Rowe RB-8CD no output from CD for 1-hour

[xyzzy]

I just inherited a Rowe/AMI RB-8CD juke box. There’s no sound until the unit warms up for about 1-hour. The CD player visually appears to be working – it loads the CD, it changes from track to track (if I program it to play multiple songs), and it returns the CD to the rack when it’s finished the selection(s). There’s just no sound coming from the CD player. I plugged the CD’s RCA cables into a boom-box to verify that there’s no audio output from the CD player. I also plugged the output of the boom-box into the juke box’s amplifer to verify that the amplifier is working. I cleaned the CD lenses with a lens brush. Any ideas?

[KenLayton]

Model of the CD player installed in that juke is....???????

[xyzzy]

It's a LaserStar CD-100. Label on CCC's EPROM is v2.1, CD-100. Sound came on 20 minutes after I powered it up tonight then it works perfectly.

[KenLayton]

That number is the jukebox model not the player model. Since you have not given the model number of the actual player I have to assume you have an original CDM3 player. It is 20 years old and is plagued with problems. The mech control board for that player was plagued with bad soldering. You will need to resolder _every_ solder joint on that board!

You will need to upgrade to the latest player, the Philips CDPRO2. To do that you need to order this kit from your local Rowe distributor:

http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Jukeb...t_66505907.pdf

The kit sells for $500 to $650 depending on the distributor you buy it from. It includes a bunch of brand new parts to handle the newer players including mounting brackets, power supply board, mech control board, harnesses, and player.

You also need to upgrade the eprom software chip in the CCC to at the very least, version 3.2, but preferably the latest which is 4.3

Early versions of the Central Control Computer (CCC) board only had a 28 pin socket for the eprom. Any version of the software from version 2.8 and up uses a higher capacity eprom (original was 512k in size, newer is 1 meg in size) which has 32 pins. Some boards only had a 28 pin socket installed. Later boards had a 32 pin socket, but only had the 28 pin chip installed in it.

[xyzzy]

Thanks for the great advice Ken. This juke will be for home use, so I'll resolder the board and see if that helps. Are you referring to the circuit board located directly under the disc drive? My juke looks just like the one from the "ROWE CD Jukebox won't play without warm-up problem" post. Probably one of the original units of this model. Sorry I couldn't locate the model # of the CD player.

[KenLayton]

No, the board on the player itself is fine. The boards that need resoldering are inside the mech control board box on the right side of the mechanism.

The CDM3 player only has a paper label on it that warns about laser radiation (model number not mentioned). The CDM4 player has a paper label stating the model number. All later players actually have the model name embossed in the aluminum casting in huge letters.

[xyzzy]

I've got the problem narrowed down to the CD Decoder board. I heated up the board for a few seconds with a hair dryer before turning the juke on, then had sound instantly. I'll try some freeze spray to narrow down the faulty component or solder joint. I don't have a schematic for the CD Decoder. Looks like the transistor on the heat sink was repalced once.

[xyzzy]

Right you were Ken. It was a solder jumper located on the component side of the board. Once the board was warmed up if I touched the jumper with component cooler spray the sound would cut out. I resoldered the jumper and a few components around it and it works fine now. Thanks for your advice.