Trying to FIX: 2x Faulty BUSH Boomboxes

Hi, this 'trying to fix' video shows me attempting to repair 2 faulty Bush Boomboxes. One has no audio and the other doesn't play discs.
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things.
I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series.
Many thanks, Vince.

[@UltimatelyEverything]

This is why Vince is a legend because he'll literally try to fix anything he can find no matter what it is.

[@leehawk7068]

Agree I have watched several of his videos and he's really good especially when never giving up I'm a techie been fixing things like cd players TVs and back in the day I used to fix VCRs mostly made a killing out of VCRs but if I can't figure out a problem I tend to just pull a part from another unit and job done can't be assed with taking parts out of another to figure out what's wrong I just give up haha but good on Vince for having the patients

[@Jdbye]

Please film the revisit, I enjoy watching you fix stuff and I'm sure others agree.

[@brentpolk2431]

When that ribbon connector broke off, I had such a laugh! Only because I've been there and done that before. Carry on!

[@wasserman63]

that hole thing is on piss poor in my opoinion its an execersize in how to take creepy parts and through them togther for blackfriday sales i guess the most expensive part is the casing shortly follwed by the Box. the bluetooth module is a copy of project i have seen on github developed by someone as a hoby project and our chines friend simple stolle the hollle concept inclusive the pcb layout as the uesaly do with out even telling the person who came up with the Idea.

[@victor58010]

Your spelling is atrocious - shame on you.

[@NOWThatsRichy]

Thats dedication; spending all that time on a couple of cheapo Chinese 'Boomboxs' but at least you got them working! The surprising thing (in their favour) is they are still using old school transformer power supplies, I would have expected to see a generic switch mode module in there!

[@PeteSimpson]

I do enjoy watching your videos, but sometimes you do like to go around issues like this one the long way around, especially by not checking the PNP Mosfet power transistors first. After a visual inspection of any board, the next thing I always check are the Mosfets. Anyway Vince, nice one for uploading this entertaining video of you trouble shooting your way through a cheap device and fixing it. Keep up the good work and keep learning your electronic skills. P.S. I hope that you took on my previous advice and that you purchased some Copper Foil Tape for repairing your damaged connectors with super glue...

[@PeteSimpson]

@Smattless yes I know, and I think that considering this is just his hobby, he's doing a good job. But he's been doing this long enought to know by now to check MOSFETs before swapping ICs, especially as he basically knows how to check 3 legged transistors etc. Nevertheless, he's still learning and honing his skills, and still making great entertaining YT videos which I do enjoy watching, especially the watch repair video. The one thing I like about Vince is that he shows himself learning and making honest mistakes on the way to fixing a gadget (lots of KZbinrs do not show their mistakes). Vince has never once claimed to be a professional, just a hobbyist. He does it for the enjoyment factor and to better himself and his skills. Keep up the good work Vince 😀

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Pete and Smattless :-)

[@peterroy3052]

My Mate VINCE another brill vid. Well done.

[@caretakergaming21A]

My absolute favorite KZbinr now

[@tranmere292]

I can't believe how long this took, because I first thought it was 45 minutes long, not 1 hour 45, but it turned out be very interesting. I also can't believe the sophisticated technology that goes into a 25 pound player.

[@nikitasdimopoulos703]

Vince you are amazing

[@watercreator]

I have watched several of your videos. For mostly guess work your channel is fantastic to watch, it makes me feel like I am not the only one that does this hahah

[@jpack61108]

Your channel has inspired me to get some gear and start fixing things. I’ve never done any electronics repair other than whole module changes. But I’ve got a ton of experience with hardware/software troubleshooting and I really do enjoy fixing things in general. Thanks to you sir!

[@philippberndt]

...and I thought I was going to sleep at a reasonable time... Then Vince shows up.

