up and buy a newer deck?
Shouldn't a shop that can handle DVD/CD repair be able to handl an LD
player?

Thanks,
-Steve
 
These players are fairly complex to troubleshoot and work on. Also, some
specialized test equipment, proper training, jigs, and the service manuals
would be required if the problem is in some debt. The average shop can only
do the general types of repairs on these units.

If you really want it fixed, the factory service should be able to do this
for you, as long as they would have the parts. Get in touch with Panasonic
for information to how to send them the unit for service.

If the repairs are involved, it can easily cost you more to service your
units, than to replace them. The tech may have to spend a number of hours to
troubleshoot, and then service them.

Once you get a proper estimate, you will know what to decide.

--

Greetings,

Jerry Greenberg GLG Technologies GLG
=========================================
WebPage http://www.zoom-one.com
Electronics http://www.zoom-one.com/electron.htm
Instruments http://www.zoom-one.com/glgtech.htm
=========================================


"Steve Reinis" <noemail@all.com> wrote in message
news:bk5gnk01irc@enews3.newsguy.com...
Do I need to find a specialized shop to repair my older (1990) Panasonic
LX-200U LaserDisc player? It's an auto-reverse unit, so I'd love to salvage
it. (No flipping discs!) AND, it also has an optical output, which is quite
rare for an older unit. But it seems something is going flakey or heat
sensitive. Cold, the unit plays a disc after much searching and hunting for
the TOC, and even then the video has slight noise in it that is not normal.
The picture just gradually gets filled with more and more noise until the
unit starts to skip and just lock up.

I ask if I need a special shop because I took the unit to a TV/VCR shop in
town and they laughed at me for wanting to "repair that junk" and said they
can't do it. Junk? This deck in good working order will sell for $200 on
eBay. Not to mention the 53 LaserDiscs I have!

Is it worthwhile to repair, or should I just give up and buy a newer deck?
Shouldn't a shop that can handle DVD/CD repair be able to handl an LD
player?

Thanks,
-Steve
 
There was never that many LD players out there. Many shops never even got
into servicing them.
The large majority of LD players are built by Pioneer, that makes yours even
more unusual.

Mark Z.


"Steve Reinis" <noemail@all.com> wrote in message
news:bk5gnk01irc@enews3.newsguy.com...
Do I need to find a specialized shop to repair my older (1990) Panasonic
LX-200U LaserDisc player? It's an auto-reverse unit, so I'd love to
salvage
it. (No flipping discs!) AND, it also has an optical output, which is
quite
rare for an older unit. But it seems something is going flakey or heat
sensitive. Cold, the unit plays a disc after much searching and hunting
for
the TOC, and even then the video has slight noise in it that is not
normal.
The picture just gradually gets filled with more and more noise until the
unit starts to skip and just lock up.

I ask if I need a special shop because I took the unit to a TV/VCR shop in
town and they laughed at me for wanting to "repair that junk" and said
they
can't do it. Junk? This deck in good working order will sell for $200 on
eBay. Not to mention the 53 LaserDiscs I have!

Is it worthwhile to repair, or should I just give up and buy a newer deck?
Shouldn't a shop that can handle DVD/CD repair be able to handl an LD
player?

Thanks,
-Steve
Click to expand...
 
Cold, the unit plays a disc after much searching and hunting for
the TOC, and even then the video has slight noise in it that is not normal.
The picture just gradually gets filled with more and more noise until the
unit starts to skip and just lock up.
Click to expand...
Your player may be in need of an optics recalibration. Worst case would be the
need to replace the pickup if it went south.

Panasonics are not bad players, although some models are troublesome. Not
familiar with the model you've specified, though.

This may be a perfect time to consider replacing the Panny with a Pioneer
auto-reverse player, like the CLD-D704, which is also an auto-reverse unit but
considered the best U.S. non-ELITE player ever made.

I ask if I need a special shop because I took the unit to a TV/VCR shop in
town and they laughed at me for wanting to "repair that junk" and said they
can't do it. Junk? This deck in good working order will sell for $200 on
eBay.
Click to expand...
If you run into a repair shop that calls your stuff "junk" right in front of
you, then it's also a pretty good guess to say that they may also be
incompetent. It's very unprofessional to insult a potential customer like
that.

s it worthwhile to repair, or should I just give up and buy a newer deck?
Shouldn't a shop that can handle DVD/CD repair be able to handl an LD
player?
Click to expand...
Depends on the problem. In the case of having to realign the optics, the shop
will have to have the right tools, service literature, oscilliscope and the
correct calibration test disc.

Try contacting Kurtis Bahr at kbahr@erols.com . He is well-praised at
alt.video.laserdisc for his professionalism and expertise. He may be able to
help you get your Panasonic working like new again. - Reinhart
 
The large majority of LD players are built by Pioneer, that makes yours even
more unusual.
Click to expand...
Fortunately, it's not a Sony. Sony did make some decent players (MDP-650,
MDP-605), but a lot of them were not so great (MDP-333, MDP-500, and so on).
To top it off, recalibrating the optics is impossible without the proper Sony
tools, such as a special service module that's required to perform such a task.

Although, the absolute worst players are probably those made by Funai and a
particular Carver LD player. - Reinhart
 
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