DC is scratching all of my discs

[futurer0ckstar]

Now that you mention cleaning the laser, there are some fuzzies that are surrounding the laser (and have been since I got the system). I tried removing them but it was a bit difficult. Could these be interfering with the operation of the laser in such a way as to be scratching discs?

If the problem is the pickup, is it possble to buy any laser pickup and switch? How expensive are these pickups in general?

[futurer0ckstar]

Okay, I finally removed most of the fuzzies (I also got some alcohol and dabbed the laser with it), and it seems like it's had a positive effect. It might be in my head, but I think the DC is loading faster and making that loud noise less often. I still don't know if it's scratching my discs or not, but I've got a test disc and I'll be watching it to see if it gets any scratches.

[Dingo]

I'm glad to hear that cleaning the lens has seems to improve things for now. I'm not at all surprised. It's usually the first thing I do if one of my DC's starts acting up. I know what you mean about the fuzzies. One of my DC's also had that. Not easy to clean out... I don't know what effect they might have but I'm sure they aren't -helping- it function.

I don't really know how expensive a new DC laser pickup is. Heck, I don't even know where you would find a -new- one. Your best bet if you want to go that route is just buy another DC console. A bare console with no controllers isn't as expensive as a replacement laser pickup is likely to be (if you can even find one).

One of my working DC's is using the laser out of an older broken DC I had lying around that had a busted GD-Rom controller board. Maybe you can find a cheap 'parts' unit on ebay... But like I said, it's not like a working DC console is -that- expensive anyway. I wouldn't doubt if you could find a few (maybe on ebay) that are of the type: "controllers don't work but games load". This type of system will likely only have one busted part in it... the controller board fuse. The laser would probably be fine.

It's never a bad idea to have spare DC parts lying around if you are going to be playing the system hard.

When it comes to the DC's GD-Rom drive, there were actaully 3 different units used throughout it's life. The laser pickups from one won't necessarily fit into the other because of fitment issues with the pickup housings. For a fool-proof, minimal-thought, 'compatible with any model of DC' swap you want to actaully switch out the entire upper floating part of the GD-rom drive (not -just- the pickup). I'm talking about the part that houses the pickup, the pickup motor, and the spindle. The part that floats on the rubber cushions... On model 0 and 1 DC's doing this requires you to remove the entire drive, and disassemble it from the underside to get to the part of the GD-Rom board where the motor wires plug in. On a model 2, both motors just plug right into the main board by the case fan. It's easy to see and requires no further dis-assembly beyond removing the DC's top.

Of course, if we are just talking about model 0 and 1 DC's then if the GD-Rom board isn't bad, I'd just swap the entire drive unit. Heck, that's even slightly easier than swapping the controller-port board!

[futurer0ckstar]

Okay, thanks a lot for the info, it's been very helpful. As an update on my DC's condition, it doesn't seem to be scratching discs anymore. I'm still wary of it, but each day I finish playing and find no scratches on the disc, it puts me more at ease with it than the day before.

In any event, I'll most likely be looking into getting another DC just to be safe (also, I hope I can find a DC with the kind of modem that DOESN'T require a line voltage inducer so I can play online with you guys). Since my console's condition seems particularly rare, it's probably unlikely that another used one would do the same thing. Still, I might go crazy and buy a brand new one just for that first-time pleasure of opening one in mint condition.

Thanks again for giving me some more knowledge on this stuff.

[Dingo]

Seriously though, if you want a DC cheap, look on your favorite auction site for:

1. 'lots' of broken dreamcasts. A lot of 5 or so broken DC's is relatively cheap, and you should have enough parts out of 5 to make at least ONE that works... Probably will end up with a couple that work after swamping parts around. If you wind up with more than one working, you can easily sell the extras yourself and probably end up with a 'free' DC in the end.

2. Dreamcsts that are advertised as having 'broken controller ports'. The only thing that is likely wrong with this type of system is a blown fuse that is easily replaced or bypassed. If you have a soldering iron, it will cost you $0 to fix. Heck you can usually even 'fix' them w/o an iron. Just use a stripped twist-tie...


How much does a 'new in box' DC cost now-a-days? I haven't checked prices lately. I don't know if I could even bring myself to open it. Though, it would be really cool. Wonder if the battery would still work?

[futurer0ckstar]

Yeah, I was thinking I could do something like that, but my parents aren't going to give me legal approval to sell the consoles/parts (internet selling-phobia). Luckily, I only have to wait a year before I'm of legal age to do all of that myself, but still. That's a year.

New DC consoles only cost $90...I'd say that's pretty impressive.

Heh, the battery will probably be dead, but aren't all unmodded DC's like that these days? It's been ten years since the last official NTSC console was manufactured.