[@tammi8808]

Exactly what I thought. And THEN i saw the length of the video and thought "tomorrow will be a damn hard day" 😂

[@dodgydruid]

Yep and me, kinda cool to end it with a MMV vid, also I keep nicking pointers on how to make better vids myself, Vince is becoming the gold standard on fixit vids :)

[@-Scraggyanne-]

I know what you mean, I have to watch Vince's videos when they come up xc

[@Irilia_neko]

@@dodgydruid you have a low standard Haha, eevblog is the standard for me ^^

[@Diegozarate]

Nice flag.

[@nightstah]

Unusual this one felt like it dragged on and on. Most of your videos - long or not as long - don't have that feel to them. I imagine a video distilled to just under 2 hours was probably the work of times ten at least in raw time. So I'm sure it felt even longer to you. Good result, always appreciate your vids :)

[@michelk1445]

Youre so good in finding faults 👍

[@2bad83]

Hi Vince. I would use the thorough hole transistor it’s much better than the cheap smd transistor that bush use... it probably short circuited due to it unable to deliver at different frequencies. In other terms. That must of had the volume turned up loud with a low bass frequency!! Great stuff but really if you change/check the sound output IC next step is to check the supply to that IC...

[@JamieWilliamsJamminJamie]

I bet they originally come from john pye auctions a friend of main bought 10 of those exact radios from john pye with very similar if not the exact same problems i haven't watched the whole video yet but i will direct him to this video. You go to john pye auctions they sell customer returns stuff or faulty customer return stuff well worth the look for a Mr fix it like you it would be awesome to see you do this

[@andreasachilleos6335]

Well done mate, you have patience of a saint lol 👍

[@nikkic36]

You wouldn’t believe how you sometimes send my anxiety levels up when you’re struggling

[@niek024]

I regularly have to look away when he starts 'correcting' a perfect solder job, and ends up making a huge mess.

[@standishgeezer]

Enjoyed this one Vince (thank's for the mention BTW). That PNP transistor's full number is MMBT8550D. With a PNP current flows from Emitter to Collector whereas, in a NPN, current flows from Collector to Emitter. NPN 's need a power supply with positive polarity with respect to common terminals, whereas PNP transistors need a negative power supply; this is why you will see negative values on the PNP datasheet. Best way to check transistors is with your multimeter set to 'diode' mode (but I guess you already knew that and in any event, your method worked in this case). It may be worth getting one of the SOT-23 transistor kits for £2 on ebay. The one I bought has been used for 2 repairs already.

[@Mymatevince]

Cheers, I have ordered the SOT-23 kit and also a SMD resistor kit and SMD capacitor kit. I could have done with a SMD resistor kit on the PSP2000 laser a few weeks ago. There are many different sizes so it is hard to know what to order. Cheers for the advice :-)

[@unimportant5122]

You might want to get yourself one of those Adafruit PCB rulers. It's a little PCB with all kinds of SMD footprints and their names/sizes printed on them.

[@Mymatevince]

@@unimportant5122 I like it, I just ordered one up from China, only 99p delivered!!!! Even if i only use a couple of times it will be worth it👍

[@davidk6271]

Monster effort put in here , well done.

[@pds8475]

I'm only at 19:12 but to answer your question it is a double potentiometer 3 pins for the left channel and 3 pins for the right channel.

[@reacey]

Left and right speakers thats what I thought, I was looking at something similar on a dj deck thing but it was a slider volume control with carbon tracks, I beleive these variable resistors work the same way, but with spiraling cylindrical carbon tracks

[@pds8475]

@@reacey Yeah it's only the shape that changes.

[@Mymatevince]

Nice one PDS :-)

[@jawmedia7575]

I love the titanic music. Perfect

[@Todestelzer]

You should always follow the input voltage. Make sure the chips have voltage to operate. Chips sometimes have a EN pin, make sure they get voltage there too. Check the crystal with the DMM in AC mode and check the frequency or better use a oscilloscope. Before swapping chips you can measure for shorts on capacitors near the chip first. Or look into schematics for the chip and test it directly on the chip pins. BTW good work BUT remember what you leaned with this repair. Next time you maybe don’t have a second unit to double check everything 😉

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Todestelzer :-)

[@joshheartnet5048]

So amazing to see u fault find things Vince. Who could of thought something so small could have cause the whole thing not to work. It’s like a small worm in an apple :))))) love ur vids buddy, keep em coming!!

