🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3rg333$ksd@agate.berkeley.edu> jtw@po.eecs.berkeley.edu writes:
>
>My 3-year-old CD player is acting up again....keeps on skipping a track or a
>second on every CD I play and it happens sporadically.

  Have you taken it apart and cleaned it?

  Many players seem to use the absolute cheapest and least amount
  of lubricant possible for the guide rails and various other
  mechanical bits and pieces.  If this lube gets dirty or simply 
  is inadequate, the player will tend to skip and such--a condition
  frequently misdiagnosed as a dirty or misaligned laser and pickup.

  Open up the player.  VERY carefully clean the laser/pickup assembly.
  Don't use Q-tips, the chamois style ones work ok, as does a small
  piece of chamois or lint-free soft cloth.  Don't use drugstore
  alcohol for cleaning, get some tapehead cleaning alcohol from 
  Radio Shack, or even better a bit of Kodak camera lens cleaning
  solution.  

  Check carefully for any worn and binding mechanicals.  If the grease
  and such is dirty or hardened, carefully remove all the old stuff.
  Radio Shack sells a small "Teflon Oil" needle dispenser that seems
  to work nicely on plastic and metal VCR and player parts.  

  If that doesn't work, decide whether the typical $60+ charge to
  simply open it up, likely more if the laser assy is replaced, even
  more the unlikely odds that the new one would be properly aligned,
  is worth it.