Hello! I joined this forum because i have a slightly big problem. Can someone help me with my problem please. I have a sony D-303 and it only play when tilted vertically. It wont play or recornize a cd when laid flat on a surface. I tried meddling with the 5 pots (RV501-RV505) but no success. What could possibly be the problem? Or am i just not getting the right adjustments for the pots? The discman seems to have sa gyroscope or balance sensor. It only wants to play when tilted. Thank you so much!
Hello and welcome to the forum ! The problem on your D-303 is a worn spindle motor. The motor has play in the bushings to a point where the tracking cannot compensate for it. The device works when tilted vertically because the weight of the disc will force the motor shaft to stay on one side of the bushing, hence eliminating the wobble. Solution is to replace the spindle motor. It's also recommended to lubricate the new motor before installing it to prolong its lifespan. KaosunCD offers a service for this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/162617714508, but I don't know if he's selling the motor separately.
@fr33d0m : I saw your post at Head-Fi, and the response you received there and from @Valentin is 100% correct. What you describe is Exactly what happens when spindle motor gets bad You can easily check for yourself what is happening by desoldering spindle motor wires from the board and applying 0.5-2.0V by desktop power supply or 1.5V battery. You will hear rattling sound and it is also quite easy to feel the vibration Did you mark the pots as they were before you started re-adjustments??
Hello sirs! Thank you so much for your promt input. Yes sir i marked the initial position of the pots. But i tried meddling with RV501 and RV503 (tracking gain and tracking balance) and somehow managed to get a good response but it wont last long. Only a few seconds. It will play but still stops.
By the way sir, what is the spindle motor? The one that drives the cd or the one that drives the laser? I'm sorry it's my first time having interest in discmans. Attached is my 2 discmans. The D-250 has the middle gear problem. The gear broke and crumbled into peices
Yes sir... In am seeking help in all audio sites hoping to come up with a solution. Because i fell inlove with these discmans. They look so amazing
spindle motor is the one rotating CD. we have a beautiful D-303 resto write-up by @Hyperscope here: Sony Discman D303... in short: 1) You must desolder all three 100uF/6.3V SMD caps, check for damaged traces and recap for the fresh electrolytics 2) Put all the pots in their original position 3) Fix the motor photos from my own D-303 restorations:
Even the new replacement motors I got were loud sounding and "dry" right out of the bubble wrap. At least the new motors had a pinhole oil port on the base / back bronze bearing this time (I guess it was an oil port...). A few days of alternate soaking of oil and the motor purred softly. An astounding before and after. One really wonders if... these nasty little original mabuchi motors... were properly oiled from the factory back in 1991. Or maybe just the passage of time wore them away. (Hi Jorge nice to see you again. Best wishes. Sure would be nice if ya did a National Panasonic boombox thread... hint hint )
Thank you sir. I already bought a middle gear for my D-250. Will do the project this weekend. As for the D-303, is oiling the motor wont correct the problem? It doesnt recognize the cd when flat but when i tilt it upward it does. I do not know where to get a replacement motor sir.
I opened them both and cleaned them very well. That's all i can do for now. I can still use the D-303 provided that is is inclined a bit from the front View attachment 43057 View attachment 43058 View attachment 43057 View attachment 43058
The closest motor is Mabuchi RF-410CA and it is sold on e-bay. The shaft is not the same length as the original motor. So the D-303 CD platter is not held on as well / firmly. Spacing is important. A 3D printed plastic tool can be made as a gauge. (Or... just use several business cards as a feeler gauge like I did. Feel the gap. Get a feel for it. Write down the number of cards and a description of the "feel". This worked perfectly in my case.) Make sure to oil these new motors first. Both bearings. Back bearing was a pin hole located above the inset bronze. Place motor upside down in a "stand" of some kind and apply oil and let soak several days. (What kind of oil? I just used 100% synthetic "liquid bearings" junk they sell on e-bay at $15US for 1 fluid ounce. It is indeed extremely slick / thin oil that is unbelievably slippery.) Run the motor on a single AA battery and note the loudness. After oiling repeat this test to confirm / satisfy motor runs differently and very quiet. Take lots of pictures of the entire repair process so as not to get lost. So you know where the wires go back on etc., Good luck!
Good day everyone! I just want to share what happened. After 5 days with sleepless nights, i finally made my D-303 working. I have spent so many drawings and notes on the combination of the 5 pots. Now my D-303 came back to life. I am so happy!
Thank you for all your help and insights! I will be frequent here now. My next project is reviving the sony D-250 and toshiba KT-AS1 walkman
By the way sirs, i so oiled the stock motor. I disassembled it last night and only used WD-40 to oil the front and back part. I do not have any other kind of oil or lubricant. I have automotive grease but i cant get it into the shaft
For lubrication, I recommend to use watch oil. You can buy a pen-like one which will be easier to use. Here is an example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/164185783921 WD-40 is only a temporary solution, that won't offer lubrication long term as it's not desinged for that. Also I do NOT recommend using grease for lubricating motors.
Thank you so much sir! I would do that immediately sir. Now i just found an old AIWA HS-JX707. I think it's still working because it powers up. I am currently breaking-in the sony D-303 sir. So far it has not stopped or skipped for 3 hours now. I set it to shuffle so it wont stop playing.
Goof day sirs! I am sad again. My D-303 didnt held up to the temporary fix that i did. It skipped and stopped again this morning. I really need a motor replacement... :-(
Good day sirs! I am just wondering how to remove the cd platter from the motor sir? Or the one sold on ebay already have a platter? Thank you so much!