[@adrianpearce5214]

Great video as always vince

[@paultasker7788]

I find this channel addictive. Really want to know what the fault is. However, Have work then a Christmas meal out. I'll have to wait until tonight to find out!

[@petermoore4056]

The volume potentiometer has 6 pins because it's stereo. 2 seperate inputs in 1 control. Also with regards to that transistor, if it is such a common fault (assuming it's generally this part that fails) then I'd put in one with a bit higher current handling characteristics.

[@challengedavid]

Yes another video. That's the next hour sorted

[@technixbul]

Check the standby power and mute lines if they meet conditions to start the power amp. When you test a transistor USE DIODES RANGE if base is positive lead of multimeter and it shows around 500-700mV drop acording to other pins AND NOTHING on the opposite way or between CE than it is NPN and its Colector to Base should show slightly less than Emiter to Base. For PNP the lead of multimeter is negative. That is the way to diagnose Bipolar Junction Transistors. Learn the symbols of elements to understand how they work. This on the bottom is 8 Photo-diode matrix that receives reflected light from laser trough optics and disc itself. Laser is on the side -> 3 pins element wich also contains photo-diode to measure its light intensity On the laser assembly optics, you don't measure a resistance on potentiometer but the light intensity reflected from disc - falling on the phododiode matrix through optics and the drop angle on it. The spindle motor shaft is weared and wiggle thus prevent the error correction amp to correct all errors.

[@Mymatevince]

Thank you Technixbul for all the help and tips. Unfortuantely on this one I would have never have found the fault if I didn't have a working board from the 2nd pink unit. I would have thought it was the audio chip at fault as I would have seen the voltage going in and not on the other pins, so I would have assumed the chip was faulty. I didn't even realise the laser was at the side of the laser assembly so I am looking forward to tearing the faulty one apart to find it. Hopefully I will get there one day but I am still a long long way off. Having fun with it though. Keep up the helpful comments, we all learn a lot from yourself. Nice one :-)

[@technixbul]

@@Mymatevince That is why you learn basics and how to read schematics and functions on different signals on them. When i first entered in Compact disc technologies around 20+ years ago i bought a book about "CD technologies and how to repair them". It was extremely helpful to learn what on the earth is this animal. Nowadays the sources are unlimited just google it "compact disc laser assembly" first few links will give you all information you need. Don't hesitate to do it.

[@talon4x4]

I sure do enjoy the really long videos!!!

[@CLC-1000]

Looks like a trickey item to fix Vince but still really enjoyed the video. Great job getting them fixed.

[@Gettwobirdsstonedatonce]

For the future of radio repairs, you should try using a radio transmitter so you can dictate what music is played like Bach or public domain music. Just like a car radio transmitter for an ipod, and set it to a certain fm band. Then you don't have to chance yourself getting a strike or claim.

[@willproctor7301]

Goood fix, they would probably still make half decent bluetooth speakers though?

[@lawrencecavens5760]

Hi Vince, I'd say the quality check of manufacturing is the problem where these kinda units are made by human youth and to where there isn't the kinda quality check done very well. It's absolutely fantastic that you were able to find the transistor causing the short good job - Well done!!

[@Holycurative9610]

A lot of the Chinese stuff is made by very cheap labour or slave labour. Look at Temu for an example of that! The people churning out this rubbish don't care and there is no quality control at all, I always buy from Taiwan or Japan and have very rarely had a problem with electronics I've bought that were manufactured in either country.

