Spring Troubles

Lazarus Short

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#1
Not the season - that's a few days away. I happen to have a Denon DCD-3300 CD player, and the CD drawer is a two-piece thing, and it should have two teeny springs between the two parts. When I got it, it had one, and since there was pull on only one side, the thing was binding. Besides that, on eject, the CD would ride up on the drawer, maybe to get scratched.

Does anyone know where to get teeny expansion springs? I'm even considering teeny rubber bands.


 

Gepetto

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#2
Not the season - that's a few days away. I happen to have a Denon DCD-3300 CD player, and the CD drawer is a two-piece thing, and it should have two teeny springs between the two parts. When I got it, it had one, and since there was pull on only one side, the thing was binding. Besides that, on eject, the CD would ride up on the drawer, maybe to get scratched.

Does anyone know where to get teeny expansion springs? I'm even considering teeny rubber bands.


We have a spring problem here too Laz...seems it will never come. :)
 

laatsch55

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#3
Not the season - that's a few days away. I happen to have a Denon DCD-3300 CD player, and the CD drawer is a two-piece thing, and it should have two teeny springs between the two parts. When I got it, it had one, and since there was pull on only one side, the thing was binding. Besides that, on eject, the CD would ride up on the drawer, maybe to get scratched.

Does anyone know where to get teeny expansion springs? I'm even considering teeny rubber bands.


I get them from junking out BPC cassette decks....
 

62vauxhall

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#4
Maybe McMaster Carr?

https://www.mcmaster.com/

I have yet to do so but it was suggested I look there for a small, fine spring missing from a turntable.

Also for something I can use as an idler tire to go an a cassette deck. The have a square profile O ring but I've yet to order it.
 

orange

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#5
Denon and Marantz are the same company IIRC. If you know what type of drive the player uses (like NEC, Sony, Philips etc.) you should be able to effect a general fix.

Also, don't blame the springs directly right off the bat. You can often adjust a couple screws at the back of the drive that will affect the clamping mechanism, this might help you some.

There is a site with a guide to servicing most CD/DVD and Optical computer drives...I need to look it up, it's a great resource. What I know I know from personal tinkering.

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm THAT'S IT.
 

Lazarus Short

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#6
Thanks to all for insights and links - Barb suggested dental bands, the kind used in orthodontia, and I'm going to try that.
 

Lazarus Short

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#7
Well, I ordered a small lot of dental bands, in six sizes, from ebay. Cheap too. I made a tool to stretch the band to the rear hook and hook it there, using a small phillips driver. In addition, I lubed gears, bushings and bearing surfaces with TufOil. Now, the bands (3/8) are installed and working, and the transport works smooooth.

Now, I will just wait and see if the dental bands hold up over time...
 

Lazarus Short

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#11
The dental bands are still holding, but the other problem, CD's not coming out with the tray, appeared tonight. The tray came out...but no CD. I tore down the gear, got the top off the CDP, and cycled a CD in and out, in and out. It was the little puck that rides on top of the disc, keeping it snug on the motor spindle. On the bottom part is a ring of material that gives a slight grip, but the adhesive had worked to the surface, and was sticking to the disc. I took out the whole assembly and rubbed the gripping ring with a kleenex...then vacuumed up the excess. Now all is good. How do you like my spit and bailing wire approach?
 

Lazarus Short

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#13
My fix did not last long...so I picked up a couple of sheets of felt with adhesive on the back (from Hobby Lobby), and cut a circle of the right size. I marked the circle on the paper side with an antique drafting compass, and cut with scissors. It needed an inner hole, which I cut with "iris" scissors - they have curved blades. Then, had to clean excess stickum off the center spindle of the puck. Everything works right, and the Denon is back where it belongs.
 

Lazarus Short

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#14
A new "hecksperiment" - I saw that the Denon has fixed and variable outputs, and then remembered the special magic a previous system had, where tuner and CDP had variable outputs, and I simply swapped out IC's and used the component output level control. No preamp needed. I'm going to try bypassing the Yamaha integrated and go straight into the Proton AA-1150. I've been just a little dubious about the active biamping anyway. I'll post results later.
 

Lazarus Short

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#15
A little perspective on my old preamp-less system: The power amp was a single-ended Magnavox EL84 console pull with something like four to five watts. The speakers were B&W Matrix 805's, and I had doubts that the amp had enough power, but it did. Tuner and CDP, maybe other components, had variable outs, so instead of cranking a source selector knob, I swapped cables.

More recently, I was passively biamping with 200 watts to the woofers and 70 to the mids and tweets. Later, I throttled back to 70 for the woofers and 50 for the mids and tweets. Active biamping, after the initial thrill had worn off, sounded bloated and unnatural. So here I am today with the CDP connected directly to the 50-watt Proton AA-1150. Sound is excellent, and I can hear the quieter things, like shakers, distinct in the mix. The Yamaha is leaving the system. I've even joined the "Proton Fanatics" group on Facebook.
 

orange

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#16
What is your Yamaha model, Laz?
 

orange

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#18
Are you thinking of selling it?
 

Lazarus Short

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#19
Actually, I do have it on my list to offer on local CL, as part of my "Audio Joules." I might consider it if we could get a handoff by Phoenix members over the distance, from here to there. Possible, but not likely, but I do get as close to you as Pinedale, Wyoming from time to time. Otherwise, shipping might be prohibitive.
 

orange

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#20
Probably so. You know I run an audio orphanage here and have a bazillion bits o' gear (TM) around here...that was a heads up for anyone else around here interested. You have plenty of in and outputs and an actual phono section on that puppy, which matters around here.

An integrated that can't play records is a bottle with no beer.
 
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