[@scottysaphir]

Loved the fault finding good job on that vince

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

Awsome video! Love your fault finding Yoda moves! Question, what happens if you focus your microscope through the linc and try to see the laser alignment that way? I vote strongly for a quick version on how to change the laser! Thank you so much for a great almost 2H. of entertainment and sorry for my bad spelling!

[@rainbowrepair5692]

Beautiful repair! I loved the efforts put into this one. Please do the revisit vince :) any video you do is appreciated

[@xxxhustl3rxxx]

Just because item location on eBay says 'London' doesn't mean a thing. Look at the profile, so click the feedback and it will show you where the seller is actually based. It will show China. They do it so you buy from them thinking it will get to you quicker. That trick has been around for many years

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Lainey, you're right, the transistors have already arrived but the laser which I ended up ordering from 'London' (down the road from me) for more money than the Chinese sellers must still be travelling thousands of miles!!!! :-)

[@typhdecker4099]

Love Mozart. Not my favorite piece, but I love it. Good video.

[@mohamadasriabdulazid4784]

It so interesting, it make me watching a whole 1:48:13 without pause a video to go anywhere. Keep up a good work.

[@Operational117]

Part 1 of explanation (yes, still watching): The transistor is designed to permit current only one way *and* only when its “base” is powered. It has three parts, called: Collector (aka. input) Emitter (aka. output) Base (aka. trigger, aka. The Gatekeeper). If it has a dead short between any two of the three pins, it stops working as a transistor, and starts working like a three-way wire with a high-resistance path between one of them and the rest. Part 2 (heavily influenced by my logic deduction, may contain inconsistencies/errors): -The laser’s alignment is extremely important, as it is supposed to read the data on the disc, which is a spiraling string of peaks and valleys representing 1s and 0s (not sure which represents what, but logic says that it’s the peaks that represent the 1s).- The laser shines on these peaks and valleys, which either reflects or not, and those that *do* reflect get bounced by that filter. The lens at the end is the most crucial part, as it focuses the lens to encapsulate these peaks and valleys *one at at time*. Too small, and it won’t know where these peaks and valleys start and end. Too big, and it would encapsulate too many peaks and/or valleys. That is why it moves up and down, as that allows it to adjust itself precisely to the right focus level. -But if the laser itself is misaligned horizontally, the beam would diverge, causing it to bounce off at an angle, instead of spot-on. That causes the beam to return at a different angle than it arrived, causing it to not hit the sensing part of the assembly.- -What I just said probably contains some (or -*-alot-*- of) errors, but that’s my logic deduction.- EDIT: So it turns out that the module you were adjusting at the end was actually a photodiode, the sensing part of the laser assembly. That explains all the tiny wires coming off it, and why it looked alot like an integrated circuit. And the laser is tucked away to the side. In that case, it’s just a matter of perfectly aligning the photodiode (if you have the patience, of course). The laser is safely tucked away (hopefully properly assembled). 😅

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Operational, I will have a good look inside the faulty laser when the replacement arrives, maybe I can test the focusing coils or something. I was sure the module was the laser lol, so much still to learn :-)

[@simonebille1168]

Sup Vice, loooooove your long videos, please do more :)))

[@DrQuadrivium]

This is a perfect lesson in how not to trace a fault. A signal tracer might have saved a lot of random messing about.

[@Shifter_Fitter]

Best . Job . Ever .

[@Yoldark34]

I knew i wouldn't be able to sleep before watching a "my mate Vince" video. Thanks for the videos, you are awesome!!

[@scottgibson7534]

Hi Vince you have the tool's there to strip back ribbon cable, one with a knakered solder tip go over the poly sheathing in a linear motion, then scrape away any left with your Acto knife, it takes some doing and hands on is the best tutor so any duff cables you have, have a play.

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Scott, I did quickly try with the iron but it was a bit on the hot side and I didn't use the knife so it just melted and contorted the ends!!!! The one in the video was probably a bit short to practice on. Cheers for the tips :-)

[@russian32gb]

Nanotech explorations in depth with our mate Vince 😂😂😂😜😜😜👌✌

[@thomasesr]

The board was probably design with the Bluetooth in mind since it has the slot to solder the Bluetooth module board. The reason that the Bluetooth module is on a different pcb is because they are sold that way and are cheaper than designing the whole board with integrated Bluetooth

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Thomas :-)

[@MarkPentler]

@@Mymatevince Worth noting the telltale antenna traces as well to determine if something is a radio board.

[@ryansteve8739]

Please do a revisit video replacing the laser. Also will you be doing more of the Sony discman series? I’ve only found the part 1 of that.

[@Irilia_neko]

Why you want a revisit of that, the product is clearly not worth it.

[@ryansteve8739]

Hathtrya I’m working on something with problems reading discs and I find this trial and error type video on diagnosing laser problems is quite educational and helpful. I would be interested is seeing if he has any problems installing the laser. As well as more information like does the new laser need to be calibrated? And I would like to see the finished repair.

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Ryan, yes I still have them. I forgot about them if I am honest with you. I will dig them out again :-)

[@stevepocock3794]

You should invest in a cheap oscilloscope. Will make fault finding on these type of devices so much easier.,

[@technixbul]

Yes, DSO138 is a perfect cheap kick-start

[@davidmelbourne5480]

I have been suggesting this for a little while - fault finding without one is SO much harder!

[@PeteSimpson]

Hmm, that's a good choice. I once converted a FNIRSI-150 oscilloscope into a completely mobile unit that runs on a rechargeable 606090 battery, instruction are on the net on how to do that. Actually that would probably be a great project for Vince to do on this channel, complete price is only about £20 😀

[@technixbul]

@@PeteSimpson well you can buy DSO138 as kit for 10$ USD i have one too and love it

[@unimportant5122]

Best to get a capable old analog scope from ebay for cheap then rather then getting one of those toy DSO kits.

[@zincmann]

YAY Another LONG VInce Video!! Great Stuff!

[@davidmelbourne5480]

Probably a stereo (2 Channel Pot) which is 3 pins per channel. Alternatively, it could have beeen an encoder type that goes to a small processor with a VCA (voltage controlled amplifier) built-in to adjust the volume - these have several pins too. Vince - consider getting a small oscilloscope, they are really quite cheap now and they let you "see" the signals and voltages. The continuity method you use is limited and much slower. The initial short you heard was probably the supply smoothing cap(s) charging up - be cautious putting your meter on the circuit immediately afterwards as it might damage the meter if the cap then discharges during the test.

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks David, I have just purchased a £20 handheld oscilloscope on Amazon. I am not sure if it is any good but it will force me to experiment with it. If I can get used to it then I can always use the USB one that I was kindly given by a viewer (also called David) later on. Problem with the USB one is that I need a PC running to use it and the software confused the hell out of me. If I start simple with the handheld then hopefully the USB one with PC software will make more sense at a later stage :-)

[@jeremydewolfe8026]

Worth it mate!

[@Jar6163]

Great job

[@bikerdave1274]

The Sanyo SF-P101 is a notoriously crap laser. Sony used it in the CDF-S70 boom box and they had to do a massive recall as the lasers were dead from new. These pieces of junk will fail just by looking at them from a distance. Even buying a new one is a gamble but you will be covered by ebay tho. As a side note unless the laser unit is very rare or expensive I will never bother to mess with it, just replace it and be done

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Dave :-)

[@mrjsv4935]

Interesting fixes :) Few months ago my Sony CFD-S70 boombox cd player stopped recognising discs, it just spinned the disc for a while and then displayed "No disc". Tried cleaning the cd lens but no change. As it was under one year old, didn't do anything else and it got replaced by warranty. Another cd player problem I have is with 1992 Sharp boombox, it recognises the disc and plays it but starts skipping and stuttering during playback. One time it shoot the laser head assembly to the outer extreme of the track, and by the sound of it, it did it pretty violently. After that it didn't work at all, just displayed "Er" fault code but managed to move the laser head back to the start position by manually moving the gears and now it works again as before, skipping and stuttering. At the very least, I've seen some corrosion at the metal rails where the laser head moves back and forth but as it's so old, there might be other issues, mechanically worn out and/or electronic fault, capacitors gone off their values, etc. Otherwise it works fine, it has radio and cassette player.

[@evildiesel1709]

I had the same Sony CFD-S70 and guess what? The laser in that was gone as well. After looking online, it seems it is a very common fault with it. I reverted back to an old Sony from the 90's that is still rocking. I hope to fix the other thing someday. Not really worth it though.

[@GadgetUK164]

Nice detective work on these =D A lot of the time you will find small general purpose transistors can be swapped out with many other types of general purpose transistor. It depends what it is doing. I think with the laser, it was probably damaged tracking or focus coils, or the assemble causing it to pull slightly one way - so yes, alignment, but I don't think its the alignment of the way the diode was soldered onto the unit, as it probably would have been tested at manufacture.

[@Mymatevince]

Thank you Chris, once the replacement laser arrives I will open up the faulty unit to see if anything is obvious on the inside. Apparently the thing I was zoomed into wasn't the laser!!! Opps:-) The laser is located on the side so I want to see it. Maybe I can test the coils when it is apart on an Ohm reading, might show up something :-)

[@GadgetUK164]

@@Mymatevince Sometimes the coils measure OK, but the lens is pulled slightly one way or the other too far (or not enough) The part you were looking at might be the pickup (that receives the laser)

[@Mymatevince]

@@GadgetUK164 I understand, thank you mate. I am just editing up the revisit of this. I had a little play around with the lens assembly at the end :-)

[@dahger7]

Amazing videos.

[@garysinclair5193]

I don't know why you didn't check the headphone socket early on. Because when you plug in headphones it mutes the speakers.

[@reacey]

Did you set the lazer potentiometer back to the 6.2 k ohms or whatever it was that it was supposed to be, maybe the alignment was the issue and now the pot just needs setting at the correct resistance

[@Mymatevince]

Yeah, I set it back to the original reading, I had to cut quite a bit from the laser part of the video as it was getting ridiculously long!!! I think it was the 645 Ohm reading that I turned it back to :-)

[@Jeff121456]

Bluetooth and WiFi require certification in the US and the EU because they transmit over public airwaves. Each time a manufacturer updates the board containing them they have to have them re-certified. So they design WiFi and Bluetooth modules on separate boards or purchase them from other manufacturers so they can avoid re-certification costs (not to mention the hassle and time delays) every time they modify their main board.

[@catherinemorgan2741]

love the music you use

[@Johan-ti5lh]

Yes, please revisit!

[@adamvaughan123]

I've been watching your videos since the xbox one s setup video. And I haven't been disappointed yet, great job man

[@jasejj]

These cheap players are all made at the same vast factory in China (I don't recall the name but they're a large company), they make a large number of models with essentially the same design and components, and they all have quite a high failure rate. The lasers are a common failure point, but more often the problem is poor soldering on the CD servo IC which has a large heatsink area and so the pins are often not done correctly. The ones with remote controls have an all-in-one volume/switcher IC which also commonly isn't soldered well and causes problems with volume intermittently working etc. Shame really as when they work they're not bad. Most of the components are copies of old Japanese standard parts and work well when they're assembled properly.

[@lewiscook8385]

It's good that you can fix things

[@LegoDork]

I'm sure our mate Vince Knows how a sack should feel.

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

A stupid question, when you start comparing the two boards it sounds like you have sweets in your mouth :) it sound so good what was it?

[@Mymatevince]

Haha, I can't remember, I think it might have been a chunk of Dairy Milk chocolate :-)

[@Todestelzer]

I fixed a radio couple months ago. There was a faulty smd resistor how changed value when under load. Was a nightmare to find this fault....

[@dash8brj]

I was thinking the same - swap the 4gb module out for a bigger one. I used to have a bright yellow mini - great cars. sadly some kids took it joyriding and wrote it off. I loved that car! they are so expensive now as they are kinda a collectors item and they never break down. I never had any issues with mine!

[@AnonymousRepair]

That bottom of the laser is the pick up and not the laser the laser is 90 degrees offset of the pick up hence the angled mirror in the laser assembly, the mirror reflects the laser to the disc. the disc reflects the beam back down through the mirror to the pickup

[@78vinyl97]

when you pressed next on the silver boom box it was flashing because you neeeded to press play.i have a similar model and does the same thing.

[@mishkafilm]

V, do a live stream !

[@greatreset3]

When you change more than one thing at a time and it works, Which Change Was The Fix???????

[@dodgydruid]

Yay something we have here as bought both my daughters one each couple years back and my eldest's has packed up. It is all the way in Scotland so she might have to wait a while for me to fix it ;)

[@dudemiester75]

Niioce Vince👏👏👏

[@travisplayz7108]

Yay

[@InkyNutz]

I love your videos like if you agree

[@antonia4722]

The variable resistor is a dual volume control. One per channel. 2 vr's in one.

[@leehawk7068]

Very good videos have been enjoying watching many if them In this video I would like to make a comment relating to the laser i know this late and you probably figured it out by now But the working part if the laser is in 2 parts the bit at the bottom you put under the microscope with the 9 contact wires is actually the pickup after it's bounced back from the disk the actual laser is generated from the laser diode on the side it bounces the laser off of a mirror from the side going towards to the disk and the disk reflects it back down to the pickup at the bottom ( the one you had in microscope When you made the adjustment for power setting for laser the laser is actually in that same board center if it 3 pins But anyway good work and glad you have the patients for such lengthy diagnostics For me who's been repairing electronic devices back in the old days from VCRs TVs CD players and so on I wouldn't go from one device taking parts to figure out what's wrong with the broken one I would find a working part and swap out haha this was very common practice when fixing VCRs dead power supply jjst pull it out throw another one in job done didn't have the patients Now into laptop motherboard repairs and kinda regret getting into that now since the components are super small the worst one so far is this Asus I'm working on mostly fixed now apart from one component needed for the LCD power and that's a bitch to find the component here or anyone willing to pass one on just requires a ferrite bead between 19V rail to screens power rail that's it

[@thomasesr]

An good investment for amateur electronics fixing is a cheap portable DSO like a ds213 mini DSO. So you can probe each chip to see if its outputing anything at all...

[@Mymatevince]

That does look very nice, maybe a Christmas pressie to myself. The problem is I don't under the first thing about the signals and the different frequencies in which they operate.

[@thomasesr]

@@Mymatevince a good place to start is the "Electronic Basics" playlist from the EEVBLOG.

[@thomasesr]

@@Mymatevince another really good way to understand electronics in a visual interactive way is a website that lets you play around with virtual components and see how the current flows and the voltage levels of each component. Its called Falstad. There you can even see the Waveforms of the signals as if you were probing them with an oscilloscope. Its great fun and useful to understand how stuff works and how to diagnose using an oscilloscope. www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html

[@moosesugar]

well done vince you have gained a lot more experience over the last year really enjoyed this one and i hope you do a revisit on the laser

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Jon :-)

[@cesariushervelazco8]

Do a Revisit, please!!!

[@jaimeeedwards6121]

If the one with the disc issue is able to see how many tracks are on the disc then it's not the laser, it's probably having an issue with the gears and tracking on the disc. It can't move the laser so it just resets and says how many tracks there are

[@peterzeboroff7448]

I think you were magnifying the photo detector array and not the actual laser diode

[@Irilia_neko]

It's certain ^^

[@Mymatevince]

Yeah, sorry Peter, I didn't realise!!!!! I was sure that was the laser.

[@peterzeboroff7448]

Hi Vince, no one is born knowing any of this stuff. I have been tinkering, fixing and building electronic devices and projects for over 50 years now and I find it as exciting now as I did when I took my first tube black and white tv apart when I was only 6 years old. I really enjoy watching your videos and the no nonsense straight forward approach you take in diagnosing and repairing anything that you attempt. I really love the patience you have, I cant honestly say that I have you level of patience and I also completely agree with another point you try and get across in your videos, its not always about the end result of fixing something every time but the invaluable knowledge you gain in tearing everything apart to see exactly how its put together and how all the various subsystems in any device work together. Keep up the excellent videos and I sincerely hope you never get tired of making them or get bored in what makes things work.

[@Mymatevince]

@@peterzeboroff7448 Thanks so much Peter :-)

[@snoopyjc]

Replacing a transistor with a working transistor of the same type is much safer than putting in a shorted transistor and powering up the board!

[@jaykoerner]

My best bet is a bad solder joint or a broken trace somewhere

[@sismofytter]

Does the BT module work?

[@z33hayden23]

I have a decent Harman/kradon amplifier that will now a fuse whenever I turn it on. And I cant fix it. Idk if that's something you could look at but just saying.

[@randy2835]

Hey Vince have you fixed any Nintendo 3ds xl .

[@MirceaD28]

If you start looking on all the bad board that you have lying around I bet you fill find one because it's a common one.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

Please film it when you put in the new laser !

[@chrishammond1230]

Hey Vince, have you ever tried to find a schematic for things like this that you have tried to repair? Something like a low end radio like this might be a lot more likely to have a schematic out there somewhere.

[@Mymatevince]

Hi Chris, the only time I used one was on a Sony Walkman. I struggle to read them as I am not used to them. Hopefully in the future though they will make more sense to me :-)

[@chrishammond1230]

@@Mymatevince I would recommend watching someone that while they may go over things that you do not necessarily work on but they always go over the schematic. This will help you understand schematics in general. I have some electronics background but it has been years since I have done anything with it but I love watching videos. Someone I would recommend is Mr Caleson's Lab. He mainly works with older vacuum tube stuff but also newer stuff also. I got hooked on his videos. And he explains everything. I think you may like his videos.

[@robwebster7406]

Thanks for the vid 👍 and that VR is like a 3 pin one, but it’s 2 in 1, 3 pins for right sound, 3 for left sound 😏

[@Mymatevince]

Thank you Rob :-)

[@Irilia_neko]

Capacitor can be use as Cristal, when you don't need a very high precision.

[@reacey]

I'm sure that cap looking crystal is something to do with the a.m circuit

[@MrScary-ry7qq]

I think the r1212g has to do with the batteries.

[@abzhuofficial]

Well then... ☺️

[@MarkPentler]

Crystals are usually labeled Y, not X. X may stand for XTAL but that is quite odd.

[@skonkfactory]

I'd like to post a link, but you can't do that on youtube. Just google "SOT23 transistor 2TY" and you'll find it. It's a Chinese transistor called an S8550; it's a PNP transistor.

[@wales1975]

Curse you Vince. It is midnight and now I have to watch your video before going to bed! Well.... Maybe I don't have to, but I really want to!

[@Mymatevince]

Haha, sorry :-) I hope with the lack of sleep the next day wasn't completely ruined as this was one long long vid :-)

[@wales1975]

@@Mymatevince It was a long one, but really enjoyed it. Watched it from beginning to end, plus a few skips back to have a good look at the boards, in case I could see if you missed something lol. Thanks for the content! I hope you and yours have a great Christmas.

[@Mymatevince]

@@wales1975 Likewise Premier, have a good one mate :-)

[@Keythong]

Vince, you was only meant to blow the bloody doors off.